Laughing Inside

So, I have two months of blog posts to catch up on... Where is the time going? I'll get to those old posts soon. For now I just had to post a good brotherly love moment from this evening, before I forget. Tonight the boys had Tae Kwon Do, which they really love. Both being highly competitive, they are truly motivated by the belt/stripe level thing that is going on in martial arts. Tonight C had an opportunity to test for another stripe for his yellow belt. He really, really wants that stripe. Despite an invitation to go watch the "War of the Roses" (big time local football rivalry between the Beavers and the Ducks), both C and K chose to attend Tae Kwon Do in the hopes of an opportunity to test for a stripe.

Said testing moment arrives, and C feels he is ready. He goes through most of the test without a hitch, but I see him slowing down, and starting to think more. K picks up on this too and is ready. Oh, how I wish I had a picture to share. Imagine a huge training hall, there are four separate groups of kids working with their instructors. The yellow belt group has about eight boys in it, all around C and K's ages. The instructor is standing in some kind of ready position calling out moves. C is going through the paces in the middle of the group, flanked by his yellow belt peers who are all sitting criss-cross applesauce. Behind this is a large set of bleachers where the parents can spectate. I am now leaning forward from my perch in the bleachers, with all my will hoping for the best for C. K who sees C is struggling is now whispering instructions to his brother and becoming so involved in his instructions that he is likely unaware that his is moving his arms along with C. Now I know that many will frown on this blatant effort at cheating, but as a mom, I can't help but be moved by K's obvious desire for C to succeed.

Unfortunately, C did not earn his stripe this evening. But he gave quite an effort. In the car on the way home he was explaining to me how he felt. I was thinking he felt disappointed and had to refrain from putting words into his mouth. I think he is past the age of needing me to help label his emotions for him. So he is explaining embarrassment. And then he says the most touching thing, "I just felt in my stomach, when I knew I wasn't doing it that everyone except K would be laughing inside." I have always seen how close the boys are, but wow! K jumped in to help C (albeit slightly unethically) right when he suspected his help was needed, at the same time C was feeling that he could count on his brother not to "laugh" at him.

Needless to say, there was no laughing at all. Everyone is extremely respectful, the masters are quite demanding. C did feel embarrassed and disappointed. But he left motivated. After explaining his embarrassment, he remarked, "I am going to figure that PunseKebonTae.... out, I am going to be ready next time I test."

Backyard Ballistics

When I was planning for this school year I asked the boys what they are most interested in. They both asserted that they would like to do more science, with more experiments, and more blowing things up. Not long after that I very fortuitously stumbled upon an excellent book, Backyard Ballistics, by William Gurstelle. Not only does Gurstelle explain in recipe fashion how to build such gems as "Cincinnati Fire Kites," and "Tennis Ball Mortars," the book succinctly explains the physics behind each fulfilling explosion.

As a bonus, each chapter highlights a famous scientist and his resume along with some very interesting history. This afternoon we read about Alfred Nobel, his invention of Dynamite, and how his subsequent concern regarding the danger of his invention directed him to the creation of a foundation whose goal is the advancement of peace and science, hence Nobel Prizes. My other major reason for endorsing this book is that I can confidently turn nearly 100% of this subject, save for a little planning, over to Johan.

This weekend, with big help from Johan the boys built a potato cannon. Here they are this morning; getting ready to show me what it can do. Yes, they are wearing pants and sweatshirts in early October, yes it did snow a little this weekend, and yes I am very, very sad to say farewell to the warm days of summer. I am feeling a little slighted right now, I am pretty sure we have just skipped fall. Yesterday afternoon when we checked on our garden, many of the big green pumpkin vines were withered and black.



Here is a shot of them building the contraption after soccer on Saturday.

The joints had to cure overnight before the finishing touches could be made and the project could be tested. It is really remarkable what a little aerosol hairspray as a propellant can do.

Explosions aren't really my idea of a good time... But the look on the boys faces when they came dashing in to ask me if I had heard the bang was priceless. Unfortunately I did not have my camera at that moment. And from the home school side, there is a whole lot of science wrapped up in all of this fun.

The potato cannon effectively demonstrates parts of all three of Isaac Newton's three laws of motion. In case you are curious:

1. The first law of motion tells us that after the potato is launched, it will continue to shoot forward until another force stops it. (In our case that is the large hill behind our house.)
2. The thunk of the potato against the hill is equal to the mass of the potato multiplied by the acceleration of the potato. (We're going to trust Isaac on this and save this math for six or seven more years.)
3. When the potato is fired from the cannon, an equal and opposite reaction is exerted on the support structure holding the cannon. (For us, it is Johan.)

Up next, "The Paper Match Rocket."

Government Grrrrrrrr...

Not far from our home there is a great little park. There is a nice playground, and a bike trail that goes right past it. Big trees provide shade in the summer. But this park has a major flaw, sadly it is encumbered by the fact that it falls under the jurisdiction of the government of the United States of America. Inside this locked building there are toilets, working toilets, with plumbing and running water. I know this because recently one of the mom's on my soccer team gained access to the building and flushed.... But alas, this building is not ADA compliant, as a result the law requires that this building be locked.



While the above building remains securely locked, the city parks department has made this fine accessible unit available.



For the scores of soccer and football practices that are held weekly at this park, there is a single handicapped accessible port-a-potty. I coach two soccer teams, a total of four weekly practices, at this park, for these kids, there is no place to wash their hands. But at least everything is perfectly fair??? Grrrrrrrrrr....

EGGcellent!!!

I am so, so impressed with our chickens. Look what they did in just two days! To be sure, the turkey and the ducks can claim some credit for the larger eggs, but to me this is absolutely remarkable. Yesterday the boys collected 37 eggs! All new since Monday.



Happily I can also report that consumption of these eggs is very good for you. So to our chickens I say THANK YOU, and keep up the good work.

In case you are interested in some of the science behind our desire to keep chickens, I'll quote at length from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon:

Shunned for several decades by orthodox practitioners as a high-cholesterol food wrongly believed to cause coronary heart disease, the egg is making the comeback it deserves....Properly produced eggs are rich in just about every nutrient we have yet discovered, especially fat-soluble vitamins A and D....Eggs from pasture fed hens have nutritional qualities that are far superior to those of battery-raised eggs and even many so-called 'free range' eggs. In particular,they contain a better fatty acid profile, one in which the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids exist in an almost one-to-one ratio; but in eggs from chickens fed only grains, the omega-6 content can be as much as 19 times greater than all important unsaturated omega-3. Other very-long chain and highly unsaturated
fatty acids-necessary for the development of the brain-are found in properly produced eggs but are almost wholly absent in most commercial eggs.

All Camoed Out

I believe that this started on Saturday when the boys went to an "Army" birthday party. The invitation said to wear camo. In the entirety of their wardrobe they have just one piece of camo clothing each. Both boys have a pair of camo shorts. Between Saturday and yesterday (Tuesday), K must have developed a fondness for camo, and realized that it is really a staple of many local wardrobes.

We were at the Grange Co-op (local feed/agricultural supply store) yesterday afternoon and we happened to pass the clothing department (think Carharts and camo). K was impressed. Then, looking for trash bags K spotted the shoe section. There was an ample selection of camo work boots. To which K remarked, while searching around, "Oh, Mama, if I could find some kid size camo boots I could get all camoed out." This he meant and said nonchalantly, almost as if it had been the purpose of our visit to grow our camo wardrobe. And, this he said while wearing shorts with navy blue rain boots. So the comment and his already very Klamath Fallsish outfit made me laugh. And C, not at all sure what was so funny but not wanting to miss the joke joined in. K was embarrassed and mildly offended as he had not intended to be funny.

So, yes the boys were looking a little rough. We were going to the site for clean-up immediately following the Grange, so we had to wear "work" clothes. Before we left the house I had suggested to the boys that they wear regular shoes to the Grange and then put on their rain boots when we got to the site. They staunchly defended their outfit saying, "We see lot's of people wearing these around town." Tough to argue with that...

Sheepdog Nationals!!!

The National Championship Sheepdog Finals were held in Klamath Falls last week. It seemed like a major event for our small town, so the boys and I did not want to miss it. Friday afternoon we headed out on what should have been a 15 minute drive to a ranch near lower Klamath Lake. Unfortunately, for the first time our GPS failed us in a major way. It took us way out to Merrill then had us on unknown dirt roads, at least one time through (possibly) private property, and finally into a cattle ranch. At this point, nearly an hour into an unwanted tour of rural Klamath Country, I decided it was time to take the bull by the horns, throwing caution to the wind I handed the GPS to C and we were navigating blind.

The GPS remained on, and we listened while she (female voice) announced repeatedly in a most perturbed voice that she was "recalculating." On another road trip somebody (Jill?) named her "Hillary" because of her spicy demeanor. On this day "Hillary" seemed too nice as a nickname.

At last our trek through the county was completed and we arrived at the National Championships. Unfortunately our car was covered in a measurable layer of dust. We saw the last three competitors of the day. It was A-MAZE-ING! Perhaps my astonishment can be attributed to the fact that our own dog only listens to us begrudgingly and then only some of the time. These dogs were working, at times over a quarter mile from their handlers, responding to whistle commands and moving the sheep quite effectively through a series of fences and into a corral!

Here are a couple of shots of the boys in front of the competition field. In the distance, and to right of K you can see a couple of the gates that the dogs had to move the sheep through.




I'm not sure why K quickly moved away from a visibly amused C.



I'm posting a short video of the dog at work, but it really doesn't do justice to the incredible ability of the dogs and their handlers. The boys really enjoyed watching the dogs work, mostly I think because of the large timer counting down the minutes for the handler and her dog to complete their tasks. Each handler started with 13 minutes. At that point the 4 sheep were about a quarter mile across the field. The boys couldn't stay in their seats, always leaning up to get a better view of the clock and to relay that information to me as the seconds ticked away.



On our way out we stopped to see the agility demonstration. As the handler was setting up she sort of tauntingly asked the boys if they thought they were faster than her dog. C got sort of shy, and hung back, but K was quite confident that he could beat her dog. The handler then asked if K would like a head start. K was unwilling to accept any unfair advantage...he should have. On the first try that little dog got out fast and never looked back. But on the second try, when he was offered another opportunity for a head start K accepted. This time he won, but not by much. Here is a video of K's second race. In the end you'll hear my voice saying, "Aw, she got yah." But positioned behind the lens, I didn't have the vantage of the handler who pronounced K the winner.

Bowling

To celebrate the completion of our first full week of homeschooling we took the boys bowling. If there is a correlation between the amount of dancing that occurs at the end of the lane and the number of pins knocked down, I think we proved it to be a negative one.

This first video is of C. I believe he is cheering for his ball as it makes it way down the lane.



Not to be outdone, K attentively watches his ball approach the pins. It is hard to spot in this video, but true to form, K's tongue is out and pointing to the left corner of his mouth. We get to see his tongue out in just about every athletic/physical event which requires any amount of concentration, soccer, basketball, etc.



Unfortunately this last video is not the original fist take. After I called out, "You were ROBBED!" K walked by me (with his tongue out) after one of his turns, then stopped and turned to explain to me what his pin had done.



Take one was so cute that I had to have him repeat the performance for the camera.

Bug Wars

Bugs are a very big deal in our house--both C and K love them. About two weeks ago we found a scorpion and promptly placed him in a jar for observation. At breakfast the following morning we found a spider. Some young mind thought it would be great to put the spider in with the scorpion for "SPIDER VS. SCORPION." It made for excellent breakfast mealtime entertainment, so we had repeat performances for a few days. Finding an unwilling participant to join the reigning champion scorpion was part of the fun.

Last week a friend from the neighborhood was over playing with the boys. The three of them decided to venture up the hill behind our house for some bugs. I gave them each a plastic container. When they returned they had collected, 1 praying mantis, 1 grasshopper, and 1 potato bug (potato bugs are absolutely hideous looking bugs). At another house the bugs may have stayed in their own respective containers, but at our house bug watching is a sport to be thoroughly enjoyed. The boys decided to have "PRAYING MANTIS VS. GRASSHOPPER." This proved entertaining for a short time, but even better is "PRAYING MANTIS VS. GRASSHOPPER AND POTATO BUG." Here is a shot of the boys enjoying the bug battle.



Unfortunately, the praying mantis did not work with the speed of the scorpion. The boys lost interest with their Romanesque arena and moved on. In the end, the sun was the only winner.

The Flea!

Both boys are officially at an age now that they are superior eavesdroppers. They hear everything! Even when you think they don't. This summer we learned that spelling is no longer an option either. I was on the phone with Johan and I was spelling R-E-L-I-E-F. I spelled it a few times before he got it. When I hung up, C quickly asked, "Mama, what does R-E-L-I-E-F 'relief' mean?"

Further evidence of the boys' heightened awareness was delivered this Saturday. As we were finishing up K's soccer game, getting ready to move outside for C's game Vicki came up to let me know that the team we would be playing may be down a few players. She explained to me that one player had a broken collar bone, one moved, and one had the flu. I didn't realize how intently K had been listening, but he turned to C and explained matter of factly, "C the other team is going to be missing some players, one has a broken bone, one moved, and one has the FLEA." I regret that I didn't ask him what he thought "the flea" was. I was sort of suppressing a laugh as he inquired, "What?" So, perhaps eavesdropping isn't the most fruitful use of one's time...

O-grease-eus

Yesterday we were studying early Greek civilization. I read some from a children's version of Homer's The Odyssey to the boys. Occasionally I will ask the boys to "tell it back." In their own words, they will tell me about what I have just read to them. K was retelling The Odyssey to me. I did my best to suppress a laugh when in his telling, the main character, whose name is Odysseus, came out as "O-grease-eus." K's narration went on for nearly 15 minutes, with the name "O-grease-eus" coming out just about every sentence. It was fun to hear, but hard to nod and keep a serious, respectful face.

My Gooseness!!!

Every time we drove past the Klamath County fair this year, I denied the boys' longings on fairly solid grounds saying, "It is too dirty." But I promised that when the Thule Lake Fair happens, if we are in town, we will go. I secretly hoped that we would not be in town, but alas we were, and today we went... As county fairs go, I like the Thule Lake Fair. Although it can hardly be deemed "clean," the fair grounds and parking are all on grass, so it gives it a sort of "cleanish" feel. That is until you look around and notice the employees and patrons... Scary...

C will be in fourth grade next year, which makes him eligible to participate in 4-H next year. For some reason we have this notion that we are capable of all things "farm" simply because we have managed to keep some chickens alive for a few months. So we hit the farm animals first, scouting, which would C like to take on if he chooses 4-H. Upon exiting the goat section, we stumbled upon "Mother Goose," who in Thule Lake is apparently moonlighting as a cheesy magician. Both boys loved her, but C especially enjoyed Mother Goose's brand of humor. The climax of the show had Mother Goose (I'll abbreviate, MG) herself drawing in an audience member to help her bake a cake. C loved the costume that MG adorned this good sport with.



To bake this cake MG needed oil, when she pulled out a bottle of motor oil, C squealed with delight, and howled with laughter. MG also needed to dust the pan with flour, she promptly did just that with A Flower. MG knew that she needed baking powder to make her cake rise. Both boys were incredibly amused as MG dashed her pan with Baby powder, and they boisterously cried out, "That's BABY powder." MG couldn't believe her confusion, "My Gooseness," she dramatically announced as she cowered with a look of dramatic befuddlement. Here is a shot of C, loving MG.




MG needed another volunteer. Although they weren't chosen, both boys were very eager to lend a hand.





MG's cake came out of the oven with a flourish. MG amazed us all when she waved her arms, and puff, the motor oil/baby powder cake did not materialize...instead she did the improbable, nay the impossible, a real live rabbit landed in the cake pan. To her astounded audience MG pronounced this cake unfit for consumption, "We can't eat it, I am afraid there is a HARE in there."



MG had some great little entertainment outside her tent as well. The favorite was the lasso. The boys got to try their cowboy skills and attempt to lasso a plastic bull head that was mounted on a hay bale. C tried, but really wasn't as into it as K, C had spotted the midway... Here are some shots of K. I know I am a little biased, but look at that natural talent...

Okay no more putting it off, it was time for the midway. We purchased exorbitantly priced arm bands and we were off. C loves ALL the rides, no fear, he is all in. K is more cautious. He watched C do a few of the more daring rides, and slowly he warmed to the idea. C really wanted K with him, "I promise you K, you won't regret it..." C went on, but then backed down, "Well, I can't promise you, but I think you will like it..." C was right, this is a shot of the first "scary" ride K was willing to do. K was skeptical at first, but quickly decided he had made a good decision. By the second time around K had his arms up in the air and a giant smile on his face. He later told me that he just kept saying to himself, "Be cool, be cool, be cool..."

And of course, bumper cars. I believe that this was the first time K was able to ride and drive all by himself. Another great thing about small town fairs...no lines. The boys were able to go on the bumper cars again, and again, and again...

The fun house was another highlight, again, no lines, no waiting. Can you look at a fun house and not think of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John?

Overall it was fun day at a very small town fair. Clean? Hardly, C had to scrub down in the shower when we got home, K got a pass, he was sound asleep...

Ode to My Boys

The boys have been taking piano lessons for about 8 months now. We took most of the summer off, but I asked them to practice some the other day as we will be starting again this week. They usually practice for 10 or 15 minutes. Typically I ask them to practice and then I am off somewhere else doing laundry, etc. On this day I came upstairs to discover K not only playing piano, but also SINGING. WOW!!! I asked him for a repeat performance so that I could capture it on film. I've pasted a video clip below.



Not to be outdone, C wanted to play his specialty...



I love these boys!!!

Bug Day and Chicken Dinner

On Saturday the Idaho Botanical Garden hosted "Bug Day." What a great event! There were a ton of booths, hands on activities, and more than a few entomologists. The boys came prepared...they caught a Praying Mantis the day before, who came along with us in a yogurt carton. The boys were very excited to visit the "Ask and Entomologist" booth with their specimen.



A close-up of a handsome bug guy...





And another handsome bug guy...




After bug day C and K were very happy to have lunch with their good friends the Edwards. All five Edwards were along for this lunch, and Teresa earned new respect from me. Nothing is easy with five kids, including two under two. WOW!

The day before we headed home all the Edwards followed us out to a fruit stand we had heard about from Cara. This fruit stand is about 30 minutes from Boise, but it was well worth the trip. We got three big boxes of delicious peaches for $12! And an even bigger box of apples for $8! This is amazing fruit, and I have big plans to make apple butter...I have never made apple butter, but am sure Martha is getting nervous...

En route to the fruit stand we spotted this gem.



This is way out in the country, but there were houses on this road. What a great address.

Frisbee Golf

Klamath Falls is not known for its shopping. Browsing through a store (other than Costco) doesn't happen very often for C and K. While in Boise we visited REI. C and K spent nearly half an hour ogling the vast array of pocket knives. Then they discovered the toy section. If you know REI, you know they are not a toy store. This toy section is quite small. But the boys disappeared into this toy section for quite sometime before C emerged with a large box under his arm and a plan. C had found an assortment of 3 frisbee golf discs, the price tag...$29. This he felt was a good deal as the individual discs sell for upwards of $14 each. After A LOT of internal struggle, C decided to spend his own money on this extravagant purchase. Unfortunately REI had just one box left which would leave K with no disc golf set... C proudly made his purchase, and we headed around the the block to another sporting goods store now on a quest for a disc golf set for K.

What luck, at the new store we found the exact same set for $4 less! C was giddy. He was going to save $4. He could not believe his luck, he would return the set to REI and have FOUR more DOLLARS! This was a major windfall. Both boys felt they had secured an incredible bargain. I couldn't help but hold my breath knowing that together they had just spent over $50 on 6 plastic discs.

In the end, the boys would agree that the big splurge was worth it. Our next stop was Ann Morrison park in Boise. They have a fabulous frisbee golf course. This being a new sport for us I had no idea what to expect. But it was a lot of fun! After about our fourth hole, with the temperature reaching to 102 degrees, all of us covered in sweat, and completely out of water, K looked at me with genuine delight and asked, "Mama, did you not know this would be so fun?"

Somewhere around hole #10 there is this amazing sundial. It is called an analemmatic/equatorial sundial, and it really works! I am not kidding, in about two minutes C had it figured out and together we were able to determine the time to the minute and the date to the day. There is a plaque on the sundial that points out that it even adjusts for daylight savings time. I was absolutely astounded at this contraption, but K quickly pointed out that it would be too hard to carry around and that my watch is better.

Here, the boys posed on the sundial.

We played two more times while we were in Boise. The last time we went with Johan, who dazzled the boys with his throwing ability. K remarked, "Mama, did you not know Papa could throw so far?" The game went very well, and for the record, despite my lack of distance Johan and I had an even score, but the game had to be called when C's disc took a detour into the creek. Knowing how much this disc was worth, C boldly waded into the very murky, very slimy water to retrieve his disc. Unfortunately these things don't float. Although C was unable to recover his own disc, he did find two other discs, of the more expensive variety. He left ecstatic with his good fortune. On the way back to the car both boys were discussing how many discs might be in the creek and how much money they might make by wading in...

I am posting two videos below of the boys on their very first attempts at frisbee golf.

Good To Be Home

We spent the last week in Boise with Johan. The runway here in Klamath Falls is being repaved so the jets are stationed in Idaho this summer. We have made a few trips to Boise this summer. It has been fun, but I think the boys are ready to stop packing for a while. (I'll post some pictures tomorrow of our Boise trip.) This afternoon K, looking around as if addressing a crowd, and speaking loudly to ensure that his entire audience could respond asked, "Raise your hand if it is good to be home." The room wasn't quite at capacity, it was filled with -- me and C. I hesitated, paused in my diligent cantaloupe cutting, smiling at him. K cocked his head sideways and inquired, "Aren't you glad?"

And another gem...

We were running errands this afternoon and a man told me to, "Have a good day, Ma'am." C asked, "Why did he call you Ma'am?" I don't know why, but I am still shocked at the ability of young children to spot irony and to see through so many situations. Without thinking I explained, "Well, he was being respectful, or maybe he just thought I was old." No hesitation...C explains, "That doesn't seem very nice."

Biking and Banjo Bob

Mountain biking at Lake of the Woods is one of my favorite day trips from Klamath Falls. The boys carry their water guns all the way over the pass in their backpack for the inevitable water fight and swimming at the end of the ride. There is an incredibly well maintained trail that goes from Fish Lake, up and over the pass to Lake of the Woods. The trail is seven miles (one-way) and it has some pretty significant climbs, but once you make it to the top, the ride down is a ton of fun. The boys are always pretty quiet during the ascent, but on the way down we are led by a chorus of, "Wooohoos," and various boisterous shouts.

Yesterday we started at Fish Lake because we prefer the facilities at Lake of the Woods. When we arrived at Lake of the Woods we settled the kids in for some water time and Johan and Larry raced back for one of the trucks. When I say raced, I mean they literally raced, knowing that Nikki and I were timing them and would go for our own best time when they came back. In the past I have done that ride in 50 minutes. But Johan and Larry did it in 35 minutes!!! Needless to say all of my trash talking was fruitless, they whipped us...

Lake of the Woods has a great restaurant and a wonderful deck. We had dinner at the restaurant and were entertained by "Banjo Bob." There was live entertainment! It was the most folksy thing ever. Banjo Bob called the kids up to teach them how to play spoons and call the roll. They even got some of their own mic time getting to make animal sounds while Banjo Bob played his harmonica AND banjo--at the same time. Did I say folksy? The boys were so inspired they decided to show off the incredible genetic gifts with which they have been bestowed... The boys danced.

Go C, Go C, Go C!!!



That is Banjo Bob behind C in the picture above. I am pretty sure that C is dancing to the tune of "Goin' up to Cripple Creek, Goin' up to Cripple Creek to have little fun..." This next picture doesn't capture the drama, but K possesses talent that is no less refined than that of C.

I Love Klamath Falls

This was front page -- above the fold news in our town on Wednesday. I am going to cut and paste directly from the Herald and News site. The headline....

4-H turkeys stolen


These turkeys, raised by Thomas and Kirstin Volk since mid-March as 4-H projects, were stolen from their backyard Thursday night or Friday morning.
Children raised the birds to sell at county fair
BY JILL AHO
Monday, August 3, 2009 11:58 PM PDT
H&N Staff WriterIt was 12-year-old Thomas’ first 4-H project, and it was 11-year-old Kirstin’s first for-sale project.With just a few days left until the Klamath County Fair, the Volk children had high hopes for the standard bronze turkeys they had been raising since March. They hoped the turkeys would help offset the cost of raising their rabbits and chickens for show.But when the family went to feed the turkeys Friday morning, they discovered the 4-H projects had been stolen from the backyard of their Crest Street home.

And then...the next day this headline.

Good Samaritan donates turkeys to 4-Hers

Children's turkeys were stolen last week
Thursday, August 6, 2009 12:12 PM PDT
Two children whose 4-H turkeys were stolen late last week will take stand-in turkeys to the Klamath County Fair. Although police have yet to identify who took the turkeys, a good Samaritan donated a male and female white turkey to Thomas and Kirstin Volk.“We had a lot of people call to donate turkeys,” their mother Robbin Volk said.

I love that this is our news, not that this is happening, but I love that this is headline news for us. Bad things are happening. Very bad things are happening, and in Klamath Falls 4-H Turkeys are being stolen.

Peaches and Bees

This morning I went out early to check on Gobble and take care of some chicken chores. I decided to trim some branches off one of our Hawthorn trees as a treat for the goats. Using a very cool tool (not sure what it is called but it is basically a little curved saw on the end of a long stick) I sawed off a few small branches. Feeling slightly more ambitious I selected a much larger limb. I sawed about halfway through and the branch shifted slightly. I heard a buzzing sound. But I didn't stop sawing. Intent on my task I didn't stop sawing, even as I swatted buzzing insects away. The branch shifted again and the buzzing intensified. Fortunately, at this point my saw became stuck and during this interim I realized that the buzzing had a source and that my labors had repositioned a very large bee hive by about 3 feet. With typical grace and calm, I dashed shouting across the yard, flailing my arms and legs about. My sudden dash startled the goats, and they too ran across the yard, hopping over a few ducks in the process. The ducks then noisily flapped their wings in an effort to resettle themselves away from the malay.

I decided to deal with the bees in the evening, hoping that they would perhaps calm down in the evening. I left the scene, saw suspended and hive dangling.

We headed for Ashland and peaches. Vally View Orchard had some (although slightly hail damaged peaches) as well as apples and nectarines.

Our goal was to harvest enough peaches to cut and freeze for cobbler throughout the winter. This was our first foray into food preservation. Unfortunately we were about a week late for peaches, but the peaches we did get were absolutely incredible, I am talking juice running down your arm delicious. In the end we took about 13 pounds of peaches, 10 pounds of apples, and 4 pounds of nectarines. We blanched, removed skins, cut and froze 5 bags of peaches. Looking forward to pie this winter!




















The sun was setting by the time we made our way back to the scene of the bees. Johan was ready to lead C and K into the bee battle. None of the boys had been present when I discovered the hive earlier, all were excited to see the hive and were ready to take it down! The initial plan was to knock the hive into a plastic bin and then quickly cover it with a lid. We soon realized that the probability of success in said endeavor was nil. We opted for quick and sudden although somewhat haphazard destruction. Having freed the long saw from its position high in the tree, Johan now extended it, and circled the hive. C and K were nervous and giddy, excited and scared all at once. C kept a running commentary and relayed each development to me (I was about 15 yards further away from the excitement than him), he didn't want me to miss anything...

The first hit was a direct hit, but those bees are skilled craftsmen and the hive moved little. Two more blows in quick succession resulted in hive chaos, from our vantage. All four of us retreated but quickly realized that we were not followed by the anticipated hummmm of angry bees. We crept closer. Johan and the boys were not going to leave until they were sure that the hive had been destroyed and that we could safely return in the morning. So we crept closer, but still on alert and ready to run. Remarkably the hive had survived the saw and remained securely attached to the branch and virtually unscathed. Two more big swings, and the hive was split and down. This time we left, quickly, we all made it to the car unstung.

Hobble and Gobble

A couple months ago we decided to raise some chickens for eggs as well as a couple turkeys, presumably for Thanksgiving. We undertook this adventure with another family, the division of labor has been wonderful. We share chicken chores, and expenses.

Shortly after we welcomed the chickens into our garage (they spent a few weeks there until they had enough feathers to be outdoors) we visited The Grange for some chick food and supplies. If you have never seen a big box filled with more than 100 tiny 3 day old ducklings you cannot imagine how incredibly cute tiny waterfowl can be. Because we already had chickens it wasn't too much of a stretch for me to answer in the affirmative when the boys asked, "May we have one, please?" And still later when we learned of a family that had a couple of young goats in need of a home, we were somehow prepared to embrace our new agricultural calling.

In March of 2009 we were responsible for a grand total of zero farm animals. In fact I had lived each day of my life, until this spring, with no agricultural/farm responsibilities. Fast forward, today we have 6 ducks, 2 turkeys, 1 rooster, 17 hens, and 2 goats. This experience has been incredibly interesting. We have all gained significant practical knowledge, and had a lot of fun in the process. To be sure it is a lot of work, but it is redeeming, and it is fruitful. We believe that we now have 6 laying hens and are harvesting an average of 5 fresh, healthy, organic, truly free range eggs daily!

The turkeys turned out to be one tom (male turkey) and one hen (female turkey). I had always heard that turkeys can be mean, even spiteful birds. Ours may not be old enough for such distasteful behavior yet, because so far these two are very sweet. They actually like us, unlike the other birds who I presume merely tolerate us for the food. The hen was either born with or at a very young age sustained an injury to her toe. She does not walk well, but does not appear to be in pain, and manages to get around quite well. For this reason, she is called Hobble. The Tom therefore is Gobble.


Sadly, Gobble, is sick. We aren't sure what is wrong with him. Early last week he was being picked on by some of the hens. So we isolated him. The next day when we went to check on him he was extremely lethargic, and did not greet us with his typical display of fanned out feathers. Usually along with the fanned out feathers his red neck would turn bright blue and that red thing (it must have a name?) that hangs off his nose would grow and hang down past his chest. Now it has been 4 days and Gobble won't get up. He is eating, but he isn't getting up.

Goodbye Easter Bunny

Today we were driving and C suddenly insists, "Mama, promise me that you did not put out the things that the Easter Bunny put out." I had an idea about what he was asking so I asked, "What do you mean?" Again, "Promise me that you didn't put out the stuff that the Easter Bunny put out." Not much more clarity, but unfortunately he is not going to lose the "promise me" language. Now I am pretty sure I know where this conversation is headed, but I need to distract C until I can get away from K. Really creative, "Hold on C, Mama has to make a quick phone call."

I had some clues that C was starting to connect the dots related to these notorious characters. I had decided that if he ever directly asked me I wouldn't lie. The direct challenge was likely a good indication that he had already come to some conclusions of his own.

Fast forward, we arrive at our destination, K jumps out to play with his friends B and R. I ask C to hold on for just a minute. "What makes you ask about the Easter Bunny?" C explains that a friend of his told him that he saw his parents putting out his Easter candy. Tough to argue with that... I asked him what he thought. He answered that he thought I put his Easter candy/books out too. I asked him if he really wanted to know and he nodded agreement. So I told him that Papa and I put out things for Easter in the spirit of the Easter bunny and Easter. C wants more clarity, "So the Easter Bunny isn't real?" Right. I guess I was naive to hope that would be the end of the discussion, but C wanted to take it all the way. We had to cover St. Nicholas, Santa, and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Surprisingly, I think Rudolph was the hardest for him to take. This evening he called me aside again to address the Tooth Fairy.

In the end C did really enjoy being in on this grand secret with me. He is very much looking forward to continuing the game for K and his young cousins. He is under a strict secrecy code, and I think he understands that his new knowledge is not for circulation. He was also really relieved to know that in addition to continuing the "game" for K we could continue it for him as well.

Strenuous Shmenuous

We took the boys backpacking in the Sawtooths a couple weeks ago. The hike itself was absolutely gorgeous we followed Falls Creek up to Falls Creek Lake. Falls Creek is really a long series of small and stunning waterfalls. The guidebook explained that the hike was strenuous and noted an overall elevation gain of just over 3,000 feet. Because the distance was just five miles I elected to ignore the "strenuous" note. This turned out to be a very bad decision. This hike was gruesome. It took us nearly seven hours to hike in and almost five to hike out. The boys were amazing. C carried his pack the entire time! K needed some assistance, we carried his pack about half of the time. Poor Max was wearing his own pack for the first time, a burden that he felt was completely uncalled for. The adventure was almost worth it. The scenery was breathtaking and we were really out on our own. Except for one group of campers on the other side of the lake we had this incredible lake all to ourselves.

C's biggest complaint was not the extreme hike, the extreme heat, the biting flies, nor the big pack. It was the bath that his parents subjected him to. Before allowing these two dust/soot covered boys into the tent we insisted on a dip into the lake that was only weeks ago snow. Good sports though, we subjected ourselves to the same torture.

This next picture doesn't do the location justice. This is the bottom portion of an approximately 75 foot waterfall that delivers water from Upper Falls Creek Lake to the Lower Lake. The plants growing here smelled so good. I have no idea what kind of plants they are...

Dirt Boarding

What do you do when you discover you have access to a 20 foot pile of dirt and an abundant supply of scrap wood?

a) Experiment with "body surfing" down the hill (with little thought or care for what you happen to be wearing).

b) Experiment with all available scrap wood to determine which slides the fastest/handles the best.

c) Ride each face of the hill and assign each a rating ala ski hill (i.e. green, blue, black, and double diamond).

d) All of the above

*Following are two video clips of the boys' endeavors. The first is K, the second is C. Just click on the play button.

The boys have discovered that the construction site is full of untold treasures. Today our short site visit yielded; one worm carried home in a discarded coffee cup, one dirt board constructed of broken concrete forms, and two pairs of shoes each filled with approximately 1/2 cup of dirt.