Alienation - A CHAOS Novel by Jon S. Lewis

Well, I just finished reading Alienation, a CHAOS Novel by Jon S. Lewis, sent to me by BookSneeze. It wasn't the easiest book for me to get into, but I had just finished reading two other books that were very big on the action and adventure, and I was really in the mood for something else. This was a page-turner, no matter how much trouble I had getting into it. There was action nearly every other page. If I had been a kid that was into reading a little bit, I would have thoroughly enjoyed the book from cover to cover. As it is, I didn't think it was bad. The story line was great, and not having read the first book, I wasn't lost, yet this book didn't rehash much from the previous book. It was nice to be able to step into the story even though I hadn't read the first third of the series. I also liked the comics and drawings both in the beginning of the book and at the end, although it's also nice to make up in your mind what you think a character looks like. I think this would be an easy enough read for any kid around the age of twelve. Big kids, if you like to read what your kids are reading, you will also enjoy the book, provided you like action and adventure and stories of what may seem impossible. I do recommend this book for other readers.

The Farm in Winter

I haven't been on the blog in quite some time ... In fact, we've had a Christmas and now it's next year! Finally, the weather has turned to January. We're struggling with keeping the buckets of water from being frozen over, but other than that, Decker's Acres is going pretty well. We are concerned for our turkeys, however. Sometimes they just seem so stupid! Georgie is laying eggs now, and we have about a dozen going in the incubator. Of course, when they hatch, we'll have one a day hatch, as that is how we are getting the eggs. Georgie is a Blue Slate, the daddy, as far as we can tell, is Quagmire, a Narrangansett. Either way, they'll be pretty birds. We do have a Blue Slate tom, Donatello, but he's not dominate. He's the self-blue color and is just lovely! Anyway, the other day, when the weather turned, Georgie thought it would be great fun to stay out in the rain. She got herself all wet, and then the temperatures dropped down into the teens. She's fine, now. Then Foreman, our Red Bourbon tom, thought staying outside, perched high up on a beam would be a great way to spend the night as the snow blew around him. Duh! Lucy, our Red Bourbon hen, also likes to get out and roam the farm, but she hasn't acted dumb yet.

The goats are doing well. Betsy kidded today, but had problems and the little buck died. He was a cutie. I couldn't tell you if Lillie or Ginger were preggers, however. They should be. I witnessed the act, and later that week, Freddie showed no interest in them. Jade is going to have to get out of the bachelor pen. She's had multiple opportunities, but putting her back in with the girls isn't a good idea either because she keeps the other girls from eating. She's a bit crazy. She's always bleating. You'd think there was something wrong with her because generally a goat that loud and obnoxious has some sort of health issue. Not Jade. She's just loud. We've had her for almost a year now, and she's always made her voice heard.

The chickens are laying pretty good. We have about 25 pullets, and they are really stepping it up! The barred rocks lay well, and one or two of the ISA Browns do as well, but it's the young Americaunas that are really bringing it on! So with the 35 or so hens we have, we're getting about ten eggs a day, at least half of them are green or blue. The Marans and the Wellsummers are starting to lay as well, and usually once a day there's a dark brown one in the mix.

Well, enjoy the pictures! It's back to work I go!

I sure had a wonderful birthday weekend. This one probably left me feeling better than year's previous. I think part of the reason is because I really wasn't expecting very much. I did expect to go out to eat for pizza with the family, I did expect to see a movie with my family, but that was about it. Instead, I received probably the most beautiful card from my husband, some extremely needed quality time, and a major dose of appreciation by my family. You know how it gets when you are extremely busy. You start to feel taken advantage of when it's up to you to come up with everything from the smallest meal to an immaculate house. I have to say, I always fail in the immaculate house part. We are constantly cleaning up after our dogs. One is very old, and he eats any trash he can get into. It gives him indigestion, and he has accidents. Harley, the doberman, also has an accident now and then, but she hasn't developed the camel bladders the older 2 dogs have. Needless to say, it seems my house always has some sort of pet smell to it. The smallest meal can be coming up with a snack for my daughter's lunch or a frozen pizza dinner. Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming. I am the type of person who aims to please all those around her, and sometimes I fall short; especially in the meal department. I know there is stuff Chris doesn't care for. There are things Kellie and Alex don't want to eat (not so much for Kellie). I always feel I have to do my best to please them all. Today I started early with praise team, and after church, we had a rehearsal. Chris very thoughtfully put together a dinner that was absolutely delicious. My favorite part: I didn't have to cook this home made meal. I also didn't have to come up with the meal plan. It was pretty fantastic.

Another plus: I have tomorrow off work. I don't think, after putting in over 10 hours for two days last week, that I absolutely NEED an extra day in my weekend. I'm so glad I have it. The day will be spent making Christmas candy and setting up the tree we cut down today. It feels so good not to have to go in to work tomorrow. I'm still all compressed from being stressed so badly. I need the extra day to recouperate. Speaking of rest, I'd better get some.

Happy Thanksgiving from Deckers' Acres!

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a great one that started out on the farm and moved over to Chris' parents' house. Chris and I woke up before the butt-crack of dawn only to get dressed up in our camouflaged finest and head out into the field and into our respective trees. Chris handed me a bag of apples that I tossed out in the field in front of my tree. I scattered them well and looked forward to seeing them shine red later when the sun came up. It was still dark with a sliver of light dawning on the eastern horizon as I situated myself in my tree, hauling out my book and setting aside my gloves as it was warm. As the sun came up, the wind picked up, and it became colder, but I could see my red apples strewn about the field as I knew I would when it started to get light. Chris texted me that there was a guy hunting about fifty yards into the woods across from him. Then our neighbor, having the day off apparently, started up his Bobcat and started cleaning out his sheep pen. At about 8:30am, I decided I'd had enough and texted Chris that I'd be getting out. He texted back that if there were any deer coming from the north that our neighbor would have kicked them up upon starting his tractor. I headed to the barn to take care of our critters. Quagmire (the narangansett turkey) was in rare form, gobbling and strutting like the tom turkey he is. He was strutting to show Donatello (blue slate turkey) just who the big boss man is. Turns out George (other blue slate turkey) is really a Georgie, and Quagmire is working hard at making her a mommy. I've got my work cut out for me this weekend, and I have to hunt Saturday as well. It would be nice to get a fine deer. But, first the turkey pen needs to be cleaned out, and I should make a nesting box for Georgie. Boy, we thought we had all toms! Perhaps Esau is a hen as well. Only time will tell. I have to also get the deck furniture put away. I have to have a tire repaired on my Forrester. I have to get more hay. I have to unbury the trailer in order to do that. I have to also use Chris' truck to do that. I have to check the fluids in my Forrester and make sure everything is up to snuff. I have to put stuff away in the barn and dismantle the turkey coop we started and get that put in the barn. I HAVE TO GO HUNTING!!! Somehow, we need to move the freezer out of the chicken coop and into the barn and I have to expand on the chicken coop. I have to move the blue marans from the turkey coop to the chicken coop. Oh, what a weekend this will be! I have to clean up my house. I also have to work late today just to get my regular work done. I need a vacation. :)

The Encounter - A Review of a Good Little Book

I read The Encounter courtesy of BookSneeze. At a mere one hundred and forty pages, The Encounter is a quick read. It is advertised as a parable, which I suppose it is, but after studying parables in my church, it is a little simple, even though I thought the ending did catch me a bit off guard. Maybe it's because I've had to live this lesson to learn it, but I wasn't thrilled or overjoyed with the book. I did think it was good and worth the read, but it's simplicity drives the point home in an almost cliche way. I would have been happier with the book if it had left a little more up to the imagination. The basic issue at hand is forgiveness, and the type of story that the book presents seems to have been done before. I did learn, in reading the author's notes at the end of the story, that the other part of the parable was more about uplifting the downtrodden. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to do this in our everyday living. Perhaps that's why I missed the point, or perhaps it was in the gift from the rich man to his lowly mother where I missed the point. You would have to think that a wealthy relative would take care of a downtrodden relative, especially in regard to the whole forgiveness part. It would only be in going beyond, perhaps helping a poor stranger, where the parallel to what God does for us every single day, blessing us with His best, would make more sense to me. I don't know. It was a good book. It was a worthy read, but it just didn't measure up to other parable stories I've read before. Perhaps therein lies my disappointment.

done molting?

Our chickens are starting to lay again! Oh, thank goodness! We collected three eggs yesterday and Chris called me with the news of there already being four eggs in the nesting boxes this morning! He also said one of the cuckoo marans was in a nest, too. Could our young chickens be getting ready to start laying? I really hope so! They are nearly seven months old and should be starting to lay any day now. We'd get dark brown eggs from the cuckoo marans, the two wellsummers and, in a couple more months, the blue marans. We'll really be able to share the bounty with our church members in the next couple of months. We'll have plenty of eggs to share! Between the younger (under seven months) and the older chickens, we have about twenty hens. It will really be something to get more than a dozen eggs per day from these birds. Then, in a couple months when the blue marans are of age, there will be an additional five hens. We'll keep one of the two roosters (Bert) as well. Mike, just so you know, is back to crowing again with his broken crower. Bert or the other blue maran rooster also crows like Mike. Could it be a maran thing?

Turkeys and Chickens and things

I had to clip the wings of my peacocks the other day. There's nothing worse than being in a hurry to leave your house and having one of your peachicks fly out of the barn into the hayloft area of another part of the barn, then out onto the back deck. Claude and Henri are still very little yet, about eight inches in length overall. It wouldn't take a very large hawk or another critter to take one down and eat it. I don't want that to happen yet. So instead of just catching Claude and putting him in the barn, I clipped him. Then I caught Henri and did the same and carried the scissors out to my Sub and took off. Claude is a pretty good flyer considering his age and body size. He's the braver of the two peachicks. He's always leading Henri around.

Donatello, the self-blue Blue Slate Turkey is developing a beard!!! It's almost an inch long already. I noticed it this morning when he let me pet him for awhile. I love how feathers are both soft and hard at the same time. You pet them, and it's like petting a soft, inpenetrable wall.

Mike is back to crowing (the only rooster we kept out of the twenty hatchlings and baby chicks we've raised). His crower is so broken, but it's neat to hear. One of the 7 month old Blue Maran roosters (there are two - I'll keep one) also has a broken crower and he sounds a lot like Mike. We're keeping one, and my friend Michelle has named him Bert. Maybe it's a Maran thing. The hens make much deeper sounds than their Ameraucauna friends.

Oh, Lily and pregnant friends are still fat. I think they are all just fat, now. Not pregnant ... :)