Saturday

Matthew and David came to my bedside at 5:30 am to ask if we could go fishing.  I told them to GO BACK TO BED.  David did, Matthew went to maul Zuke.  Here is Matthew at 9:30 when he is supposed to have a play date with Wyland.

We went to the Cobble Hill Children and Apple Pie Fair.  It was a beautiful day and Clive was performing with his fiddle group.

Oh, I was a very proud mum!

A wonderful reminder of the many reasons we live here.

Hunting for "buried treasure".  They came away saying "nothin' good in there..."  I explained why there is a fair and its not about the prizes, blah, blah, blah.  We bid on a piglet.

After planting more blueberry plants it was time to head to the boat.

Finally, fishing!

We are across from Kingscote house right beside Salt Spring Island.  Basically, we go where there is sun.  We were joined by a sea lion and an eagle.  Clive caught a little halibut.  

Floating

It's been slow for the boat haulers, so Marc got a deal to put Uncle Jake in the water.  We madly rushed to get as much on board as we could before making the trip to Cowichan Bay.

The boys were beyond excited.  Of course, this was a school night so that made it even better.  No time for homework or the usual monotonous bedtime routine...

Friday night games.  Shooting each other just before bed.  We are such good parents.

These guns are best at night because they light up.  They can actually shoot each other with a little laser that stops the gun for a bit.  

Around the Farm

Eating yogurt tubes in the cocoon.

New compost bins and new blueberry plants.  All so neat and tidy thanks to our wwoofer!

Mitsy, our new barn cat.  She has been shaved because her long fur was matted.  She prefers to be upstairs in the barn.  She is very affectionate.

Her owners couldn't keep her in their house because of litter box problems.  We hope she will be happy here.

Mothers Day

I guess she isn't really a mother, but she knows how to relax on Mothers Day!

Summer arrived suddenly requiring various water games.  The sprinkler under the trampoline was a big hit.

Marc picked this pool up at liquidation world for $30.00.  We figured it would be lots of fun.

The boys tried it for awhile...

...but nothing beats the green slimy pond!  Clive cleaned out the old shovel and other stuff that had "fallen" in it, and away they went!  Good times!

I threw together a dinner of leftovers.  This was David's plate.  Marc thought it looked rather gourmet and did David really deserve that?!  He ate it all, even the tomato.  

David and Matthew have been playing a game where they pretend to be caterpillars, then they go in the hammock and make a cocoon and then come out as butterflies.  They can be sooo sweet together!

What a beautiful day to spend in the comfort of my own yard with my lovely family.  The boys all made cards and crafts for me and were so excited to give them to me.  David gave me his on Friday, as did Matthew, but Clive waited 'till Sunday.  Watching them play together all day was the best gift of all!

Good Rooster

Patches saved a chicken this week.  An eagle came swooping down for a chicken while he herded all the girls to hide under Jerry's van.  All the commotion got the dogs barking and the eagle took off.  

Since then, Marc got angry with birds coming in to the back yard, so he has been clipping their wings, even Patches.  They can still run fast.

The apple trees are in blossom and look fabulous.

We went to the Bench School Fun Fair yesterday.

David and Matthew were scared on these swings.  David got off for the "up and down" and left Matthew by himself.  While the other kids whooped and hollered, my kids sat statue still and looked at the ground.

The butternut squash is finally outside.  Now that the chickens can't destroy it.

If all of my tomato plants survive, I will have many, many, tomatoes.

Perhaps I can sell them with the eggs.  None of my children like tomatoes, but I keep trying.  I have planted several varieties in the hopes they will decide to like them.

The weather has been like summer this weekend.  We had a bonfire Friday night and Saturday night.  Oh how I love eating/living outside!

camp

Game night.  Clive's favorite game.  David and Matthew are simply enjoying the excitement.

and the chips.

This weekend was great!  This is just a little bit of what I was fed.  I cannot begin to list off all of the fabulous meals I enjoyed, it would make some people upset...but it was (in Matthew's word's) AWESOME.  I slept in a warm room with my two Jazzercise friends as roommates, it was terrific.

I learned to use a chainsaw and an axe.  I built TWO birdhouses, just whipped 'em off.  I watched a young Daniel Day-Louis cook gourmet food over an open fire and then ate the food and watched some more (drool, love those Irish).  Then I learned about wilderness survival, so camping with my brother Clive is now doable.

Thank you for having me, Sharon.  I watched you run around and keep everyone happy, you did a great job (of course), I hope to be back next year!  I had some trepidations as I am not religious and this is a Christian camp, really... should I be here?  Am I taking advantage?  I hope not, it was great.

Fiddlin' Fellows

Clive performed with his fiddle group in Victoria this weekend.  Their teacher entered them in for the large ensemble competition.  They tried their best but were up against a bunch of adults, so they didn't win.  It was a great experience though, the adjudicators gave some great feedback and really, just getting on stage to perform is pretty cool.  Clive was nervous, but did well and I hope he will try again next year.  Watching the kids perform was fun, even David and Matthew managed to behave for two hours.

The chicks are getting bigger.  They flew around the room as I tried to clean their pool.  My wwoofer was trying to eat his breakfast, but the chaos was too much.  He caught them and put them back in the bin.  Ahhh, life on the farm.

This is where the pampass grass used to be.  We discovered that the butterfly bush has now fallen over. Same as the last little tree that fell over, rotten roots.  It has been very windy and I guess that's all it took to finish it.

This is where the other pampass grass was.  Clive asked if he could dig the hole deeper and build a fort here.  He only has about four hundred seventy forts on the property.  I said no.  That is the cherry tree in the background.  Come on cherries!