Valentine's Day Surprise

 This Valentine's Day, a FedEx delivery person came to the door wtih a big box.  It was a box of flowers for the girls from their Grand-Daddy!  How romantic!

 Rachel, Katie and I went on a walk today.  It was almost 40 degrees outside, and we had been cooped up so long we just suited up and headed out.  The whole family has been sick with one thing after another for weeks now, and today we were the three who were healthy enough for a jaunt.

We were sad that the snow on Hill Road had melted so much that we could not get very good sled riding, but we did find some turkey tracks, made some good snowballs, and enjoy the fresh air.  I was able to add some extra fun and excitement by stepping through eighteen inches of snow into a groundhog hole.  I used to think Punxatawney Phil was cute, but now that I live here, I see him differently.  Framed in a circle, with little ticks at twelve, three, six and nine!

Chicken Update

I think the last time our chickens were on this blog, they were still chicks.  I thought it might be interesting for some of you, even those who are not named Anne, to see how they are doing.  I have found out that my cousin Anne is a really good chicken-picture-taker.  They never stop moving!  All these quick little movements make it hard to get a good shot. 

Well, our chickens are not as pampered as hers, but here are two representative pictures of them.  The rooster does have a name.  Amanda named him Jumper after she noticed a certain behavior pattern of his.  The hens are just called hens. 

All our hens and Jumper are Barred Plymouth Rock chickens.  We are also hosting four other chickens this winter.  (Snowbirds!)  There are two Comet hens, which are red and slightly smaller than the Barred Rocks, and then there are two Silkies, a rooster and a hen.  I am not a fan of the Silkies.  They just look weird to me.  The Comets are nice, though. 

The chickens had been pretty consistently laying about three eggs a day for most of the winter.  We were pleased at that, as we had been told they might not lay any.  Now that the days are getting longer, there are usually eight eggs out there each day.  There is one chicken, maybe two, laying really big eggs.  All the eggs are brown.

I like the chickens more now that they are grown, although usually I prefer baby animals of any type.  The chickens have so much character!  Out of the farm animals with which I have made acquaintance, I would definitely say chickens have the most pizzazz.  :)

Yummy Calzone

We made this for dinner one night, and everyone really liked it. It was whole wheat pizza dough for the crust, and turkey, broccoli, bacon, cheddar cheese and ranch dressing inside. I tried another one with mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce and some pepperoni, but it wasn't really that good because the bread soaked up all the sauce. I would like to try one with beef, onions, peppers and white American cheese. Also thought of tomatoes, onions, peppers, mushrooms and mozzarella. Any other suggestions?

The Clock

Here is a video of the clock that my parents gave us for Christmas. Isn't it beautiful? Sorry about the shaky video. That was because Leah Carole was yanking on my leg while I was recording. You can hear her say "EE GA!" about 2/3 of the way through. I think that means "the clock!" in baby language.

Leah Learns to Walk!

Here is a video of some of Leah's first steps. She has been walking on her own for about a week, and it is amazing how fast she is improving. Maybe if kids wait a long time to walk, then they learn it faster?

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