Planet of the Apes

The summer is quickly wrapping up, as the boys spent a relaxed week in Port Austin with their grandparents soaking in the final days of freedom before they return to their school routine.  Even Alex and the BF made it up to spend a night camping with the crew.  These are the weeks that bring a multitude of emotion for me as a former homeschool mom while I read posts from friends about their preparations for homeschool and their choices for curriculum.  Those choices are now out of my control and although part of me wishes I had that power again it is very clear that the boys need to be in charge of their own destiny when it comes to performing in the academic arena. 

Being a creature who enjoys and requires regular change I am grateful to have the opportunity to learn and experience being a charter school parent and add that to my extending list of educational endeavors.  Benjamin and I went out to Chatfield last week so he could take his math assessment test but the school was still in disaray as teachers were getting their classrooms prepared for the year so we did not get to see his teacher or classroom yet.  While he was at the Tiger game with his grandpa and uncle I attend the new parent/student orientation and was happy to meet a go-getter mom rounding up people from our area to car pool with.  I am not the only one who has been concerned about the time and gas required for transport to Chatfield.  So with four of us sharing the duties it will be a relief to us all.

Fox had the first cross-country meet of his sophmore season at Croswell-Lexington this past week.  He had a legitimate run but did not reach his time goal.  The course was seriously cross-country, most of it was through the woods which was full of rugged, rooty terrain, and lots of hills once they came out of the woods and through the meadow then into the final straight-away.  He commented that his quads and the top of his knees began to hurt about a third of the way through the course causing him to losing significant positioning but he pressed on and finished strong with a 21:23. 

Sophmore orientation was also this past week.  Fox has a pretty intense schedule for next year with AP Prep English, AP Ancient History, AP Psychology, Algebra II, one trimester of Biology, Chemistry, and Accounting.  Yowza!

Friday we fit in one last field trip to the Detroit Zoo before our membership expired.  It was an incredibly busy day, so much so that we had to park on the very roof of the parking structure!  Inside wasn't so terrible as we got on the second train heading toward the back of the zoo and held a brief conference to determine which animals were a "must-see".  Fox has been intrigued by the monkeys and apes so we spent a good deal of time there and had some great sightings.  Ben wanted to go through the Outback area to check on the baby joeys.  Ethan was all about the prairie dogs.  My only requirement was our traditional photo by the bear fountain.

The Arctic Circle is always big time fun as the boys got silly by the ice wall, this time trying to leave a mark with their rear ends, the imprint did not work after quite some time all they ended up with were frozen a**es which showed up in blue on the heat sensor in the polar shack!  Certain places will always remind me of my mother: zoos, gardens, and choir concerts in particular. As we walked around the boys shared several memories they had of gramma when they were really little and we used to get together with her for field trips when we homeschooled.  I was amazed at some of the things that came to their minds.  My emotions are not so much sad now as they are grateful that they have good memories and can share them freely. 

Coming up: Ethan's Open House, Brown City HS Cross-Country Meet, and learning Italian!

Final thoughts: No plant can live if the root is cut away.....where are you rooted and grounded in your life?  Are you in a place where you can thrive and grow or do you need to cut the roots of resentment, bitterness, doubt, or self-loathing in order to be refreshed and renewed?

To deep to dig....I think not.

Be well my friends.

Green Acres

What a week we had at the Eastern Michigan STATE Fair!  Our first time raising and showing pigs turned out to be a satisfying and successful endeavor and although we talked about taking the next summer off the boys are gung-ho to get at it again with a new strategy to improve on what they've already accomplished.  While I knew that the chance of winning in the market categories was pretty slim I put out an incentive to the boys that if they both placed in Showmanship I would purchase their ride tickets for them.  They both had money saved to buy their own ride bands.  Benjamin placed 6th for Showmanship in the Pre-Junior class up against some very good showman who already had a few years under their belt.  His barrow (Rocky) took 5th in his market class and his pair came in 3rd, he also got 2nd Place for his Record Book.

Ethan really surprised me by receiving the Champion Beginner Showman award.  He had great energy in the ring, stayed by his pig and kept her off the fence, and what the judge like most when he spoke with him in the holding pen was his confidence.  Great job, buddy!  His gilt did not receive any recognition in market class but she was great to work with for showmanship and the friendliest of all three hogs.  Ethan also won an iPod Touch for getting the most trophy sponsors and ads for the program book, which probably meant more to him than any other ribbons he could have won.  Auction was the other unknown going into this adventure.  The day was rainy and they started earlier than they had in past years so the buyers trickled in.  Ben went up 11th and was lucky to get $2 a pound, more buyers came in by the time Ethan, who was 68th, got up there and his went for $2.40 a pound.  These are both legit prices and from what I'm told our county is very blessed by the support of families, farms, and businesses in the area; at many other fair auctions the kids are lucky to get $1 per pound for their animals.

There was a bit of disorientation in the indoor open project area this year due to new people being in charge of various categories.  I honestly think my paper articles and plastic articles didn't even get judged.  They didn't get ribbons and yet I saw no other projects in those categories.  One of my photos from the capitol building got 2nd Place and a wildflower arangement got 3rd.  Besides watching my own boys show I always enjoy watching some of the dairy and beef showmanship, this year I watched the Cloverbuds who are all kids under 9 years old that work with mostly dairy calves.  The woman who oversees this program deserves super kudos for her time, patience, expertise, and the fact that all the kids did great.  Happy, confident and so proud to be in the show ring was the vibe they exuded.  Silly to some, but my other Fair week highlight is always watching the elephants get washed.  This year I chatted with some tough, burly guys that help run the fairgrounds, who were just as fascinated with the task as I was.  Ethan enjoyed watching the Super 8 race Wednesday evening too.  Four calves were born in the FFA tent and a very uncomfortable sow finally began to deliver on the last day, two piglets were out this morning but more were still to come as they carefully relocated her in the farrowing crate back to the Ed-Tech Center.

It is so fun to see everyone at load up time heading out with new animals, we came home with 6 chicks, another family from our club brought home a goat to be a buddy for their mini-horse, I saw lots of chickens, geeseand rabbits being put into trailers and they didn't even have enough quails for all the people who wanted some.  We were hoping to add another rabbit to our menagerie but I didn't win one in the silent auction, however, in selling off some of our rabbit cages I hit it off with a family that is breeding Holland Lops and will stay in touch to purchase a baby when they're ready.  Ethan wants to show rabbits next year in addition to swine and we found a club to join for that.  Benjamin is VERY interested in working with cows so we're seriously discussing him getting involved with FFA (Future Farmers of America) to learn about them at their facilities without having to have them on our property yet.  I told him if he continues to raise hogs and sell them he can have a beef steer when he has enough money to purchase it himself and gets a set-up on our property that is adequate to take care of it properly.  We'll see how it goes.

As soon as the pigs were trailered off to Fair I got busy and rototilled the field area. My three sons helped me get it raked out and put down boards for paths and I planted a late season garden on Monday.  Just went back to check things out once I got the van unloaded and chicks settled in.  After several days of rain followed by warmth I already have beans, peas, rutabaga, spinach, and lettuce popping up!

So Robert is still in Chile for work, the boys are off for a week of camping in Port Crescent State Park with their grandparents, and I am going to tackle some more house projects and enjoy the quiet.

Hope you're enjoying your August days as much as we are!

On the Road

Last week I got a few days out with some lady friends for a little fun and adventure.  First up was a trip to Midland, Michigan to tour the Alden B. Dow House and Studios.  Alden built his unique house in 1935 after studying under Frank Lloyd Wright, there is definately an influence in style although Alden branched out in creating an original cinder block shape that was only used in 11 structures, all of which are found in the mitten.  The patent for the design was sold twice but oddly the idea never took off.  The house has been inpeccably cared for and when Mrs. Dow passed away in 1991 the three children took little from the property and it has been a wonderful historical site since.

We also had a chance to walk through the 110 acre Dow Gardens designed by Alden's father Herbert Dow owner of the Dow Chemical Plant.  It took years to create and was inspired greatly by Japanese horticultural design.  The home Herbert and his wife Grace lived in is also on the property and open for tours however we did not fit that in on this trip.  The color garden was absolutely amazing and I loved the various red metal bridges throughout the grounds.

The Children's Garden had lots of things to get young people involved in daily up keep of the grounds, from watering troughs to brooms for keeping walkways tidy, a huge bubble pool, an army of scarecrows, and the hit for me was by far the massive bronze hog statue!  It was incredible to see the work of both father and son, all of which took extreme care and consideration of children as they developed their ideas.  This was a time long before television and Gameboys, cell phones and iPods.  A time when imagination was cherished and being outside and active was a normal and expected part of everyday.  I was truely inspired by the visit in more ways than I can express.  Just placed my Burpee seed order for late start veggies that will go in as soon as the pigs go to fair this weekend, so excited to have fresh food growing on my own property again.  From 1999 to 2009 I always had a pretty extensive garden but eventually lost time and energy for it, looking forward to a renewed spirit in celebrating the simple things.

Another surprise trip was a chance to travel to Stratford with a friend, her son, and granddaughter to see a matinee performance of "Pirates of Penzance" which I haven't seen probably since high school.  It was a stellar performance and I was amazed that many of the cast were also leads in the 42nd Street production.  On the way home we stopped at a great cafe/coffee house in Port Huron, The Raven which was soooo cute, the live music was excellent as well as the lobster bisque!  Great way to end a great day, even got home in time to watch the opening ceremony for the XXX Olympics in London.

Is this photo gorgeous?  Many of the farms around our area grow sunflower crops, this one is just down the street from our house and we drive by many times during the week on the way to activities and errands, always makes me smile.  Alexandra and the BF got approval for a one bedroom apartment and got moved in earlier this week.  They were a little stressed about it but very excited at the same time.  I'm glad to have her finally settled in somewhere and not living such a nomadic lifestyle. 

Next week is the Eastern Michigan State Fair so the Partons will be busy showing pigs, auctioning, doing barn duty, riding rides, and having a downhome good time with some folks who truly know how to keep it real. 

Remember to always broaden your horizons

and stay inspired!