Goodbye and Hello in St. Louis

We said goodbye to our friends as they get ready to go back to Tanzania for 3 more years. It was a nice visit and we learned a lot about missionary work in Africa. We were given a ton of donated items from our church for their return trip. Seeds, medical supplies,books, shoes and more are packed and ready for the long journey home. We said goodbye in St.Louis and then headed out to explore.

We went to the City Museum in St. Louis. It is a boring name for a far our fun place.You can crawl, swing, climb and touch the stuff at this place. It is for all ages. This is just the floor.

Bank vault

Carved stonework of St. George that you can touch. Great for blind people.

You can touch this too.

The stained glass is wonderful.

There are robots and neon.

This is for climbing. There are cages, ladders, stairs,caves and slides everywhere.

You can touch the sculptures!

Another wonderful floor.

The rooftop ferris wheel.

Sculptures everywhere.

More slides

More stuff you can touch

The ultimate jungle gym for all ages.

Donated iron and stone waiting to be used, always building.

Yes, you can go in this bus, I did.

And there are more bugs. Just a fun place to go. Here is the link:City Museum 

To The Birds

We have been visited by a pair of Roadrunners. They have a nest and are raising their brood somewhere in our woods.

These are Rouen ducklings at 2 weeks of age. They were hatched under a reluctant hen, so they became indoor babies. But as all things go on the farm,they needed to be put outside.

Here they are outside in the bunny yard for a few days to acclimate. Now they are outside full time in the big coop with the adult poultry. They are holding their own. They like us but they like being free range more.

It Bleeds no More.

As a quilter I always buy fabrics when they are on sale. But, as you know some cheaper fabrics do bleed in the prewash. I always pre-wash my fabrics to remove the resin/sizing. I throw in a Shout Color Catcher and wait to see the bleed. If it bleeds you can still save the fabric with Retayne. A teaspoon per yard in warm water does the trick. I re-wash the fabrics again with a Color Catcher after treatment and no more bleed. Amazon sells this at a good price. Worth it to save the fabric you bought.
I bought a lot of red cotton yardage from a bargain bin and it bled. But just one wash with Retayne and it is now usable and I can trust no more bleeding in the future.

Shilling Spring

Here is May after a rainstorm on my Missouri farm.

The air is perfumed with abundant flowers.

These are shillings and paper money from our friends from Tanzania, Africa. The American coins show the cash value of their shillings.

Paper money only goes up to five dollars. So if you are buying somethings expensive, you will need some way to carry that cash around with you like a backpack. But most people trade instead of using cash.

I got to keep this one. It is so pretty. And it has the patina from all the people who have touched it far away in Africa. It has made a long journey from Tanzania to Missouri.

Technology Sunday

Here is young Joshua early Sunday morning playing his games. I like the photo in that its calm and quiet, the room is dim, he sits in a handmade rocker and wool quilt, next to the pile of luggage bound for Africa. Yet, he sits quietly focused on his computer game. Past, present and future.

Here is the Sunday reality. It is eight a.m. and I am feeding the rabbits, guests are finished with breakfast, the farm animals are fed, we are dressed for church, the computers are being consulted. The sun is finally out and the light of the new day shines through the windows. There is a pile of food headed out the door for travelers, empty boxes shed for weight and veggie snacks for healthy grazing. 

These are my friends Doug, Joshua, and Tamara next to the van belonging to another friend the Jeff, who is working on our roof this week.

I love the bright red van next to the bright colors of the African fabrics they are wearing. Very bright and happy photo of friends.

Saturday String and Sing

This past weekend our friends Tamara and she son Joshua took turns singing and playing guitars. 

Joshua took on the challenge of the 12 string.

Tamara told me about Guitar Tuna, an App that you can learn your chords with.

It was a fun way to spend the evening singing songs.

Joshua and the 12 string.

Game Day Out

My experiment worked a bit too well. I bought 4 game hens and let them go with the flock. Two of the hens went broody and hatched one day apart. One hen had five chicks and the other six chicks. The problem is that Game hens are tough moms. They attack anything that comes near their chicks, dogs, cats, other broody poultry. This is a good trait for good mothers that can raise their own chicks. This is something bred out of most most chickens. These chicks are half Game hen and half Americana since that is their rooster. Also, they hatched far away from the coop in the hay loft where other hens could not put their eggs. Now I wait to see if they grow up to be fighting roosters or good broody hens.

The black chick on the far right got stomped on my a duck. But even on one leg it keeps up with its family. 

Under Destruction

The old roof in a mega pile on the patio.

Our new metal roof looks great in the springtime.

Putting on under paper then the metal roof.

My old skylight is removed and roofed over until the new one is installed.

The Emerald Roof

Our contractor rented a lift to get everything up. Such a cool machine.

Putting on the edges.

Installing a new skylight that is better, smaller and has easy to install shade options.

First time I have had a clear view of clouds since we moved here. The old skylight leaked and got cloudy between the glass.

Our new metal roof after all the tar shingles were removed.

Our first solar panels and they work!

Husband supervising solar panel installations from the ground. Zilla happily chews her cow leg.

All panels installed and wired in.

Finishing up for the day. Still need to put in the electronics and finish the rest of the roof next week. The good news is that the roof will out last us.

Playing in the Dirt

It is a wet spring in the Ozarks and that means gardening time. 

Time to plant flowers and veggies and get dirty.

Some neat small pink flowers I found at a greenhouse.

My chicken proof flower bed.

I use 6 ft bamboo poles to hold up the chicken wire and for bulb placement. 

Dahlias, Iris, and more are all waiting for more rain and warmer weather.

My constant gardening companion, Melon.

April Auction Chicks

These are Ameraucana chicks I bought at a local livestock auction. I was not wanting to raise anymore chicks for a while. But the price was too good to pass up for these chicks. And I do not see them for sale very often. I usually see Barred rocks and Comets or meat chicks for sale. 

These make wonderful hens and roosters. And the eggs are so pretty in shades of blue and green. I like how this breed handles the summer heat well.

I have some older hens of this breed and they get broody and hatch well for me. And what is spring without some peeps coming from my house.