Eggs with a Bite!

The other day I was on my home and as I was going up the hill something caught my eye. It had rained just a little bit so what caught my eye was the shine a deep dark color of a large turtle. Now it is our family tradition saving turtles every year and even though this one was no longer in the road I wanted to make sure it was not hurt and I was curious about what kind of turtle it was.

Much to my surprise it was a large female snapping turtle and she wasn't hurt she was laying a clutch of eggs in the sandy hill top. I noticed several other areas that appeared to have been dug up and patted back down so I am assuming that it is a seasonal breeding ground for the local snapping turtle population.

I wear a size 11 and 1/2 boot so you can get an idea of how big she really is! I also moved her off the hole so I could get a good picture of all the eggs. When I was done I moved her back over the hole and she resumed laying. I also returned later that night and verified that she had covered the nest. I marked the spot and I am hoping to catch some of the babies when they hatch out of the nest but it will be purely luck to time it right as the hatch date will vary a day or two.

Men of Honor - Fathers Day

Father's Day is one of the days that I find myself reflecting on the men who have helped mold me into the man I am today. Especially my Father but also those who are close to me and my family. Here is my chance to say "Thank You" to those men - Chuck - I will always consider you my father - not just one through marriage, My brother Stephen - I am thankful that although you are on the other side of the country you are still part of my life, Roger - you have impressed me in more ways than you can imagine and I feel like you have always been a part of our life, Luke - you are my brother, my friend, and someone I look up to (even though you may be younger). I am also grateful for the memories I have of Boppy (Fred). He was a man who accepted me into the family and made our family feel "whole" when he and Nina moved back to New England from North Carolina. I am thankful that my children got to know him as well as they did and that they will always have memories of the times we spent together. I am also Blessed with two wonderful children who not only honor me on this day but so many others throughout the entire year. I hope that the life lessons I have learned from the men mentioned above will make me into the Father that will not only make my children proud but will also mold them into the person I strive to be.

Fathers are Wonderful People

Fathers are wonderful people

Too little understood,

And we do not sing their praises

As often as we should...

For, somehow, Father seems to be

The man who pays the bills,

While Mother binds up little hurts

And nurses all our ills...

And Father struggles daily

To live up to "HIS IMAGE"

As protector and provider

And "hero or the scrimmage"...

And perhaps that is the reason

We sometimes get the notion,

That Fathers are not subject

To the thing we call emotion,

But if you look inside Dad's heart,

Where no one else can see

You'll find he's sentimental

And as "soft" as he can be...

But he's so busy every day

In the grueling race of life,

He leaves the sentimental stuff

To his partner and his wife...

But Fathers are just WONDERFUL

In a million different ways,

And they merit loving compliments

And accolade of praise,

For the only reason Dad aspires

To fortune and success

Is to make the family proud of him

And to bring them happiness...

And like OUR HEAVENLY FATHER,

He's a guardian and a guide,

Someone that we can count on

To be ALWAYS ON OUR SIDE.

Helen Steiner Rice

Father's Day

Over the years

As we grow old,

We remember our father

So brave and bold.

In the garden,

Leaning on the plow,

He would listen to me;

I see him now.

He would give advice

And understand;

He was always there

To lend a hand.

God made fathers

Strong and firm,

For he knew our lives

Would have great concerns.

So he gave us fathers

To teach us to pray,

And guide our lives,

And show us the way.

So on his day

Let's take the time

To say "Thanks, dad.

I'm glad you're mine."

Mary Frances Bogle

Life after Death.....

Okay - so maybe I am being a tad bit dramatic but it makes for a compelling story. I have been inattentive to my blog for several reasons but this story is about my main excuse. Two weeks ago I ended up working in at least 1 hospital a day throughout the entire week - I love my job but I HATE working in hospitals. On Friday of that week I noticed the other side of the door I was working next to all day was the Infectious Disease Ward - Great! Throughout each day I constantly washed up and I carry a tube of alcohol based sanitizer so I was praying it would all be okay.

Thankfully I woke up Saturday morning and despite feeling the effects of allergy season I was able to do my weekend chores and enjoy the day with my family and dinner with our karate club members. Sunday started out well but by dinner time reality had begun to set in. It wasn't allergies I was getting sick.

By Sunday night I had a bad fever and Rebecca was dreading the thought of being in the same room as me. I came to the conclusion that I had the flu - I decided that since I probably picked it up while working in one of the hospitals there was no way I was going back unless it was a life or death situation. I ended up taking the week off from work as I had a fever on and off over a 4 day period. I think that I might have either cooked a few brain cells or I had the much publicized "Swine Flu" because there were several occasions that I swear my sweat smelled like smoked bacon - and despite my miserable condition I was in the mood for a good Southern down home Pig pickin' - (aka... Pig roast.)

Thankfully after a week of being quarantined to my room I am healthy and back to normal. I have several different things I want to post so as long a work cooperates I will be keeping everyone entertained with family updates, nature pictures, and random rambling. So for now I am back and the Grim Reaper will need to find work somewhere else and while he is waiting may I suggest a nice Pulled Pork sandwich with some vinegar slaw and a nice tall glass of sweet tea!

Family Visit = FUN!

My brother Stephen and his family made the trip from out west to New England last week for a family vacation. My brother and I had the chance to spend a few days together when our Grandmother passed away but other than that, we have only been able to keep in touch via telephone and computer correspondence the past 10 years. When they moved, other than my nephew, the children were too young to remember each other so this was a great chance for us all to get to know each other again. Everyone stayed at my house the first week they were here and every morning my brother and Alex got up at the crack of dawn to spoil us all with fresh Dunkin' Donuts - needless to say my pants are a little tighter this morning! We made a trip one day to Yankee Candle Village and the next to Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration. We ate like kings and queens - one night we had Mona's Pizza, I spoiled everyone the next night with my home made baby back pork ribs and my Brother treated us all to a great meal at the Steak Loft Restaurant during our day trip to Mystic. It was great spending time with my brother, his lovely wife and all three quickly growing up kids! I hope to get a chance to spend more time with them after work this week while they are staying with our Mom and wished I had another week of vacation available. I miss having family around and now that I am a grown man ( yet not quite an adult!) I realize that I have a lot in common with my brother and feel as close to him as ever. Probably because our age difference isn't evident any more like it was as kids. It was entertaining watching from a distance as my nephew spend time with Alex, the memories of me spending time with him at that age came flooding back. I hope and pray that some day we will all live closer together but till then I think regular vacations/visits with each other will become one of our goals in life.

The Girls

The Boys

The Whole Crew

The Kids (minus Ben as he was still in route)

A taste of summer

Yesterday I went down to the shore to help out a close friend/family member ( long story short - I consider him family and have always thought of him as my cousin due to our family ties) with installing a few marine electronics and wiring in his boat. When we were done it was such a beautiful day we decided to head out into the open water and do a little fishing despite it being the wrong part of the tide cycle for optimal fish catching.

On our first pass I picked up a nice striped bass which ended up being a keeper. A short time later I hooked into an even nicer fish but due to the rough surf I had a hard time keeping my balance while keeping my line nice and tight so despite fighting it to within a few yards of the boat I never landed it. It was a great afternoon on the water and despite being a little rough thanks to my wrist bands I was able to spend a day on the water and enjoy my first taste of summer - and an awesome Italian Cold Cut Grinder without any effects of motion sickness. I look forward to many more trips out in Rick's boat and watching the kids experience the trill of catching some big Stripers and Blues! Till then I will savor a few fresh fish dinners!

On Shelley's Farm there was a girl - E-I-E-I-O.

My Baby Girl is growing up so fast - and with all the manure she will be stepping in she should be getting a bit taller this summer too!

What you never heard that stepping in manure will make you taller - well it will, especially if you don't clean your boots off regularly and let it build up!

Why is she going to be stepping in manure you ask.....

Well, tonight was Ariel's first day of employment on a local farm. She gets to work with herding dogs, sheep, horses, miniature ponies, chickens, ducks and of course the ever present farm cat.

We met Ariel's new employers at the Monday homeschooling group that the kids were part of this past year. At the beginning of the year they got a tour of the farm and the chance to help shear one of the sheep for a "start to finish scarf knitting project" that both of the kids participated in.

I took this picture just before we left and was going to take one of her when she got home but despite being a little messier there wasn't much of a difference - she was still sporting a great smile. Hopefully she will maintain this level of enthusiasm throughout her employment

I can't help but smile when I look at her slop boots - mine were always black! Leave it to a girl to put "style" into doing farm chores!

Facebook for chickens

Well, Okay it's not really for chickens but for people who have chickens. As most of you know I am no longer on Facebook (old news I know but I really didn't want to discuss it while I was going through withdrawals!) I really enjoyed butting in on everyone's lives and was able to rekindle some childhood friendships which I have been able to keep up with via email and personal blogs despite my lack of Facebook membership.

For those who didn't know why we abandoned our FB Accounts - Rebecca's profile was hacked and after several days of getting nowhere with the FB staff we finally closed out R's profile - only to find it reactivated the next morning asking more people for $$$ due to me getting mugged while on a business trip, Rebecca getting stranded trying to get me back after I left her and went to London, and the lies went on and on. I finally took the time to delete ever post I ever wrote, group I joined, flair, etc...


It has been several months now and despite it being tough at times I was able to give up Facebook - and I did it cold turkey! I found that after I gave up FB I regained my desire to start blogging again - plus it helped that it is spring time and I have more to write about. So how does this all relate to my title - Well seeing that I have been raising a new flock of chicks I often get answers to any questions I may have right here on the world wide web and one of the sites I found myself often referring to was : Backyard Chickens.

It was here where I found my Facebook replacement. It turns out they have a forum that you can join and not only get answers to all your questions you can make your own web page, post pictures, message other members, buy, sell , trade and the list goes on and on. I have really enjoyed browsing the site and even found a new rooster for Ariel that we went as a family to pick up on Saturday Morning.

I hope that you all don't think I'm becoming "Chicken Crazy" but I feel secure with my "Peeps" over at BYC and fear not - I will always be here to Blog about it and thankfully, with the aid of my keyboard it will always be legible so no need to worry about my writing looking like chicken scratch!

Oh and in case you were wondering our new Roosters name is Sokka. It is nice to wake to the sound of the roosters crow again - it was too quiet out here in the north woods!

Warming their new feathers

The early evenings here have been nice so I decided to let our new little girls (and boys) get some exercise and feel the green grass under their toes. I must admit I am getting quite addicted to my back yard flock and would like to build a really nice coop some day that looks more like a farm barn. The kids have really enjoyed finding bugs and worms to feed the chicks, which has really helped with human-chicken interaction. I really like having the larger brooder in the garage and I know Rebecca is grateful too! Here are some pictures of this years chicks during their first back yard adventures this week. They all got a chance to stretch their wings and warm their feathers (and what is left of their chick fluff) in the warm evening sun.

Let us back in!
The Older Girls getting some fresh greens
Navarre watching over his babies

Discovering the joy of clover

Just noticed the older Hens in the yard

Chip and Dale - sticking together

The Kids showing them the ropes

Chip and Dale's Backyard Adventure

A couple of weeks ago I told you about the new chicks we purchased in this post. Well a lot has changed since April 18th - The 6 red sex links and 3 golden comets are all in the downstairs brooder where they have more room to stretch their wings, the 2 dark colored bantam chicks are still in the upstairs brooder - just because I enjoy interacting with them and they are so much smaller than the standard breed chicks. Unfortunately the tiny white bantam chick we had died.

The kids had named the white one "Speed" because when he wasn't sleeping he would run around like Forrest Gump while plowing his way through all the other chicks! The 2 other bantams are now named "Chip & Dale" due to their colors.

Last night when I got home from work I decided to take them outside for the first time. At first they were a little wigged out from the feeling of the grass but eventually calmed down. Then Navarre came over to guard over them and that's when they started climbing on his back and hopping back and forth between the two of us. I wish Navarre would keep his ears up when a camera is around - it seems like his ears are always up and at attention until he knows that a picture is being taken and then down they go!

I am always amazed at how gentle Navarre is with the baby chicks and how big of a desire he has to guard over the mature chickens when they are out of the coop - especially from squirrels! (that's a video I need to post!)

NOT LAME!

So on my way home tonight a co-worker called to tell me he saw a NASCAR vehicle parked in town and knowing I was a fan thought I might want to take the kids to check it out. I picked up the kids and after running our errands I took a detour to check out the car without ever telling the kids where we were going. About 5 minutes into the trip Alex pipped up and asked where we were going as I rarely take the back road we were driving on. I told him it was a surprise, to which he responded "It's not going to be LAME is it?" Ahh they grow up so fast! I assured him if he thought is was lame I would drive past and continue home - I was pleased to hear the cheers as I pulled into the parking lot of "Cool, dad this is NOT Lame!" We got to see Carl Edwards NASCAR Nationwide Car last year so it was nice for the kids to get a close up of a NASCAR CUP Series Race Car this time around.

And just to clarify he is pointing at the Duck - we all know that Kyle Busch is #1 NOT Carl Edwards!

Neither of them route for Ford drivers but its all about the Aflac commercials!

Below is a picture of the FORD powerplant

Multiple ignition modules

Fire suppression system

The Main cockpit


My little car chiefs discussing sabotage - You know they are Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick fans after all!
Carl Edward's 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Race Car that we got to check out at the local Home Depot last year