Where did the time go?

Ramona and Roxanne like to snuggle.

Well, I should probably just admit it right up front, as sad as it is.  I am exhibiting mother-like behavior...over four small fowl.  I know the happy peeps from the sad; have witnessed the first game of tag (scampering is fun!) across the floor.  In particular, the ladylike arabesque stretches absolutely slay me.  (I would post a picture if I could get one--they come without any warning.)  One of the girls will be walking or standing and then slowly and elegantly extend a leg to the back and stretch, looking like a cuter, fluffier version of the pointe-shoed elephants in Fantasia.  Sometimes she will then continue along--but other times this immediately necessitates a nap, with the leg still at large.

Anyhoo, you'll probably roll your eyes, but they have grown!  In a day! [OK, it took me a few days to post this.] For the love!  How is a mama to keep up?  I am ashamed to say that I still don't have a coop ready for them (I do have a few weeks, thank god), but more importantly, I don't have a run ready for them outdoors yet.  It is more than warm enough for them outside; my sources vary from 5 days to 3wks as the appropriate earliest age for outdoor exposure depending on temps.  Since I am not feeding them medicated chick starter feed (I'm not big on drugs "just in case") the sanitary upkeep is crucial, particularly in the hot weather.  Like all babies, they are much more susceptible to disease, so I would rather have them out in the big sunny backyard than cooped up in poop in a hot room.  Um, can you tell I'm ready to build a screened pen for them?

However, in my defense there is a lot going on, considering that I am not commuting to an office anymore.  I have spent plenty of morning hours this week dealing with various things for my doctor--following up on pending orders, handling the office voicemail and email, making post office trips, etc.  Now, I freely admit that I have also spent some morning time with coffee and a good book...on our patio that looks out  across the backyard or (was it Tuesday?) on the front stoop, watching the entire progression of a thunderstorm across the sky.  And during those moments, I have been kind of overwhelmed by the generosity of the gods and the freedom that appears to actually be mine.  It was never that I hated my job, and I have certainly had some weird identity-crisis moments so far where I wonder how I can presume to actually do this without a child as an reasonable excuse and where the wide-open time before me is almost scary (which just sounds like spoiled whining, I know.)   :)  I keep coming back to feeling deeply grateful for the opportunity to be right here, at my home, alongside my various animal friends, with a beautiful day beckoning.

Taking a break from the sprinkler

 So, I have a lot to accomplish today; we are having company this weekend--it brings new meaning to the phrase "chick magnet!"  Ha!  There is a definite come-see-'em-while-you-can quality about the chicks because they are going have their awkward adolescence in a few short weeks, and the poor dears are not going to be winning beauty pageants again for a while.  My parents are coming tomorrow, my sister is arriving tonight, and all sorts of random folk are dropping in over the weekend--some women from Jason's office, parents of friends, most people we know who have young children.  The Goeglein-Hanna petting zoo is the hot spot for children (and the young at heart) in the know, Summer 2010.