Yes, we are still here.

My job has gone nuts in the past two weeks. This means two things to Farmer Allen: lots more kid-time and lots less farm-time. This also means two things for the blog: no time for me to write and nothing I'm doing would be exciting enough for any of you to want to read about it. Thus... lull in posts.

We did just hatch our first 4 silkie chicks, of which 3 appear to be gray and one white. They are about a week old and ab-so-freaking-lutely adorable. We also have a ton of mice hanging around the lean-to. Not so ab-so-freaking-lutely adorable. Mainly just freaking aggravating. I guess they are enjoying this lovely weather as much as we are. Other than chicken upkeep and lots of tractor riding (I think maybe he just likes to ride the tractor and listen to music b/c, really? How much time can one need to spend on a tractor?!), the summer heat has slowed down the farm. We are all ready for fall....

Speaking of good weather, should I feel bad that I LOVED how the hurricane made it feel at my house this weeken, dispite all the poor people put out of their homes, dealing with loss of power, flooding, etc?

And finally, in upcoming news.... we have actually scheduled our FIRST family vacation since our honeymoon that did not involve a set of grandparents being there as well. Granted it's only 3 days long, but it is 3 days in Charleston in late September. Of course, we will be getting some Gran-Gran time while down there (Allen's g'ma), but I am choosing not to count that as family joining our vacation since she will be staying in her house; we will be staying in our hotel. Now the question becomes: beach with a 4 year old, 2 year old, and 1 year old: vacation or hell (for lack of more appropriate term)? Guess we will see...

Farm tip

Not sure if your eggs are still good? Place them in a bowl of water. Good eggs should sink to the bottom; bad eggs float.

And to go with your random fact, a random picture. Babies on the farm:

Auction day celebration

On Monday Farmer Allen sent our 4 bull calves and Pookie to the sale. Tuesday is sale day, so Farmer Allen and the girls watched the live feed on the computer as our cows auctioned off. Emma loved the announcer - her first taste of an auction. And today, just two days later, our check came in the mail. We love you, Chester Livestock Auction! And a special thanks to Blake for coming out to tote our cows there for us! And another special thanks to the mamma cows still out in the field who, three days later, have finally quit calling (constantly) for their babies. We even had a neighbor call us to ask if our cows were alright! We are now back down to three mama cows and our Oreo bull, Bill.