Long story short, I sent my camera into Nikon to fix some focusing issues this month. 

Lesson learned: DON'T try to get the dust out from behind your focusing screen yourself. They're right, it really is very easy to scratch. Then DON'T compound the mistake by buying a focusing screen off ebay and trying to replace it yourself. They're very right, it really is very easy to scratch.  

So I finally have my camera back and managed to get caught up editing photos while nursing. (During which I noticed it came back with a few hot pixels. I'm not willing to part with the camera again for an easy cloning fix. Who knows how long the beast will last anyway!)

I did snag my husband's phone a time or two- I intended to do it daily, but it's hard to part him from his "much needed breathing apparatus"...

7/6- Beating the heat by riding along with Daddy in the air conditioned van, picnic lunching on the floor. 


I learned what I intuitively knew- if you don't have air, your body adjusts to the heat, but after being in the air, the heat feels just that much hotter. This weather doesn't happen here all to often. I'm going to grin and bear it the rest of the summer. It will be freezing soon enough. 

7/8- Candling eggs. The last fertilized ones before the rooster was killed. They didn't survive the extreme fluctuations in heat. I checked them every 20-30 minutes when I was home (which is most of the time), but the homemade incubator couldn't regulate itself. I guess summer isn't the wisest time to try doing this, but our hand was forced by circumstances. 


We ended up purchasing some replacement layers since I don't expect our 2 year old heritage breeds to lay at all this winter: 5 Black Australorps females, 2 males; 5 Golden Laced Wyandottes females; 5 standard Partridge Cochins females; 5 bantam Mottled Cochins straight run; and 5 Magpie ducks straight run. The Australorps, Wyandottes, and ducks are for laying, Cochins for setting, and Roosters for protection and breeding. Perhaps there might be a meat bird breeding program in our future? Ranger Broiler x Black Australorp. We'll see how that goes.


We're down two ducks within the first day and then we had a gruesome babysitting-gone-bad incident or two whereby Rebekah really wanted to pet the chicks so she tried pulling them through the brooder screen and ripped their poor little legs off. It is still turning my stomach. 

7/11- In other stomach turning news, seeing him behind the wheel of the van, even if it isn't on the road, makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little. The time, she's a-slipping away. 

7/12-My camera is back!! First shot- ain't it a beauty?

7/13-Getting a handle on poultry lice with fresh bedding, diatomaceous earth, and whitewashing. I've been advocating whitewash for two years now, and FINALLY have converted the boys! It looks so fresh & bright!

 7/14-PICKLES! Very exciting after a 0 pound yield last year!! Putting up pickles & enjoying cucumber salad with the fatties. How I love bright, crispy, fresh cucumbers!

 7/15- You know what that means, right?! It rained!!! 


We've actually gotten several quick showers in the last couple weeks! We're still down 2" for the month, but I know many of you would give anything for the 2" we have gotten, so I'm very, very thankful!

 7/16- Not paint this time. Cherry juice.

 7/17- An amazingly brave, competent, and sassy little two year old. I think Jared was like 5 before he learned to swing himself. 

 7/18- The "chickenness of the chicken." 13 weeks and the Freedom Ranger broilers are still roosting. I'm so sold on this breed.

 7/19- Frustrations in homestead grain production begin. I've been working out on the pedal powered thresher my husband built. (I finally found a farm chore that can not modestly be done in a skirt, by the way.) I may find time to vent my frustrations in a post and if not it means I'm too busy trying to clean grain.

7/20- Chloe Olive. That was a crazy quick four months.  


Ah. It's good to caught up!