Grumpy, Cinderella and Other June Visitors

June has been a busy month on OWR. We were visited by my partents (Connie and Lee) and Cymande's sister and family (Shannon, Tobias, Kira and Lucas).
Shannon and family made their first visit to Lake City and we gave them a taste of Northern Florida culture. Lucas, 17 months old, also tasted some chicken poop. We made trips to Itchetucknee Springs, Ponte Vedra Beach, Poe Springs and of course, Disney World. Kira spent her days picking blackberries, watching Cinderella, swimming, watching Cinderella, beading and watching Cinderella. Lucas spent a good amount of time teetering on the edge of our porch and seeking out more dangerous venues to experiment with. He is developing a real passion for sweeping. Shannon and Tobias seemed to readily adapt to the slow pace of OWR. Disney World...as we all know, Disney World is where Cinderella lives. Below, you will find a picture of what a 3 year-old looks like when Cinderella cruises by atop a parade float. Kira met all the princesses and then became one on her return from Disney World thanks to the faeries of the old oak.





My parents made their annual visit and the customary gorging and entertainment ensued. They stayed down the road at Slow and Easy RV Park in a mobile cabin. Every night upon our return from work they would have dinner waiting for us. Charlie was given the nickname 'hogbelly' by my father and is still trying to work off the calories. They left too soon, but we know they will return. We would like to thank our visitors for their generosity, low-maintenance personalities and happiness they brought to Old Wire Road.

Four Items of Interest

The mobile coop has been roaming where the deer and armadillos play.


The onions have been harvested.


The carport has been destroyed and rebuilt. Here we find it in midconstruction.


The Lion's Mane mushroom has fruited and we agree that it is the lobster of the fungi kingdom.

Everyone is in Trouble/The Wild Fires

Several rules of Old Wire Road have been broken. Buckley, Lula and the chickens are all in trouble and are being sentenced accordingly. Puppy culture dictates that any free time needs to be filled with entertainment or boredom will deoxygenate the dog brain and mischief will ensue. In Buckley's pursuit of constant stimulation he has eaten the covers off books, carried away and hid various priceless items, pulled the compost bin off the counter at 3AM and while attempting to nest in a blanket, but finding it did not suit his needs he just peed on it. Lovely. Lula is guilty of failing to provide proper canine guidance and at times contributing to his behavior. Oh, and as I write this Buckley has thrown up a massive pile of food and in it lies the corncob that he had stolen. The corncob is in trouble too. Everyone has now been put to bed.


The pullets have been enjoying the great outdoors while the cockerels are awaiting their mobile shelter to be built. I have not built the mobile shelter and because of this I am also in trouble. The chickens are misbehaving by piling in the corner of the coop at night. Manual positioning on a roost seems to remedy the problem. Newest bits of chicken knowledge: (1) when you place a chicken on a roost, it just stays there. it doesn't even seem to wonder how it got there. (2) it's much easier to catch a chicken in the dark. they can't see you coming. You may wonder how we can see them in the dark (and no, it's not our night vision monocle). This shall remain one of the secrets of Old Wire Road...



This past couple of weeks southern Georgia has been on fire and we have been subject to significantly smoky skies. Today was the worst.



These photos were taken during the day, not at sunset. The sun is completely blocked out.
Ash and soot are falling from the sky like a light snow.
We are not in danger, but it is kind of worrisome and makes us think about what would happen to plant life in this region if the sun were blocked out like this for more than a couple of days. We are hoping that the wind shifts, and of course for rain.



We've heard "armageddon" whispered by more than one person, and we can't help but wonder about prehistoric natural disasters (astroids, volcanos, george bush) and various potential fates of our planet (astroids, volcanos, humans).

The Amazing Cucumber Story

i've been meaning to tell this story for a while. it may or may not actually be amazing, but it's quirky, and i like it, and it's true.
a while back, i was preparing for our friend jenn to visit, so i went grocery shopping. that particular day, i had to take the BIG BLUE VAN instead of the mini for some reason or another. If you're not yet familiar with the BIG BLUE VAN, here it is behind cute, mean Gregg


as you can see, the BIG BLUE VAN is BIG and BLUE. anyway, on my way home, i had to stop short and all of the groceries went sliding and i lost my cucumber. i searched the van for a while, but i could not find the cucumber. gregg searched the van, but he could not find the cucumber. i was bummed. "my kingdom for a cucumber!", i cried.



jenn, wonderful jenn, arrived the next day from Boston.
she stepped off of the plane, reached into her carry on and handed me a cucumber. it was almost as if she had cukes in her carry on all the time. really though, it was from her brother's garden in vermont and she picked and brought it especially for us. it was the most beautiful, most wanted cucumber ever. she had not known that i had been pining for a lost cucumber.

coincidence? i think not! i think the universe knew just what we needed...

so, anyway, now we grow our own cucumbers! here are this year's cukes. how cuke!



oh yeah...we did find an old shriveled up piece of vegetable matter in an apparent vegetable fugitive hideout in the van a few weeks later. it didn't even really rot. it just dehydrated.

Jenny B, Buckley and Pete the Bunny

Recently, our friend Jenn came to visit us. She has been here for visits in Summer, Winter and now, Spring. We visited Poe Springs and swam briefly. Our picnic table was a micro-ecosystem where insects clashed and cheese was sliced with the sharp edge of a cracker. We spent most of our time on Old Wire Road with 27 of our newest (and youngest) friends. The 26 chicks are doing great and appear to have doubled their size in two weeks. Number 27 is our new dog who shall be known henceforth as Buckley. Buckley appeared in our carport at 3AM after an Of Montreal show in Gainesville. We initially called him Pete the Bunny, but after his hillbilly brother showed up two days later we decided that his brethren should bear the name. We dropped Pete at the shelter and kept Buckley. Unfortunately the locals seems to think we are an animal dump. Fortunately, there is a great shelter in town. Spring in Florida is a wonder!

Peeps!

The Cuckoo Marans have arrived with one exotic breed that we think is a White Crested Black Polish. The backyard has been transformed into a red light district and we have become 24-hour temperature monitors. The peeps love chasing bugs and scratching around the brooder. They come fully equiped to eat and drink.



At 1 week of age they are already discovering their wings and are experimenting with running attempts at flight. They do not fly. Soon they will be liberated from the brooder to explore a slightly larger corner of the coop. For now they seem to enjoy a nice nap under the heat lamp, followed by a drink and some organic chick starter.

passing

good bye mom...