Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Naked Goat Wrestling + Breastfeeding Squirrels + Poultry = A Wonderful Wednesday

Oliver had another wild, naked morning in the pasture today. I think he would be happy if we just left him out there to live with the goats. At times he certainly acts more like a goat than a human. Patches and Oliver love to knock heads together while Leche always tries to get a piece of the action.

Oliver finally put on some clothes and he strapped on his squirrel to head to town for my doctor's appointment. At the young age of four, Oliver is already quite the staunch lactivist. He is not ashamed to nurse his squirrel named "Pearl" on demand in public. If his baby needs a nurse, then damn it, she is getting one. As you can tell, she is one satisfied squirrel.

After measuring my belly and listening to the baby, Oliver and I headed to the post office. We opened the door and could hear loud chirping sounds. Our chicks and keets (baby guinea fowl) had arrived! We ordered our birds this time from Sandhill Preservation because we like that they are a no-kill chick facility.

Oli really enjoyed being able to hold one chick and one keet.


The babies are all settled in for the night. I'm looking forward to see what guinea fowl personalities are like. The keets are the smaller brown or lavender babies in the photo below.

As an added bonus to an already spectacular day, our resident wild turkey "Gerdie" decided to hang out with us all day. She has two poults and does an excellent job of keeping them from being eaten by a fox. I'm happy she has chosen our property as her home! I think it's a pretty nice place to raise children.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Oliver and Mommy's Day at the Beach

Ninety degree weather and women in the seventh month of pregnancy do not mix. I feel like a sloth in this weather, moving slowly from one resting place to another. Glenn had to work today, so Oliver and I decided to have a Mommy/Son day at the beach. I considered packing my book in the beach bag, but quickly remembered these one on one days are numbered. I made it my mission to focus only on Oliver today as he will be sharing virtually every "Mommy" moment with another starting sometime in the next ten weeks. We packed up the car and said "later" to all the animals and headed to cooler weather.

As usual, Oliver had me laughing all day. His ability to make friends with strangers amazes me. Oliver is a bit more scared to approach kids because they often do not share his willingness to be fast friends. Oliver slowly built up the courage to show these girls his boat. You can see his smug expression as he proudly walked back to our towel. I think the girls liked his boat.


Walking the pier with Oliver also cracked me (and everyone walking by) up. Oliver's legs were shaking and he said "scary step" each time he walked over a crack in the boards. He was convinced (like many kids) that he would fall in. Somehow we made it back to the beach without slipping through the cracks.

Although I can't wait to meet my new baby, I am trying to appreciate this short time in my life while my son is still my one and only.