Rain Forest, chicken coops, chores and kids.

Spent the day monitoring Dehliala, she is seemingly in a holding pattern, I hope we know something good or bad today. She did let us drench her for hydration and took some kefir. Kefir and yogurt are both good health sustainers for a goats ruminant. Goats are one of a class of animals called ruminants. They actually have five stomachs and chew a cud. The basically eat there food regurgitate it and send it to the next stomach. The babies when they drink milk they need to have their heads up high and their little necks at a straight up angle so the milk actually bypasses the first stomach, as it doesn't digest milk well. Their ruminates, the name of one of their stomachs have to be sort of trained to work, it has to sort of get started to begin to work correctly. Babies stomachs take several weeks of work to get going to where they can eat hay, grasses and other solids. If they have an upset the kefir or yogurt helps them get back on track as does roughages. She is at this point still holding her own. I pray for what is best for her, I don't know now if it is death or life.

The girls fought over who would clean the cupboards and who would clean the kitchen floor, and unlike, most kids it wasn't to get out of them it was to see who got to do the best one in their eyes. I wasn't aware there was a best of the two chores, but now know there is per the thorough processing explanation of why they wanted their choice. So different from my older girls at the same age. The older girls are both more tomboy and less outdoorsy if that makes sense. They don't truly enjoy the outdoor the way the little girls do but they are also not the girly girls my two little ones are. If you can imagine two dainty girls in white, still clean, gutting a chicken, cleaning a goat pen or stacking a load of fire wood you would have me little ones. Total oxymoron's but you gotta love em. They made their choices of what to clean while I helped Poppie clean the chicken coop. He shoveled and I pushed to wheel barrow to the compost pile. The chicken coop had used straw and chicken dropping. so will make great compost for my garden in the shortest time. The goat droppings are good right away, as well, but the urine and hay have to be composted long term, so go in a different pile. Chores done we could now play for awhile.

We walked to the rain forest, the first time this year. Booboo rain ahead and back, she had so much energy she couldn't stand still.  Yogie walked with me hand in hand. It was so different than the first walk we took. That trip they both held my hand and we walked at the pace of a 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old. Booboo got tired and in the end I carried her. She did want to go the next time but the flowers we were to collect were much more of a draw than the actual walking. She got her backpack full of buttercups, her little feet dragging but she carried them all home on her own steam. Yogie's backpack had been just as full but ran ahead to be the first to show her dad, Poppie, all her collected treasures. We didn't find a single buttercup this time, a little early, but we had a wonderful time and made plans for today, Booboo is sure we need to go farther afield, 30 minuted is just not long enough for her. This old mom needs more time to get used to the walking first time out since fall. We will see how long I make it, unfortunately she can't carry me home the last little way as I once did her.

Once home we helped Poppie route the puddles from the thawing snow down the driveway. Cubbie, Boy, pysdeo grand kids, Gracie and Alex, helped but spent more time in the puddles splashing than routing water. Mokie was not impressed with their wet boots and pant legs. It was a nice day to be in the warm sunshine and see the beginnings of the spring to come. I hope to have a nice restful day today and enjoy the blessings that God has sent to us....... tomorrow.