A Fawn in the Woods

Our school year officially ended on Wednesday so the boys planned a hike in the woods for their first day of "summer vacation" the following day. They each strapped on their new "Camelback", an Army quality backpack which is a water thermos. They were ready for adventure but could not foresee how exciting it would be!

They called me out to see this just born fawn which they came upon in the woods. The mother deer had just given birth to twins and spooked when she saw the boys who had no idea she was there. The one fawn went with her, but this one remained.

They tried to get her to follow her Mom, but she must have imprinted on them because she followed them home instead. They put her in the empty peacock house while deciding what to do.

We decided that the best thing, would be to take her back to her birth spot and hope that the mother deer, hearing her cries, would come back to somehow claim her.

This was amazing to see. She really was following them. She was still damp and so cute and tiny.

They were able to find the spot which was off the trail.

Sure enough, this was the birth sac left on the leaves.

The mother was nowhere to be seen. They hid and waited for her to show up. The problem was that every time they moved, the fawn tried to follow.

The decision was made to walk back home and the newborn came along, too. After speaking to their aunt,  who is an exert on deer habits, the boys put the baby at the edge of the woods under  some leaf cover again for her mother to hear her. Two hours passed and it was getting cooler outside. Their aunt said that it would need to be fed some colostrum.

We  stopped at Tractor Supply Company for  a bag of "colostrum and milk replacement"  and goat nipples. Tori, our resident animal whisperer, was now home and able to lend a hand. She got right to work mixing up the formula.

It was difficult to get the fawn to nurse off the bottle. Eventually, they were able to get her fed and continued to offer the bottle every two to three hours with varied success.

It will remain to be seen if she survives the next few days, but the goal is to get her strong enough to get back out into the wild, if at all possible.A local wildlife rescue may be a big help there.

Bubbles, No Trouble!

We actually had a few sunny days in a row so Meg was inspired to buy the little G-Man a complete package of bubble making implements!

Her brothers and sister were thrilled to take a break from their schoolwork to enjoy this diversion on a beautiful afternoon.

This pretty Momma taught her boy how to make  wonderful bubbles in many shapes and sizes.

He learned quickly and had a ball!

Strong Current

Once again, our area was inundated with a lot of rain. We decided to check out a small creek behind the house to see if it was deep enough for swimming! Notice the difference between Sam and Juby's interpretation of the weather. I love the optimism of the goggles!

John went out into the center of the stream but we let Miss J. go no farther than the edge after he reported that the current was quite strong. Its depth was just above his knees and chilly!

Sam, cautiously, obtained a long stick to help him get out if needed. Of course, I would have assisted, if necessary.

This one was sturdier and gave John added confidence which was all part of the fun...He wasn't having any real problems.

While we were out in the woods, the boys found a very large salamander.

High water has certainly been in the news lately and we were excited to be able to experience some for ourselves.

May Crowning-2011

Our homeschool group hosted our fifth annual May Crowning with a huge turn-out and glorious spring weather.

As usual, we all dressed up and brought flowers ( many from the yard), on the first Friday of May.

Our celebration included four Marion Hymns including Immaculate Mary and  Sing of Mary, Pure and Lowly.

We prayed the Litany of Loretto asking for Mary's intercession under all her titles, including Help of Christians and Ark of the Covenant.

Every year, our group has a few boys and girls who are making their First Communion. Our ceremony allows for those boys to lead the procession and those girls to actually place a crown covered in roses around the head of Our Lady.

After the saying the Fifth Decade of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, we attended the 12 noon Mass offered by our Pastor. He then "invested" each child with a blessed Miraculous Medal.

 After Mass, we headed for the park for a covered dish lunch!

This turned out to be so pleasant and fun, that people stayed together at the park for hours.

 It was a great day for both the kids and the parents! We mixed celebrating the beauty of our Faith with  good food and good friends and were blessed with gorgeous weather to enjoy it all in...  Thank You, Lord!.

Spring Soccer

We thought long and hard before signing up for Spring Soccer.


For one thing, the weather is not usually as nice as in the Fall.

 We've had quite a few practices canceled and a game post-poned and rescheduled because of the record amounts of rainfall in our area.

The other deterrent was the full-time commitment three soccer teams adds to our schedule.

This Saturday, we have three games and a wedding to attend. That doesn't even include the girls' activities!

On the other hand, there is nothing I like to see more than kids running around in the fresh air.The fields are so green and the surroundings so beautiful.

In some ways, soccer itself seems a little "contrived" and "canned". The old fogy in me says " How come we need to drive to a field at a certain time to play ball with a bunch of other kids? How come they can't all play in the yard like we did?"

The answer to that question is: because that is never going to happen at home. There are no other kids around.

By going to soccer practice, ( three evenings a week, for an hour, just a few miles away), they have the opportunity to play with at least 10 other kids their own age and get to know them.They learn to work as a team, which is an important skill to practice in every area of life.

Larry and I both enjoy the games. He really watches every bit of strategy and cheers accordingly. I  enjoy the weather, chit-chatting with the other soccer moms and seeing all the kids run back and forth getting much needed exercise while having fun!