We earned our wings...

...chicken wings--that is.  Ella and I are officially country girls! 

Due to the graphic images in this post, viewer digression is advised;)

Today's field trip was at http://www.plumfabulousfoods.com in Plum, TX.  One of our homeschool moms lives with her family on this wonderful organic small working farm.  

Today three of us homeschool moms--along with kids of all ages--rolled up our sleeves and humanely prepared 47 chickens from farm to table/freezer.  

I'm a rookie at this (and like it that way); the other two moms are way more seasoned.  In my mind, I was there to observe, Ella was there to participate.  Well, that ended up not being the case.  I have to tell you...when we first arrived upon the bloody scene, every inch of my being wanted to vomit.  Those who know me well know that I'm not really a big meat eater, and I never touch raw meat without gloves.  

As I stood there and fought back the urge to make my getaway, I couldn't help but notice these awesome moms/kids taking care of business (with their bare hands😳🙈) and enjoying their time together.  

Ummm...not wanting to go home feeling completely inadequate, I convinced myself to do the right thing and get my hands entire body dirty, as well.  

So...I...did, and I survived.  AND, my family is having the freshest chicken dinner and salad (compliments of Plum Fabulous farm). AND, I will never look at chicken the same way ever again.  AND, I may never eat it again either. 

Let me be honest, I much preferred picking the lettuce from their beautiful garden over bird duty, but I've been invited back...and next time I won't be such a   

chicken!

I obviously couldn't document the entire process from start to finish because I HAD BLOOD AND CHICKEN PARTS ON MY HANDS😝😝😝.

OktoBierFest Acrostic Poem

OktoBierFest
Kuckuck's Nest dirndl
Twin fiddling
On stage 
Birthday:  Double digits
Immersed in music
Enzian Buam Band
Round Top Texas
Fiddlin' with “The Little Fiddler”
Esther Klatte
Surrounded by family and friends
Til next year...

Blessed to be surrounded by so much goodness.  Can't thank everyone (pictured or not) enough for loving and supporting our Ella B.   

Polka On!

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

I missed the photo opportunity of Dag and neighbor cow nose-to-nose, but this image reminded me of a poem I studied decades ago:  Mending Wall.

We haven't been homeschooling long, but this picture also reminds me of the stacks of 4th Grade untouched curriculum books in our schoolroom.  We love being outside, going down rabbit holes, exploring, and learning on the go.

I read Mending Wall to Ella, which led to some pretty darn good analysis on her part.  Many interpretations exist, but Ella seems to think its a reflection of the inner struggle between Robert Frost (the Narrator) and his father.  

While looking up the history of Robert Frost, she discovered his father, William, "was a rough-around-the-edges journalist who was a hard drinker, always carried a pistol, and kept a glass jar of pickled bull testicles on his desk at work."  

We read a few reviews with themes of family traditions, man and the natural world, etc, but I think she might be on to something:  his father's attributes would certainly encourage me to build an internal wall.

Even today...some like walls, some don't.  Here in the country, we don't need fences--except, "where there are cows", [llamas, goats, bullies:].