Weekly update - September 1, 2023

Happy September! It's probably my favorite month.  I'll celebrate by actually doing a weekly update post.

• Every evening when I go out to bring in the horses, I see this chicken on this chair.

• Of course, the day after we spend two hours looking for orbs twenty-five new ones are set out. I thought about suggesting that we all head out again this morning, but didn't think it would go over very well. Plus, I really needed a day at home to catch up on all the things I've let slide for the past couple of weeks.
• One of those things was deal with the six cups of black cherries H. had picked a few days ago. (Boy, does she love to pick fruit!) So I was responsible and cooked them and set them straining in order to make jelly.

• The plastic elastic on the straining bag is gross. It's the only way to describe it. It's sort of soft and sticky and very unpleasant. I decided just after I took this picture that I was tired of having to deal with it, so sat down to order a replacement. Financially it made more sense to buy a new strainer set. I don't get it. 
• We had some exciting mail arrive today: many of our biology supplies. It's not everyday that you get an actual brain in the mail.

• But the sheep's brain wasn't the only thing that arrived. We also got a sheep's pluck (it's evidently the combined sheep heart and lungs) and four blood typing kits.

We were amused that the heart and lungs came in such a big bucket and the brain in such a small jar.

• K. is still enjoying working at Taco Bell.
• People have been at seriously loose ends this past week. There have been indications that starting school will be a good thing. It's so much easier to begin with a willing audience.
• In major news, today I washed and ironed the last linen tablecloth from the holidays which had been kicking around the laundry room. I felt as though this was important news to share.
• On the way home from H.'s gardening group today we stopped by a local farm stand that I like to buy corn. They had good deals on large bags of pickling cucumbers and green beans. All of a sudden I felt a deep need to buy them and make pickles and dilly beans. So with those, along with the cherry juice, I guess I'm spending my weekend canning. 
• Life among the horses seems to have settled and things are calm.
• I did not buy a 28" miniature horse yesterday, though it was a very close thing.
• The trees we planted are still alive and looking healthy. L. has been very helpful with the watering. 
• It will be good to get back to some sort of schedule with R. I have been letting her just do her thing pretty much since last January as we fiddled with seizure meds. But unlike most children, her circle of possible interests is very narrow and rigid. With a handle on seizures, it's now time to push her a little bit.
• But in good R. news, at teatime I told her she could have two cookies and I I pleasantly surprised when she was able to figure out two cookies all on her own. 
• Oh! I nearly forgot. Last week the farrier was out to trim the horses' hooves. It was the first visit for Major. It went better than I had expected because his only fault is that he is still learning about lifting his feet. The farrier was able to pull his front shoes and trim all four feet. Major really needed it. Look how much she took off.

Half of one of those trimmings is closer to the length that she takes off Emmy. 

• A really good farrier who is able to work with clueless or scared horses without getting upset or impatient is someone you want to treat very, very well.
• A good hay guy is another professional to stay on the good side of. Speaking of whom, mine is coming bright and early tomorrow morning with 100 bakes of hay, so I'm going to sign off now. 

Have a good holiday weekend, everyone!