Plop-plop, Fizz-fizz

Oh what fun science is! I tried an activity with Levi today that I saw on Pinterest. The pinner had said it kept their toddlers/kids busy for over an hour. I doubted this claim with Levi and I was correct. But it was still a fun few minutes, which is longer than most things keep his attention.

Tray filled with baking soda + muffin tin filled with vinegar and food coloring + eye dropper =

Note: It took him awhile to figure out how to use the eye dropper.

The Owl

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. But part of the purpose of this blog is to educate and inform my readers of country life, and what happened last night is part of it. Justin was out and about, putting out feed and doing work around the property when he came upon a sad sight. An owl was caught in some barb wire fence at the back of the property. I ran down with a towel and he was using a bucket to keep the owl in (and away from talons and a beak) as he tried to free it. Unfortunately, the wing was already broken in multiple places and the owl didn't even have any fight in him. I ran to get wire cutters and the .22. Justin did call the game warden to ask if there was anything else we could do - any kind of rehabilitation place we could take it - but he said if the wing is that bad, they wouldn't be able to do anything for it. As I was running back with the items, Justin had managed to free it from the fence and was driving up in the gator. He had the owl in the bucket with the blanket over it. I had grabbed my camera as well, so I took a few pictures before we had to end its misery. I think it is either a spotted owl or a barred owl; they look very similar and I am not an aviary specialist.

Such a beautiful bird.

Operation Cell Service

I meant to post this awhile ago but haven't had a chance. We have minimal cell service inside the cabin now that Justin put up a booster antenna. He still needs to get a pole and put it up higher, but at least we can make a phone call standing in one particular spot inside.

A boy and his sticks

It was a rare beautiful day recently so Levi and I spent some time walking around outside, exploring, while Mattie napped. I took pictures of birds and flowers as he collected sticks and Bella ran around being a country dog.

His goofy cheese pose.

And Bella stole a stick!

Getting it back.

NOT happy that Bella got it again.

Finally, has his sticks back.

More Broken Branches

Here are some more pictures I took of the icicles and broken branches. They are still constantly falling, making me want to duck, even inside the cabin. I keep thinking one is going to come through a window or the roof. Needless to say, I did not drive the 45 miles to take Levi to school today.

A game of chance going down the drive...

It's cold, y'all.

Might have to do some fence repairs...

Top came down

Pop! Crack! Boom!

Broken branches abound thanks to the freezing temperatures and heavy rain. It rained all night long and with it we heard what sounded like a shotgun constantly going off. The poor dog was not a fan. I took a few pictures just around the house while there was a break in the rain. But I had to be very careful, branches and limbs are still cracking and falling all around us. Justin is wearing his hard hat while he clears some of the limbs off the driveway.

My suburban was parked just in front of that broken branch.

Knock, knock.