4th week of September 2007

The chicks are hatching! Chicks hatching We spent Wednesday watching the action in the incubator, what fun for all of us to watch chicks emerging for the first time. It is quite a struggle from the first pip hole till they finally break free and we were surprised to learn that they can peep while still enclosed in the shell. Once they are dried off they are moved under the heat lamp in the chick shed (which Elizabeth paid her younger brothers to clean out for her!) to continue growing. We had 30 chicks from this batch and we'll start another batch in the incubator on Saturday using black Australorp eggs from a friend who won prizes at the fair for their chickens. I can see where incubating eggs could become a contagious past time. Our chicks

At my Lehman's store demonstrations on Thursday I met homesteading folks from Tennessee, Michigan, North Carolina, Minnesota, Idaho, California and Texas. When showing my tomato collection to the Texas family they identified the orange Persimmon right away and said that was one of their favorites too. We discovered both of us ordered the seed from Cooks Garden catalog and proceeded to compare notes on other varieties we each grew. How amazing that seeds can be a connection for complete strangers. Last week also included a birthday meal for our 3 year old who chose meatballs, mashed potatoes (I tried using All Blue potatoes for fun), and red beets. The others are making plans for their birthday meal menus even though it will change half a dozen times before their birthdays actually arrive. One of them commented that she needed more birthdays in a year so she could choose all the food she liked. I hope our children will always connect birthday memories with good food.

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