Feeding Time

A lot of energy is put into feeding everybody, and every pet, everyday, around here, as you may imagine. Last Sunday, I made a trip to Richmond to pick up the 1/2 of a cow meat that I purchased with my friend, Wendy. As I was leaving from our meat exchange, I stopped for butter and cheese at the local Kroger. Walking in, I was stopped by the sign that said all pumpkins were $4. I don't know if that is more normal, but you can't get a large pumpkin for less than double that around here, so I picked up four. While I was at it, I got some large mums for the same price. I came home to decorate the front of our house, which is a lot more like a large construction zone lately than a home front. I planted the mums and spaced the pumpkins between them.

Within hours, there was a rooster eating the pumpkin and four more waiting in the wings. Obviously the black one is the head rooster because the others weren't even touching the other pumpkins.

The pumpkins are now living in the screened in porch. I do let the chickens eat them eventually, but I like to enjoy them first. See the roosters and the construction zone in front of the garage?

A few days later, Alayna and I, and the children, made a trip to the Amish for apples. I bought 100 pounds for applesauce. Ironically, they sell the apples at the feed store and not the grocery store. The kids got to see the Amish filling the chicken feed bags that we routinely buy.

We made a stop at the Amish farmer's market that they set up in front of the library. We enjoyed some homemade cinnamon rolls before we got back in the van to head to the grocery store to buy 100 pounds of wheat, (100 lbs. seem to be my going amount of everything to buy these days!) 

We bought a few "baby" pumpkins while we were there also; they are happily living with the momma pumpkins on the back porch.

I wish the Amish would sell 100 pound bags of Honey-Nut Cheerios! When they were on sale at Costco, I bought 20 large double boxes; we are down to the last two. It's amazing really.