Two weeks ago, when my sister visited, I took a picture of D diggin' in the dirt. I freaked out when I realized it was the site of an old ants-with-red-heads nest!
Nooo! Not Ants-with-red-heads!!!!
When I went to make sure he wasn't covered in biting ants, I found only a few ants looking confused. I thought the chickens ate them all up. Until today.
See this spot?
This is what is looks like, close up:
Good thing he didn't dig there today!
Next topic: School work. We have been reading about Lewis and Clark and some of the Native American tribes. Today we read about the Inuit and how they made goggles so they could see in the blinding sun. We made some too!
Next topic: Getting the mail, meeting the neighbors, and the Pathetic Doberman
Last night we heard a coyote howling hungrily in the pasture. M opened the window and scared me half to death. I jumped up, put on my jacket, and started out the door. M asked me where I was going. "To save my chickens!" I said. "Take the dog with you," M replied. Then I woke up. I could see the dog getting torn to shreds by a coyote. Or running back to the house, leaving me defenseless and trapped in the chicken coop all night. No thanks. Mr. Coyote can have a few chickens. I crawled back in bed.
It's a Dog's Life
Today we heard an absolute racket through the woods, toward the abandoned mobile home. Pathetic Doberman was barking her head off, which is what she is supposed to do, when I realized I didn't hear a peep out of her last night when the coyote was howling! For crying out loud! She barked for three hours on Saturday when the moon was shining on her bed. I had to shut the curtains to shut her up! But, back to the racket in the woods: I decided to investigate and check the mail. I took F and S with me, for protection you know, and locked the dog in the car. I got to meet some of M's old (friends? acquaintances?) people he used to know way back when. They were salvaging metal off the property. They told me to tell M's sister, "Hi." And they wanted to give some bikes to my kids. Hm.
We read a story out loud from a Seneca tribe about dogs saving their master from a scary monster. IJ had to write up a cultural comparison and a story map. Poor kid. He loves to read the stories, but he doesn't love to do the "literature study" part of the assignment.
Surrounded by real friends
Doing school in the sun is better than doing school at the table. His poetry unit teaches that one must be thankful for the opportunity to learn poetry. I say we can apply that in other subjects as well. Like chemistry:
Not like this
This.
Understand the difference now?
S and E were so happy to be free to explore the world of insects and edible weeds. S was excited to find a larva going through metamorphosis. 
