This Summer

Summer has flown by.  It's already a third over.  And Little Brother cannot wait to get back to school.  Big brother couldn't care less if school ever came.  I explain to him over and over that school is a privilege... not everyone gets to go to school... not everyone can read.... we are very fortunate.... on and on.  But he never seems to have a change of heart.  He enjoys school as a social gathering--- and not much more.  And really, I think that is OK for a 10 year-old.

This summer has been consumed by family and friends.  I am the type of person who would be elated with laying in our hammock and reading a smutty romance novel on my Nook---one that takes absolutely no brain power and a just a little imagination.  But this summer has been RUN RUN RUN (or DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE.)  Drive to swimming lesson (thank God that's over,) Drive to piano, Drive to tutors and so on.  I am looking forward to Thursday---it's the only day I am staying home this week.  I was worried at the end of last school year because keeping two busy boys occupied is never an easy task.  It is hard to switch from full time school to full time home (almost full time- I do work part time.  But then they go to our neighbors which is also like home.)  But now I am dreading them returning back to school because it will be like a piece of me missing...again.  Now I am rambling... onto our bird mishaps....

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Abram has been patiently waiting for, Cujo, our black chicken (who is a tad bit psychotic--- like something right out of a Stephen King book) to get up off eggs that we have been trying to hatch so we can see if the rooster--- Dr. Evil--- has done his job.  Unfortunately Cujo, being the crazy bird that she is, refused to get off of the nest.  Well, the eggs were three days overdue for hatching. I know very little about chickens, I don't know if eggs go overdue (like humans.)  So, I took the very angry bird off of the eggs, kicked the rooster who was defending his hen, and this is what I found out...

I did not know that a chicken would continue to lay eggs even when she is nesting... or brooding... or whatever they do.  Cujo was sitting on over 20 eggs.  This is not good. 

The second thing that I learned is that the rooster did do his job, but Cujo (being like a character out of a really bad animal horror movie) killed the four chicks that had hatched.  I will not go into details, but it sucked. 

So, we bought an incubator and will try again.  In a little more controlled environment--- without psychotic black chickens.

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So, having lost at least four chicks, Abram's heart was broken.  But, guess was he found in the yard?  Oh, yeah.... a baby bird. 

 Some people have caterpillars in their laundry room.  We have a hideously ugly baby bird.  Abram dug worms for it and caught bugs for it.  The bird was so new that it still needed it's food chopped up and needed to be fed.  We even gave it water through a dropper. 

He talked to that little bird that he was the last bird in the world.  It reminded me of a book I read to him and Noah a million times... "Flap Your Wings," by P.D. Eastman.  Abram would tell the bird to flap his wings--- just like the momma and daddy birds in the book (only they were teaching an alligator to fly, you gotta read the book to appreciate it.)

I could only handle taking care of this baby bird for a day.  It was so noisy and so much work.  The bird ate constantly (just like in the book.)  I give props to bird mommas... they put human mommas to shame. 

Eventually I explained to Abram that we could not keep this bird.  I do not have time to give it the care it needs. 

So, Aaron and Abram meandered through our yard in search of a mother bird.  And they found a Robin's nest with two eggs in it.  Aaron gently placed the bird in there.  Imagine what that momma thought when she got home!  Hopefully, she took as good of care of this baby bird--- as the momma bird in the book took care of her alligator.