Five Little Kittens

Last weekend we had big plans for Memorial Day. We had plans to put in 2000 strawberry plants. The day started off pretty well...we got the planter working...I gave Nancy the 30 second training on how to feed the plants into the planter during our trial run in the garden (professional development opportunities are very important to the success of a business)... but things sort of went downhill from there. To make a long story short, we were unable to plant as we planned- and then the rains began....again. It rained all week. I had hoped that we'd be able to plant this weekend...but as if to add insult to injury we got a few more buckets tonight. *sigh*. And so, in the fridge is where my 2000 strawberry plants will stay. I got my hair cut on Friday, but I think I'm going to have to call Lindsay back and schedule some highlights to cover the little grey hairs that all this rain is causing (you think I'm joking but I found another one just today).

The good news is that our trial run with the planter in the garden went really well!!

This is one of the plants we put out in the garden last weekend.

So to make myself feel better and forget my ever increasing number of grey hairs and strawberry woes- I spent a significant amount of time in the shop today playing with the baby kittens. They have been trying to climb out of the box their mom had them in all week- and yesterday they were successful...and today they were strutting around like they owned the place. Seriously- they are just too cute. And to share their cuteness with the world wide web- I took some pictures. And even though I know I shouldn't- I named them. Last summer I learned the lesson that you shouldn't name the kitties. Because bad things happen when you name them... But I named them anyway...I'm a rebel that way.

This is either Lewis or Clark...can't remember which because they look alike- but they are both adventerous and were the first ones to come check things out.

The little orange guy is Otis (doesn't he just look like an Otis?!), the handsome guy with the blue eyes in the middle is Milo, and the one on the end is either Lewis or Clark (which I think they are both girls so maybe Ameilia would be a better name...)

And to round out the 5... this is Spooks...because she's an all black kitty and it seems an appropriate name.

Seriously, though...baby kittens are a cure for any stress... especially when they have a wrestling match right by my feet that would make WWF proud...

Mama kitty sat atop the food can to referee. Or maybe this was the only place she could find where she could sit in peace and quiet without five sets of paws climbing all over her.

Hopefully the rainy weather will subside soon...until then...I've got the kittens to keep me entertained!

PICS Project

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

Today I had my first round of shots and orientation for my trip to northern Nigeria this summer with the Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage (PICS) Project. In case you were wondering- cowpeas are known as black-eyed peas here in the U.S. - I had to look it up because I didn't know what they were at first. Fun fact: They were brought here in the 1600's (roughly) with the slaves and do very well in the southern U.S. climates....which is why it's a popular dish in the south.
Anyways- the PICS project is funded by the Gates Foundation for $11.5 million dollars...over 5 years. The goal of the project is to extend the bagging storage technology for cowpea to 3.7 million cowpea farm families which equals about 47 million people- in ten countries. Nigeria is the first stop for these trainings. They hope to have 50% of the crop stored in the bags by the end of the project. That translates to $225 million dollars added income ANNUALLY to some of the poorest people in the world. And that is why I want to go. We always talk about IMPACT with our Purdue Extension programs. The "so what" for every program we develop and offer and the impact we will have on those who attend. $255 MILLION DOLLARS annually... in an area where people make about $2 per person per day. THAT is IMPACT.
What's the big deal about cowpeas?? Well.. it's the most economically important African legume crop. Not only is it a good source of protein... but it can also be used as forage for animals, and of course, it's a big cash crop because everyone eats them. 75% of the worlds cowpea is produced in Nigeria (Brazil and Niger round out the top 3)- specifically northern Nigeria- and it's still not enough, as Nigeria also imports a large amount of cowpea.
So what's the big deal?? Well, actually, it's a small deal...a small weevil that feeds on the cowpeas. While they may only contain a few insects to begin with, each female can produce about 40 offspring per month so in a short amount of time you have thousands of the weevils, all happily munching on cowpeas. The triple plastic bags reduce the amount of oxygen, thereby halting the growth and development of the weevils (which means they can't reproduce), and the cowpea can be stored indefinitely. It's so SIMPLE. And it's safe- no insecticides needed. The bags are affordable (about $2), and by being able to store the cowpea, they can either 1) extend their supply of cowpea throughout the year for their own consumption or 2) sell cowpea at off-peak season for MUCH larger profit (3 to 4 TIMES the amount they would receive at harvest when everyone and their brother has cowpeas to sell).
A group of field extension educators from Purdue (ME!!) are going to Nigeria this summer to do train the trainer workshops with their ag technicians so they can in turn train the farmers how to use the storage bags.
Oh- and the Gates Foundation is footing the bill for the trip (Thanks, Bill!!). http://www.gatesfoundation.org/
That's the summary of the project. We'll be in Nigeria for 17 days. I can't wait to share my experience! Because it's going to be - WOW!

Canoe the Kish

I went home to Illinois this weekend to hang with my mom...a belated Mother's Day celebration. Mom planned a canoe trip a couple weeks ago, and despite the recent rain, we were thankfully still able to go for a paddle.

The trip started off rather interesting. First, when we got to there, the owner had the hood up on his bus and was up to his elbows in grease working on the engine (never a good sign). He told us he'd pick us up at the park once the other canoers arrived (boy scouts). He arrived in a different bus than he was working on (we took that as a good sign). The bus ride was interesting for several reasons, the least of which were the 20 boy scouts. The owner also had his kids with him. His little girl (I'd guess age 3 or 4) was singing jingle bells at the top of her lungs. (She'd love Santa Claus and Holiday World). His little boy was doing everything in his power to tick his sister off- and succeeded. Meanwhile, amidst the mayhem, we noticed the bus was lurching, puttering, and slowing down rather than speeding up. Not good. Just as the driver was calling for backup, the bus came back to life. It happened that the bus worked best as we passed the Buddist temple, so we nicknamed it the "budda bus". I am happy to report that the budda bus got us to our destination.

The "budda bus"

The river was high- and running a little faster than usual. But we successfully launched off (in front of all the boy scouts) and headed downriver. It took us a few minutes to get into a grove. I was in the front and mom was in the back (which made her in charge of steering the canoe). Once we got into our groove, we were good to go- until the wind caught us and pushed us into the bank...backwards.

Despite the wind, we had a great time....and enjoyed the relaxing scenery all around.

Mom waiting for our canoe.

Support

When I got home tonight...I noticed Nick had made a pie this weekend. Rhubarb pie... I asked if he got ice cream to go with the pie. He said he had...but he didn't know if it would be too tempting (I'm trying to be skinny again). He told me to go look in the freezer and see what kind the ice cream was...

This is what I found...

*GAG* I can't think of anything I hate more than bananas. So-Nope...won't be a temptation at all. Having a supportive husband is so important to success in skinniness. I'm such a lucky girl.

Before Pics

Since the Held Edition of Extreme Home Makeover will be underway any day now...thought we'd share some "before" pictures.

Front of the house- won't be changing much except for the new siding (white) and shutters. We're debating on the shutter color... I was thinking red...brick red...to tie in with the porch. Or maybe a forest green? Thoughts??

Side of the house... the bedrooms/master bath are/will be at this end of the house.

Back of the house - we're expanding the kitchen and master bedroom by 10 feet and adding a deck. This will be totally different. The second bedroom will be added to the second floor above the kitchen. Wait until you see the new roofline! You won't even be able to tell we added on!

The "blue" bedroom/guest bedroom. This room won't change much other than the floor and the paint.

"His" and "Hers" closet doors.

Bye, bye old blue carpet.... HELLO HARDWOOD! We will be refinishing the hardwood floors in the house because they are beautiful and should not be covered with carpet. We will have carpet upstairs though.

Many, many more "before" and "after" pictures to come!! Stay tuned because it's going to be one wild summer in the Held house!!

Babies

It's spring...and spring means BABIES on the farm! Baby chickens...baby kitties...baby calves...

There have been a couple litters of kittens already...but those mama cats have done a good job keeping their babies out of sight and out of reach. Don't they know I can't play with them if they are up in the loft part of the milk house?! (sigh) But yesterday, my luck changed. The mama cats hit me up for their dinner pretty much as soon as I got out of my car. They know a sucker when they see one and I think I might be a tad more generous with the kitty food than some of the other family members. As I was pouring the food into their bowl...I heard a "MEEW." There on the tarp right next to the kitty food bowl were two itty bitty brand new baby kitties. They couldn't have been more than a couple days old- their eyes weren't even open yet. JACKPOT! I figured I'd better love on them now because it was just a matter of mama kitty #3 filling her belly and I was sure she'd move them off somewhere.

Remember those cute little baby chicks I got as my Easter basket?

They quickly outgrew the space in the water tank we had them in....and are happily enjoying their new digs and looking forward to the day when they can go out and play with the big hens.

Stay tuned...pictures of the calves are coming soon!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to our Mom's. Thank you for what you did then....

And all that you do now!