Calves Are Out

The calves are out on the line we call the "goat wedge."  I think we wanted to have the goats there on a more permanent basis a few years ago.  I guess we should call it the "calf wedge" now.  They are extremely happy to be off of hay at last.  We were trying to train them to being moved with cross-fences, but they just busted them all down and are eating on the whole line, the bad things.  I am trying to tame them by bringing a little peanut hay every day and standing around while they eat it.  Everyone except Sappho is fairly friendly.  Even Lichen will try to eat out of my hand.  Nutty is like a huge, over-enthusiastic dog when I come over.  He only thinks about his stomach.  How unfortunate that he will never be a milk cow!  And the girls are so stand-offish and flighty,

April is still getting her head stuck in the fence every day.  Every damn day.  But then again, how are we humans so different?  Don't we also make poor decisions every day that have obvious negative consequences?

This past week has been so busy.  My hands never did not have something before them that needed immediate attention.  Laundy, butter, skimming cream, washing jars, pickling, cooking, pulling big kids apart from fighting, catching Clothilde on her tricycle before she gets runover, laundry again.  Busy, busy, busy.  And on top of that was our homeschool evaluation.  It went very well, even though Mirin forgot all the math we've ever done.  But I doubt the regular-schooled kids could really remember exactly what they did beginning of last school year if you asked them in the middle of summer vacation.

I am really loving the reading that has come from planning 5th grade.  Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, India and Babylon.  The Egyptian math book I got is incredible.  I can't believe they don't teach it in regular schools!  Multiplying and dividing by doubling and halving.  You don't have to know all the times tables up to 10 or 12.  Just adding.  It's faster, easier, and makes more practical sense.  It's a different way of looking at how the numbers work together. 

I am finally learning something about Zoroastrianism.  It's life-changing.  Where was this my whole life?  It had such an influence on the major religions of the world.  Why do they always talk so much about Greece in history class, and only barely mention the Mesopotamians who had such a large impact on the Greeks? If you don't come out of school with the idea that white people, especially Americans, were the greatest humans on earth, then you must not have been paying attention.  I love how my 9th grade "World History" class was primarily about Europe and the US!  (The poor teacher's aid in that class even had a lesson centered around the idea that cucumbers originated in England!  They did not.  They are from India, but she didn't believe me at all when I raised my hand,  and of course the other students just thought I was stupid for disagreeing with the teacher).  At least I can broaden my deprived education a bit this way, even if Mirin won't remember it for the next home school evaluation (I think he will actually like it a lot).

All week I've wanted to write here, but there was just no time left in the day.  I am now worrying about the winter garden.  I know I can finish planning homeschool (I hope) by the time we're supposed to start home schooling again, but I'm not sure about the fall garden.  I had another big, ambitious garden plan drawn up in the spring when the weather was fine, but now I am feeling daunted by the 90 degree weather and lightening storms.  I'm not sure how I will do them both. 

Right now I am working on home school during times when I don't really have time - outside being bitten by mosquitoes and watching Clothilde ride too far away on the pink tricycle (curse the thing!), at the library while my kids play the stupid games on the computers there (they aren't interested in the books - we have books at home.  They just like the screens because they aren't allowed to play on screens at home.  At least it's cool in the library and there aren't mosquitoes - usually).  In between milking the goats.  Yes, I read and write things down in between milking the goats, while they are still eating their milking ration.  I give them a little extra than they need, and they are certainly getting fat, so maybe I should cut back.  But I need the time.  There's just not enough time!