When my 2 youngest kids were in college the school had an annual "Turkey Trot" race. I remember both of them participating in it, getting tee shirts and who knows what else. I believe it was a fund raiser for something but I can't remember what.
I now have my own "Turkey Trot" but thankfully it is not a race. Any day that I have the least bit of extra energy I head outside to circumvent the property to collect more turkey feathers. I have quite a collection right now after collecting them for the past 3 years. I don't know where the turkeys were hiding before that but the flock is certainly growing. Yesterday we had 8 of them running across the field to get up here for the corn and sunflower seeds. On today's journey I found a half of a grocery bag of feathers. All sizes and all colors. On a really good day I might even find an eagle feather to add to the collection.
My collection is about to get unruly . . . I have filled all the vases I could find with the large feathers. The smaller and fuzzier feathers are in a large box which is just about overflowing. It's time to get serious and start my wreath. I went to You Tube and could not believe the number of videos there are to teach you how to make a turkey feather wreath. Here I was thinking I was the first person on earth to think of this. Apparently not. The videos are actually pretty interesting. The major dispute of creators of this craft is what to use as a frame. Some favor grape vine wreaths, others prefer styrofoam. There was even one video that had a very talented person draw out in detail exactly what they wanted their wreath to look like. I don't see myself doing that ! I was just planning on a styrofoam circle and a glue gun and let my "creative" talent flow. I expect the end result will be something we will either throw out or hang in the garage. But then again, I hope I will surprise myself. Just think, I will be the first person in my Florida neighborhood to have a home made turkey feather wreath.
I enjoy my daily walk around the farm looking for feathers. Today I needed to push myself to get out there and move. We had a busy weekend and I am pooped. Youngest son, Kent, flew up here with his 3 kids. I had a ball and I think the kids enjoyed themselves. The big hit of the weekend was the side by side. All the kids had turns driving it all around. There were a few tense moments on Friday afternoon and Saturday when Dwayne had to tell the kids to slow down and be a bit more aware of what they were doing. It wasn't a big deal for us or the kids but I think my son had a problem with it. Tough ! Grandma's house, Grandma's rules. The kids were great and a huge help. They fed the animals for us, corn for the deer, turkeys and sand cranes. Sunflower seeds for dessert for the turkeys. Even the chipmunks got fed some corn. Grey,(10), helped me cook dinner Friday and make breakfast pancakes on Sunday. Wynn and Smith were great and went all out gathering wood for the bon fire on Saturday night. They even cooked some marshmallows for grandma and The Man's s'mores. It was a fun weekend but I plan on taking a nap every day this week to recover.
As for The Man, he was a very gracious host and did a great job staying calm. Once he got over the idea that there would be 4 air conditioners running he settled down. I may get his electric bill handed to me once it arrives. Naturally this weekend was the hottest day in the history of the UP. Hazy, HOT and Humid. It was very uncomfortable so I took my family to an iron mine for a tour where the temperature is 47 degrees. It was wonderful. From there we went for a swim in Lake Michigan which was quite delightful. The Man just stayed home in the air conditioning where he could breathe. By the time the kids left yesterday the heat broke, a cool breeze started blowing across the farm and we were back to normal UP weather. Today was cloudy and cool, perfect napping weather.
Tomorrow I will take all the sheets, pillowcases and towels and head for the laundromat for a couple of hours of laundry therapy. I've got a good book, $40 in quarters so I'm ready to go. The cleaning girl will arrive on Wednesday to do damage control on the house so by Thursday we should be back to normal.
I hate to admit it but we are getting old. Any change in our daily "routine" sets us back for days. I can't wait for the day when my kids are old and they realize just how tired their parents were during these "Golden" years. Luckily I have a good supply of Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Tylenol and Excedrin. I like to switch it up to keep my body pain free.
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