Anyone need a buck?

We've had this buck hanging around lately.

It's kind of cool, but kind of scary too.  Everyone tells you to be careful around them.  Daisy just wants to play.

He came down and watched Kendall and Jeremy as they were packing up to go home.  He also went out and watched the kids play in the creek, before Jeremy walked over to get him to move on.  He's been stopping in here for the past week now.  He certainly isn't very afraid of people or dogs.

We've had Katlyne, Jack & Ani and Marcia visiting this week.

The kids got to enjoy the pool today because we finally got some hot weather.  It will be short lived because a storm is coming in tonight, and we're supposed to have rain for the next five days.

Today we went through all my old crayons and picked out the broken ones.  The kids did a great job of peeling the papers off of them.  Then we melted them down and made new 'round' crayons.  Recycling is great!

They look really cool all stacked up, too!

In other news:

We have a rooster!

From our new batch of chicks we got this spring.  We thought Moxie was going to be a rooster, but she wasn't.  Instead, Shelly was a rooster.  So Winston has named him 'Shelvin'.

Sadly, we lost Moxie yesterday.  The old hens ganged up on her and she didn't survive the pecking-order.  They attacked Shelvin pretty hard, too.  He's limping a bit, but he's still moving along.  I was so mad at those old hens, I was threatening to make them coyote bait!  Dumb hens!  Someday hopefully Shelvin will be big enough to take them on!

 I also came to a conclusion today...

There are not many things more futile than trying to get a puppy to sit still for a picture.  Daisy's eyes look really goofy in this one.  Poor girl, goes in tomorrow to get fixed.  Happy for us, not so happy for her.

We got a new mat for the tramp.

The old mat that came with it when we bought it from Aunt Terri and Uncle Kent lasted us many, many years - and many, many jumps.  It was in good shape when we first got it, but that many years took it's toll.  The kids have been enjoying the new mat.  Besides jumping, they like to lay on it after they get out of the pool to warm up.  It has many uses!

The deadly nightshade is in bloom.

Lovely to look at, but deadly.

The Syringa is in bloom also.

It's lovely to look at too, but not deadly.

Well, that's about it for now.

I think almost a dozen pictures is enough, don't you?

Hope everyone is having a great week!