Spring on the English River...

Well, I have had my new camera for over a week now, and I gotta tell ya, I love it as much as I thought I would! The weather was gorgeous yesterday, and we were all crazy with getting stuff done. Here are a few pics from the last few days:
Our resident Canadian Geese couple that lives on our river bank. We just love to watch them raise their babies! Thank you, Kodak 26x zoom!!


And speaking of babies, what do you think of these two little pieces of heaven? Just look at those eyes!!


Here are a couple shots of my daffodils..they are going *crazy* these last few days..they are just so gorgeous-so many different colors and sizes. I take dozens of pictures of my daffodils every spring-this year is no different..I will spare you the pain of looking at them all-these are a few of my favorites! LOL



Humphrey and Hawkeye were *more* than excited to get outside for a snack yesterday...I swear, they have gotten SO BIG just in the last couple weeks! Their yoke barely fits any more, and we have to get a new one now! We do our best to make sure they are not bothered *at all* by our touch. Cody sits on them, we man handle their heads and horns, play with their legs, etc. Peter thought he would bug them yesterday while they ate..they weren't phased by him in the least!

Hoping for another nice day full of photo taking! Honey the dog has been here with us for a week-she is Kent's dog. But she won't sit still long enough to get her picture taken. SO...we are gonna try again today, as she goes home tomorrow afternoon. We will miss her!!

Have a blessed Sunday!

**Keri**

The newest innovation in oxen headgear...

You are not gonna *believe* your eyes, this is such an awesome idea! LOL...it all started a few weeks ago, after one of the big boys scraped up the other one with his horn one night. He had huge scratches all over his side, some of them even bloody. It happens from time to time, along with other horn related mishaps..Several people have been on the receiving end of a nasty blow to the melon while trying to get these big guys their fresh water. I have not, thank goodness, but I hear it will knock you to your knees. They don't do it on purpose, mind you, they are just SO BIG and there isn't a huge amount of room to maneuver inside the barn. Brock said something one day about putting metal tips on their horns, I am sure there is a name for them, that I don't know, but I said, well, in the meantime, just stick some rubber bouncy balls on the tips of their horns...then that turned into tennis balls...and we said--man, wouldn't it be funny if Pete came home from work some night, and went into the barn, only to find Jacob and Red with tennis balls on their horns?? We could act like we thought it was *THE* coolest idea, and were serious, and see if we could get him going. So being just before April 1st, we decided that would be a good day to try it. WELL, those darned buzzards looked SO FUNNY with those flippin' tennis balls on their heads, that we could hardly stop laughing long enough for Peter to notice them...well, once he did, he actually LAUGHED!! Most people who know Pete, know that it has to be REALLY FUNNY for him to laugh...so although our trick didn't go off like we hoped, it was funny, and I got a couple cute photos!!

Easter Weekend Re-cap...

What a quick weekend it was! The weather was gorgeous, and that just added to the great holiday weekend! It was busy, as usual-errands to run, chores to get caught up on..I found myself cleaning the chicken coop at 6:00 pm last night, Easter night! Duty calls, right?
Friday was a great day, I actually had a bit of time to myself, and I spent is outside reading a great book! After a trip to Plattsburgh for groceries on Saturday morning, the "boys" got the "boys" out...Pete, Cody, and Brock, got out their respective oxen teams out of the barn for some fresh air. Red and Jacob were happy to be out with Brock, as were Hawkeye and Humphrey with Cody. It was *very* warm that day, so they weren't pushed too hard..
Here is Cody with his team:

Both teams together for size comparison:

Humphrey gettin' a little lovin'!

I gotta say, this whole oxen training/commands thing is SO hard to get my mind around...I just stand there and take pictures..it really drives me NUTS when I don't know how to do something, and this situation fits the bill for sure!

Apparently, Easter is not what it used to be at the LaClair house. I had to DRAG my 14 year old out of bed at 9 am yesterday, and MAKE him look at his Easter basket...you would think the candy would be a BIT tempting!

Here's to a great week-thanks for dropping in!

**Keri**

Our latest oxen excursion...

Happy Friday and a TGIF to everyone! Boy, will this week ever end? Thought I would share a few photos from our latest outing with the oxen. Humphrey and Hawkeye have been suffering from cabin fever, and boy, were they wild when they got outside last weekend! Running, jumping, kicking and romping-it was quite a sight! They have grown so much over the winter, we were unsure if their yoke would even fit. It ended up still fitting, but with no extra room to spare. It is gonna be time to upgrade very soon!

Considering they have been in the barn all winter, they did calm down pretty fast, and they did pretty good with their commands and just walking along together in their yoke. They took a walk up the road, and came back to the house. They were exhausted by the time they made it back to the yard. They immediately started eating the snowbank!

Have a great day!

**Keri**

Frosty Friends...

Here is a scrapbook page I did today, while I watched my soaps. I had this 8x8 inch photo printed at the same time I had the Christmas card photos printed. Patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye, cardstock is SU! Snowflakes are My Mind's Eye and letters are Basic Grey and QK.

Thanks for looking!

**Keri**

A look into Rusty's Place...

Okay, here is the evidence!! I was so excited yesterday when the boys came in and said Bernice had laid 2 eggs!! I finished up what I was doing in the house, headed out with my egg carton, and by the time I got out there, there was a THIRD egg!! SO--here is the deal..if you want a dozen fresh eggs from Rusty's place, give me two weeks notice, and keep in mind that some of the eggs will be fresher than others!!!

So, we spent a lot of time in the barn yesterday, I cleaned the coop and the boys cleaned the barn. I decided I would take a few pics of what the barn looks like "fully loaded" so to speak. With Jacob and Red inside, it sure is fully loaded!! We have Jacob and Red, the oxen, along with 3 heifers, and the three calves. Humphrey and Hawkeye are the little oxen, and Hamburg is, well, Hamburg...you can only see Hamburg's butt by Pete's legs!!




The barn is nice and cozy warm. They have classic rock from Montreal playing in the background, and we are almost set for winter!

Here is a photo from last weekend, of Cody with both sets of oxen. I posted this one of Facebook last week. Quite a size difference, huh?
On a side note, I have been *SUPER* busy getting orders made, and shipped out, for my shop. I have been making about 4 dozen German stars a day!! I am sure things will slow down once people get their Christmas trees up and decorated!
I got all my Thanksgiving and fall decorations down yesterday, so I can begin getting my trees up and decorated. All in all, things are very busy here!!
Have a good Sunday!
**Keri**

Re-cap!

I know, I know...this poor neglected blog!!
Here is a bit of a catch up...I promise I will try to do better! The good news is, I have been so busy with etsy orders that I haven't had time to devote to the blog!!
Here are a couple of pics from Halloween:
My trick or treats--most of which Cody ate:

My scariest trick or treater EVER!!

And my Peanuts, along with all of our carved pumpkins!!

Peter's 4 pointer::

Sprinkles the Moose, who has moved in next door to our house::

And the latest picture of Cody with Humphrey and Hawkeye...They are growing fast, all three of them!!

Thanks for stopping by!
**Keri**

Oxen "Preview"

Good morning! Thought I would share with y'all exactly what Humphrey and Hawkeye are gonna look like, when they are big boys! This pair of oxen belongs to Peter's cousin. We went and visited them on Sunday afternoon. Meet Jacob and Red!
They are HUGE!!





When these guys are hitched up, they can pull a lot of weight, i.e. logs, etc.
I can't wait to see them in action!!
Have a great day!
**Keri**

Introducing Hawkeye!

So, last week I introduced you to Humphrey-the pet, and Hamburg, the bull with a purpose. Well, let me introduce Humprey's work mate, or future work mate, Hawkeye. Apparently, Humphrey is destined to be a work animal, (ox) and of course, I was recently instructed that oxen come in pairs! So after many hours of batting eyelashed of BIG BROWN EYES, the boys got the go ahead from the boss (me..) and went and found a matching bull that fit the bill. So, Humphrey and Hawkeye are a team! To see more of what I am talking about, visit this site. It has a wealth of information. Hawkeye is just a few days younger than Humphrey, and even though he was still being bottle fed when we brought him home, he is already drinking out of a bucket, and doing well!

Here are Humphrey and Hawkeye together-quite a pair! They are a nice set-similar size and markings...Cody will start very soon getting them used to standing next to each other, always on the same side, and he is already getting them used to the harness on their head. Then they will start learning basic commands for walking, stopping, and left and right. This should be interesting! You can be sure I will keep you updated on the progress!


I also thought I would share my view with you...being without a job this summer, I have been able to spend a lot of time doing not much of anything...Many times in the afternoon I will sit out in Peter's trophy room with the door open, and Harley will join me. She loves to sit or lay in front of the screen door and watch for chipmunks. It is so peaceful to spend time with her out here, with the sounds of nature, and the cool breeze! Doesn't she look sweet?


Have a Blessed Week!
**Keri**