Our backyard has deer and moose and sometimes a bear and snowshoe hares and grouse and bald eagles and hawks and little garter snakes and raccoons and skunks and something small and weasel-y and coyotes and ...

Soul Sister! We can send them both to live on a desert island together.

I slept well.

You rock, Junie!

That's super cool!

OMW. Check this out.

Note that I only ventured onto the General Education Board. I'm not so desperate that I was willing to brave the Chat Board! :lol:

We are geeks. Hardcore. My only requirement is the Supreme Court. We will go or no one in this family will eat home-cooked meals for the rest or their miserable, short lives. (No pressure on them, though. :) ) I want to go to all of the Smithsonians and stay forever. That might not be realistic. I think I want to make sure that Jo sees Arlington. What do you think? (BTW, Jo is a Shakespeare fanatic. With that in mind, is the Shakespeare Museum still a no-go? I appreciate the advice, because I really don't want to waste the little time that we'll have.) Me, too! :blink:

I was expecting an email from the Mathcounts people, but it never came. So, neurotic that I am, I began travel preparations. Good thing that I did, too, because there were only 3 rooms left in the "guest block" where the competition will be held. AND they will extend the rate through the 14th. Yay, Me! (Hotel rates is DC are terrifying.)

Allergy medicines are like Costco; they are of the Devil. Sometimes they are necessary, but they always mess with the head and cause bad dreams.

:grouphug:

Wait. That was a funny? I just thought Miss Susan was pointing out the obvious. :001_smile:

Costco is demonic. It is not your fault.

That sounds fabulous. Tells you what a plebe I am, eh?

This is a one-year course, yes? So 3 papers per semester? That does not seem excessive to me, but I would also be okay with dropping it to 2 per semester with additional less formal assignments.

I'm looking for help from the Hive. We will be in Washington, D.C., likely from May 6th through May 15th. Several days will be pre-scheduled, but we will have3-4 days to explore. What are some must sees? More importantly, where should we stay that won't put us into bankruptcy? Those hotel prices are scary!

..

Dual purpose cattle are good to raise on small properties; mama cow gives you milk and the calf is raised to slaughter. The goal of breeding is to balance quality of milk and quality of meat. Traditionally on small farmsteads the farmer did not have the space or feed for specialist cattle. Many heritage breeds are being revived as more people are interested in food independence. The Highland Cow that I covet was traditionally a quad use breed-meat, milk, muscle (a working animal, used like an ox), and fiber. In America they have been breed mainly as beef cattle and are known for their EXTREMELY high quality (and expensive) meat. The milk is very high in butterfat and is good for cheese-making. I keep my eyes open for a milking Highland cow. They're hard to find, though, and I pretty much couldn't afford one if I found it. I'll probably go with a Dexter once we get all of our fencing in. This is a pretty cool link about heritage cattle breeds. Not that I'm into it, or anything. :laugh:

The goal, I suspect, is a dual-purpose cow, good for milk and for meat. They are in high demand on small properties (like ours.)

:ack2: Sounds like that sums it up. Poor you! (And DS) :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: This is for you:

Good morning, all. Happy Friday, I think. Still playing catch-up here, so it's a bit iffy. :blink:

:001_wub:

:grouphug:

How are you doing, hornblower?

Thank you, Elephant Ninja Friends. This has been weighing on my heart. I feel better sharing the burden. :001_wub: