One of our children has heard the story about the boy who cried wolf many times. Last weekend he stepped in a squirrel hole and twisted his ankle. He cried. Sometimes it is all better and he can run on it just fine. Other times (like when he is asked to do a chore) it starts bothering him again, even to the point of tears. Big, big tears. Almost every day this week he has been reduced to tears over some sort of supposed injury. I am tired of it. I've explained that it is ok to cry if he needs to, but crying just for the sake of crying is tiresome to everyone that has to listen to it. I've tried telling him that when he really is hurt, nobody will come running just because he is crying.
For instance...
This morning the kids were up early. M and Sacagawea were outside first to care for the chickens, then J and S went outside to take care of the horse. A few minutes later we heard crying and wailing. "Is that S or Sacagawea?" I asked The Man. The Man thought is sounded like Sacagawea. Just then Sacagawea came inside, but the crying was still going on outside. "Oh, it must be S," I said casually. I then shared with The Man about his daily cry-fest and how I couldn't believe he was starting it so early in the morning. Neither one of us rushed outside to see what was bothering him...until M came inside and announced that S was hurt. "Really?" I said.
"There's blood," stated M.
Hmmm. The Man went to investigate and came back a few minutes later asking where all the suturing materials were. Apparently S and J decided that instead of promptly returning to the house after taking care of the horse, they would hide behind the van and jump out at M and Sacagawea as they were coming back to the house. (sigh...yes, we had a chat about that). A natural consequence was that S, in his excitement, ran right into the post in our front yard that has all the telephone company stuff inside and split open his leg below his knee.
Photos courtesy of J and Sacagawea... 
Another view... 
"Woe is me..." 
Three stitches later... 
He's been running around just fine all day. He did complain at noontime that it was still numb from the shot The Man gave him.
The good news? His ankle hasn't hurt him all day!
The Man came home in time for lunch today. I was glad. I will be the first to admit that I need a daily nap these days. Since everyone was still at the table eating I thought it would be a good idea to get a head start on my nap while no one had an excuse to be up walking around.
One of the flaws of our house is that the vibrations of the footsteps of a child not purposely walking softly can be felt by someone trying to sleep at the opposite end of the house. I shared this revelation with The Man. "Really? Maybe you should try sleeping after working overnight in the ER first." OK, so he was already aware of this flaw.
After trying in vain for 1/2 hour to get to sleep I got up, still groggy, cranky, and napless. After another hour or so The Man and children were going to go outside. I would try again for a nap. I was just starting to doze off again when I heard The Man instructing the children to stay back. I heard the word "snake" and "hoe." Hmmm...why would The Man need a hoe for a harmless garter or gopher snake? I got up again and went to investigate.
The Man was on our back porch taking this picture...
M had gone on the back porch to work on refinishing the dresser he had finally decided upon for his room. The Dog was out there with him and started sniffing around. That's when M noticed the snake over in the corner.
After taking the picture, The Man struck at the rattling and striking snake with a hoe. He got it (note the smooshed head and neck). Nine rattles on this Western Rattlesnake!
The kids still had to stay back. Even though it was no longer striking, it was writhing around. A few minutes later The Man used the sticks to stretch it out for some measurements.
Even in its mostly dead* state, it wouldn't lay still for measurements. Our best estimate is right at 3 feet long.
Although our neighbors have all had rattlesnakes, we've never seen one on our property until this summer. M told us yesterday that he thought he saw one up on the hill behind our house. I asked The Man last night what I should do if I encountered one when he wasn't home. He said I should kill it.
"With a hoe?"
"The shotgun would be more effective."
After some discussion, it was decided that it would be a lot quicker for me to use the hoe. I'm glad he decided on the hoe today, especially since it was on the back porch.
Sacagawea will need someone to scout the porch for her this summer before she heads out there with the Play-do. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if she had been the first to encounter it! We prefer just to leave the snakes alone since they help control the rodent population, but this poisonous one was just too close and dangerous.
*Extra credit if you can name that movie...the theme song for the movie was played at our wedding.
Happy Anniversary to Us!
The Man brought these home for me last night so I can enjoy them all day today. Aren't they pretty? I was going to put them in the refrigerator last night since it is so hot, but they're too big!
We went to a wedding on Sunday. It happened to be the bride's parents' 39th wedding anniversary. I started calculating how many years we'll be married/how old we'll be when our youngest gets married. Yikes. Considering our youngest isn't even born yet, I don't even want to speculate!
Another view... 
"Woe is me..." 
Three stitches later... 
He's been running around just fine all day. He did complain at noontime that it was still numb from the shot The Man gave him. 
