Katie with boffer throwing stars. I think she'll be wanting to participate in boffer wars next year at Baycon. 

Katie helps out. The chickens don't know whether to run to her because she might have corn, or run away because she likes to chase them. 

Barnyard's done. Time to go home. 

Nadya had her friend over one recent afternoon. They spent some time playing with toddler computers. 

Katie shows off her babies. 

The older kids play with balloons while Katie investigates the egg beater. 

Fishing time. 

These tubes are great fun. 

Ben was immediately drawn to the neccessity of mowing the lawn. If only I could have let him use a real mower!!! 

Nadya spent some time riding her various ride-on toys. 

The date ended with a lovely picnic. Everyone shared. It was really sweet. 

Ben at 3.5 years old. 

Nadya at 3.5 years old. 

Katie at 1.5 years old. 

We planted a few veggies in the front flower bed this year, and actually installed the drip irrigation that I've been threatening for years. This tomato is producing a few ripe tomatoes every week. 

This tomato plant didn't really like our yard. It quickly set 2 tomatoes, ripened them and then died. 

Nadya stands next to her sunflower patch. They're now blooming and very pretty. I hope we'll actually get sunflower seeds, too. 

Hans is getting interactive. 

Hop on Pop 

Looks like Katie's had another growth spurt. I need to get used to this view. I rather expect she'll be taller than me in a decade or so. 

Watch out! Katie's up to something. 

Can you see the duckling hiding behind Mama? She sat on 13 duck eggs for 28 days. (Chickens added 12 eggs during that time. One hatched, but didn't survive.) 

Mama Duck is very protective of her kids. She hatched 6 ducklings, but the three black ones disappeared over the course of the first week.  

The geese supervise one of the goslings taking a swim. 

Our neighbors raise rabbits and goats. Some of the rabbits have gotten out, so we've got rabbits, too.