Cheekie's full grown - 17wks

It's quite a while since I posted about Cheekie.

Mariposa went out just whilst there was a break in the rain to take some photos.  She's deliberately put it up on the fence to get these:

Now doesn't that look like the stance of a young rooster to you?

It's in with the other hens and, although a little timid, it's not being hen-pecked.  The only threat to it's well-being is Mariposa's puppy, Midgy, who quite quickly gets into the act of rounding it up and pouncing on it should they both be loose in the backyard at the same time.  Hmmm - puppies and chooks don't mix ..... but the children have been warned!

Puppy love

We're back home from Echuca and very refreshed! :)
We managed to do quite a few activities as a family and with friends.
The "Celebration of Steam" festival was happening when we arrived, and whilst we missed most of the activities, we still managed to enjoy the fireworks from a distance. Next year we'll make sure to look up any special events in preparation.



Other favourite events were a dance and entertainment night with our friends, a game night (we played Inklings, a Bible quiz game .. not easy at all!!), canoeing, ten pin bowling, Oz Maze, and then the Billabong Ranch.



Now the Billabong Ranch has lots of interesting activities. Horseriding and archery are the greatest drawcards, but this year we only did the mini golf, rockclimbing wall, paddleboats and the animal nursery. Can you guess what we saw there? Well, I had my eye on some 2wk old kids, but we don't have room to keep them. However, there were also some puppies for sale. Mariposa has been asking for a puppy for at LEAST a year and we found one for her there.


He's a Wirey Jack Russell Fox Terrior cross; 5 months old. Mariposa's named him MIDGY and he's been living with us just on one day now. We're already quite taken with him.

Upon returning home, we had to collect Cheekie, too. It's been visiting another homeschooling family, but it's grown! The 'voice' is changing, size is already close to our young hens, and it's only 10.5 weeks old. It's too big to stay inside the house any more, so we've housed him in the original chook pen I made with plumbing pipes.


So, our home is a busy one. Plenty of animals to keep the children and visitors company.

A bright Spring day

After a very busy schedule over the past few weeks, full of exams and extra dance lessons, we finally finished up this week with a trip to the city for a NoBraces appointment. Then I decided to grab my camera and spend some time seeing what's been happening around my home before another week ends.

There is no doubt about it; once the soil begins to warm up, there is no stopping plants bursting into life, showing off their beautiful colours and filling the air with their wonderful perfumes. The freesias are out with their vibrant yellows and reds, offset by the blues of the marguerite daisies. The jasmine is climbing over the garden arch nicely and flowering for the first time too!

This sweet pittosporum welcomes us with it's wonderful scent each spring, sitting at the entrance to the driveway.


Yesterday we had a lot of rain and the blossoms ended up carpeting the sidewalk and driveway.

The pear tree is also in blossom again. Mariposa has taken delight in watching all her baby "Charlottes" (ie: spiders) making their little wheels of webs throughout the tree.

Our first asparagus spear for the season!!

The apricots have set well. Let's hope we don't loose this crop as we did last Summer in a long heatwave.

The hens are now in lay. We're getting around 4-5 eggs a day.

They certainly aren't camera shy, are they?!

And finally, here's Cheekie. Now at 7 weeks and having regular time running around outside in it's own little cage (not old enough to fend for itself with the other hens). Cheekie still spends time inside with a heat lamp required in the evenings.

Cheekie at 6 weeks

This chick is growing so quickly! It won't be long before it's actually classified as a pullet I think. 6 weeks old today and about the size of a small cat. The children have been enjoying taking it out for regular runs in the backyard, although it's still too young to put in with the other hens.

I took this photo just minutes ago and this was the best shot I could get. Sorry for the blurriness, but it doesn't like sitting still for very long (reminds me of most toddlers!)

Starting Sonlight and Cheekie update

Well, blogging has taken a lower rung on the priority ladder, as you have seen, due to a very active schedule this past week.

Our highlight was the arrival of new curriculum material from Sonlight. We already had the readers and read-alouds to begin, and downloaded the sample Instruction Page for week one, so off we went!

Then on Tuesday, our box arrived ... yay!

Maestro just couldn't wait to dive in. He managed to download the World Book Encyclopedia himself, then after looking through what he missed the day before on the Eastern Hemisphere Explorer, he was off and into the research. In fact, every morning he's right into researching. When we got home this evening, he was looking up more information to see what he could find on Pompeii. Hubby has decided it's been a great decision if he's this motivated.



So far I can see this is going to work really well for him, but I'm going to have to pace myself and balance he's keenness with the need to still help Mariposa with her basics. The read-alouds have been enjoyed by both children, and I'm finding that Core 1+2 actually compliments Core 5 nicely. On Friday, the last of the books we needed to start arrived (second-hand, thanks Melanie! ☺ ) and we began reading Red Sails to Capri. This is such a great story .. and we love the humour!

Of course, I've been having fun rearranging our bookshelves to make room for all of these wonderful books and keeping everything in one place. (No, you don't want to see my learning room atm. Books piled everywhere! I think I need to cull some we're no longer needing.)

So, in summary, this is what we're now doing with our homeschooling:

* Maestro ~ Core 5 and Language Arts 5 from Sonlight, Getty-Dubay Italics book D, Successful Spelling 4, Easy-Learn Maths 5B and Life of Fred; Fractions and Decimals, The Easy Spanish.

* Mariposa ~ Core 1+2 from Sonlight, Getty-Dubay Italics book B, Spelling Matters 2, Successful English 2, Easy-Learn Maths 2B, The Easy Spanish.

(links to these books are in the left sidebar if you wish to see the source)

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This week is also the week Cheekie turns four weeks old. I've been told from a friend that we should be able to determine whether it's male or female around now, but I've not found any solid information as to HOW I should know this. The closest I've come is through this link. Apparantly, if the comb and wattle begin to redden at this early stage, the likelyhood of it being male is high. Well, we have some colouring .. what do you think?

There is also a little lump at the back of the leg suggesting early formation of spurs, but I'm still not keen to call a decision as yet. Perhaps just waiting to see if it either crows or lays an egg is still the way to go?



Every day it gets a good run around outside in the sunshine. It will chase the children if they walk away, or run between them if they call it (very cute!) Tail and body plumage is coming along, but there is still quite a lot of down around it's head.

Well, I'm off to do more organising. Budgeting needs a look over before the month ends, as well as what's on our agenda tomorrow (shopping) and the coming week.

Wordless Wednesday - Cheekie's 3wks old

Coming into bloom

It's the first of our fruit trees to come into flower, and it's doing a spectacular job! Apricot babies. :)

You can hear the hum from the bees as you wander past.

Even the violets are beginning to poke their noses out to add more colour.

Inside the house, Cheekie is quite comforable but will possibly soon need a larger box. Here it is snuggled under the lamp.

Actually, it's looking quite funny with it's new feathers coming through, replacing it's down. No matter how many times it tries to straighten it's wing feathers, it can't help but look like it's having a 'bad hair day'.

2 weeks old

Cheekie has been living with us one week now, being a complete 2 weeks of age.

I got up this morning to a very quiet household, then when I poked my head in the study, I see that Maestro has made himself a comfy spot to read whilst playing with the chick! (I'm just glad the book didn't get soiled!!!)

Our hallway is a favourite area for letting Cheekie take a short run. It knows that if the children tap the floor and point out some greens (ie: lettuce), then it comes running/fluttering down to them. This bird is getting quite a workout. :)

Weekend update

Cheekie had a big outing on Sabbath. The children were very keen to show their newest pet to their friends, so we bundled it up in a box and brought along a small hot water bottle wrapped in a towel to keep it warm. Mariposa has kindly donated 2 small teacups from her set to be used as food and water containers.

After several cuddles and some good tucker, it settled down nicely and we didn't hear a peep whilst it slept most of the afternoon away.

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Then Sunday was Mariposa's big day out with 2 of her friends to Luna Park.

It turned out to be a lovely, sunny day and, although a popular place, not too crowded when we arrived just after opening.

Yep, that's my family up there on that rollercoaster! It was voted the most favourite by all. :)

So ... no, not a 'frugal' post, but we only lash out and do these sorts of things every few years. We're glad that everyone had a wonderful time and that we could share the day with friends.

A new baby in the house

Look what Papa brought home last night!

Our neice's school was involved in raising chicks, and as she couldn't keep hers at home after the week was over, her Mum asked if we'd like to adopt it. Isn't it cute?!

"Cheekie" (as already named by our neice) is settling in and getting plenty of cuddles. We'll keep a running report going here on my blog so she can see how it's growing.

Thank you Miss O for sharing your chick with us!

♥ ♥ ♥ ☺ ♥ ♥ ♥