We picked up a pig-specific measuring tape at the feed store because L. was curious about how much her pigs weighed (measurements are how you guesstimate livestock weight). They seem to be getting a lot bigger lately both in weight and length.
The measuring tape directions said she had to measure from head to tail on the pig's back and then take another measurement around their belly at their arms.
This was of course, much easier said than done.
L. chased the pigs around the pen for at least 10 minutes trying to get a measurement. The pen isn't even that big but they were scooting around her, running in and out of their shelter and basically running circles around (and around) her. Even the grain food bribes weren't enough at that time for her to get even an iota of cooperation from her piggy friends.
She did eventually get the measurements she needed with my help (sans the camera, although that would have been very amusing footage) and some bread treats (grain just wasn't going to do the trick) to determine that Pulchra is now approx. 90 pounds and Titus is about 85 pounds.
L. really has been taking good care of her piggies but she is starting to realize how much she's going to have her hands full as they continue to grow. Because not only are the pigs fast on their feet, they're great strategists for games of tag (aka "measure the pig"). All I can say on this subject is that I'm darn glad we've got the electric fence because the prospect of these guys getting out of their pen and running around the yard is daunting.
Pigs are way more agile than I would have ever given them credit for. Lazy pigs my you-know-what. These guys know how to move!
We hiked Morse Mountain on Monday and dubbed it one of our new favorite places. The 2-mile (one way) trail, which was mostly paved, took us to the summit of the mountain and then on to Seawall Beach. The elevation gain total on this hike was around 100 feet so this wasn't a difficult climb (and stroller-friendly for those with little ones who might not be able to walk the full distance on their own). But the highlight for my kids was definitely the beach area. It was gorgeous and the water was not nearly as cold as some of the other spring dips we've taken this year (the Morse River outlet is here so that's likely the reason for the slightly warmer water temps).
And because this was a spur-of-the-moment kind of trip and I really should have been grocery shopping instead because we had no food in the house (and no bread so nothing easy for lunch), we decided to pick up subs on the way to the trail for a mountain summit picnic.
And as usual, L. had to bring along a stuffed friend to enjoy the hike with us.
This would be "Esther" her Cotton Candy Webkinz Bunny she got for Easter.
The kids were also taken with this tree, which they believe was right out of a fantasy-fiction movie. We stood and stared at it for a couple of minutes debating which movie it could have come from...
This hike had been recommended to me by a couple of different people over the past few years (thanks Jenny and Susan) and I'm sorry it took us so long to make it over here! It truly is a gem of a place and my kids are already begging for a return trip.
View from summit and beach
L. doing her wave jumping and warming up in the sand
Making a claymation movie is a lot of fun and a very easy project for kids. You only need a digital camera, some clay and a basic knowledge of Windows Movie Maker or Mac iMovie (and even if you don't know this software, it's not hard to figure out the basics) do to it.
Supplies:
* digital camera w/tripod (although is possible without a tripod but it does make it easier for the kids with one)
* Clay (any kind that does not harden in air immediately)
* Windows Movie Maker (on pc) or iMovie (on mac) - both are free and on any computer made within past 5 years
Directions:
My girls made something out of clay that they could easily manipulate to move in small increments like a butterfly or flower. L. came up with a rolling, drooling possum for one of her characters so the sky is the limit on things to make. Just make sure the creature can "do something."
Set up the camera on the tripod in a well-lit are and zoom on the clay creation so not too much background is showing.
Snap a photo of the creature then move it slightly and snap another photo. Ideally you want 10-12 photos total (more if possible and your child has the patience for it).
Download your photos to your computer.
Open Windows Movie Maker/iMovie (there are different ways to do this depending on which you use but for now I'm going to explain this for Windows) and choose "Import Media" option at top left of screen.
Find your folder with the clay photos and select them all to import in to Movie Maker.
Drag photos to the "timeline" at the bottom of the screen. You want each photo to play for about 3 seconds each so you need to trim each photo by selecting all the photos (in the timeline) and selecting "options" in the "tools" pulldown menu at the top of the screen. Once in "options" choose the "advanced" tab and change the "picture duration" to about 3 seconds. (The shorter duration for each image will make the animation look smoother).
Once you've played the clip to make sure the sequence and animation are how you like it, choose "publish movie" in the "file" pulldown menu at the top of the screen and save it to your desktop.
Then you can watch the claymation creation!
It's really quite fun and if you already know the basics of how to use Movie Maker/iMovie, it really is a snap.
* Don't take pictures when there is a shadow from the window. It makes the movie come out weird.
* Don't move your camera around because it makes the action look jumpy.
* Make sure all your pictures are in focus because the movie looks funny when they aren't.
* Be patient because it's hard to only move the clay a little bit but it comes out better when you do it a little at a time.
L.'s claymation project
G.'s claymation project (which includes a clip of her using a special voice activated program at the UMaine New Media lab).
And just for the record, yes, there are a wide variety of animation software options that work better than Movie Maker/iMovie but they cost money. The software I suggest you use is free and installed on all computers made within the past five years (it's part of the windows or os system). The simplicity of the program to do this project is what really appeals to me. At some point the girls might want to get more sophisticated but for now this is just right to explore their ideas for claymation movies.
The girls attended the 4H EDGE conference at UMaine last weekend and had a blast. Really, there were some great workshops and I had as much fun learning as the kids did.
The 4-H Edge: Connecting Kids to Campus conference is run by UMaine's Cooperative Extension 4-H program and invites 11- to 15-year-old 4-Hers (kids not enrolled in 4-H program can attend this program even though it is put on by 4-H) to the Orono campus to introduce them to college by having them participate in workshops representing a wide variety of academic departments. They also get a chance to experience campus life by staying overnight in the residence halls, eating in the dining hall and exploring the campus. The not-so-subtle message from the conference staff to the kids -- going to college should be in your future.
Last year G. attended this conference and focused her workshop choices around the animal sciences program (we still reminisce about that cow ultrasound class). This year she chose a more eclectic mix of classes that included animal hematology (she said it was very cool to try to identify animals by their blood), claymation (which also received enthusiastic thumbs-up) and marine botany. G. was particularly taken by the marine botany class, which was all about seaweed. She learned about its varied uses, from its use to make medication gel capsules to ice cream, pudding, salad dressing and some breads to shampoo and lotion (Kelp has "algin" which is used to thicken food and other seaweeds can also be used as thickeners as well). But this class also included creating seaweed pressings (like flower pressings) and sun prints of seaweed, a BIG hit with G. as she's a photography enthusiast. She asked several questions about how the photo-sensitive paper was created by the instructor (which she won't be able to replicate at home because of the powerful chemicals he used). All really interesting and fascinating stuff and G. said she plans to make more pressings this summer from seaweed she collects at the beach.
The kids were given a wide array of seaweed to choose from to make their seaweed pressings.
Sun prints setting outside. This requires about 15 minutes of direct sunlight on photo-sensitive paper. The prints are then "developed" like a regular photograph to create the final print.
L. was old enough to attend the conference this year and was thrilled with the robotics offerings (she was inspired after the Girls in Engineering program she attended in February). L. programmed her Lego component to beep at different frequencies, light up at various intervals and get a motor to run in different directions. I also found that L., who has always been a detail-oriented type, had a knack for reading and understanding the computer code so now I'm going to look more seriously at robotics opportunities for her in the next year (if you know of any robotics groups for 11-year-olds in the Portland area, please let me know!). But L. is also a creative type and the claymation class was right up her alley as well.
The other thing that was really great at the conference was the team-building experience for the kids. They had a chance to do some problem-solving within a group of people they didn't know and work together as a team.
One of the team challenges was to get each team's blanket (which they were standing on) flipped over on to the other side without anyone stepping onto the grass. There were more than 10 kids standing on each blanket so initially it seemed very un-doable. Then one of the kids suggested that one team jump on the other team's blanket until only a few remained to flip their blanket over and then reverse the process.
Everyone was laughing by the end of the workshop and thinking they were quite clever to have figured out how to get those blankets flipped. A great self-esteem boost for a group of young teens.
There wasn't much sleeping time allotted at the conference (less than 7 hours!) and as chaperon I got even less (but I had a nice chat with another mom sitting outside our room monitoring the hall until after midnight) but we didn't hear any complaints from the kids. They had fun and their 2 days on campus was worth a few hours of lost sleep.
This conference is an annual event held in mid-May and open to all Maine kids (4H subsidizes the cost for its members but any 11-15-year olds in Maine can attend). If you're interested in learning more about 4-H (if you're a regular reader of my blog you'll know 4-H is not all about animals), check out the state's 4-H website.
The kids were given a few minutes to create a clay creature before being set up with the camera to create their claymation movies.
G. in the New Media Lab working on her claymation project. (I'll share more about how to do this as it was quite easy!)
The kids also enjoyed their time in the recreation center on campus playing in the gym and swimming in the pool.
I couldn't let the kids have all the fun so I joined in on the volleyball court too.
Last weekend the kids' 4-H club took a trip to Gilsland Farm to do a tree identification project and the group saw a whole lot more than just trees while we were there.
We spotted a fox with his freshly caught lunch making his way through the open field not far from the trail.
A young red tail hawk. G. confirmed the identity with one of the naturalists at the center who said it was a young bird and that's why the red markings weren't on its tail yet.
A butterfly let us get really close to snap this photo with my phone camera that does not have a zoom option.
One sighting I didn't get a picture of was the red ants as I didn't think our group would appreciate that too much. I opted for a text version of the 'sighting' on my Twitter account. Twitter: Ran in to red ant area. They're crawling up our legs. Not the fun sort of sighting as the birds, fox have been. Flicking ants off now.
And the wingspan of birds game never gets old. Now I've got osprey and cormorant chicks.
I remember the days when G. was barely a cormorant. My babies have grown so much.
Taken in 2004 at Scarborough Marsh's Audubon Center when G., who has always been tall for her age, was 8 years old.
So you might think Audubon Centers are for the birds but there's oh so much more.
I'm trying to catch up on Kid Tracks posts after some pressing print deadlines, being a bit under-the-weather and taking the girls to a youth conference recently. I'll be getting back on the blogging wagon this week.
After the arrival of some new chicks to add to Chickenland (our coop) this past week, I thought I'd share a post I made a while back about some good reasons to raise chickens, both from a practical point of view as well as their entertainment value.
2. They pick through the compost pile, which helps aerate and speed up the decomposing process
1. They love to eat ticks!
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Because baby chicks are cute, my girls thought I should share a couple of pictures of our new friends (which will bring our poultry count up to a little over 30 again after losing a few hens to old age and predators over the winter - we don't raise meat chickens, just egg-layers).
Fino ordered Comet and Rhode Island Red chicks (six total) because a lot of our hens are getting old and don't lay eggs like they used to. These two varieties we've found lay some of the biggest eggs we've ever seen and do very well during Maine winters.
They'll grow up to look like this one...
He also ordered three guineas. I'm a little concerned about having that many because they make an unbelievably loud racket when they sense danger (or what they perceive as danger). This is a good thing when you've got one who can serve as your coop's 'watchdog' (when we hear the racket we know to take a quick peak outside to see if the neighborhood dog is in the yard or some other predator is around). But three more, in addition to the one we already have? I'm really not sure that's a good idea.
These little chicks are guineas...
... and will grow up to look like this.
About halfway through this video you can hear the guinea hen making her noises.
And I may have mentioned this before but chickens are much more laid back than pigs. They just like to hang around and chill out, which I appreciate oh so much more these days.
Oh the pigs. They are doing well and we're all adjusting to life raising livestock. It really is a whole different ball of wax compared to raising poultry (which we've been doing for nearly six years).
Since our pigs, like most, are always angling for a break-out from confined spaces (i.e., their shelter and/or pen), we opted to invest in an electric fence. The trick about the electric fence is actually getting it wired and working and I'm happy to say that this job is finally done.
It was not however, without it's own bit of drama.
Installing the electric fence was my job as Fino and L. built the pig shelter and put up the main fencing to make the pen. I set up the electric fence posts and additional insulators and strung the wire. I did this all on my own without incident and was quite proud of myself (i.e., this was not a difficult task and I did it quickly). I ran in to trouble however installing the fence's electrical box.
Fino had the idea (I'm not letting him off the hook because this was his ill-fated idea) that I should install the box INSIDE the pig shelter. This required that I squat down inside the shelter (which is only about 4 feet high) and use an electric drill (something I'm clumsy with at the best of times) to screw the box into the wall.
I had trouble getting the screws in to the wall at first but then realized that Fino gave me the drill set in reverse (drill out) mode.
Once I got the drill going in the right direction, the pigs got curious about what I was doing and made their way over to my corner of the shelter.
If you've never spent any time with pigs you might not know that their snouts are strong and they use them like an arm to dig, push, etc. And they really can push things around with them, quite forcefully sometimes as L. has discovered after cleaning up the mess they make tipping over their large water bowl every day (and the addition of a couple of bricks in the bowl does not deter them - they are ALWAYS successful in flipping their bowl over).
So as I struggled with getting the screws into the wall, I also had to deal with the pigs pushing and trying to knock me off-balance. Just when I was getting a handle on stabilizing myself, the pigs decided to take things to the next level.
Now I know my butt is a bit large but really piggies, did you need to take a bite out of it?
Let's just say I was not all that quiet about letting that piggie know I was none too happy with that turn of events.
After rubbing the sore spot on my derriere, I tried to get back to my installation attempt but after another bite (no skin broken either time so not too serious), I decided I needed a change of plan.
Fino agreed to take over the job (maybe my yelling had something to do with this?) and opted to install the box on the OUTSIDE of the shelter, which also required a cover that he had to make as well.
The timing of Fino's brainstorm was not to my liking but the electric fence did eventually get installed and is now working properly so I can't really complain too much can I?
There is no video to share of this incident (thanks to my family for not thinking fast enough - see, I do recognize there is a silver-lining to every story) but we do have some new pictures and video of the pigs frolicking and digging in their pen.
The holes they've dug (aka "rooting" in pig-talk) around their pen in the short time they've been out each day makes me think they'll be in China by summer. I don't think dogs, in my limited experience, have got anything on pigs when it comes to digging.
I must admit though that the pigs are fun to watch. L.'s convinced that Pulchra is part cat. She weaves in and around L.'s legs when L.'s giving her a back scratch. Based on the video I took yesterday, I have to agree even if Pulchra is not as smooth moving as a feline.
Oh, and when I say, "we're all adjusting to life raising livestock" I'm referring to my new learning about not going out to help L. in the pig pen when I've got to run out the door right afterward. Yesterday I made a post on Twitter about my "pig-kissed pants."
I didn't notice the muddy snout impressions on my jeans until I was on the road to my class last night. Now I will make sure to help L. in my knee-high wellies and/or make sure I have time to change before I leave the house. Or maybe I'll just wear the dirty jeans. They do make for interesting conversation with my non-farming type friends.
When life is calling for a break from the regular routine because the sun is shining, my family would like to make a destination suggestion - Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm. A recent trip to the reserve reminded us that hiking these easy trails is a great way to spend a spring afternoon - and a picnic on the beach is an extra nice bonus.
My family has been to Wells Reserve previously and the boardwalk on the Laird-Norton Trail never fails to be the trail of choice for the girls. There's just something about hearing the sounds of their feet on a wooden boardwalk that really appeals to them. And I admit I like this trail in early spring when the planks offers a respite from the muddy mess we usually encounter while hiking at this time of year.
There are several informational kiosks about plant and animal life on this well-marked trail system, as well as benches to stop and rest on when you have little ones in tow. But our destination while hiking here is always the beach, so a blanket and snacks for a picnic are a must.
It might have been 50 degrees on the day we visited (which feels balmy after a long, cold winter but is hardly swimming weather), but that did not stop my 11-year-old from peeling off her footwear, rolling up her jeans and running at top speed toward the ocean once she spotted it at the end of the trail. She seemed certain the waves were calling her name. To ensure my enthusiastic child did not decide to actually dive into the freezing water, I joined her in some wave jumping.
My days of tolerating frigid water for more than a few minutes are long gone, but my 11-year-old was in her glory playing in the waves. Although, after a half-hour even she had to call it quits because her toes had run the gamut of hues in red and purple. Her remedy for cold feet was to dig them into the warm sand. I followed suit and have to admit it proved was an effective way to warm my frozen toes.
In packing for this hike, I also included two bottles of bubbles because even though my girls are 11 and 12 years old, this is an ageless source of fun on the beach for us.
My 11-year-old, ever the creative thinker, thought using the wind as a guide to blow her bubbles directly at my face would be the most hilarious activity. She assessed the angle of the wind with the bubble wand and took aim. When the bubbles missed their mark she adjusted and sent more flying in my direction again. Her older sister joined in and between the two of them, they managed to hit their target a fair amount of times.
So on the chance you think your middle-schoolers are too old for bubbles, let me assure you that they probably are not.
Another aspect of this trail system that you don't want to miss (if you have any energy left after your hike and picnic at the beach) is the visitor center. It's located in the main farmhouse by the trail head and has educational exhibits that feature local ecology and geology information. My kids like pressing the buttons and peeking behind the little knob windows to learn more about the history, plants and wildlife of the area.
I may have felt a twinge of guilt for canceling our usual obligations to go hiking at the reserve, but I cannot think of a better way to celebrate spring than an outdoor adventure that includes a visit to the beach. It reminded me – and the kids – that the less scheduled days of summer are right around the corner.
11-year-old review
"I like hiking here because we get to walk on the wooden boardwalk. I also like running in the ocean water even though it is really cold in the spring. Even when my feet turn red I can warm them up quick in the dry sand. I made sand sneakers for fun. I liked blowing bubbles at my mom and trying to hit her with them, too."
12-year-old review
"This is a nice, peaceful hike in the spring and you can hear lots of birds. I also like blowing bubbles by the ocean. The bubbles blew themselves because the wind blew them for me when we went this time."
After many years of indecision (on my part, the girls have been ready for YEARS) I finally let the girls buy a trampoline (they paid 2/3 of the cost, I paid the difference). And now they are both in their glory with their new toy that has them bouncing all day long, literally.
Every five minutes they're insisting I take video and/or a picture of them doing some "trick" and I have to say that's my only complaint about the trampoline. The "hey mom, come watch this!" when I'm in the middle of trying to do something else. Well, it's not really a complaint but it's been a while since I've had to be firm about leaving me alone for a couple of minutes to finish a household task.
So I suggested they take pictures of each other on the trampoline and this morning I downloaded their photos.
I don't care so much for the somersault-type flips but L.'s got them figured out and I'm drawing the line at anything backwards or higher air flips.
G. took the above photos of L's trampoline jumps but when L. took over the camera to take photos of G., she seemed to catch a different sort of action.
Do I have a Bride of Frankenstein, sans the white strip?
But she did manage to catch G. in an actual jump with her body instead of the bouffants it created.
And per the girls' request, here are some videos of their trampoline 'action.'
And because all is fair in love and blogging, there will be some video coming soon of mom on the trampoline per the girls' request as well. I agree with Notes from the Home Office that it is worth the money for all the fun we're having on this thing so far. Plus it really is a workout. The girls have been trying to teach me how to bounce on my butt and then bounce back up. That is MUCH easier said then done but my core is getting firmer by the minute trying to control that sort of bounce. Maybe I'll lose a couple of inches during my trampoline lessons this spring. Sure beats doing a round of sit-ups.
