Blackham Update
Wed, Sep 27, 2017, 8:25 PM
Glad the surgery went well for Chris. Hopefully the healing is quick and without complications!
Sad news for the Copper Hills crew this past week. You probably remember Stockton Shorts on Callahan's basketball team? His girlfriend (graduated this year) was diagnosed with Leukemia. She died five days later. I guess there was an infection they couldn't really treat because of the Leukemia treatment, and then a brain bleed or something. She died in surgery.
Not too much new going on with the Blackham bunch. The big boys are working and getting their schooling in. The littles school and play. Colton has three basketball games each Saturday. I posted some video on FB. Won all three games last Saturday, and the middle game, he had the high score with 20 points.
Our ducky continues to lay eggs and we've used them in baking, and Landon and Cooper have made omelets with them. Gray was curious to see what mix ducklings would be (the male is a mallard, not sure what type of duck the female is, but she's such a pretty golden girl) ... curious enough that he put some eggs in the incubator. He put five in, although I knew the first wouldn't work (silly duck and laid the egg IN the pool ... water birth? Eggs are porous and such a soaking would affect it). So after the first "candling" (holding a flashlight under the eggs in a dark room ... like an ultrasound) it was discarded, but the other four looked viable.
On Sunday, there were the first signs of "pips" on the shells ... the babies were breaking through. It can be such a long process. I'm sure it's that way in nature too, but it's so hard to watch and worry about them! The first two eggs that showed signs didn't change much overnight and most of Monday. One had a little beak sticking out that would open and close, but didn't make any progress on the shell. One of the other eggs over took the first two and hatched. On Tuesday morning, one of the original ones hatched. The third egg hatched mid afternoon, and finally little "bird beak" made it out. Not without help. You have to be careful "helping" as you can do more damage and end up killing them. Similar to the story of the little boy "helping" a caterpillar struggling out of its cocoon. I'm not sure if this last one would have ever made it out. Two years ago, we had two the pecked a bit, but never made it out. It's heartbreaking!
It's not the best season to be starting out with a batch of babies. Gray had intended to offer them up for free on KSL shortly after hatching, but I'm not ready to part with them yet. They are SO cute and this batch isn't scared to death of us like the four in the Spring were. Right now they still look pretty much like baby mallards (the markings on the head) but are a little lighter in color on the body.
Sunday was a special stake conference where they switched up the ward boundaries. Our area has had significant shrinkage, so they eliminated one ward completely. Our ward didn't change much, just added a few streets to the South of the stake center that weren't in the ward previously.
Kitten has been in heat ... which makes her adorably annoying. She NEEDS constant attention and touching (usually I don't dare hold or pet her, she can be really mean!) She was funny climbing on top of Callahan and just hanging on his head. I included some pictures... also of my perfect sunflower's halloween costume. From gorgeous to just a little scary looking!
Better late than never for an update?
Jen and da boys (and da kitten and da ducks)
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