Mostly (but not quite) March

The year is tumbling onward. I can hide my eyes, cover my ears,  not speak of it, but still it is moving at an alarming rate.

 Sometimes I feel like an old fossil! (I found this in helping clear one of Sam's new trails through the woods. A perfect sea shell impression in the rock.)

 Over the weekend, Tom help me get set up to order some more chickens. The roosts are in half of the shed, and the pens have wire across  the tops. I am going to order a small batch (10) of mixed varieties of hens that lay brown/ colored eggs from Tractor Supply. I figure I can get a rooster by showing up to look over their Easter Chicks- I imagine they sell mostly roosters to the stores for sending home with people who really just expect them to die. (Not sure where I will find a couple of guinea buddies for the lone surviving guinea.)
In the offset area (to the right of the foremost pen) I plan to put in some herbs and flowers. The herbs there will be for the benefit of the chickens, I can toss handfulls to them daily.

We have had quite a bit of rain this week. Our creek was up again. Not quite as high as last year! This picture was taken from Sam's new trail, along the rim of the gully. You really can't tell the perspective from this picture, but I am looking down a steep embankment at the creek. I am 25+ feet from the water, not just a couple of feet. That tree on its side out in the water is FLOATING.
Yesterday, this was down to a beautiful, shallow creek, maybe a foot deep. If it doesn't rain today, the creek won't have ANY water flowing by this afternoon.

                 I have been trying to lose some weight. I can see the difference in this shirt- The beach picture was taken in October of 2015, so not quite 2 1/2 years ago. However, I gained more, so was larger after the beach picture than in this second photo by another 10-15 lbs... I was to the point that none of my clothes fit... as I discovered in needing to get dressed up for a funeral just over a year ago. I couldn't zip a single thing I owned.
Health issues can go with weight gain. My blood pressure was quite high, and I ached all the time. (Sort of like right NOW! as I battle an arthritis flare, going on 2 weeks.) Anyway, I discovered that when I avoided items containing flour, I didn't hurt as much. I began avoiding gluten, though I haven't been completely gluten free. I TRIED getting started on Trim Healthy Mama (THM), but I haven't embraced the complete plan 100%. But even in using the THM  idea of lower glycemic eating, I can say I have lost almost 35 lbs. Those dresses that I couldn't zip in November of 2016 are all too big for me now. My blood pressure has been good. My cholesterol has dropped significantly.
I have ZERO plans to "get skinny". I never want to be in the low 100's, as many weight charts recommend for my height. Not happening! (I am aiming for about 132 lbs... that's less than 10 lbs. away!) Mr. C eats THM when I make the foods, but he still wants his REAL ice cream. He has lost more than I have... but guys just seem to lose more easily.
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IN OTHER NEWS....
Daniel is closer to becoming a firefighter. He returned to Texas this past weekend for the Physical Agility Test. It was a pass/fail test, and he passed. He was given further application paperwork, which is due by mid-March. Then there is a background check, which he will be perfectly able to pass; and an interview in person. We aren't sure just how many positions are available this year, but San Angelo IS building a brand new fire station that will need to be staffed, so his chances look good.
Meanwhile, Mr. C and I are looking at the nest getting more and more empty.
   Samuel will be finished with his schooling to become a Journeyman Electrician in just over a year. He is currently pretty excited that he may get to go to Germany for a couple of weeks, if he can get the time off of work. One of our Spoon co-workers asked if he (and / or Daniel) was interested in accompanying her and her husband there, as the husband needs a specialized back surgery not performed in the US. (I say *our* Spoon co-worker, because, even though both boys are working full time elsewhere, you never really STOP working for the Spoon. Either one of the twins might be filling in for someone on any given Friday night.) Sam's reason for going (other than a great opportunity to see another country!) is that the husband will be in the hospital, and our co-worker is apprehensive about getting around alone, and Sam and Daniel both speak at least rudimentary German.
This has been a long post... thanks for reading!