August September Break
After our 2 back-to-back camp weeks in August, we needed a break. A break from the blazing Florida heat in August. It was a record breaking August. We closed Cheyne Ranch to (most) customers. We enjoyed a few families who visit regularly, and we hosted a few birthday parties as well.
Here are two 90 second video I made recapping our August and September:
Summer Camp
We had 4 weeks of summer camp this summer at Cheyne Ranch. They were so fun. And it was so hot! I want to remember so much of the fun-ness: It was COVID-19 summer, so we washed hands a lot, and tried to stay a little distant from one another (that didn’t really work). We didn’t wear face masks and we didn’t think much about COVID-19 at all. I got tested a couple times to make sure I was ok, and each test came back negative.
UPDATE: It is 8 weeks since week 4 of summer camp ended, and I never did hear of any campers or their families experiencing COVID. We went on daily nature walks, kids took turns sitting on the horses, a couple of the weeks, we made folders with a summary of all we learned.
We had field trips and guest speakers. We went to Green Acres Farm, we visited the pond at my friend Gary & Lidia’s house, my neighbor Ariel came and educated us about her rescue animals, Chaz gave us a reptile seminar about gopher tortoises, Dennis the bee guy came to us, Daryl and Bill, each amazing farriers each came and gave presentations.
We at lunch at the picnic table on the playground and the kids played on the playground. We had water days in our pool, slip-n-slides, and a HUGE slide was rented by our friends at the Florida Inclusion School. We painted ponies and braided their mane and tails. We did some crafts, tie-dyed shirts and hung out in the bunny zen room. We walked the horses and spent extra time grooming them and getting horse rides.
We had as many middle and high school volunteers as we did campers. Our helpers were Anna, Sophia, Evan, Jessica, Preston, Jenine, Brynn, Hunter, Jackson, Elysia, Katelyn & CJ. We had between 7 and 10 campers. We met from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Monday - Friday for the week.
Pearl busted a water pipe in the barn while getting painted, and 1 camper broke her collarbone. We were never rained out for an entire camp day, just a few minutes, maybe an hour total of rain. Our tack room was (mostly) clean and air conditioned, so the kids spent time in there cooling off for a few minutes, especially during the August weeks. All in all it was an amazing experience.
There are literally almost 1000 photos of the 4 weeks, so I attempted to choose some highlights:
2020 Summer Camp @ Cheyne Ranch
I want love
Do you know this Elton John song, well the video actually, where Rob Lowe lip syncs to the powerful lyrics that is a super basic drive in all of us? I want love is the name of it. I was thinking about this song as I observed the following shenanigans over the course of the past 36 hours:
Introducing Frankie!
We have a real gopher tortoise living on our property! His name is Francesco! Frankie for short. He's actually lived here since before we moved in, over 4 years ago.
Oh wait… one of the mamas here recently works as a biologist at UCF and was kind enough to let us know Frankie is a girl! So her name will still be Frankie, but it turns out it is short for Francesca instead of Francesco.
Baby chicks moved to barn
We moved the baby chicks to the barn, more specifically, the bunny zen room. Through our local free Facebook group, we found an old playpen and after a few modifications, we moved the chicks in! My lovely friend is letting us borrow a chick warmer, it is like of like a pancake skillet, but the heat comes out of the bottom of the plate. I ❤️ the bunny zen room (now aka the chirping baby chick room)
Me, napping in the bunny zen room to the lovely (loud) sound of chirping baby chicks
Handsome boys
We have such beautiful sunsets, the entire sky turns a million shades of pink. While I was giving some guests a tour, we saw the incredible sky while Evan cleaned the run out and spent some time with Lujen. Such handsome boys
Baby chicks are here!
My local chick supplier had no chicks for me to buy this year. So… we ordered baby chicks through the MAIL for the first time this year. The United States Postal Service has been mailing day-old chicks since 1917 over 100 years! The place that started it, Murray McMurray Hatchery in Webster City, Iowa is still around and is still mailing chicks! We actually purchased our chicks through a place called Meyer Hatchery. I liked how we could choose assortments of chicks with a specific purpose. Otherwise I was likely to spend hours, weeks, probably months researching the best breeds and never reaching a decision. I ordered 5 pullets (baby hens) from the “Rainbow” assortment” and we are guaranteed to get 5 different breeds of pullets who grow into very colorful hens, because, why not? When the little squawking poop machines go on an egg laying strike, at least I can enjoy their varied colors and patterns. I ordered another 10 pullets from the “egg laying” assortment (both white and brown eggs) to keep my reputation of egg-pusher relevant. Interestingly, they offered to add 1 mystery chicken for free, with the idea that if it is a hen, I will donate the eggs, or if it is a rooster, I will donate the meat to someone in need. Sounds reasonable given my need to feed, so I clicked yes on that box.
The video below is Anna and I unboxing the baby chicks and attempting to count them.
We have them on our patio for now, they didn’t last long in the house. They are so LOUD. We have a random plastic thing for the top of the plastic bin.
Sophia attempting to have Cameron hold a baby chicks. He wasn't into that. He did name one though, he named her Rage. As in a wrestler on TV. Or as in my feelings about the school science fair.
Egg My Yard
A special group of young adults hold 1 fundraiser each year - they bring plastic eggs stuffed with treats and hide them in your yard! I just signed my household up for this (shhhhh…. don’t tell my cranky teenagers or 2 pre-teen kids). It is a super fun way to donate to a great cause. <3
Find out more at: https://floridaincludesme.org/
