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Book Review–The Young Samaritan

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About the Book:

Book: The Young Samaritan

Author: J. Schuyler Sprowles

Genre: : Faith Based/ Inspirational

Release Date: January 20, 2024

Is survival enough when faith is tested?

“The Young Samaritan” is a gripping coming-of-age story set in a tumultuous time, where faith, identity, and survival intersect on an extraordinary journey.

Joshua, a young Samaritan boy, is forced to flee his home, thrust into a world that is as dangerous as it is unfamiliar.

Along the way, he encounters a mysterious woman who delivers a haunting vision, a wild dog that stays loyally by his side, and a reclusive uncle whose life is shrouded in secrets. Amidst the chaos of his flight, Joshua discovers uncommon love in a forsaken land.

As Joshua’s journey leads him to a band of sojourners—led by a man called Rabbi—he becomes entwined with a group that many believe to be the Messiah’s followers.

Despite their hesitations, Joshua’s determination to stay with them leads him to a transformative path, one that will ultimately take him to the cross and beyond.

My Thoughts:

I like the idea of this book; it offers a new way to look at Jesus and His ministry. However, I was disappointed with it. The writing style didn’t resonate with me, although it would be fine for a lot of people. My biggest problem with it, however, was the two things I noticed that were not historically accurate. The first thing that jarred me was the mention of a turnip and potato soup. Potatoes were unknown in the Old World until a good while after Columbus discovered America. The other was when Jesus and His disciples ate hare stew. I could understand Joshua and his family eating hare, since they were Samaritans, but a Jew wouldn’t touch it at all, since it is an unclean meat. I did like the way Peter, after initially rejecting Joshua, realized his sin and repented, accepting the Samaritan boy the way Jesus did.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

A Chicago native, Schuyler as a teenager always dreamed of becoming a radio and TV talent. His aspirations led him to Hollywood where he trained as a broadcaster. He began his career as a country music DJ and news reporter in the Southwest. Ultimately he became a TV news anchor in Dallas. In time, Schuyler moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a television news correspondent. This eventually led to a decades long high-profile career in crisis management, political consulting and speech writing. Most recently, Schuyler turned to publishing, founding a family-oriented magazine in Southern California. A lifelong Christian, Schuyler admits to walking away from his faith in the past, only to discover the light of Jesus piercing the darkness to guide him back where he belongs. Inspired by the Gospels, “The Young Samaritan” is his debut novel. He currently lives in Pasadena, California with his wife Maureen.

More from J. Schuyler:

The Young Samaritan was inspired by two verses from the New Testament in the Gospel of Mark (14:51 – 52).  These brief verses describe an unidentified young man who attempts to intervene in the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is quickly seized by the temple guards but manages to escape their grip, leaving his garment in their hands, as he flees naked into the night.  Nothing further about him is ever mentioned in the Bible.

The Young Samaritan is my vision of the backstory for this strange and provocative episode in Jesus’ journey to the cross.  The Young Samaritan creates a compelling and transformational epic tale where a fictional literary character (Joshua) collides with biblical history.

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October 2025 Photos

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Here are the rest of the photos from October. Can you tell that Miss Joy loves the cat?

Reepicheep

We had visitors for a couple of days, and the little children spent an hour or so reading the Magic School Bus books.

The girls on a moa in Waikari.

When we went to Dunedin, there had been snow earlier in the week, and this ball was still left on top of the hill.

Base 10 blocks are great for building castles!

Is she protecting the hatching chicks…or dreaming of chicken dinner?

See box? Get in box.

Getting ready to do a science lesson. We have the audio book, and he is supposed to follow along while he listens.

I picked up a book at the Bookarama that a friend recommended, and gave it to Elijah for his birthday. It turned out to be just the type of book he loves!

The little girls made this flax basket for my birthday present! Sadly, it fell apart as it dried. It was sure beautiful when it was new, though.

One day after church, James was sitting on a chair talking to a man. The man decided to sit down, so pulled up a soft chair. Not to be outdone, Simon grabbed a couch and pulled it over, so he could lounge while they talked!

Clouds as we traveled somewhere–I can’t remember where.

Mr. Imagination went through a phase of making bows.

Book Review–The Bible Companion Book 6 Psalms

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About the Book:

Book: The Bible Companion Book 6 Psalms: Journey Through Scripture One Day at a Time

Author: Karen Westbrook Moderow

Genre: Bible Study/Devotional

Can you tell God how you feel? The Bible Companion Book 6 helps you approach God with both honesty and respect. A simple one-chapter-a-day format lets you engage with Scriptures without the pressure of schedules, homework, or heavy reading loads. Short daily readings and thought-provoking questions connect your story to God’s Word. For personal and group study.

In the Books of Wisdom (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs), God speaks to us in poetry—the language of the heart. In Psalms we mourn, celebrate, and worship with people who run to God in the best and worst seasons of life. Their experiences give us hope. If you feel alone, if you are hurting, if you need grace, join the psalmists who find forgiveness and strength in God’s presence.

My Thoughts:


I don’t often use any kind of a devotional, but when I saw The Bible Companion Book I was intrigued by the premise of a brief commentary and encouragement about each chapter. I’ve been using it with my personal quiet time, reading the chapter each morning and then reading the 1-2 page commentary that goes with it. I have gotten as far as Psalm 58, and find Book 6 is a helpful guide through Psalms. I like the way the author applies these passages to our daily life and how we might be able to find encouragement from them.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

KAREN WESTBROOK MODEROW is a Bible teacher and author who brings a storyteller’s perspective to Scripture. She holds master’s degrees in theology and creative writing and loves introducing others to Jesus through the stories told in God’s Word.

More from Karen:

I once attended a small church that had several young rowdy boys. I wondered if there was a way to settle them down by doing something fun after church that also had spiritual significance. I decided to bribe them. If they memorized the verse I gave them from the Psalms, I would give them a treat. It seemed a good idea at the time.

The first week we talked about how God is the one who cares for us and meets our needs. I taught them Psalm 81:10: “Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.” I pulled out a stick of gum and told them if they could quote this verse with the reference the following Sunday after church, I would give them the gum. The idea was to continue this until they had a few verses under their belt. There was a lot of jumping up and down and hand clapping though I wondered how many would follow through.

The next Sunday after church, four little boys ran up to me. “I know the verse,” one little guy said. He recited it as his compadres listened, then opened his mouth wide and waited for me to unwrap the gum and put it in his mouth. (With this group, you didn’t dare give it to them. You just hoped they wouldn’t stick it under a church pew before their parents got them outside.) One after another they came, chirping out the verse. I soon realized some hadn’t memorized it. Because the verse was short, they were just repeating what the first boy said. Oh well. It counted. I fed them like little birds though the moment felt sacred, somehow, as if I were serving communion.

The next week, they learned Psalm 34:8: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” That week, I gave them mints. But when I started perusing the Psalms for other appropriate verses, I realized I’d worked myself into a corner. The Bible has a lot of verses about food but not many are in Psalms. It was slim pickings. I considered:

Psalm 119:103 “”How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” I couldn’t very well squirt honey into their mouths, and I didn’t think the parents or the pastor would appreciate having four active little boys running around the sanctuary with sticky piece of honeycomb in their hands.

Psalm 141:4 wasn’t going to work either. This verse is about the wicked. It says, “And do not let me eat of their delicacies.” In this context, any treat I brought would be a temptation. Not a good idea.

Psalm 23 looked like my best hope: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” In the end, I decided against it too. What was I going to do, bring a whole meal? And set up all the onlookers as “enemies?” Also not good.

So three weeks into my ill-conceived Scripture memorization plan, the best I could come up with was Psalm 145:15 “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.”

The proper time, sadly, no longer included my after-church Bible memory program. I tried to let the boys down gently. (From this I learned to set an end-time for such initiatives. Better yet, have a plan before starting them!) Still, whenever I come across the verses they learned, I think about those boys. I see their little upturned faces, eyes closed, mouths open, waiting expectantly and wonder if they remember too. Do they remember that God is our provider? That He is good? That He delights in meeting their needs? If so, my little failed experiment was worth it.

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Out and About in September 2025

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The girls love to stop along the road in the spring to pick some daffodils–and their daddy loves to oblige them. So, we did that.

This is a lake along the road going over Arthurs Pass to Christchurch. It was actually much bluer than this picture shows–it’s breathtaking at times!

One thing I love about going to a homeschool mother’s retreat every September is the views from the hill, looking over Lyttleton Harbour. Such a gorgeous view!

This is the new house in front of ours. James got hurt while working on this house, so he didn’t get to help finish it. Joe did, though! (Joe was formerly called Mr. Sweetie on this blog; he’s over 16 now, so I’ll use his name.) He works two days a week with James and his crew; here he is talking to their boss and doing some work on the house.

The day we went to the Bookarama, we had a picnic out by the beach. There is an enormous structure built of driftwood above the high-tide line, and we had some fun exploring it.

Around Home in September 2025

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We brought a few jump ropes home from America, ones that were made from strips of t-shirts braided together. The girls loved them–the boys decided they were too small and light for them.

I had never seen a rainbow as low to the horizon as this one! It was incredibly bright.

Mr. Imagination still has the right name! We were given a boxful of citrus fruits, and he carefully crafted these teeth from a rind, to wear over his own teeth.

Tui like kowhai blossoms!

Miss Joy and her cats! Sometimes when she’s bored I hand her my phone and tell her to photograph the cats. This time, she obviously decided to feed them so they would all be in the same picture.

And, another picture of a cat!

The fad for a few days was building houses of cards.

This is Mr Imagination, tossing a piece of food in the air and trying to catch it in his mouth. He and Simon, who also stayed home from Bible Study one evening, did this as long as the pineapple pieces held out!

I think one of the girls took this picture–not sure which one. The flowers are in one of their playhouses.

Little Miss got to raise two calves this year. Our cow Maple had the brown one the end of July. We were delighted to have an A2A2 heifer calf from her! We needed a companion for Maggie when we brought her home from where the two were boarding while we were in America, so we asked some dairy farmer friends for a beef cross, and they gave us the white one, a Charolais-cross that we named Misty. We’re quite happy that both calves are quiet and calm.

For several days, the fad was taking pictures of Reepicheep sitting on a phone.

James dislocated and fractured his shoulder the day we traveled home from America, so he was off work for six weeks. Because he can’t stand to do nothing, he found all sorts of projects that could be done one-handed. One of those jobs was collecting all the buckets around the place and water blasting them. Here they are, stacked up to dry. I could hardly believe the size of the stack.

This was another job–a tool rack for the front of the chicken coop, which is in the middle of the garden. He got one of his two-handed brothers to pound the pipes in to make the holders for the tools. We are delighted to have this rack; because it is handy, and easy to use, we actually put our tools away instead of leaving them around the garden. Now, the spot where the tool rack was has hooks for raincoats, and boots can sit on the floor of the carport under them. Perfect!

Spring flowers!

School time!

The base-10 blocks are much more fun for building with than for counting with!

Book Review–Start Little, Dream Big

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About the Book:

Book: Start Little, Dream Big – Grow The Ministry You Were Born To Build

Author: Linette Rainville

Genre: Christian Books, Women’s Spiritual Growth, Adult Ministry, Ministry and Evangelism, Church Leadership

Release Date: August 7, 2025

“Start Little, Dream BIG” is Linette’s personal story of how God turned one bag of skinny jeans into a million-dollar outreach.

Learn how the smallest step of faith could change your life!

Linette Rainville knows this truth firsthand. A proud Buffalo native and U.S. Navy veteran, Linette began with one simple act of obedience—a bag of skinny jeans she tried to “trade in” for things her family needed. That humble beginning sparked a million-dollar outreach ministry that now serves over 40,000 families every year with food, clothing, hope and Jesus.

In Start Little, Dream Big, Linette shares her redemptive journey and practical wisdom for women ready to step into their God-given calling. It’s filled with real-life moments—some laugh-out-loud funny, some bring-tears-to-your-eyes kind of raw—but all with one goal: to provide you a guide and a blueprint to build your own meaningful ministries, projects, and movements from the ground up.

Whether you’re just dreaming or ready to launch, Linette invites you to join her and a growing sisterhood of modern-day Esthers who are answering their call with courage, faith, and Godfidence.

You don’t have to do this alone. Your big dream starts with one little step.

My Thoughts:

I wish I had been able to wait to read this book until I could read the print copy. Because of time constraints, I had to read the ebook, and found the formatting annoying and difficult to follow–likely just because it was a PDF converted to Kindle format. I now have the print copy in my hands, and it is much nicer! One thing that really annoyed me in the digital version was the frequent use of ALL CAPS to emphasize points. That isn’t nearly as bothersome in the paper book!

Anyway, about the content. I wouldn’t have chosen to read this book, but because more reviewers were needed I agreed to check it out. As I read the first several chapters, I was thinking about my life and wondering why God hadn’t given me a vision for some way to help people, other than my own family. As I continued to read, and continued to think about it, though, I realized that He has! It just happens to line up with my natural inclinations so much that I almost feel guilty pursuing this dream. Continuing on, I found more and more confirmation that what I am doing is actually a ministry, and is actually what God has for me right now. (This ministry happens to be our library, and while I am tempted to think, quite often, that I’m only doing it as an excuse to keep buying books, the need for it continues to be confirmed in various ways.) So, while I didn’t find this book all that gripping or inspiring otherwise, it did help me and encourage me to keep on doing what God has given me to do.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Linette Rainville, Jesus girl, USN Veteran and Movement Leader, is on a quest to raise up the next generation of Esthers and Movement Makers. As a podcast host, speaker, mentor and founder of Daughters United, a global equipping ministry, she empowers women to build projects and start ministries from the ground up. With 25 years of hands-on poverty outreach experience, Linette has reached thousands of Kingdom women, guiding them to pursue their callings, lead movements, and build missions.

More from Linette:

Friend, can I just take you back for a moment?

I never thought I’d find myself here in this place. After serving my country in the U.S. Navy, I came home with a spinal injury that ended the career I had dreamed of. Suddenly, the uniform I loved was gone, and I was simply doing my best to care for my family on an income that barely covered the basics.

It stung. It carried a stigma I swore I’d never face. You see, as a young girl my mom and I had lived on welfare, and I had made a promise to myself that my children would never have to experience that. But then life happened. A “disabled” label got stamped on my record, and just like that, my best intentions seemed to evaporate.

A few years later, I was blessed with the gift of motherhood and the challenge of disability. My husband and I were making it on one single blue-collar income, just trying to survive.

And then—God.

One ordinary day, walking out of a thrift store, the Lord planted a seed in my heart. That tiny whisper turned into a vision. That vision grew into a mission. One obedient baby step at a time—one yes, one phone call, one event, one open door—the Lord built something so much bigger than me.

Over the years, what started as a little prayer has grown into clothing programs, a pregnancy help center, food pantries, a soup kitchen, domestic abuse support, homeless outreach… and an army of volunteers who joined me along the way.

What’s wild is this: that one “yes” in 1991 has rippled out for over 30 years—locally, regionally, and now even globally… reaching over 50,000 lives each year—meeting real, practical needs.

And here’s where you come in.

Because this story—it isn’t just about me. It’s about you too. I believe God is stirring dreams and assignments inside of my sisters today. Maybe you’ve walked through storms. Maybe you’ve carried labels that felt heavy. Maybe you’ve stood staring at the “skinny jeans” of your life—dreams or abilities that no longer seem to fit.

But here’s the truth: all is not lost.

I see you.

I see you walking out of those valleys and climbing mountains, becoming warrior-ready and equipped to make a difference. I see you searching for a guide, a compass, and a roadmap for your mission.

That’s why I wrote this book. It’s the first in my Skinny Jeans Series, and I pray that it will become a companion for you—to remind us that God’s plans are never finished, even when ours feel broken.

Because as Jeremiah 29:11 declares: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

So take heart, friend.

God can take your little and build something bigger than you ever imagined…

one small YES at a time.

With BIG LOVE,

Linette

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New in the Library! November 2025

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We didn’t add nearly as many books to the library this month as the last two! I’ve been eyeing Neighbors in Latin America for a few years when I peruse the Christian Light Education catalog. We buy a lot of our school books from them, but I don’t use their Social Studies, so I haven’t had a reason to buy this textbook. However, I saw it advertised secondhand recently, so bought it. I plan to read it as part of our morning routine at some stage. A Wilde Wind is written by Penelope Foote, sister of Rosie Boom; both of these lovely ladies spoke at a homeschool ladies’ retreat I went to recently. I loved Penelope’s first romance novel, The Disenchanted Club, so I bought its sequel/companion this year. It is really good, too–not funny, as the first one was, but much deeper. It goes on the New Zealand fiction shelf in our library. I borrowed Dirty Genes from a sister-in-law while I was in America. Soon after I started reading it, I decided I want it on our shelf, so I bought her a new one and had it shipped to her house. This is eye-opening as far as health and what might be behind a lot of illness. I have never seen a better description of myself than is written here! I am adding it to our Health shelf.

The Collier’s Junior Classics set was rather an impulse buy. I saw someone advertising these ten volumes for $20, and grabbed them. Aren’t they pretty? Beyond that, they are a great introduction to a lot of older books, with a chapter or two from each. When these books came in, Esther sat down and read the tables of contents. It was great fun to see how many of the books that are excerpted here are on our shelves! I also bought Freckles from the same person. I read this book over 30 years ago when I was recovering from appendicitis. I am looking forward to reading it again! This edition was in a New York City public library. It is an Anniversary Edition, published in 1914, 10 years after the initial publication.

When we received the Junior Classics set, we had to figure out where to house them. We had already combined the poetry books and anthologies into one Poetry/Anthology shelf, and decided to swap them with the cookbooks so that they will be more visible. Look at how many books are on that shelf!

I bought a few more books from Facebook listings about the same time. There were three picture books set on a farm near Hororata in North Canterbury, New Zealand. When I saw that, I pointed out to my little girls that we had driven through there the day before–fun! These books are fantasy. Smoky Mountain Rose is a fun retelling of Cinderella, set in the Appalachian Mountains in the USA. I love Diane Stanley’s picture book biographies, so I snatched up Cleopatra. I like the way the author handles Cleopatra’s death–it’s not graphic. These books are on the New Zealand Picture Books, Picture Books, and Picture Book Biographies shelves.

One of the books I picked up at the Bookarama was Uncle Trev. We already have Uncle Trev and the Great South Island Plan, and really enjoyed the ridiculous tall tales in it. This one is even better, although I removed the last chapter because I didn’t like it at all. It joins Comet in the Sky on the New Zealand fiction shelf. We just read that one aloud, as well. It continues the story of May Tarrant, which began with No One Went to Town and Black Boots and Buttonhooks. Sister, by Ellen Howard, was a Facebook purchase because the cover intrigued me. It turns out to be a glimpse into the life of a pioneer girl who had no idea how babies come into the world, but who had to take care of her family at age 13 after her mother had a baby and things went wrong. I placed this book on the Young Adult fiction shelf.

I chose Second-hand Children when I decided on all the books I would read this year for the Read Your Bookshelf Challenge. The November prompt was “food” and this book has food on the cover! It turns out to be a fun story about a family of fatherless children growing up in Wellington. The two youngest girls were quite the characters! This book is going on the New Zealand fiction shelf. I have loved books by Jean Fritz for a long time, so when I come across one I don’t have yet, I grab it. The Double Life of Pocahontas was quite an interesting story about her, as well as John Smith. I also enjoyed Chocolate by Hershey; I don’t think I had ever read about that man before. We found this Creative Minds biography at the Bookarama–what a find! That is a good biography series. Both of these book go on the Junior Biography shelf.

Four of these next books were also from the Bookarama! A Pony for the Winter is a delightful horse story for the Independent Readers shelf. An Elephant in the Garden and Fight for Freedom are both World War II stories. An Elephant in the Garden is historical fiction, about the bombing of Dresden, Germany late in the war. Though it is a war story, it is delightful. It will be with the Junior Fiction books. Fight for Freedom is a true story, set in Indonesia. It is not a nice story; the protagonist was badly mistreated by the Japanese. However, it is a glimpse into a part of the war I have never read about before. I bought this one because I recognized the author; he wrote The Silver Sword, one of our favorite books. It will be on the Junior Biography shelf. Danger on Midnight River is a fast-paced, short adventure story of survival in the wilderness. Reading it could actually help someone survive in a wild river–it is that detailed. I found two more I Survived books on the Facebook page. My 10-year-old was excited when she saw them, and couldn’t wait for me to read them before giving them to her!

Down Cut Shin Creek was one of the books I brought back from America. It is a wonderful story of one of Franklin Roosevelt’s relief programs during the Great Depression. I read it aloud to my youngest children one day when I was injured and couldn’t work, and they were enthralled with this true story, which will go on the Junior History shelf. I finished reading Heart to Heart With Rosie Boom recently. What a wealth of encouragement is between these covers! This book lives on the Adult Miscellaneous shelf. I read Hue & Cry to one of my daughters over the past several weeks. It has been on the Junior Fiction shelf for several years, but I hadn’t read it yet. It is a sequel to The Journeyman, which we had just read. What a wonderful story! I commented to my oldest daughter that it is a real treat to get to read aloud a book by Elizabeth Yates for the first time.

One Sunday afternoon I had the chance to sit down and read. I decided to quickly scan through the rest of the American Girls books that I brought home from America a few months ago, since my 10-year-old daughter wanted to read them. As I remembered from when I read them 35+ years ago, the Kirsten books were my favorites. These books tell the story of a Swedish girl whose family emigrated to Minnesota. They are lovely family stories! The ones about Kit and Addy are good, too, but it’s a little disappointing to only have one from each set. Maybe someday! I took a chance on the Bear Grylls Adventures books when I saw them advertised. I had read a review of them that intrigued me, because the review mentioned that these books are printed with the Dyslexia Font. I have several sons who have dyslexia, so that word catches my attention! The day these books arrived in our house, one of those sons picked up one of the books and read it in half an hour. That made me think these might be good choices for boys who struggle with reading! I did censor one of them a bit, deleting the references to millions of years. All the books in this set of pictures are on the Junior Fiction shelves.

I bought The Highly Trained Dogs of Professor Petit because I like some of Carol Ryrie Brink’s books. Apparently, she had fun writing somewhat fantastic/tale tale sort of stories! This is a fun book for young readers. Jericho’s Journey has been on our shelf for many years, but I hadn’t read it yet. It turns out to be an account of a family’s move from Tennessee to Texas in the 1850s, based on old diaries of the time. I liked the way Jericho grew up through the course of the journey. Old Ramon is one I found at the Bookarama and bought because I tend to like those older books. Then, I was reading through a list of Newbery Medal books, and discovered that this book was on the list. One of the boys chose it for a read-aloud, so it didn’t end up buried in the stacks. This book explores the relationship between an old shepherd and a young boy, as the old man tells the boy (who is never named) about his life and things he has learned, while they follow the sheep to new grazing. Both Jericho’s Journey and Old Ramon have coming-of-age themes. All three of these books are on the Junior Fiction shelf.

My mom just arrived for a visit, and brought me a few books that I received for review. I read With Mercy’s Eyes while we were there in August, but a niece wanted to read it, so I left it behind. See my review here. It will be on the Adult Fiction shelf. Be sure to read the warnings in my review before deciding to read this book. I also already reviewed the Bible Companion Book 5 here. I really like this series to read along with my Bible readings. It will be on the Devotionals shelf.

To borrow any of these books or others, please go to our catalog. Find out how we loan books on this page.

Chicks!

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It is a lot of fun to hatch chicks! We have already done two hatches this year, and the third is in the incubator right now. Of course, hatch day is our favorite part of the cycle. We always move the incubator from the top of the refrigerator where it sits for three weeks, to the floor in the living room where we can watch what happens. Every little while during the day, someone grabs a flashlight or turns on the flashlight app on a phone to get a count, and we rejoice at each new chick that emerges. The first two hatches this year had few enough viable eggs that we didn’t have to take the chicks out to make room for the last ones to hatch, so we left them all in for about 36 hours after the first one emerged.

The cat likes hatch day, too, although she gets quite frustrated. Just before this picture was taken, she had carefully sniffed her way all around the incubator, trying to find a way in to the chicken dinner she could smell. She’s never been able to get inside, but that doesn’t stop her trying!

It’s even more exciting when we open the incubator and take the babies out! This one is a Barred Rock.

The white ones, and some of the black ones, are mixed-breed. The mothers were a cross between hybrids and Barred Rock, and the rooster is a Black Australorp, we think. Some of the black ones are purebred Barred Rock, and some are a cross between Barred Rock and Black Australorp; we have one Black Australorp in the pen with the Barred Rock hens and rooster.

After taking the babies out of the incubator, they go to the chicken coop. This is the new coop that James built to replace the one that burned in March. It is a much-improved version! (And notice the garden tool storage on the front? Genius! That was one of James’s projects while his shoulder healed from being dislocated and fractured in August.) The small window to the left is in the brooder; the rest of the building is open. The babies start out in the brooder, a cupboard about waist-high that we can keep warm and draft-free, and when they are bigger, they graduate to the floor and then can go outside through a door on the back wall.

This is the brooder cupboard. Instead of heat lamps, we now use a heat plate, which the chicks can go under for warmth as if under a mother hen. They come out into the cold to eat and drink, mimicking the way they would live with a mother. We did have to add a small space heater for the first couple of days, as both hatch days were very cold, wintry stormy days and the babies couldn’t get warm enough with just the heat plate.

As the babies got older, we opened the window for ventilation and to cool them down so their feathers would grow faster. They crowded into the window to watch the world go by, and went crazy for worms that we poked through the screen to them. One thing they watch is the cat who has been known to pull chicks through cracks around the door of the coop. She no longer can, with the new, improved design, but she still sits on the step and smells longingly, just waiting for us to be careless and let her in.

The second hatch was the most interesting I have ever had. There were 38 eggs in the incubator after I candled on Day 10. They started hatching Tuesday night. Wednesday morning we saw one that was about halfway cracked around, but then it stopped progressing and was the same in the evening, so we reckoned the chick had died. Thursday morning they were finished hatching, so I opened the incubator to take the 33 chicks to the brooder. As I started picking them up, the one that was halfway cracked started peeping! That was quite a surprise. After I took the babies out, I came back to check on that one. It was dried into the shell, but very much alive. Now we had a quandry. It is not advisable to help a chick out of the shell, because they have to struggle in order to be strong enough to live. One that we helped never was able to stand up, but kept flopping on its back and died after a couple of days. We discussed this one briefly and concluded that if we left it alone, it would certainly die, because it was obviously totally stuck in the shell. We decided to help it out and give it a chance, so we peeled the shell off. Sure enough, it started flopping onto its back–but within an hour it was standing up, walking around, just fine! When it was dry, I took it out to the brooder. When I got there, I was horrified to find a chick laying just outside the heat plate, flat, cold and stiff. Three more under the heat plate were also flat out, being walked on, getting cold. (Remember what I said about a winter storm? The heater hadn’t gotten the cupboard very warm yet.) They were still gasping, so I grabbed all four and hurried into the house, where I put them into the incubator and turned it on again. I was hopeful that two or three might revive, but that one was obviously dead. After another hour I went out to check again, and found a few more in bad shape, so they came in, too, and I worked on the brooder again to make it warm enough for the rest, with little enough space under the heat plate that they couldn’t get on top each other. By this time, the three in the first group that were looking half alive were up and around–and the “dead” one was moving! Within two or three hours after I brought them in, all of the rescued ones were walking around, fluffy and fine as if nothing had happened, except that one had lost some of the down on its back when others climbed on top of it. After a couple more hours, I returned all of them to the brooder, and they are still alive and well now. It is impossible to pick them out of the others!

On the Way Home

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Here is the last post about our trip to America. This feels like it’s been a long project! Now I need to check out all the cameras and phones to see what pictures I have from here at home to post so you can see what has been happening since then!

We left Ohio the last Tuesday in August, more than ready to get home. It was a beautiful, sunny late summer day, and Grandpa wanted to take us across the Ohio River on Anderson Ferry, instead of going the normal way over the bridge. So we had the fun of a 5-minute ferry ride!

Our flight from Cincinnati to Houston went without a hitch. I let Little Miss, who was sitting beside me, use my phone to take pictures of the rivers she saw underneath us.

We landed in Houston and found our gate, got our boarding passes (because the children fly home with New Zealand passports, their boarding passes couldn’t be printed in Cincinnati), and got on the plane right on time. The pilot announced that we were ready for takeoff and should get in early. Then, a minute or two later, he came on again to say that the crew who were going to push us out of the gate noticed that two navigation lights were off on the plane. It took three hours to get them fixed and create a new flight plan–three hours of sitting in the plane on the tarmac. When we finally took off, Miss Joy was sound asleep and Little Miss was so tired and dehydrated that when our meal was served she got sick. That was a long, miserable flight. We were very happy to see New Zealand in the morning as we neared Auckland!

I had again allowed the children to use my phone, and Little Miss took the picture above, as well as this one of a very bored, sleep-deprived Mr. Imagination, and the next one as we were coming in for landing.

Because we were three hours late leaving Houston, we missed our flight to Christchurch. We were rebooked on another flight a few hours later, which went smoothly until we were about 15 minutes away from landing. Then, we ran into a nor-wester, an extremely strong wind that sweeps over the mountains and across Canterbury. We’ve experienced many of them on the ground, but it was a whole new experience to be in one in the air. The men and boys on the flight whooped and cheered as if they were on a roller coaster–I gripped the arms of my seat and hung on for dear life! What a relief to land safely. If you look at this picture, you can see the change in the clouds over the main divide. We live somewhere under those smooth clouds in the distance.

After we landed, our friends picked us up, took us to their house to get our vehicle, and fed us lunch before we headed for home. Notice the snow on the mountains? It’s a bit of a shock to leave summer in Ohio and arrive in winter in New Zealand! It rained for about half of our trip home, so we were a bit concerned about the 100+ books in our luggage, since we had it all in the back of a ute with a leaky canopy. Not much got wet, though, and the little that did was clothing that we could wash and it was fine. We were very happy to be at home!