Ashleigh Whaley
November Activities and Adventures.
November Activities:
Homeschooling.
School ends for the year.
By mid-November we had completed our homeschooling goals for the year and the children were free to enjoy some downtime.
Little farm boy.
Between the tractors and the horses the children were hardly at home. Murray John spent his days driving anything and everything with an engine.
I have loved hearing his daily stories of what he has been up to, from eating chicken heads and small fish, with our farm staff, to burying dead cattle!
He now has his own farm radio, so that we can locate him, when it’s time for lunch or horse riding.
Happy horsey girl.
Whilst Murray John is off around the farm, Paula Joy spends her time with the horses, training them, organizing their tack and the feed rooms. She also has to get everything ready for the weekly polo practice and/or horse shows. She has certainly taken a huge load off my shoulders.
Mum gets to rest.
Finally, I am able to get some much needed rest time, as I am still battling to get myself back to being 100% fit and healthy. It’s wonderful to not have the added pressure of schooling, which has allowed me to catch up on all sorts of other things…
We are still working on our new town house, so we travel to Harare for a few days each week.
This has turned out to be an enjoyable project for us all and I love being creative.
I do hope you enjoyed my latest post, 4 Intelligence Types that Boost Your Child’s Development , as I so enjoyed researching and writing it.
Homeschooling Friends.
A sad death.
We had the sudden sad death of our beloved cat, Harry, who was with us for 5 years. He will always be remembered for his quietness and love of water.
New baby kittens.
Whilst we were still sadden by the loss of Harry, we discovered two Siamese kittens at the ‘Friends Foundation’, who were looking for a new home. This was wonderful, as Siamese cats are not bred in our country anymore, so someone must have imported their mother.
Siamese have always been my favourite cats. We could not resist them, – and so we welcomed Toby and Sapphire into our home. It didn’t take long for them to capture our hearts!
For now, as they are still kittens, they travel to and from Harare with us and are adjusting to becoming seasoned travellers.
The rest of our furry and feathered friends are all well and thriving.
Homeschooling Art.
Interior decorating.
With the new home in Harare, I have been teaching Paula Joy how to decorate rooms and how to match colours and use one’s imagination. We have had to use what we have, due to financial limitations.
Before. 
After.
Paula Joy has completely renovated her toilet room, from painting the tiles to choosing the décor. The end result is very pleasing and she had fun whilst doing it. She will now tackle her bathroom.
Horses.
Polo weekends.
We only had a few weekends of polo this month, due to the start of the summer rains. Each month the competition has increased and this month the children were put to play against their father and not with him.
The banter was fun to listen two, as most of the games ended in a draw. It is so funny seeing Murray John, all of 10 years old, trying his hardest to mark the adults.
Horse show.
Jumping a Rooibok. 
Show practice on Monty.
We ended the month with a fun horse show, run by the Amateur Riding Club. It’s always a wonderful show, with a great atmosphere and lots of encouragement from participants and spectators.
Paula Joy took 4 ponies to the show and had an awesome time. They had some bad rounds and some great rounds… She has learnt a great deal from the experience and came away with many rosettes to add to her collection.
Murray John only managed to jump Monty, as he opted to play polo with Dad instead. I did manage to get him to ride a friend’s small pony, which was a funny sight and really forced him into using his riding skills.
Fancy dress competition.
The Horse Show’s Christmas fancy dress competition brought out the fierce competitive streak in my children. They both love to enter and see who can place higher.
Paula Joy spent weeks planning her Rudolph the Reindeer with Presents theme, whilst Murray John opted for the easy route, which was one of a farmer dragging home a chopped Christmas tree.
Both children did well and looked great. Paula Joy came 2nd and Murray John 4th. At last, Paula Joy beat her brother in a fancy dress competition!
Despite the work involved, in getting the fancy dress done, we always come away with awesome memories and photos.
November Adventures:
Farm Life.
Summer storms.
With the wheat harvesting done and the farm having achieved record tonnes, we were mentioned on national radio, which was a great way to end the season.
Summer storm. 
Tobacco hail damage.
We experienced a massive storm in mid-November, with 60ml of rain in an hour, along with some hail damage. I certainly enjoy storms, despite the damage, as it is so wonderful to see how the bush resurrects, after the long dry season.
Tobacco spraying. 
Tractor harrowing.
Flooded stable yard.
After the storm we end up with flooded stables, resulting in a large mess to clear up!
The new bananas are now large enough to be planted out into the fields and the reaping of the irrigated tobacco will begin soon. Dalston is certainly a very productive and busy farm.
Environmental Awareness.
With the first rains come the summer birds. The dams are now full of ducks and other water birds and many cattle egrets wander around the horses, looking for tasty bugs.
I certainly love seeing God’s hand in the African bush and the changing landscape, brought with the first rains.
May God bless you all, as we go into the Christmas season.
Always remember, with God all things are possible.
“Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God.” Hebrews 12 vs 15.
Please leave your comments below…..
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