Catching up, in no particular order

That's Brava, in photos taken with and without flash. Between the two I hope you can appreciate just how wonderful her new fleece looks (as for how it feels, you'll have to trust me: crushed velvet!). She has gained back all her lost weight, too. In short, I couldn't be more pleased with our sheepy success story.

While I was gone, our chicks took another big step towards maturity - they now cluck! Gone are the baby peeps they used to make. Oh, and I had to clip wings. Rick had done this once before, but the young ladies have apparently grown more feathers. Yesterday morning, Morgan flew to the top of the tall chicken yard fence! I shooed her back in before she escaped, and ran to the tack room for a pair of scissors.

Rick and I finally got the corn (Early Sunglow) planted this afternoon. We also added a couple more tomato plants and replaced the watermelon and honeydew plants that had died. While we worked in the garden, Brian and his grandparents picked strawberries at a nearby place my mother-in-law tracked down - about five gallons for $5! We'll be eating like kings for a few days, and I'm keeping that farmer's number for future reference!

Speaking of food, as soon as we eat supper Rick and I are headed out to get as much hay in the barn as we can before we drop tonight. A neighbor we sometimes buy hay from is baling as I type, and he thought he'd have about nine tons for us on top of the 16 tons someone else as spoken for. Unfortunately, the flatbed trailer he has let us borrow in the past is occupied, so we'll have to get numerous small loads in the back of the pick-up. I'd better go take a prednisone now (allergies).

That's it for now at . . .