Buds, and no buds

Those are some of the buds around Boulderneigh.

And here is the "no buds" part:
Bart at four weeks old has no visible horn material, although I can feel little points when I get my hands on him. Too bad I already have his - stunning - half-brother; he's a very nice ram prospect! (I know, this photo does nothing to show that. :-)

That's it for today from . . .

It's a bird.... It's a plane....

My folks have come and gone home again to Texas, in spite of our best efforts to convince them to stay. We visited the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm on Tuesday (photos to come), and went to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museums yesterday. Dad worked on the Titan II, Titan III and Titan IV projects for Martin Marietta, so that missile behind them in the Space Museum is like an old friend to him. I knew Brian would only be interested in the various children's activities, so I took Songbird (my canary Kuchulu spindle) along to pass the time while supervising him (Mom and Dad took a guided tour of the Air Museum). I couldn't help but notice the resemblance Songbird had to various items. She's a rocket -

She's a helicopter -

She's a prop job with rotors -

No, she's a speedy-beyond-belief Blackbird!

Okay, so she's just a beautiful little fiber tool; my "bird in the hand."

That's it for now from . . .

There's a bluebird

Look at him out there, ain't he pretty?

And there's his wife.

Mr. and Mrs. Goldfinch dine.

A gold-crowned sparrow waits his turn.

(Today's earworm might be a little old for most of you.)

That's it for today from . . .

Resurrection

Happy Easter from . . .

Fresh faces

And for those whose internet connection won't allow you to watch videos, here are still shots.

Barrister, as seen under Katie's neck.

Bonny's exquisite (albeit unfocused) face.

Bright-eyed little Birdie.

Bart, looking oh-so-sincere.

Birdie's fleece mid-side, rapidly going grey. All four of the lambs this year have the Ag, or "greying" gene.

That's it for today from . . .

Lamb marathon!

They'll sleep well tonight at . . .

Character development

I have read numerous times that knitting is one of those activities that is beneficial to the brain, keeping it plastic and helping it ward off things like dementia. I have also discovered that knitting is quite character-building. It can teach patience, perseverance, perspective and acceptance, among other things. Not that I am looking for more character-building experiences; I find that life itself provides abundant opportunities to "build character"! Nevertheless, last night my knitting presented me with yet another opportunity to "grow."

For the first time in days, last night I had some quiet time to knit on Sakaki, Romi Hill's benefit shawl pattern. I stopped to admire my work - and noticed an odd loop of yarn more than halfway back. On closer inspection -
(see tip of needle; you can click to biggify) it was plain that I had somehow dropped a stitch. This isn't basic knitting, folks; there is no fixing this. I wanted to scream, but could hear my mother's voice in my head, saying, "It's good for your character."

Fortunately, there is solace in the fiber arts as well. Before throwing Sakaki in the frog pond, I consoled myself (and saved my sanity) with a little spindling:

Life goes on at . . .

One corner of the universe squared away

I finally - finally - finished weeding the island bed today and planted the astilbe in the shade between the two areas of hostas I planted earlier. A fitting activity for Earth Day, I thought. Since I pulled up every single weed by hand and carted them off to the chickens, it should be relatively easy to keep it weeded now. On to other shaggy-looking planting beds!

This morning when I turned the ewes and lambs out, two-year-old Bramble sproinged and raced around the pasture with the little lambies. I grabbed my camera and shot some video footage, but apparently deleted it instead of saving it on my computer. You'll have to take my word for it; it was a hoot!

That's it for today from . . .

Wordless Wednesday: Things with wings

That's it for today from . . .

A musical interlude

Now that I've finally figured out how to embed videos here, you'll have to indulge a mother's pride (or click to another blog). Below are two videos of Brian playing with his violin teacher, a wonderful man who has been great for Brian in so many ways. Brian just loves it when his teacher plays with him, and it's a treat for me, too. (After five years of violin lessons, I am actually enjoying some fruits of my investment and effort!) :-)

The first video is them playing Cripple Creek six months ago. The second (much longer) video was taken yesterday; they are playing the two violin parts of Bach's Little Fugue.





That's it for today from . . .

Rewarding ourselves

Saturday night, Rick and I discussed what to do on Sunday. We had a lot of work to do around the place - mowing, weeding, whacking, etc., and the weather was supposed to be cooperative. But since Rick wasn't on call, he also had a hankering to do something fun as a family. We agreed that we should get up and work hard, and then could head to the coast for a special dinner at an Italian restaurant owned by one of his clients and some beach time.

Everything went according to plan, except when we got to the beach we discovered Rick hadn't put all the coats in. He chivalrously gave me his jacket (to wear over Maia!) so Brian and I could go beachcombing; the wind was too chilly to go without so he stayed in the car.

Brian and I had a lovely walk, discovered some treasures, and enjoyed the setting sun. (I got snap-happy with the camera, of course; proof below.) A safe drive home, animals fed, and our own cozy beds completed a most excellent day.


That's Sunday's report from . . .