We got 2.2 inches over the weekend, the most in a 24-hour period since January 16! Sunday was dry except for a few sprinkles and the rest of the week is supposed to be in the 70s and 80s. I expect the garden to get a boost, weeds to germinate like crazy (it would be great if the beets do, too!), and the grass to start greening up faster than it would seem possible. (I took a panoramic shot of the upper and middle pastures last week; I'll take a companion shot in a week to show the difference.)
Thanks to the coming rain kicking our rears into high gear, Rick and I made fresh-pressed muskat grape juice and steamed concord (mixed white and purple) grape juice with the grapes he picked, and I put much of what I picked on Friday in the dehydrator – one tray of cherry tomatoes, two trays of tomatillos, and two trays of eggplant. I'm looking forward to putting these into hearty stews this winter; yum. Next on the seasonal agenda is picking apples and making applesauce (me), mowing the pastures and spreading manure (Rick, once he gets the radiator replaced on the Kubota).
In the breeding shed, things quieted down quickly. First Blaise, then Bridget hung out with Spot; I haven't observed who is his 'favorite' at the moment. Spot is taking his flocksire role in stride this year instead of the frantic excitement of last year. He's slimmed down some, too, which is fine; he was looking rather portly. He still loves his chin rubs, as did Blaise on Sunday.
 |
| Bridget and Spot |
 |
| Bernadette and Bette |
 |
| Blaise |
Last Sabbath Rick had to go on a call near the coast, so Poppy and I rode along. After the vet call we drove to the beach, and managed to hit a dry spell for a walk. As always, Poppy zeroed in on the seagulls; she desperately wants to catch one and hauls on the lead like a sled dog. In fact, she hit the end of the retractible leash so hard it broke, and off she raced, into the surf! I shrieked and Rick took off after her. Fortunately she didn't get swept away, and after a few moments actually saw and heard Rick and returned to him. Whew; I really thought we might never be able to catch her again when there are seagulls to chase all along the beach. I had brought along a regular leash for just such an emergency, so we continued our walk with that.
 |
| Just before that retractible leash snapped! |
 |
| That line in the sand is Poppy digging in and pulling |
All's well that ends well at . . .
5 comments:
Not that Poppy would be daunted by the thought, but does she know how BIG those seagulls are up close and personal? Friends of ours were fishing a few years ago and found a seagull with a fish hook in its beak and tangled by the rest of the line in brush. They managed to get the gull into the boat to perform a rescue. She said she had never realized how large a bird seagulls were when getting that close to one. She had to kneel over the gull in the bottom of their boat to hold it down while her husband performed the extraction of hook and unwound the line. Seagull survived . . . and so did they! Very scary that Poppy could have gotten far enough out in the surf to be swept away! Glad it turned out okay.
She wouldn't have had to get very far out to be swept away, Mama Pea. The surf was very active and it gets deep fast! VERY thankful, indeed. And no, size doesn't matter; she thinks she can take on a deer here at home. =:-O
Oh, wow! What an experience for the three of you! Poppy may not have even realized the danger she was in, though. We have a couple of those leashes, but haven't had any problems with them, even though ours have the cord or string. There are some that have a sort of tape, which may be stronger. I'm thankful that she listened, and came to Rick when he called her!
Your juice is beautiful! When you say you steamed it, do you have one of those big steamers, that you stack up? I haven't used mine for so long, I can't even remember how it goes!
We got nearly as much rain as you did. It was so nice. Most of it came during the night.
I enjoyed the pictures of your sheep!
Well, that was an exciting adventure! So glad you guys were able to ahold of Poppy! I love thinking about the baby sheep coming in the spring :-)
Jeanne, retractible leashes are not allowed at coursing practices or competitions for just this reason, their higher risk of failure especially when a dog is driven to chase prey. Yes, the steamer juicer is a stackable affair that sits on the stovetop.
Me, too, A; let's hope these ewes have a higher success rate than THIS spring.
Post a Comment