Holiday weekend, part one

To start with, the weather turned cloudier and a bit cooler, which I will take over hot, glaring sun any day.   That, combined, with our long, cool spring, lowered the risks from fools with pyrotechnics, which is always a good thing. Didn't do anything to reduce the risks from fools with guns, unfortunately.

But I'm getting ahead of my date with my honey! Sabbath afternoon he suggested an outing to Fern Hill Wetlands, because he had an errand near there to run anyway. We practically had the lovely place to ourselves, except for the birds (and nutria). My iPhone is worthless for detailed zoom shots so I left the bird photography to Rick and his big lens, but was satisfied with my scenic and wildflower photos.

Egret on the top of the snag

Great Blue Heron on another snag

By the time the sun was setting we were both hungry, so decided to try McMenamin's Grand Lodge. My limited experience with McMenamins food hasn't proven impressive for a vegetarian, but here we both found really good options and ended by sharing a raspberry cheesecake that was the perfect finish for an impromptu date night.

On Sunday morning, I found one of my old Australorps dead in a nest box. I'm now down to seven hens, three young ladies and four old ones. No need for replacements yet since we are still getting more eggs than I have use or market for; the old eggs below were all tossed because they failed the float test.

Brian had to work Sunday night (and  Monday night), so we didn't see much of him on Independence Day. We didn't have any big plans anyway, since Rick was on call. The horses were turned out and took a good nap (clearly they feel safe here and with one another), Poppy made herself at home in our bed (which had been made up for the day), and I spent time digging seedheads out of the throat wool of the sheep, thanks to last year's first cutting hay I've been feeding them. Made for a good excuse to work on Bling's and Broadway's halter-training!

Hanging out in the sheepfold, I noticed that Bridget's nether regions had changed  – enough so that I decided to put her in the corner pen. Before long, she exhibited signs of early labor.

Stayed tuned for part two from . . .