One day at a time

I just finished producing our monthly church newsletter, with photos. I've learned that I can move them from iPhone to laptop by emailing them One. At. A. Time. This tedious process makes me more selective, which is probably a good thing. Not that you might be able to tell by the number of photos below; playing catch-up after visits to two different commercial flower growers with display gardens would challenge the most selective photographer!

In chronological order, here are a few of the photos I felt worth sharing. First, four of my eight hens:

Next, photos from our visit with friends to Adelman Peony Gardens, mostly taken in the fields, rather than the display gardens:

Two days later, we went with family to Schreiner's Iris Gardens, where all my photos were made in the display gardens:

Chuckie, our resident hay inspector:

Poppy, my mighty hunter:

I've had to take Poppy on leashed walks for awhile now (during which she caught that young California ground squirrel in tall grass) because she thinks she can take a deer. I'm sure this doe has offspring stashed on our property because she goes after Poppy in the pasture, and although Poppy thinks it a grand game to dodge her, one strategic blow with a sharp hoof could disable or even kill her.

The ewes escaped their paddock on the neighbor's property recently and wandered around in the nasty grass that I've been calling foxtail or cheat grass but which my neighbor has identified as Ripgut Brome. Scary stuff. I spent hours in the fold monkey-picking the sharp awns from their wool, hands-on time with each ewe which they all came to love.

It's raining today, which is always appreciated this time of year. Too often in recent years the rain has stopped abruptly in spring, followed by a long, hot, dry summer that feels decidedly un-Oregon. But so far, June has been cooler and often damp, if not always wet. But after typing that I looked at the forecast, UGH; temps at 90 and above are in the ten-day forecast.

No other big news right now. We're coming up on our 42nd wedding anniversary, and haven't made any plans yet. I like plans; my husband is more spontaneous. Yep; opposites attract. 😉

That's it for now from . . .

Busy days with lots to write about

I follow Leigh Tate's blogs 5 Acres & A Dream and Leigh's Fiber Journal. Her last update of the first one had lots of updates and no photos. Point taken. One does not have to share photos, as much as one may like to. Since transferring photos still isn't possible, I decided to follow Leigh's lead, as much for my own record-keeping as for you. So here goes.

On May 23 I shared the photos I took on Mother's Day, partly out of frustration that I couldn't share the photos I took on the 23rd of Adelman Peony Gardens. We went with friends on a perfect Sabbath afternoon and it felt like being in the Garden of Eden. 

Rick's sister and younger niece flew in Sunday night, May 24. They stayed with Rick's mom, but we all spent Memorial Day together, first enjoying fresh strawberries over waffles at my MIL's, then going to Schreiner's Iris Gardens. We mentioned needing to get hay in our barn, and bless their horse-lovin' hearts, the visitors offered their help. So the next evening the four of us unloaded two trailers full of hay; Rick and I got a third load of hay in the next evening, and the last half-load in today.

And where was Brian? Taking it easy inside. On the 21st he punched a door and both broke and dislocated bones in his hand/wrist; he had surgery on it last Thursday. 😒

Between Friday, May 22, and today I got our garden in. Rick was going to amend the garden soil with compost but I got tired of waiting. I purchased some starts (six tomatoes, two sweet peppers, two eggplant, two six-packs of assorted salad greens, three basil, two curly parsley), was given some starts (two cape gooseberries, two cherry tomatoes, five assorted cucumbers), purchased some seeds (Detroit Dark Red Beets, Tendergreen Improved Bush Beans), and used seeds from my stash (Scarlet Nantes Carrots, Armenian Pale Green Cucumbers, Long White Zucchini of Palermo, Tricolor Zucchini, Butternut Squash). The salad greens and herbs went into the stock tank on the east side of the house; the rest into our little garden plot on the west side of the house. Oh, and Rick finally planted my poor potted fig tree up in our 'orchard' – and he's even watered it a couple times.

Recently one of our hens died after acting poorly for several days. One of my older ewes has also been ailing; I'm hoping the antibiotics we have her on now will turn her around. In spite of the medical problems the humans have racked up, all has been quiet with the animals' health (other than Lance's asthma flare-ups) for the last year and a half at least. Guess it couldn't last forever.

That's the update, sans photos, from . . .

More eggs, fewer sheep

With the gradually lengthening daylight (and mostly sunny days this month), the hens are slowly increasing production. Not fast enough for the people wanting to buy eggs, though....

Speaking of buyers, the people who came to buy three ewes last Friday left with four! Good thing I had spent time pouring over last year's micron test data, because when they hinted at being open to taking a fourth ewe, I knew who I should let go. So Bauble joined Boop, Bonnie Lass, and Blossom for the trip south to their new home. I admit to some pangs, because I thought Bauble was my most beautiful Shetland, and since her dam Blaise is gone I can't try to replicate her. Just the night before, Rick stayed in the Sheep Sheraton awhile after carrying a bucket for me and I caught him loving on Bauble.

After the four left, I put the three 'barn sheep' out in the wooded lot with the remaining girls so they could figure out the new social order and live together. Since some of the 'mean girls' had left, I was hopeful that no one would get hurt in the kerfuffle and by this morning, all seemed copacetic, thankfully.

I continue to be delighted with my new iPhone's camera capabilities. On my way home from work Thursday, snow-covered Mt. Hood was shining in the sun so I pulled over at the bottom of our hill to see what I could capture. Finally, a true representation of what I get to enjoy with my naked eye!

Evening photo of dark yarn? No problem!

Besides spinning navy singles, I'm plying two very different singles I spun last year into what for me is an experimental 2-ply:

Not sure I'd wear these colors, though, so this yarn might be knit into a gift.

That's it for now from . . .

Proximities

The proximity of these three hens fluffing in a sunny spot is not random. They are the pullets I got from a friend, who raised them from chicks. Toffee Bits, Honeybun, and Snowcone  (L-R) are my friendliest girls and still hang together.

Proximity has been on my mind. Two of my good friends have had close calls recently, one with a near-heart attack (she had lifesaving quadruple bypass surgery) and one with heavy police activity (culminating in SWAT team and K9 involvement) right next door. Having these things happen to those you care about is unsettling (more so for them, of course), a good reminder to take the time and effort to connect with them while you can.

I mentioned the proximity of this year's Christmas tree in my last post. On a related note, several landscaping plants in close proximity to our house look like they are decorating for the upcoming holiday:

Given the proximity of our first frost, time in the garden was on today's to-do list. I knew I had a couple young zucchini in there and probably some small green peppers, but found a lot more of both than I expected, plus a couple of tomatoes to ripen on the counter. So delighted to have this late bounty of fresh produce to cook with! I also pulled and stored all the tomato cages and water lines, and pulled some of the plants. There's a lot more left to clean up and clean out, but I'm hoping to recruit some help for that.

I joined my first-ever knitting club, a birthday present I gave to myself. Knitting Wester Ross by KDD (Kate Davies Designs) features a pattern release every Friday, and an essay about this mesmerizing area of the Scottish Highlands, complete with exquisite photos and video, every Sunday. I will likely never get to visit Wester Ross in person, but these offerings and the associated  Ravelry group have me feeling a proximity to it. Right now I'm too busy knitting my Dala sweater, spinning my Inglenook fiber, and anticipating the arrival of my holiday fiber snacks to think about knitting any of the patterns, but the two released so far are beautiful and will be tackled in the future.

first half done

second half well underway

That's it for now from . . .