Berlin breakthrough with Chuckie cameo

The ewes aren't happy about being kept off the foxtail-filled pasture, but they aren't yelling at me quite as much now. Berlin has become much more self-assured. She reads the other ewes' body language and gets out of the way if someone says "Git!", and pesters when she thinks she can get away with it. She's curious but cautious about me; I've cornered and caught her a few times to get her used to being handled.

This morning after chores and dishing out extra calories to the two old gals, I went into the fold and sat down for awhile. Bridget, Bree, and Blaise pushed in for petting; Sarai and Vienna kept checking to see if I had any more rice bran pellets for them. (Bette and Bernadette always watch warily from a distance; they are my flighty girls.) Berlin was curious, so I extended my hand towards her and she sniffed my fingers several times. Then slowly, gradually, she let me rub a little under her chin. She liked that enough that if I stopped, she'd come a little closer (although on the other side of a pushy sheep), eventually letting me stroke all over her sweet little head.

This is a major breakthrough; I predict we will be spending lots of mutually enjoyable time together. 😊

Chuckie wonders why I need another pet. He would gladly take ALL my attention!

That's it for now from . . .

Mothers Day and gardens

MIL's gift; my husband is a good son

Last Sunday for Mothers Day, Rick drove his mom to a peony farm to choose a plant. The one time I was there, probably more than 20 years ago, there were just field rows of peonies and it wasn't much of a 'destination,' but in 2008 they planted a display garden. Now it IS a destination, so Sabbath afternoon Rick took me and Poppy to see it.

Side note: Brian slept most of Mothers Day after staying out all night (now his weekend routine🙄😔), coming home just in time to go out for an early Mothers Day breakfast with his mom, dad and grandma. But he did get up that afternoon to make cinnamon rolls with me. He had asked me the week before if I would like Cinnabon rolls for Mothers Day and I said homemade would be better. We used my Swedish maternal grandma's recipe and enjoyed the results of our project on my grandma's Franciscan Rose dishes; they were SO GOOD!

using duck eggs made them golden!

Going to Adelman Peony Farm was like getting a glimpse of Eden; it was so beautiful. I, of course, took lots of pictures – of the display garden, the fields, and close-ups of favorite flowers. I have no desire to plant peonies because they don't have much 'bang for the buck' IMO, but I sure can enjoy them in someone else's garden, along with all the other pretties!

this one matched my spinning!

And now, breaking news. We are going to have a garden this year! Rick put a lot of time and effort in today and got it cleaned out and tilled up. Tomorrow I'm going to buy some starts and seeds to get in the ground, along with some seeds (and the basil plants) I already have. It's going to take a lot of water this dry year; I'm so glad we have the individual spigots and soaker hoses. Let the growing begin!

That's it for now from . . .

Ew Ah, Summer

Dawn is coming earlier and earlier. Brian leaves the house at 5:45 for work and I almost always hear him; usually I roll over and try to get a bit more sleep. This morning he tromped into our bathroom for some Aleve®. 🙄 The sunrise series, below, is from last week; the last photo is from this morning:

Flowers are making a good showing in spite of the lack of tending:

It's only mid-May but it feels like mid-summer. Unfortunately, I don't think that means we're halfway through my least favorite season; I think it means that summers are getting longer here as the average rainfall slips and the average temperatures rise. There's nothing I can do to change it, though, so that's why I'm appreciating what I can – and keeping the ewes off pasture now that the foxtail is headed out and maturing fast. The girls are complaining loudly about being shut in:

The horses, on the other hand, are getting regular time out because grazing is safer for them (particularly Lance) now that the grass has headed out. Yesterday I went to bring the geldings in and couldn't find Lance at first. That's because he'd found a helpful apple tree to scratch his itches:

Poppy has been dying to meet Berlin, straining on the leash outside and whimpering from the windows inside. This morning I had an easy opportunity to nab Berlin in the fold while her mother was busy at the freshly filled mineral/kelp feeder, so I carried Berlin out of the fold and sat down on the mounting block. Poppy was very good while I held Berlin, even though what she really wants is to play. Not happening, my little terrier!

Yesterday I found one of our blue Wyandotte hens dead in the henhouse. I'm sure it was the same one who has been acting just a bit different and spent the night before perched on the rail in front of the nest boxes rather than up on the roost. So now we're down to eight hens who will be six years old this fall. A friend is getting an order of chicks this month (wondering how they will do when we are already so warm) and is going to raise a few of them to teenagers for me, so reinforcements are on the way. She ordered an assortment of brown egg layers for herself, and some Whiting True Green chicks at my request. I hope they survive!

That's it for now from . . .