Animals

Baaaaa, Baa Brown Lamb...Why's Your Wool So Wet?

A day of showers ushered in a cold front yesterday.

Almost 3 inches of rain fell on the farm...

giving me a day to catch up on errands.

Luckily, the clouds held the bulk of their moisture during the hours that chores

needed to be done.

Sometimes Mother Nature cuts me a break...

giving me optimal conditions for farm work.

The rest of the day it rained cats and dogs off and on.

During the afternoon break in the rain

the dogs and I headed out to feed the goats and gather eggs.

There was quite a bit of water that first needed to be emptied from the goat feeders.

Dinner was served

and consumed before the next shower's arrival.

It seems the chickens found a dry place to gather and gossip...

On the way back to the house I stopped at the garden to pick supper.

After observing the amazing growth rate of the vines....

in and around the garden,

I came to the conclusion that it's a good thing that winter eventually arrives.

For without it, the entire farm would be covered in vines.

We've had the optimal summer for plant growth...

lots of rain and lots of sun.

The trellis that holds the birdhouse gourd plants is now covered in huge gourds.

I will dry these over the winter and then, come spring, will

make birdhouses with them and hang them around the farm.

Perhaps, if they turn out nice, I will have a birdhouse giveaway!

While in the garden, I picked another load of hot peppers.

So hot!

And so lovely!

The next chore was chopping them and making more hot pepper relish.

(If you are interested, this is incredibly simple to make....

chop peppers, add enough vinegar [keeping track of how much vinegar you use]

to almost cover peppers and then add half that amount of sugar.

Cook until tender and then place in pint canning jars and process for 15 minutes in a

boiling water bath.)

These are delicious on sandwiches, on eggs, on meats....on just about anything!

Another load of tomatoes became spaghetti sauce (dinner)...

with extra to freeze.

(This sauce is orange because I had quite a few yellow tomatoes in it.)

Also during one of the rain breaks, I had the opportunity to photograph Faith.

Poor soggy Faith...

What a chubby girl!

With such a sweet face.

Check out those long black eyelashes!

Baaaa, baaaaa, brown lamb....have you any wool?

Looks like this girl's going to have lots of it!

Can you believe it?

Another weekend is upon us.

We have fun plans (that just might include a visit with my pink fairy princess)...

I'll share pics on Monday.

You?

PS....I had some requests for seeds for the kiwi berry. I can definitely send you some seeds once the berries are ripe, but I worry that seeds would not make a good start for these vines.

In order to produce fruit, you need a male and a female plant....and I am not sure how you would tell, as the female plants don't flower for the first several years.

I am thinking that taking cuttings of the plants and rooting them would be a better way to start them.

You can email me and we can discuss this further.

Also, I was asked how I determine which of my horses will be good for driving.

I picked Red because he has such a good temperament.

He does anything I ask of him, so I know he will be fine to train.

Ollie, on the other hand...not so much! (The stuff nightmares are made of!)

Have a great weekend!!!

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Animals