Friday moment

Having baby goats is exhausting for everyone!

March Madness

Last fall  flew by in something of a blur.  In addition to usual firewood roundup ( IE  me fighting with the chainsaw) there was also the matter of building a new woodshed, and arranging a little romance for my goats. 

 
Then it was winter.   Which wasn't nearly as harsh as the East coast but still. 

Went to Idaho for a boyfriend for Nellie. Here's Bilbo playing hide and seek behind a post.  He's a total goof ball and much nicer than all the goat books make buck goats out to be. 
So baby goats are coming next!

Since I haven't been spazzed out enough over the eminent goat births, we got a puppy. You know to use up all that free time I had since finishing construction on Bilbo's bachelor pad.  Actually Stella , an  Aussie Shepard  lab mix, will grow up to be a goat dog.  A furry warning system to alert us to coyotes.  Currently she's  annoying the cats and following poor aged Buck around like some kind of doggy mini me.

Now that she's stopped trying to nurse on him, Buck likes her.

Especially when she's asleep.

I miss color.....

It's snowed again over the weekend and there is more on the way this week. It's cold and dark; and I want Spring. I've turned into a small whiny child. I want Spring. I want flowers and color and light!

I did the same thing last year too.

I think Bucky has the right idea. It's a good day to go back to bed and stay there. I  however am trying to overcome that impulse and be somewhat productive. I've got 'A Year in Provence' on the tube and am trying to finish up a baby set. I will say this is an ideal time to work on baby things. The yarn is so soft and cheerful, it almost makes me forget that its 15 degrees outside. Almost.

Also in progress is a set of very flowery pillowslips. (Another attempt to stave off winter madness.)  The last pic is of my new pile of pom pom trims. I'm leaving it on a table in the living room. It just makes me smile to see it laying there. Such a silly thing, pom pom trim. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but I love it.


Other good things I found recently include the blog Lists of Note. Found via 101 Cookbooks last week. I need to print out and frame "Things to Worry About". (Extremely good advice. Why didn't my Dad ever send me such good advice?)

Good bloggy advice here.
I do apologize too much.  I think it may be genetic. My grandmother, who was a champion pie maker, brought everything to the table with a disclaimer. The crust not being quite right or the filling being bit too runny. I do the same thing with everything. I think it may be some sort of back handed way to provoke a response from the family. (Who are not the most effusive people.) Of course now that I think of it; I'm incapable of accepting a compliment either. 

So clearly I'm nuts and descend from a long line of emotionally stunted women. 

Happy Valentine's Day

 

 

I hope you can spend some time on the couch with your pal today, too.

Weekend Pictures

stained 90 feet of deck railing, (my hand may never be the same)

raining

canned a dozen quarts of red sauce

people under my desk

which check to use?

Piggy

Wordless Wednesday

Allergy Eyes

You know it's a bad pollen year when even the dog has puffy eyes. Poor man.

AccuWeather.com has so pretty freaky pollen maps. I should have stock in Benadryl.

a break in the clouds

 The rain let up for a bit this morning, so Buck and I took a ramble up the fields and through the woods. The hills have burst into life the last few weeks. Everything has greened up and is blooming. Though it plays havoc with my allergies I love this time of the year. Everything that has been dormant all winter seems to rush back to life in these first few days of warm weather.  The hills around my valley are awash with blooms and little out-cropping's of pioneer plants spring up.

Amelanchier - Serviceberry

 Forest golf ball

 Currants in full bloom. It's either the red or white. I can't remember which.

Buckey was not in this shot when I was focusing. Somehow he manages to run into about half of my pics without me being aware of it. He's not there when I'm taking the shot, then when I download the camera; there he is. I don't know how he does this. He's like a reverse vampire. Only appearing in pics after they are developed.

Hay bale + Mouse

= very happy Bucky

dancing in the kitchen

Doing dishes is better the louder the stereo is. I do a boogie, the dog does a boogie, and the kitchen's clean!

Happy Friday!

Clouds and Pudding

Saturday was the sort of day that makes you forgive winter for being so long. With the sun shining and a warm breeze we set off across the fields to the creek. Flocks of robins  hopped along the ground as Bucky dog checked newly uncovered mole holes. A very good time was had by all.

Today was the sort of day that tests the wills of those who have flannel sheets and ample reading material. Gray and dark. Brutish black clouds rolling up the valley promising rain and north wind straight from Siberia.  So with a fire going the Mom and I said the appropriate grandma joke; "Looks to be a clear up shower." "Clear up to your ass." and got out the knitting. This phrase has been said every time it rained for as long as I can remember. Living in Redwood country it rained quite often and she chuckled every time she said it.  Grandma was a farmer's wife whose idea of swearing was to mutter "oh shirt!" if really harassed....like at deer damage in the rose garden or a burnt pie. With Grandma in mind I made Eve's Pudding with apple and raspberry. This marvelously simple and wonderfully good dish is from Darina Allen's Forgotten Skills of Cooking, a wonderful tome packed with goodness.

Her's is prettier than mine.

Bucky doesn't mind though.

A death in the family

Joey and his brother came into my life not long after I started chemotherapy. He had been a near constant companion ever since. The epitome of a Velcro dog.  Ten years later cancer snuck back into our family and took Joey.