End of the harvest and future plans...

My sister and I picked a basket of garden goodies so heavy it was easier to share the load.
The lambs tried to run interception but we managed to make it to the house without incident,(they give a wicked hip check!)
The garden production is winding down... there are plenty of tomatoes and the pumpkins and winter squash are still growing, but everything else is looking weary.  I'm already pondering and planning about what I want to plant next year... before I'm even done putting all of this by!

Sunday morning...

I love mornings in general, and Sunday mornings in particular. The day lays before me like a blank canvas, ready for me to decorate it as I wish. This morning in Maine the day dawned cool and crisp. I took my camera outside with me as I did chores. The sun rising behind the trees on the ridge back lit flora and fauna alike.

"Adventure chicken" greets me on the deck. She is the only hen that routinely gets out of the large fenced area. She explores the herb garden, pokes around the front yard, and lays her eggs where she pleases. Sometimes I find them, mostly I don't. I can't be upset with her; rather I admire her free spirit.

Little Lambs Lawn Service, Inc. are let into the back yard when I am there to monitor their activities. They are curious and naughty. A frolic for them involves tipping over the barbecue grill, smashing the bird bath, eating all the poultry food, having a good scratch under the picnic table and breaking into the hen house. When I let them in the yard I keep the garden hose handy and steer them away from undesirable activities with a well aimed blast of water. I call this "hose herding." It is quite amusing. For me at least!
This lamb is called "Naughty Niner." The tag in his ear has a long ID number in, ending in "9." This guy is the most mischievous of the flock... routinely escaping from the pasture into the back yard and in general stirring up trouble as much as he can. He likes to dance on the deck. I find him enchanting.
The yellow squash are riotous. I harvest them by the basketful daily.
These are some of the roaster chicks we are raising. They are slated to go to "freezer camp" on Friday. They arrived here on June 1, two days old and the size of golf balls. 8 weeks later they are enormous and have bottomless appetites.
Belle the Muscovy duck and her ducklings are such fun to watch as they chase bugs, nibble weeds and splash in any handy water container. Look at the feet of the little one on the front right... now imagine the sound of all those little feet as they run past me in the yard. "Fwap-fwap-fwap." I always end up drowning the sound in laughter.

Spring marching on...

I have not blogged for a bit because I have been held fast in the grips of a particularly nasty virus that has laid me low. But spring has marched on despite my illness and plans I had put into place have come to fruition. I went to purchase 4 lambs last Sunday, and the woman threw in "runt triplet" for free. So I have a real flock (5!) of them now, and they are beyond adorable.



The daffodils, jonquils and tulips I planted last fall, and the fall before that, etc. have burst into riotous bloom. They encircle a crab apple tree and normally they all flower at once. This year either they are early or the tree is late, but it is still a pretty show!



I decided our mini farm might just need a pair of ducks! So here they are, Elvis (he ruffles his head feathers into a funky Elvis-like hair style and is very good at wiggling his rear!) and Belle. They are Muscovy ducks; known for being excellent bug eaters, producers of fine eggs, and excellent parents. I am hoping they'll get down to the business of nesting soon so we can have a bunch of cute babies waddling about! Meanwhile, they are interesting characters. They don't quack, but rather make an odd, breathy sound. They also don't swim, but will hop in a pool for a vigorous splash!

I have not been able to enjoy my new additions as much as usual since I have been feeling so rotten, but I felt well enough today to take pictures and I even caught myself smiling once when the lambs went rollicking past me, bucking and leaping with the joy of spring.

We grew by two...

We brought home two lambs today. They had never been out of a barn before- but it didn't take them long to begin to leap and frolic about in the pasture. We named them after clouds, "Nimbus" and "Cirrus." I spent a long time this afternoon just sitting and watching them explore and eat and leap and play. Enchanting!