Yesterday Was A Great Day For A Farm Party

Today is looking great as well!  Saturday?  Well...not so much :-/.  Blah, blah, blah...let's talk about yesterday!

After a thoroughly enjoying day that included a really good (carriage) driving lesson, some flower shopping, a short (car) driving tour of some of the fancier horse farms around Lexington and general relaxing in the finally enjoyable sunshine, Karen, Kate and I took a walk back to the pond.

And Hank went with us!  He hasn't done that since back in the spring.  That really made my day.

All the flowers have gone to seed, including the milkweed.  I am planning to harvest some seed pods to spread more plants along the wet weather creek for next year.  They are slowly making their way to the front field, but a little help wouldn't hurt I don't think.

Here's why Saturday's forecast of rain isn't really bringing me down.  Even with the recent rains, the pond level is still as low as I can ever remember.  The low growing brown plants headed up the bank are usually under water.  Yikes.

Our trees just turned brown this fall.  No good colors...except this little seedling I found near the pond bank.  We needed Saturday's predicted rain two months ago. 

Breathe in..............breathe out..............

And follow Hank back to the barn.

You've probably guessed that the forecast for this Saturday's farm party is not looking good.  We toyed with trying to reschedule for another weekend, but next Saturday is out and after that the weather in November gets dicey enough that even a good day...is probably not a great day...unless you are a sheep or a shepherd.

It's a farm party.  Farms depend on rain.  After the hot dry summer we've had, we are still celebrating the rain.  Come January we might be tired of it, but at the end of October we aren't going to let rain keep us from enjoying what we do every day, rain or shine.

The National Hug A Sheep Day farm party is still on!  Dress accordingly and wear your rain gear...and a smile...because every day is a good day to hug a sheep, even a rainy day :-).  See you Saturday!  

Walking Up To Let The Chickens Out

I usually just take my iPhone with me when I walk up to the barn at dawn to let the chickens out. It died though just after I snapped my "letting the dogs out view from the porch" picture and the sunrise was looking spectacular so I grabbed the big camera.

When you hear "up with the chickens", that's the truth.  The chickens go to bed well before it gets dark and are complaining mightily if I get out there after the sun has crested Stella's hill.  I could have set the camera exposure so the pictures appeared "brighter", but I decided I wanted to record what it actually looked like.  

This is my morning walk.  It's not always this colorful and foggy, but it's always beautiful.  The first group of sheep like to get up with the chickens as well and I usually can just hear them (Andy's bell), not see them.  Want to walk with me?

"Y'all stay here.  I'll be back in a minute."

You can just barely see Hank (look at the top fence plank).  Everyone stood at the gate and waited.

This is pretty close to the right amount of light.

This is too light.  It makes a difference if you are metering off a white sheep or a black one.  Your camera wants to take the best picture possible so if you aren't watching, it will brighten things up for you.  The easiest thing to do before coffee is adjust your exposure compensation.  

Hank's made it all the way out and is headed back to the sheep.

Double checking something.  The sheep are all still waiting for his "all clear".

The not quite as early riser group.  Again, a little too bright.

"All clear." 

This exposure is just right.

Part of the Nistock contingency.  Not the earliest of risers haha ;-).

But when you do get up early, it's always a good trade.  That's a bit of an inside joke...although, since she put it on her blog I guess it's actually more outside :-). 

Good morning!