Green Morning

It's amazing how fast the grass starts to green back up.

We finally got some rain.  I am grateful...but you could probably also hear a bit of ungrateful in my tone :-/.  Frequently, when it waits until the heat of the day to rain, we get storms.  We got some rain, but it destroyed my plant shade area and flattened most of my sunflowers.  

Well, the first storm did...and then I spent about an hour yesterday morning standing as many back up as I could and while it wasn't pretty, most would still feed the bees and the birds...until the second storm blew through last evening.

I haven't been out for a close look.  I'm just so disappointed.  This was the best sunflower patch I've even grown. I'm not sure I can bring myself to go out and try to fix everything again.  I can probably tuck everything back into the dirt and keep them alive for a bit longer, but...sigh...

The second worst thing I regret is that I didn't take the time to take some good pictures.  I've had so many gold finches out there on them and I was excited for a gold finch photo for the calendar and I didn't make the time.  Thought I'd have plenty of time.  There's a lesson there for sure.

My neighbor has a stash of seeds, so I'm going to hustle and put some in pots to try and grow a few more that might make it to maturity before we get a freeze.  At this point I'd guess since I'll need it to hold off and give me some more time, fall will come early this year.  It would be a win either way. But I'd really rather have my sunflowers back.

A cell phone shot from an evening last week.  

Both pictures are new puzzles.

August

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June

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June

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Not half bad :-).

November

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November was a pretty darn good month :-).

The Month End

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I'm not really sure why I take all these pictures.  I mean, the sunrises are beautiful, but do I need to document all of them?  Or pictures of the Cheeto and Willard.  They all look mostly the same, honestly.  Possum has so many bed pictures I had to pick only a few favorites to keep the video from being even longer. 

The lambs at least grow and change and I like the series of pictures of me petting Christopher, Maggie coming over to see why I'd be talking to any other lamb but her and then turning to the camera as if in disbelief before curling up in the now empty spot after she told Christopher to get lost.  Christopher talking to Lancelot is cute as well.

I probably have taken a hundred pictures of Salt in the driveway.  I can't even begin to count Kate and Tilly pictures over the years.  If I need a good laugh, I love to go back and look at Maisie pictures or that crazy video of Liddy getting stuck in the shearing chute.  I love to get prompts that takes me to an old picture of Buddy or Comby or Hank or Keebler or Lila or...

This morning one of my favorite Instagram follows @springcoyoteranch posted

"Shepherds love to capture a “perfect” moment even if it’s for nobody else to see. There’s a certain feeling of peace you get looking at the sheep. Soaking in all the details of a scene…sheep grazing contentedly, the sun rising or setting over them, mothers and lambs, a favorite ewe gazing back at you in a knowing way. For a fleeting moment all of your hard work is manifest in pure joy and satisfaction. Looking back at old photos, I catch that feeling again for just a little bit."

I love looking back at these old photos. There is a lot I want to remember this every month.

In The Pink

A new puzzle!

The First Picture Tonight

I took a bunch of sunset picture this evening. This happens to be the first one. I like it. It might not be the best one...but it might be. I'll look at the rest tomorrow.  In the meantime, enjoy a new puzzle :-).

Spring Sunset

A new puzzle :-).

On The Subject Of Names

Several years ago (!) when Baaxter was a baby, it took forever to come up with his name.  A name that suited him and suited us and he could wear (or we could wear out ;-) for years to come.  In the interim I called him Lamby Lamby, which is what I call all lambs.  

Now, years later (!), if I'm trying to get his attention and he's not responding to Baaxter or Baby B, I quietly say Lamby Lamby and he immediately turns his head.  This has also been confusing for him with subsequent bottle lambs who I inevitably call Lamby Lamby in front of him.  Poor Baby B...

I should never be put in charge of names (Saint Tim comes up with all the good ones ;-).  While Big Moose is a name he can wear (and we can wear out...and already are :-o), Mini Moose...poor Mini Moose...  I think he's already learned Mini Moose and I'm not sure we could change it even if we came up with something perfect.  Poor Mini Moose...

He does seem to recognize the name Cute Lamby...but that might be confusing with subsequent lambs... ;-)

Two new puzzles :-).

Enjoy!

Sunny, Smiley...Cheeto...?

I wish I'd never called this pretty ewe "Cheeto".  It was cute nickname at the time...but surely we can come up with something better?  Help!

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I first met "Cheeto" back in 2014 apparently.  I recently stumbled across an old photo of her in my sheep files.  She was snuggled up with a cute white ewe lamb and I'm wondering if she was one of the early Lamb Camp Calendar models?  I'm not sure why it was in a random folder with no similar pictures around her though.  I honestly think it was destiny.

The first time I actually remember meeting her was early last spring.  That morning she was just another ewe I was watching in the lambing field.  She was resting out in the field, legs crossed in front of her, and I thought she was cute...so I took her picture.  

Later that day and into the evening, every time I turned around I'd see her looking at me.  Sometimes standing right beside me.  "Hello there! Would you like to take my picture again?" This went on for a couple of weeks until she lambed...and I took pictures of her and her pretty lambs.

This spring she picked up right where she left off last year.  I'd be crouched down helping a lamb or taking a picture and I'd turn around and she'd be standing right next to me.  "Hi there!" It never failed to make me smile :-).  

She had two beautiful lambs this year, Big Moose and a sister who is staying at Final Frontier Farm as a replacement ewe.  She probably could have lambed one more year, but she has an arthritic knee and I wanted to retire her here...so I could see her smiley face every day. 

I don't know why we pick the friends we do or why they pick us.  I'm just glad we're friends.

"Hi there!"

"Would you like to take my picture?"

One of these is a new puzzle :-).

Enjoy!

Pretty

I thought this pretty picture of pretty Kate would make a pretty puzzle.  

Enjoy :-)

Gold Christmas

No white Christmas this year, but the golden sunlight was a pretty good trade.  A couple new puzzles for you :-).

Merry Christmas!

Pasture Puzzles

Nice setting sun tonight!  Enjoy a couple of new puzzles :-).

Playing With Light

A couple new puzzles :-).  

Enjoy!

Just Like Fireflies

Actually, not really very much like fireflies...but they did appear to glow in the setting sun.  I didn't get a great picture of all of them floating around, but I do like this picture of Petunia and Renny grazing together with Buddy looking on.   Might be a fun puzzle :-).

As The Sun Begins To Set

A couple quick and easy puzzles :-).

a

Enjoy!

No Matter How You Look At It

Backwards...

Or forwards...

We all have so much to be thankful for, even when it's sometimes hard to see.

Happy New Year!

It Never Gets Old

One of my favorite blogs is The 7MSN Ranch.  I love her photography, her animal family, her frequently funny videos of, say, relocating a rattle snake from her back porch (!).  She (re)posted some gorgeous sunset pictures the other day and a stat of how many sunsets she's watched from there.

As we were coming up on our farm and family anniversary, the fall equinox, the maths were pretty easy to do for here.  I decided I'd copy her idea, go up on Stella's hill, take a sunset picture last night celebrating our 13th anniversary, take off my shoes and socks and count up the days.

Of course that didn't happen, but that's okay.  I'm more likely to take a sunrise picture anyway. Stella gets the great sunsets.  I get the great sunrises.  So, today is the 4,745th (basically) sunrise I've watched from our back porch.  Thankfully with no rattlesnakes ;-).

A happy anniversary!

Enjoy!

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Check back later today for a funny Betsy story, an important vote and a giveaway!

Always In Good Light

We had a brief reprieve from the blistering heat over the weekend.  I've never been so glad to see low 80s in my life!  I'd been wanting to get some pictures of the chickens sitting out on their "front porch", the hillside in front of the horse stalls, but since it wasn't miserably hot for a change, they were out being busy.  I got some nice pictures of Hank instead.

You know I love morning and evening sunbeams.  Or at least evening sunbeams when it's not 85 degrees as the sun sets :-o.  I noticed the rays blazing over Hank's head and took this first shot.

And then I moved around a bit and let the sunset bathe him in gold.

And then changed my camera direction and included the sun, which I think tells a better/clearer story...but I don't like the composition quite as well as the next picture.

I wish I'd been able to leave a little more room all around each side.  However, if I had, I'd have lost the bright flare/glare that I find so pretty.  Hank is always a great shot, even in "bad" light.

Now that it's back in the 90s, I'm sure the girls will be back cooling off on the hillside in the evenings.  If I can find the inspiration to grab the camera...