Naughty boys

That hay you see? Its the hay that the previous homeowner left behind. I have been storing it in one of the extra stalls. Thinking that when I get chickens in the spring I can put it in their run once they eat all the vegetation down....

Those goat boys you see? They snuck in there while I was cleaning out their stall. Niko and Kip made it all the way to the top of the bales. Finley, being the slower, more laid back of the group, well, he sorta just stayed in place for a minute. To see how he should proceed. Not that that stopped him from snacking by any means.

But then Finley realized that what Niko and Kip were doing seemed like a good idea to him. I mean, Niko was kinda taunting him by continually looking down at him with big mouth fulls of hay. (Joey, however, did not think it was a good idea. He never once tried to climb up there.)

Hes trying to maneuver his way up there.

He manages to get some footing.

He made it. And is very happy with himself as he begins to indulge in even more snacking.

But, oh dear....that didnt last long. Now hes slipping.


and slipping. And Niko just watches. He doesnt even attempt to offer a hand.


Finley lets out a huge sigh in defeat when he realizes the harder he climbs...the faster he falls.


Naughty Boys....

Taking a break

After lots of chores here at the farm...who wouldnt enjoy a party?

The neighborhood that we moved into throws a party every summer. They have community businesses that set up tables and offer helpful tips about irrigation systems, conserving pastures, noxious weeds, etc. The tips were so interesting that even S carried on some good conversations.

They had volunteers that grilled burgers and hot dogs for lunch.

They even had little bags of chips. I heart chips. (even if they are baked)

Dont let J fool you. He really was having a good time.

The kids did some bouncing.

And some bounce falling.

Then it was time to get shoes back on.

So that they could get in line to have their faces painted.

This is what S did while we waited in line.

For as much as G doesnt enjoy bugs.....

It surprised me when he chose a spider for his face.

J went with an awesome chinese dragon.

K was in line with us, but she felt so badly for this little boy that was behind her in line...he was waiting so patiently for his turn, but you could just see him vibrating to have his turn....she let him go ahead. And then she just decided there were too many younger kids waiting...so she chose to pass on the face painting all together.

G got to take a ride around the place.

After that we decided to take a minute and hang out in the shade. G was clearly enjoying himself.



And after he was done keeping the beat(his words) he of course, had to make friends with the DJ. So, what was meant to be a little break in the shade before heading home, turned into a much longer break where he learned all about being a DJ.

Who am I to stand in the way of that?

Garden surprises

I have been in the garden...for days. Quite literally, the weeds have taken over my garden. Im not even going to show you just how many zombie weeds are in there. Just know, its not good. Not good at all. I pull one and return the next day to see 3 in its place.

Aside from that tho...Im happy to say that the apricots have been going strong for the past couple weeks.

The green beans are super yummy.

The garlic was planted by the previous owners, so I dont have any idea what kind I have, but I do know that this particular one came from a group of hard neck garlic.

Hence, the scape you see. I left the scapes on this season. Not for any real reason other than I just didnt cut them off.

Imagine my surprise when right next to the little hard neck garlic I found...I unearthed this puppy.

Look at the size of this guy.

Now look at the little guy.

The size of that big guy just amazed me. And he wasnt the only one in there. I think I came away with about 10 of those big guys. The main difference between the 2 heads of garlic (besides the size) was that the smaller guy scaped and the bigger guy did not. So, is the bigger guy a soft neck? Did the absence of a scape make the garlic larger? I just have no idea.

A little further away in the garden, I was checking on my lovely tomatoes. All of which came from my friend, danni. She started them from seed and then took care of them for me as I was making my big move across the country.

This particular tomato is called Itty Bitty.

And itty bitty it is.


The tomato anyway.

The actual plant on the other hand is a huge sprawling thing.

Can you see how different it is growing compared to my more upright tomatoes?

This gardening season has been full of surprises for me. And even tho the weeds are making me crazy...I am in love with all the fresh produce that I am harvesting every day. It makes me very, very happy to be able to walk to my garden and bring in such plentiful bounties.

Saving something special

As you all know, Dolly is a very sweet and special girl.

Danni and I have mentioned before just how much Dolly loves her bits and pieces of hay in the bottom of the bucket.

You can always tell by the hay bucket who has just been eating since there is a Dolly sized hole the size of her muzzle left behind.

And it just so happens that my very loved goat boys...

Have decided that they like to leave all these lovely bits and pieces behind in their feeder.

So, after many, many attempts of trying to get them to eat the tasty bits, I decided to tell them just how much of a good thing they were missing out on. And after I could tell they had really listened to me...

I then dumped them into a bucket and offered them to sweet Dolly.

Who just couldnt eat them quite quickly enough.

You can see Toni(partially)in the pictures....she was so good about letting Dolly enjoy her special treat. She didnt even try to eat out of the bucket.

And once Dolly got over her initial rush of excitement, she slowed down a bit.

And began to slowly chew every mouthful.

And at one point it began to sprinkle ever so gently out of her mouth.

I think she thought it was a pretty great idea. That whole bucket full of hay bits. And Im so happy that it made her happy.