Wet and Happy Fourth of July

 Happy Independence Day Friends! 

Its raining and cool and we love it, and the gardens love it. 

Its the heat break and rain that we needed.

Hurricane Arthur has cancelled all the fireworks around here till tomorrow, but our little firecracker is having fun in the rain and puddles. A town event for children had great attendance in spite of rain that poured at times. You would have thought that playing in the rain was a planned activity.

All the animals in the barn at Northwest Park in Windsor were visited and spoken to(Baa! Quack! Etc.) and then we got to the car before the next deluge for the ride home.

 

Have a great holiday!

Hurricane Sandy

Just a  quick hello from me and residents at On the Pond Farm.  Since half the country was affected by Hurricane Sandy, I am thinking about many friends in its path and worry about their lives and homes.

Sandy has passed here for the most part, and we are safe and well. Around us there is severe flooding, but we are located high enough not to suffer any water in the wrong places (although the goats have something to say about that).

Dave in full rain gear and unhappy goats in their sheds.

The goats were very happy to have a barn with hay offerings the past couple of days, as the outdoors was so wet, sleety and snowy. The springs that feed our barn and garden were MORE than flowing. One spring became quite a river along one fence line and cause the goats to have to go over or through the raging water - choices they absolutely hate. Time outside was shorter than usual and indoor recess was prescribed as the precipitation just got heavier and whiter. There were rumblings in the barn of taking the first truck to Arizona if this kept up. A few handfuls of corn treats calmed the mutiny.


Wrong door.

But its dry here!

The silly chickens kept sneaking out of the barn, and then couldn't sneak in. They spent time pecking under the bushes and firs(and the porch), but when it was time to sneak back into the barn, their feathers were too saturated to fly up onto the half barn door and get back in. We had to get them in early too, before they started suffering some sort of chicken affliction. Do chickens get colds? A little shaking and feather fluffing, much like a dog, and they all seemed back to normal.

Jock's only complaint was the severe lightning at one point, and that he didn't get out enough. The cold weather is his style, no matter that its wet. He loves diving in the raging stream that the goats hate. He tackles clumps of dirt and whips them around, and is an absolute happy mess! Rolling in the first sleet of the year was another bonus.

And what was I doing while all this was going on, aside from filling up water jugs and lining up candles. Where are more storm pictures? I was doing my colonoscopy prep(Yeah! Too much information, but...!), praying it wasn't for naught if the hospital lost power!! What timing! Then the worry was, could we get to the hospital because of the flooding. We were down to one entry/exit and we made it safely. Procedure done. All is well!

Thinking of all of you and hope you are well and safe, although I'm sure some were not so lucky. I know we all hope power and help is on the way.

Really Green

One thing about lots of rain in May. Lots of green and lots to eat.Rose bushes go fast.

Making Mud

Enough rain already. Enough!I hate to head out the door these mornings because the footing is getting slicker, the buck is a wimp and won't go out when it rains, and its plain old wet and miserable! Who needs it?OK. That's out of my system, but its all true. We have all sorts of makeshift paths and "bridges" because its so hard to walk and the goats will downright refuse to cross the water or mud.We are not just saturated, ...we are flowing. At least the chickens are having fun digging for worms.

Jock hates the part where we're done and he has to head for the showers. Sorry Jock! But if you want to come inside...

Pea Soup

Today is what I would call a good soup day. Too miserable to do anything outside, and a great day to turn on the stove and cook.But also, I don't know who came up with the saying, this morning the visibility was almost nil at times. It was like pea soup. I believe that saying derives from my English upbringing.

Pea soup, or a pea souper is thick fog, especially a yellowish smog caused by the burning of soft coal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea_soup_fog

As a matter of fact, as the fog and clouds came rolling up the field, I though it was smoke. It moved with such speed. I struggled into shoes, and shuffled out into the rain to see what was burning. Luckily it was nothing. Just the clouds making it over the hill. In the picture above there is a deer in the middle left. See it?We have had a lot of rain in the past day, and it continues tonight. The stream is way up and quite muddy. Tomorrow it will be worse. I'm sure there will be flooding problems around. Hopefully not for long.

Dreary Damp Day

The kids are usually game to be outside in most weather, and usually the pictures I post of the farm are more pleasant, but not today. Today we have melting slush with frozen rain on top, and a penetrating dampness that sent my camera to the counter for open battery surgery. I though we lost her when she was having hallucinations, but a bit of time and dry air did the trick.

Today I am trying to show you the dirt, cold, damp, and dreariness that is also part of the 365 day bargain.

The animals need to be fed, and the dog wants a long walk in any weather. As a matter of fact, Jock probably prefers this cold weather over the sunny, warm days that I prefer.

Today his walk provided the landscapes of fog, mist and slush.

And we have the mud from the spring development lines. They are settling and so we have been trying to level the areas, especially where there is the most foot travel - animal or human.Its going to be next spring before we can try and seed and get things stabilized. Until then we have to keep removing rocks as they rise up, and redistribute dirt as it sinks.

The goats definitely prefer the drier weather. This is where they will probably be most of today until the precipitation lets up. Not a happy bunch.

But anyone that prefers to stay here, can just enjoy the pictures, and stay cozy.

Beating the Heat - Dog and Cat Style

Until today's nice, steady rain, we had quite a warm and dry week here.

Mia was looking for a drink in the fountain, and met with great disappointment.

But one to make lemonade when she finds lemons, she made the birdbath into a cat nap bath.

Later, all the cats were trying to nap in the same shady spot on the driveway. A rare time together.

Jock found his special place on the work site to cool himself off. This also required an extra cooling off when he needed a shower to re-enter the house.

Even the cats came to see the work on the hill, and Snickers again was looking to aggravate the dog by following him around the fields, shadowing his every move. Notice Jock's slumped shoulders??

And notice Snickers is as pleased as punch with her curly tail proudly held high.

Jock just doesn't understand that imitation is the highest form of flattery.

Some Real Rain

Finally the rain we have all been missing since we had too much of it.

The ground is really dry and I have been trying to do some transplanting from the hoop house to the garden. It was like digging brick. You just chipped away a flake of ground at a time.

The birdbath was completely dry two hours ago. This is a good soak and still sprinkling. The garden will love it. And the weeds!