I love mail!

A little while back, I posted a picture of a hat I made. Jennifer, one of my blog friends who has two blogs! (but I think we originally "met" at Backyard Chickens) commented that we should trade hats! I loved the idea! I knitted her a hat (which I can't show you because it's on its way to her right now..all the way in Kentucky!) and she crocheted me this hat!


I love the oatmealy colors! It would be nice if the weather would go ahead and cool down so I could wear it!

Thanks Jennifer!! I love trading things!

I Love Saturdays

I love Saturdays because you have the entire day to do whatever you want. It's not like Sunday, which is really half weekend/half weekday. Yesterday, David and his dad hung the hammock on the stand for me. It was such a nice day I couldn't wait to head out there and start relaxing!

I brought out a quilt (we got this one on our honeymoon) and a pillow so I could be comfortable.


I also brought something to snack on.


But before I even had a chance to sit in the hammock, look what happened!


I kicked them out and then got set up. You can't sit in a hammock without a pull-rope. See, now you can pull the rope to rock the hammock and it barely takes any effort!


Ahhh.....this is the life.


Scooter relaxed right along side me.


I love you, Saturday.

Remember Her?

Do you remember the kitty I found a few weeks ago? I wanted to post an update. I took her to our county's Animal Control and they tested her for Feline Leukemia and Feline Aids. She was negative for both, so I had her vaccinated.

I posted a picture of her on my facebook page, and my friend Lindsay's sister said that she was interested in her! I knew I didn't need or particularly want a fourth cat, so we made plans for the kitty to go live with her!


We exchanged the kitty last weekend when we were in Virginia for Linsday's wedding. See, Lindsay's sister lives in Florida, but luckily she was in Maryland prior to the wedding.

These pictures are ones sent to me of the kitty in her new home! She has a big brother (or sister?) named Caviar. She seems to have settled in incredibly fast and seems right at home!

And this picture couldn't be any cuter!

Her life is now so much better. She went from hiding behind a hay shed to living in the lap of luxury!

I can't thank Christina enough for giving her a great home!

Purl's Family Reunion

Purl went on a road trip yesterday to the next county over to the farm where she was born. She is going to stay there until the first of November so she can get bred! I was originally thinking of just breeding her back to her son and using the lambs as freezer lambs, but I decided that if I could breed her to an unrelated ram, I could sell those registered lambs as breeding stock at a higher price.

Purl's breeders were nice enough to let her come back to the farm to be bred. While I was there, I got a better look at Purl's mom and sisters. Boy, they really look alike! Their faces are very similar. Her breeder said Purl's mom has had triplets several times, so I have high hopes for Purl this breeding season! It would be great to have triplets.

I felt a little sad when I dropped her off. Not only because I'll miss her (two months can seem to take forever!), but because I wondered what she thought about things. Was she scared in a new place? Does she remember her flock? She certainly seemed to settle right in, and when the group was turned out on pasture, she went right to grazing. I'm pretty sure she did remember the flock. I read this study a few years ago and it seems like it is true because Purl settled right in so fast.

Scooter also came along. I can't go on a road trip and leave my best boy at home! He likes to lay back against the seat and watch the scenery pass by.

Dog-Ball

It's a simple game!

Step 1: Wait until your dog is good and ready.


Step 2: Hit the ball with a scrap of wood.


Step 3: Wait for the dog to run after the ball.


Step 4: Wait for the dog to bring the ball back.


Step 5: Get slobbery ball from dog.


Step 6: Repeat. And repeat. And repeat.

My Poor Deck

The other day I got home and noticed Theo, my buckling, had managed to escape his pen. I went in the house, and saw he'd followed me up onto the deck. Of course I ran to get the camera!



He decided to follow me...


and he followed me right into the kitchen like he knew where he was going.



Finally he decided to leave. It's a good thing, because Elmer (the dog) freaked out! He ran upstairs.


Between the turkeys knocking over and breaking all my pots, and the goat leaving a nice present (sarcasm), my poor deck looks like a war zone.

During our cookout, my Dad and brother took a break from eating to play with the toy ball shooters my Dad and Lisa brought for the kids. They were cool! You just put the plastic balls in the end of the gun, them pump them to shoot them!





If you click on this picture to enlarge it, you can see the ball over my dad's back.


My "little" brother is so grown up.


Then he tried to shoot me!


It was neat seeing them play together like this. Brought back memories of when we were little!

A Great Visit!

My sister Becky, my niece, and nephew all came to visit the first week in August. They stayed a whole week! It was a great visit, and we packed a ton into that week!

The kids played in the sprinkler and had a great time! The broilers and turkeys liked hanging out and watching them.


















Becky and I made some delicious fig newton-esque raisin cookies!


















They were really great and I'd definitely make them again!
























We went to the farmers market and got a few goodies.


















Here's Becky and Evan with a loaf of Vermont sourdough bread.























The kids played non-stop!


















On Saturday my brother, my Dad, and Lisa came up for a visit so we had a cookout!























What's a cookout without watermelon??
























And we had crabs! Blue crabs are a Maryland specialty. There's nothing better in the summer than sitting and picking crabs!! Crabs, corn on the cob, and beer (beer is optional). That's summertime in Maryland! Dad and Lisa were nice enough to buy the crabs.







We had a really nice day for a cookout.


















After we ate we went inside and had dessert! We had a combo birthday party for David (beginning of August birthday) and Kylee, who turned 5 at the end of July.

























I like this picture because there are so many things going on at once.



















During Becky's visit, we also processed the broilers I raised for her. More on that later!

The Results Are In!

I went to the fair and got our results! The kids drawings both got a participation ribbon!

My "kitchen arrangement" got a second place! First place was the cute little frying pan arrangement on the left.

My minature arrangement got a first!!! I didn't even want to enter it, but Becky said I should. I'm glad I did!

My group of 3 hen ornaments got a second, and my single penguin ornament got a first!

My nest ring and hair pin got third. The first and second place jewelry was really beautiful, but I didn't get a picture.

My knitted item in the "other" category got a third. Not bad!

This was the item that got first place in the knitted "other" category. It was so cute!!!

My hat and mittens got a third. Not bad for my first mittens!

Here's the lovely scarf that got first in that category. It was so delicate.

The raisin cookies that Becky and I made got first! That recipe is a keeper!

My applebutter got first!

As did my applesauce!!

My jerky got third!


And drumroll please!!!! My turkey picture got......

NOTHING!!! Darn it!

This was the winning "Animal" picture in the digital category.

A few other items I entered, including the dried peppers and tomatoes and the canned venison didn't place. I think they put comments on the back of the cards, so I'm curious to read them!

All in all, I'm really happy!! It was so much fun entering, and now I'll have a little spending money too!

And please excuse my format today. Apparently Blogger doesn't like IE7.