it's so hot

Another week in paradise. It's been so hot. The chickens and the rabbit seem to be able to deal with the heat. I wish I had someplace cooler for them to hang out, but they stretch themselves out in the shade, snuggle down in dirt depressions and extend themselves. I guess it helps. Frankie Jeff the girl rabbit seems to be happy here. I let her out every morning and she hops around, eating, digging, and investigating. She even lets me hold her for fur combing. The chickens, of course, own the yard, and they very happily eat as many bugs as they can. They especially like to eat the Japanese beetles (that are driving me crazy). The chickens do not have to be coerced into letting me pet them, they come running to me for affection. The garden is growing. I got 20 lbs of potatoes and a whole bunch of garlic. We're eating blueberries, but the bushes are producing so few it hardly seems worth counting. The peppers, onions and tomatoes are doing fine. I love this time of year in the garden.

things are ripening

The chickens got into the cucumbers and trampled them, but it looks like the plants survived the rampage (for the most part). Tomatoes are starting to ripen. I took this picture right after I'd picked the red ones, but lots more will be ripe soon.

yummy fruit

Just showing off some of the yummy stuff coming out of the garden right now.

frankie jeff goes feral

We gave Frankie Jeff a haircut and she looks a lot more like a rabbit and a lot less like a sofa cushion. It is so hot I figured I was doing her a favor. Now I have a bag of lovely angora bunny fiber waiting for me to spin it up. Frankie Jeff loves hopping around the yard and eating grass. I was trying to get a picture of her eating and she hopped away mid-picture. She loves being free and hides in the raspberry bushes. I don't think she'd ever go back in the cage if I didn't put her there.

church picnic

I love our ward. This is little friend Lizzie. She adopted me as spare grandma.

fun wedding

My son Chris and his good friend Chris were not only born on the same day, in the same hospital, they were born practically the same time! Chris got married this week. Not my Chris, his friend. It was fun. Instead of cutting the cake, they cut the pig. It was raining so hard when they made their "escape" from the reception no one decorated the car. They are wonderful young people starting out their lives together.

an amazing day

I had the most amazing day yesterday. My friend and I visited the farm-- Wild Flower Farms-- of a spinner I met. She raises fiber animals (and lots of other animals). It would take an full article to describe her exotic animals, but I'll just mention a few. Highland cattle are a scottish breed. They are shaggy haired and live in the forests. They have long horns that can reach a seven foot span. These loving farmers treat all their animals as pet and these enormous beasts came up to snuggle with us. It wasn't scary, but it should've been. If they weren't so loving they could've killed me with a twist of it's head (HORNS!!!!). Sheep, so many sheep! Llama, alpaca. I bought some baby llama fiber from her, I can't wait to spin it up. She was caring for a stray emu. (I thought she was joking, but I saw it with my own eyes and no one has claimed it yet. That's like having an elephant casually stray on to your farm and no one claiming it). AND she gave me her angora bunny. She didn't have the time to care for it and wanted it to go to a good home. The girls named it Frankie-Jeff the girl rabbit.