after the rain

kale

Yesterday afternoon, the sky suddenly became dark. Very dark.

I hastened out to the paddocks to shift the goats back up from their browse areas.

squash

The hastening had to stop as soon as I was inside the fence.

I may have mentioned that goats hate change?

Well, they hate hurrying even more.

When you are working with goats, 

there is one sure way to slow things down:

try to speed things up.

Amsonia

A pocketful of oats helped shift everyone fairly smoothly.

Done! Gates latched. Sweat dripping into my eyes.

(Not because I was working hard. Just because I was outside.)

The thunder was getting louder, but the rain hadn't begun.

So I spread the five waiting trugs of mucky hay

on the terrace garden, and quickly weeded the corn.

Then the rain started, so I headed inside to update Piper.

I was sure she would be worried.

She was sleeping.

So I went out on the screenporch to watch the storm.

spiderwort

Wowza!

It rained and rained and rained.

This was quite refreshing, as it has been so very horribly hot.

Hot and muggy. Day after day.

So hours of heavy rain gave me hope

for all the things we say about rain here:

"The gardens really needed it!"

"It will settle the dust!"

"The pollen will be washed away!"

"It will clear the air!"

Especially that last one, because lately, stepping outside in the morning

has felt like the moment before you step out of a hot shower.

comfrey

Well, after going out at 6 AM for chores this morning, 

I can report:

"The gardens really needed it!"

~~~~~

wordless wednesday

~~~~~

experiments

It's been very hot here lately, and hordes of biting flies have joined the countless mosquitoes, making time spent outdoors both mind-meltingly steamy and a ceaseless battle against welt-producing nasties. Yesterday I decided to experiment with reducing the number of insects that fly into the new barn.

Last year I tacked up a set of "instant screen door" panels in the little goat shed doorway, and felt they helped keep the deer flies out. So at the end of the season, I bought a couple more sets on sale, in anticipation of the day when the new little barn would be built.

Yesterday, I cut those panels into half-lengths and hung some in the upper doorway of the feed storage side of the barn and others in the lower doorway of the big communal stall. I left the center of the lower doorway temporarily unscreened, though, so the goats could get used to the curtains and I could see whether or not they would decide to tear them down.

Initially there was a lot of nosing and chewing and pawing at curtains,

but soon Lily and Azalea and Campion seemed quite relaxed:

while Tsuga appeared to be collecting data:

"Hypothesis: there are fewer insects on one side of the screen.

Methodology: I'll put just one ear and one foot outside and compare.

Hmmmmmm."

Twenty minutes later:

 "Phase Two: I shall now extend just one hind foot."

I'm looking forward to Tsuga's analysis of her data.

I just hope I won't have to wait for her to publish;

those peer-reviewed goat research journals are notoriously slow.

(I was about to write "Probably the editors spend too much time browsing,"

but I realized it would have been an unintentional pun,

which is so much worse than an intentional pun!

Whew. Narrow escape, there.)

~~~

Twenty-four hours later, all the curtains are still in place. Of course some bugs are still flying in through that big opening - the one that Lily is treating as her own private checkpoint - but I've noticed that, once inside, the bugs become focused on trying to get back out, mostly through the upper doorway of the feed area which is pretty completely covered by the hanging screens. Bonus! Now when I go into the barn I spend a minute or two using a little jar with some sticky liquid in the bottom to quickly tap those deer flies and horseflies off the screen and out of the equation, permanently.

I actually got goosebumps as I typed "deerflies and horseflies."

The body remembers those bites!

So, not a perfect or total solution, but it is a definite improvement!

And that's what we shoot for here...improvement, not perfection.

"Ahem! Speak for yourself, please!

I'm not looking for progress or perfection...

I'm looking for results!

Quantifiable truth!

And ultimately, tenure!"

Oh, don't worry about tenure Tsuga. You've got it.

~~~~~

now then

I thought you might like a little update on Lily of the Valley and her babies.

The girl, solid black, is Azalea.

The silver boy is Campion.

You last saw them at 6 days old:

According to the calendar,

this Sunday, they will be 6 weeks old.

I counted twice.

I simply cannot believe it.

Cannot.

I need to adjust my mental chronometer,

so please join me on this short trip

down Memory Lane.

~~~

 Then...

and now:

~~~

Then...

and now:

~~~

Then...

and now:

~~~

By the way, does that last picture

remind you of anyone?

"Are you referring to me? Pah!

Only a kid would waste time chewing on shirt-tails.

I became a Grown Up Goat, overnight,

when Azalea and Campion were born."

I know, Tsuga, I know. But...

if you ever feel inclined to tug on my shirt-tail again,

I won't mind a bit.

~~~~~

hey piper

Me: Hey, Piper, guess what!

Piper: Wha'?

Me: This box that just arrived in the mail? It's the camera!! 

We've finally got the camera back from the Little Shop of Miracles!!!

Piper: um, has the camera been missing? 

Me: What?! It's been gone for weeks!

Weeks and weeks!

Piper: Oh.

Me: Haven't you noticed on our walks by the pond lately,

that I don't stop every few seconds to take a picture?

Piper: Of course I noticed. I was thrilled.

I thought I had finally trained you to Walk Properly.

~~~

Dear Readers, if you are still here...

I will be putting the revitalized camera through it's paces very soon,

and there will be lots of images and updates to come.

But I couldn't wait to share these first snaps,

taken minutes after I brought up the mail and opened the package.

Piper, who declined to accompany me to the letterbox

on the grounds of, "It's too h-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ot....",

 was at first mildly interested in the package.

(Treats often come in packages, you see.)

But you can judge the level of her excitement

when I brought out The Camera.

Me? I felt like jumping up and down in joy!

But Piper had a point:

it truly is Summer now, and it really is hot.

~~~~~