remain calm

breathe in, breathe out

Remain calm. That's what I'm telling myself.

Part of the reason I've been blogging so little lately is that my laptop has been struggling to function. Yesterday I got a diagnosis: the hard drive is failing. Now I'm scrambling to salvage everything possible while random things appear and disappear, expand and shrink, and jump around the screen. Not a lot of fun, but I'm glad to have a chance to save whatever I can. I really cannot overstate how much of a communication lifeline and general world-connection tool my laptop is for me.

Replacement of the hard drive is already scheduled for the 17th, which will mean starting from scratch: reloading applications and restoring files. I saved 140,020 images last night, if the files haven't been damaged in any way by the state of the current hard drive. Time will tell.

Today I want to attempt to post this quick message to tell you one important thing:

the kids are named Hazel (the girl) and Bud (the boy).

I just tried to upload new pictures of them but the blog screen vanished twice - yikes. So please refer back to the earlier pictures, and apply additional cuteness. Thank you.

See you on the other side!

~~~~~

artsy tuesday

Despite the increase in daily chore-rigmarole and time happily spent admiring young cashmere goats, the Daily Markmaking has continued without interruption. Though the markmaking has often been quite rapid:

newborn

In recent weeks, as you might imagine, most of my sketches have been done in the paddocks or the barns...lots of paintings of rocks, trees, and mud. I haven't actually been painting mud, it has appeared in the form of snoot smudges.

pencil sketch of maple 

rare surviving white pine sapling
(beyond reach of goats)

standing dead and deadfalls
(within reach of goats)

For a long time I've been pondering the possibility of having some of my botanical paintings or drawings made into fabric.

It's very hard to make the leap for two practical reasons: first, because I no longer have software for graphics editing which would help immeasurably with the design and layout, and second, because fabric is not inexpensive.

Which is why, although I received a box of sample fabrics from Spoonflower weeks ago, I've hesitated to open it.

But today I did.

May be in some trouble now.

We'll see.

~~~~~

somewhat wordy wednesday

I'm sorry about the recent lack of updates - cashmere harvesting is well underway, and it's been a challenge just keeping up with daily chores. I've been trying to write ever since I posted that one photograph of Azalea with her newborn girl, but more than once in the past week I have actually fallen asleep while uploading photographs. Jolting awake because you start to fall over in your seat is a very unpleasant sensation, and I don't recommend it!

Anyway...

Here is one of my favorite pictures of Azalea and her little girl,

on the baby's first outing in the barn paddock at 3 days old:

And here is another picture of them, taken this morning:

I wonder what has captured their attention?

Could it be...

 ...another kid?

Vinca's boy was born Monday evening.

Today, both mamas brought their babies out of the barn and into the bright sunshine.

It was still below freezing, but the day gradually warmed up to around 40F.

The girl isn't wearing her jacket because she runs around like crazy outside.

She still wears it at night, though - it's gotten down as low at 18F this week. 

In case you are wondering about names, so am I!

As I've mentioned before, all the goats born here have been named for something that was either blooming or leafing out when they were born.

You can imagine the difficulty I'm having in coming up with suitable names for these two, with the ground still mostly frozen.

Will I have to change my naming system?

I'd rather not.

Feel free to make suggestions.

I'm thinking of calling my BFF (Best Forester Friend) and asking if he's seen something I've missed. Even bud-break would qualify at this point!

Meanwhile, right on schedule at 10 days old,

Azalea's daughter tackled Goat Mountain for the first time:

And at not even 2 days old, Vinca's boy was doing extremely well learning to manage those long legs while climbing around the many obstacles in the paddock:

When Vinca was calling him this evening, I pointed out that

her baby had already put himself to bed in the barn.

He must have had the most exciting day of his life :)

~~~~~

wordless wednesday

~~~~~

random weekend snaps

We've been having more strong winds.

These are not small branches.

~~~

I thought you might like to see what an

8-foot-wide hay bale looks like.
I probably should have put something on it for scale.
Piper, maybe.

~~~

A peaceful moment for Iris and Rocket.

Today Iris was combed for the first time.

Not so peaceful, but we took our time, got through it,

and were still friends at the end.

By the way, you can see why I've started calling her "Tiny Iris."

Literally from the moment of their births, she's been on the petite side,

and her brother has been on the solid side.

When you see them together like this,

the difference in the two extremes is really emphasized.

~~~

Daily markmaking continues!

This was Friday, #439: a dried zinnia head from last year's gardens.

~~~

This photograph of a hairy woodpecker could be clearer, but it was taken from 12 feet away and through two layers of glass. I'm glad I put this suet feeder close to the porch, because I've discovered the sound these birds make - a sort of whistly cheep, repeated, with a silent beat in between.

Every morning a woodpecker politely approaches the feeder,

and sounds so delighted and surprised to find the suet:

cheep?! pause cheep?! pause cheep?! pause cheep?!

It makes me smile.

I hope you had a lovely weekend!

Isn't it amazing how much daylight we're seeing now?

It's 7 PM and I can almost see the barn.

Even with the clocks moved ahead one hour, that's a nice change.

~~~~~