little miracles

Nature provided a visual extravaganza one afternoon this past week. Actually, it was Wednesday - Della's birthday! But this is a much shorter story than the previous one, I promise.

Piper and Moxie and Della and I had come in from working outdoors, and settled on the porch to take a little rest. I was looking out the window just as a mist began slowly falling, backlit by the sun. It was the very beginning of a sunshower!

As I watched, the rain very gradually became quite heavy, but it still fell slowly. Hard to describe...perhaps it was more "dense" than "heavy." Then it reversed, very gradually coming to a stop. All through the shower, the sun had never stopped shining.

It was such a gift to see the entire event from beginning to end. It felt like MY birthday!

 

This series of photographs was taken through the porch window over a total period of 1 minute and 33 seconds.

Amazing, no?
~~~~~

birthday girls

There have been three birthdays here in the past week.

Piper's actual birth date is not known. The shelter estimated she was nine months old when I adopted her in that long-ago December, but as I got to know Puppy Piper, I soon felt that she was younger, maybe by a month or two. So May first is a good day to declare Piper's Birthday. Happy Birthday, Piper! (Don't worry, we are not telling anyone your age. Keep them guessing, Pip!)

Moxie and Della are also Spring babies, and since both their mamas arrived at the shelter pregnant, I know exactly when each kitten was born. Moxie's birthday is April 28th, and Della's birthday is just five days later, on May 3rd.

They were four months old when they moved in, remember?

Second day at home

Last month. Or last week. Or last night.

And on Wednesday evening, the kittens celebrated their birthdays by saving the life of Betula. No joke.

I was busy working in the house when Moxie began making a strange sound. Almost a continuous growl, but different. Both kittens were staring out the south windows, and I thought there must be some new kind of mayhem going on at the birdfeeders. I hoped it wasn't a hawk.

No hawk, but the kittens were staring so intensely I went outside to take a look around. And that's when I started running, because Betula, the biggest goat in the herd, was standing in the barn doorway but in a strange position. I could only see his hindquarters, but his hind feet were standing on the ground - about 18" below the barn floor. LeShodu - the next-biggest goat in the herd - was in the barn facing Bet, both their heads were down, and at first I wondered if they had somehow locked horns.

AS IF! I don't run this herd by locking horns with underlings!

Betula's horns were both caught in the stall divider, his head was down and his neck was twisted because he had moved his body as far as possible away from LeShodu who was right there, threatening, white cashmere already dangling from her horns. Bet was absolutely helpless. I pushed Shodu away, and she came right back again, grunting, and waving her horns around. (LeShodu is Betula's mother by the way.) I had to tie Shodu to the fence, then encourage Bet to get his hindquarters up and into the barn, so at least there was not that added pressure on his neck. It took some effort to free him - with anxious goats milling around, since there was no time to collar and tie all of them - and to be honest this was one of the worst situations I've dealt with here. There was no way for me to cut the divider. Betula is a big fellow and very strong - all I could do was persuade him to move his head in odd ways to get a little leeway on each horn. And if nothing else, I was able to encourage Bet and keep all the other goats from bothering him while he got his strength up for another try at twisting and pulling his horns free. Which he was finally able to do. Then I spent an hour just walking around in the dark with the herd, trying to settle everyone down. Looking up at a clear, moonlit night and literally thanking my lucky stars...

...because I don't think Betula had been trapped for more than a few minutes before I got there, but he was already physically extremely stressed. His nose felt cold. He could have been killed by LeShodu or another goat. Or he could have just despaired and given up and died. No question.

So, at just (barely) one year of age, the kittens are already performing heroic acts.

I'm pretty impressed.

~~~~~

flowery friday

It began raining last night, and I woke to a damp and drizzly, raw and still-rainy world. But it wasn't very cold, and it wasn't at all windy, so I just waited for a break in the drizzle to go out and give the goats a hearty meal to keep their spirits up.

While waiting for the goats to eat, I took a few quick pictures of flowers. Yes, flowers!

Here is one of the bloodroot plants again. It decided to stay wrapped up and tucked in today, which is exactly how I felt when I woke up and saw the weather.

And here is forsythia - or yellow bells, which is what my blogfriend Tipper says they are called in Appalachia. I think of them that way now, too. Perfect name.

These daffodils got plastered, face-first, to the ground by the rain. They look quite comfortable indoors now, and are the brightest spot in the house.

And here are some of the first Vinca blossoms. Soon there will be a subtle carpet of vinca flowers. Less subtle if I get out there and rake the leaves off, and maybe I will, but it's not a priority task so no promises there.

Here's one more.

Do you recognize these?

They are red maple flowers.

There is a scattering of lovely pink and red all over the ground,

and it is even more apparent on a rainy day.

Yesterday - before the rain - I watched Tsuga and Fern carefully eating every maple flower that had fallen on a large rock. I've never seen the goats do that before. Always something new in Goat World!

~~~

Here's to the start of a great weekend for all.
What's happening in your neck of the woods?

~~~~~

wordless wednesday

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first half of april

When I began writing this post, it was titled "first week of April."
When I came back to it with images, it was "first third of April."
I intend to publish tonight, before it becomes "what the heck happened to April?"

April is a madcap month.
It's a horse that catches you dreaming,
and suddenly takes off with the bit in its teeth.
Wheeee!

So far this month, we've had multiple snowstorms.

We've had raw and gloomy days when the sun appeared just in time to set.
We've had rain; up to three consecutive days of rain.

 And we've had a couple of days that must have been close to 80F.

We've also had precious hours of what I consider perfect just-barely-Spring weather: breezy, clear, warm in the sun and cool in the shade. When the world is, in the words of e e cummings, mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful. Yesterday was just such a day, so in the afternoon, Piper and I took a little stroll by the pond.

I have no idea how well this tiny video will come across,
but do turn your volume up; I want you to hear the bird.

We may have more snow.

I won't be surprised. At all.

Nor bothered.

Just taking it as it comes.

It's April.

Wheeee!

~~~~~