Sassy & Sweet Notes

Newbies to the Farm Family

We welcomed two little LaMancha/Oberhasli sisters to the farm family today, from Little Rockin’ Heart Dairy.

They are cute as can be - I love their little gopher ears! We are delighted to have them here. We haven’t named them yet, but of course are tossing around several ideas.

I snapped just a few photos while they were meeting Callio-Pea and Nutmeg, and getting settled in. They’re fast moving critters, so most of the photos are action shots (aka: blurry!) grin

 
Nutmeg says “Hi-ya! Come on, gimme a kiss!”

I’ll be sure to share more photos soon.

Old Man Lollie

Lollie has become quite the old fella!  He joined the family in 2007, if you can believe that! His eyes have gotten cloudy and he gets around a lot slower, but he's still livin' the dream!

Last night, dinner was delish! Grilled pork steaks, onions, and garden grown mixed vegetables. Yummmm!

Flowers at the Coop

It was such a beautiful evening, I just had to snap some photos around the place. Thought I'd share! These lovely Shasta Daisies are over 3' tall at the corner of the chicken coop. I love them, and have Shasta Daisies planted in several places around the property. You can see a few Rose Campion peeking out from the Daisies. I love how they mix and mingle in this location. 

I think the flowers around the coop are so pretty this year. I look forward to how they fill in and grow even larger next summer!

These petunias are blooming like mad, planted in Gramma's old wheelbarrow. Love!

Cherry Brandy Rudbeckia, isn't she a beauty!?

This pretty orange flowered plant (don't recall what it's called...) is a perennial I put in last year.

Amazing red orange snap dragons, white petunias, and purple pansies grow in this basket.

These are Becky Daisies I received last year from a local gardening friend. They're only about 15" tall, unlike the super tall Daisies on the other corner of the coop. 

Firey red and yellow coreopsis.

Another super tall plant, this Summer Sun Heliopsis has amazing bright yellow flowers loaded with petals. I have Heliopsis planted in several areas around the place. I love them!

The coop, still decorated for July celebrations. The heat of summer is drying up the grass where it's not watered. Having drip lines that allow easy watering around the coop has been a huge time saver this summer!

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of the flowers planted here and there around the coop. There are lots of others, including personal favorites like Black-eyed Susan, more Rose Campion, Salvia, Zinnia, and even decorative grasses (and lots of weeds, too!)

Red Orange Yellow...

Laverne and Shirley, learning their colors. *hahaha!*

Spring ... Snow!?

I am fairly certain that it is NOT supposed to be snowing on March 22...

Crazy Weather, Here and THERE!

For those of you who know we still have the farm in Texas, and know that it's located south of Dallas (it is right under that upper X), yes there was significant weather there this afternoon. Alan is there with his family, but all is OK. Others in Texas were not so lucky with these storms. Thank you for checking in to make sure we are OK! We appreciate you thinking of us!

This past week in Washington state, we got 18" of snow and were without power for 3 days. Thankfully, our power was restored late Christmas eve. Once power was restored, I held out faith and quickly put together some side dishes for Christmas dinner that needed refrigeration and hoped they would survive the night in a working fridge. They did!! Several of our friends weren't so lucky, and didn't get power restored until today. Bummer!!!

And, for those of you now confused by SNOW in Washington state and TORNADOES in Texas .... we currently have two properties. I'm at the snowy one in Washington state, and Alan is at the "scary" one in Texas. *GRIN*

Anyway, thanks so much for checking in with your concerns after hearing about the bad storms in central Texas. We appreciate you thinking of us!

Again, Merry Christmas to you, and blessings for the coming year!

Bright and Early, Snowy Morning

We got a bit of snow last night, so it was extra beautiful this morning as I went about doing the morning chores. It's always quiet at the coop first thing in the morning, especially when it's below freezing. I always find it amazing, like today, just how crystal blue the sky can be in the winter after a snow storm. And I really love when the sun is shining and it's so cold the snow casts a bajillion glimmering sparkles everywhere you look.

Of course, as soon as the goats knew I was out and about, they were bellyaching for grain. They don't get grain every day, which is probably why they do more than their fair share of complaining. But they do get plenty of top notch hay, and just about anything else two goats need.

Days start early around here, that's for sure. After the chores are done, it's time for coffee and emails. Yeehaaaw!

Late Afternoon on the Prairie

Pixie and I took a short drive this evening, and the scenery was spectacular... There has been so much smoke in the area lately, from area wildfires. But yesterday some small pop-up storms went through nearby and cleaned the air a bit.

This is about 10 miles from home, and just north of the city of Spokane.

Amazing, huh?! :)

the weather is broken...

There is something seriously wrong with the weather... 10 degrees hotter in Washington than in Texas!? Good grief...

A few more wild friends...

Here are a few photos I've taken over the past few days of visitors to the yard in the evening while I'm enjoying dinner out on the patio. This is a Cedar Waxwing. There were two of them enjoying a shower in a sprinkler I had running on one of the flowerbeds. Such a beautiful bird!

We have lots of American Goldfinch visiting the feeders. I think they are nesting in the tall trees down near the barn. This one came to rest on a branch near the feeders...

...and this one, on the hook the feeder hangs from. I am really enjoying feeding the wild birds this year.

Bluebirds!

I have a couple of bluebird pairs nesting around the house. One pair built their nest in an old house, hung high in a tree. Mama has been diligently sitting, and I've been hearing lots of noise coming from the house lately. This evening, I noticed Mama coming and going...

...and look what she's feeding! I saw three mouths at the same time, so I know there are at least three babies she's taking care of. What fun!

Calliope

I love these little Calliope hummingbirds! Did you know, they are the smallest bird in North America?!

We have several that visit the feeders throughout the day and evening.

I think their fushia pink feathers are just amazing. And the males make the best noises during their high-flying courtship maneuvers.

My neighbor and I both saw a black-chinned hummingbird the other day, but I didn't have my camera. Another common one here is the Rufous. Maybe you're enjoying little visitors around your house, too?

The Hummers are Back!

Caught this little cutie on the feeder -- I think this is a Calliope -- you can see the neck markings in the next photo. Maybe someone who knows hummingbirds better than me knows for sure.

A brightly colored male Rufous was out and about too, but he didn't wait around for me to go get the camera. Maybe another day he will!

Here you can see the markings on the bird's gorget.

Happy May Day!

A vibrant red tulip, growing in my yard. *Love!*

And a couple of May Day flower baskets I delivered to neighbors today. I used various dies (Sizzix, Impression Obsession, and even MFT) to create cute tags. What a fun way to say "hi" on this lovely spring day!

Local Wild Elk Herd, Again!

Yesterday, my sweet neighbor once again gave me a quick phone call and let me know that the wild elk herd was down from the mountains. I grabbed my camera, hopped in the car, and popped down to the area she said the elk could be seen.

It didn't take long to get there, as I hadn't even driven a mile when I saw the herd. I was able to pull off the highway into the wide spot the state snowplows use to turn around in when they get to the Washington/Idaho border. I used my trusty, never leave home without it, Canon EF 70-200mm 2.8L telephoto zoom lens to take these photos, at the 200mm zoom setting. And, it was raining...

The herd was wanting to cross back over the highway and head back up to the mountains, but the cars that weren't stopping were spooking them from crossing.

They ended up turning around and going farther back into the field from the highway, and waiting to cross at another time.

You can click on the images for a larger view of the photo. Pretty neat!

Local Wild Elk Herd

My sweet neighbor lady gave me a quick phone call today and let me know that the wild elk herd was down from the mountains and viewable in one of the area fields. I grabbed my camera, hopped in the car, and made the mile or so drive to the area she identified.

You can click on the image for a larger view of the photo. Pretty neat! I could see that some were bulls with still two horns in place, and could see that others were bulls that had already lost one of their two horns. I never get tired of viewing wildlife!

Life in the Woods

I have a bit of news to share, and thought before I start posting regularly about *snow* and confusing those of you who know we live in Texas, I should mention it...

Recently, Alan and I bought a place in NE Washington state, near where my family is. My recent lack of posts has been due to the incredible amount of work and time we've spent on things related to the new place. Now that I have a bit more time on my hands, I thought it was a good time to share. I also thought I would start a new category on the blog called "Life in the Woods", to help me keep things organized.

Earlier this week after work I popped up to the lake. There were deer and turkey out enjoying the evening... unfortuately, I didn't even think to snap a photo of them. I was really just enjoying watching them go about their routine. I did take these two photos of the lake with my phone, though. It was just before sunset, and everything was just beautiful. Aside from the honking of migrating geese and a light breeze in the trees, I don't recall hearing anything else. I do love a quiet moment like that. There hadn't really been any freezing temperatures yet, but it was very chilly, and the water was crystal clear. Now that we've had a few days and nights below freezing, I look forward to seeing how things have changed there.

Anyway, I'm excited to be sharing our news with you, and hope you look forward to seeing a new variety of posts. You'll still see posts about the farm and the critters. Now, in addition to the farm animals, you'll see posts about the occasional wild animal, too!

B-B-B-Brrr!

Whoa! Bit of a cold spell coming in, wouldn't ya say!? Is this good-bye fall, hello winter!?

Sharing Christmas Ornaments

Having a very sore back has put a ripple in getting things done around the house, and now I'm behind on several projects...UGH!  But, slowly but surely we've put out the holiday decor, and I'm starting to feel a bit better. At least I can stand upright now! Tonight I took some photos of some of my favorite ornaments and decorations, and I thought I'd share! This adorable Lake Cabin ornament is from Old World Christmas.

We have quite a small tree in the house, but it is PACKED full of all kinds of ornaments. Honestly, I think every branch has some kind of decoration. I have a fun mix of old and new, rustic and vintage, inexpensive and priceless.

Putting out holiday decor is one of my favorite things. Even though I don't put out every ornament each year (the tree is too small), every ornament gets carefully unwrapped and adored, and the memories enjoyed.

Several years ago, Mom wrapped up a box full of some of the ornaments from the family tree that were "mine", and gave them to me for Christmas. This little painted wooden angel ornament was in the box from Mom...adorable! You can bet she's on the tree!

My parents gave Alan this beautiful Old World Christmas glass Santa firetruck ornament a couple of years ago. It's displayed in the china hutch year round!

I've had this little carved snowman ornament since high school. My friend Kris and her family gave it to me. It's still one of my favorites!

The fireplace mantel is decorated with rustic pine swag, faux berries, pinecones, metal reindeer (and a moose) and lights. This tall handpainted Santa stands at one end.

This tall Santa stands at the other end, in his fur-lined hat and coat.

Some of the ornaments on display are handmade, like this snowflake I made a couple of Christmas's ago with Mom and Aunt Patty.

Some of the ornaments are ones I've picked up throughout the years, like this birchwood Santa.

And some are from my childhood, like this little white bell (one of two that I have), that still hangs from it's original (though slightly tattered now) green ribbon.

Some are blown glass and really "fancy", and others are more primitive, like this bear riding Santa...

And some are even more primitive, like this carved wooden snowman in his braided hemp scarf.

I love the fun mix of new and old, uptown and country.

Our holiday tree promises never to be boring — here’s another Old World Christmas favorite of mine, a dapper snowman in a bright red vest. *grin!*

Have you put out your holiday decor yet, and have you come across your favorites yet?