On Monday I took pity on the cows out in the nasty rainy weather. I moved them into the barn, and Sonja quickly laid down on the hay I was trying to feed her. I think she appreciated the comforts of the barn.
I also noticed that Summer’s udder and teats seem to be filling up a little. It was hard to get a photo though.
That evening I caught both cats on the table with Tom. They are never on the same piece of furniture. Wally was leaving though as I took the photo.
Since I had to work St. Patrick’s Day, I made my Irish themed dinner on Monday. It was a Guinness Pie. And it was amazing! I will definitely make this again. Better than Corned Beef and Cabbage, for sure.
When I resumed farming after 2 days of work, the rain gauge told me the story. It has been raining a lot.
But I didn’t need the gauge to tell me this. Here is our vegetable garden. It will be a while before planting at this rate. Usually I try to get the peas in the ground on St. Patrick’s Day. Not this year.
The sheep seem to appreciate the hay barn that I made into a sheep shelter. So far it hasn’t flooded inside this year. I am hoping it stays that way.
A row of sandbags is still in front of the main barn. They are starting to sprout which is something I haven’t seen before.
In the barn I noticed that Cocky-Locky (check out video starting at 15:00) is starting to get some white feathers. I did not expect that, but I like it.
So I went to check out Lake Brad across the road. It is quite full.
But I noticed that it is draining into the ditch across the road from our house further adding to its burden.
And that ditch is combining with the ditch coming from the east further adding to the burden. Just grateful that the culverts and ditches are flowing with the tremendous amount of rainwater they are dealing with.
On a more positive note, there are signs of spring, in addition to the fact that the rain is. little warmer than in winter. The forsythia is blooming nicely.
The magnolia buds are developing, and some are almost blooming.
The irises I planted by Shorty’s grave are blooming, but it looks like someone is eating them. I suspect rabbits.
The camellia my mother suggested I plant is blooming for the first time!
Back to the mud. Here is the donkey pen. It is a sad mess. I am trying to keep their shelter reasonable for them.
Because the cows are in the barn now, the goats are relegated to a pen in the barn. But it is warm and dry. They do not go outside much anyway. They are weather wimps.
Yesterday we headed north to go to the funeral of a cousin of Tom’s. The Nooksack is high, flowing hard, and large amounts of debris is evident. It took us 2 hours to go to Ferndale with I-5 northbound being closed by landslides.
On the way home we were able to see the traffic backup northbound due to the closure. It stretched for miles.
Today the cows are still content in the barn. They really do appear to be enjoying it.
Here is the sun rising beyond the sheep. The grass was glistening with the sunlight which was really pretty. Of course, the sheep are pretty too.
Henny Penny was pretty in the morning sun too, although the photo doesn’t do it justice.
I got up early to do the chores because there was a weaving sale on Samish Island near us. The seller’s mother in law had died, and she was weaver. I thought I showed some restraint but did purchased yarns, mostly flax cones that I can use for warp on my loom. There is a cone of woolen yarn and a skein of red wool yarn for knitting. The yard stick is really cool.
The zoom spinning group I have been involved with has started up again which has been amazing. Plus it is at a different time that means I can spin in it for longer. I got some plying done this week with 3 skeins from my long deceased sheep to show for my efforts.
In other fiber news, this came across my Facebook feed recently. I would love to have one of these dragons. (I hope this isn’t A.I.)*
Jeanne had asked me for a photo of the bracelet that Piper had made for me. I sent it to her but thought I would share it here. It is adorable.
I finished another book thanks to listening to audiobooks in the car. I signed up for Everand and finished this book that has been popular in knitting social media groups. It is fiction which is not my usual jam. But I enjoyed it.
Finally, in huge news, I purchased a new lap top! My old one died, and I wasn’t going to get another. I even looked into getting a iPad, but I would need a keyboard. But then Apple announced they were coming out with the MacBook Neo for a better price. It is less than the iPad with keyboard I was looking at. I am happily typing on it right now. So happy with it so far!
*Unfortunately the dragon is A.I. You can tell where the tail is next to the laundry. That is sad.
P.S.
Here are photos of the sheep whose wool I just finally processed into yarn>
Wink
Logan
Coco
