September 8, 2015

Of Late

I kind of stink at this blogging gig, don't I?  Summer is fast coming to a close and there's not much here to show for it!  

It has been the hottest and driest Idaho summer that I have ever experienced.  A mild winter combined with hardly any rain in the spring and summer has left us very dry indeed.  The skies have been a dingy brown-ish grey from all of the fires in the area.  I can't remember there being this many fires in Idaho, either.  It's crazy.  But these past few weeks have brought cooler temperatures, and a bit of rain!  Yippee!!  Thank you, Lord!  


And with the moisture, and that hint of fall in the air, my creativity and enjoyment of every moment returns.  Yes, autumn has always been my favorite time of year, and it can't come fast enough this year for me!  I'm ready for chilly mornings, wrapped up in a cozy sweater, with a warm cup of tea.  I'm ready to sleep buried in mounds of blankets pulled up to my nose.  We're not quite there yet, but we're so close! :grin:

However, despite the heat, the drought, and the fires, this summer has been a fun one.  I've got quite a few photos to share from Bluegrass festivals, and wool sorting with Hank, which I hope to share soon.  No promises there, but I'm certainly going to try.

Lately, I've been enjoying my new cat.  Meet Stu!


He loves "his" dog.  And Bonnie thinks he's rather wonderful, too.  


Stu is 5-months-old now.  You many remember my first fluffy grey kitten, Merlin.  I may not have mentioned that Merlin disappeared last year shortly after Hank and I began courting.  I don't know what happened to him, but he is greatly missed.  Stu, while definitely not a replacement, is Merlin's brother.  He's a sweet, playful kitty, and I'm so thankful to have him.

Mostly, I'm looking forward to meeting Baby in two and a half months!!  Baby has been quite busy, spending much of the day (and night) kicking and moving around inside.  It's amazing to feel, but also slightly creepy to have something alive inside me. But mostly amazing. :grin:


Yep, that's Baby!  Well, Baby's profile, anyway.  This is from my 26 week ultrasound.  I'm at 28 weeks now.  We've been working on getting Baby's room ready, although he/she will be sleeping in our room in the beginning.  Yep, totally looking forward to this!

Lately, I also made Hank a peach pie.  It was sooo good!


And we kitty-sat this cutie for a couple days.  Stu hated him.  They wouldn't even be in the same room and Stu would still be hissing and spitting.  It made me laugh. :smile:


We thought he looked cute in Hank's shoe.


Hank has been busy finding quality hay for us to buy and storing our winter supply.  The hay in the above picture was from about an hour north of us - really beautiful oat hay.

In addition to several of those bales, we have round bales from Hank's grandpa and alfalfa from some folks south of us.  I think we're set for winter!


Our pigs went to the butcher's a week ago.  Looking forward to filling our freezer and tasting that meat!  Each pig weighed close to 300 lbs at this point.  Big, and no manners at all.


Well, that's about it for now.  Thanks for reading!

So how have all of you been?
Does it feel like fall to you?
What have you been doing to prepare for winter?
I want to know!

12 comments:

  1. Aw, your new cat is so cute! :) And I can't believe that you've only got two and a half months left! (I still can't believe we're a week into September. This year has flown by.)

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    1. This year has flown by! They seem to go by faster as we get older, which is a shame. I wish it happened the opposite way. ;)

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  2. So glad to see a new post from you in Blogger!!!!
    I bet those pigs are going to be delicious.

    Its been sooooo hot here. It was starting to feel like fall, but now its heated back up. Its supposed to be in the hundreds for the next week (sigh) I can't stand hot weather.

    We still need to get goats sold, so we can buy our hay for winter, and I still have to get a lot of animals shuffled around (so they don't get rained on) before winter comes. Hopefully we will be getting that El Nino.

    Kimberly

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    1. The pigs are soooo delicious! We've been enjoying chops, sausage, and bacon so much! It's a blessing to have the freezer full of meat.

      It's been a bit warmer here again, but thankfully nothing above the 80s!

      Good luck on your goat sales! We still have a few lambs, two rams, and a ewe to sell off. It's a good feeling to have everything ready for the winter.

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  3. Love seeing the new post! (Reminds me I need to finish mine!)
    Oh fall, lovely fall!!! I don't know which season is my favorite, but Fall is definitely one of them... I can't wait to get in the house and get it all decorated for it!! Mmmm....and all the smells and colors....

    Love you sis!! So excited that our babies will only be 4 months apart!!

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  4. Hi Tasha, so great to hear from you! I have missed YOU! Poor Idaho has indeed endured a long hot and dry spell this Spring and Summer. Hopefully, the typical rains of the Pacific NW will return with advancing Fall. We, down here in Florida, have been drowning all Spring and Summer!!! GEESH!! Everyday is pours buckets of rain at least once and usually 2-3 times. I am totally over it and impatiently waiting for the drier and a bit cooler weather to get here.

    Love the sonogram of Baby Little! It won't be long now. Glad to hear that you are doing great!! Your farm sounds busy as ever and I know you will enjoy your home raised pork. Down South we like us some slow-cooked smoked pulled pork! My son-in-law can make the absolute best with the pork that they raise and whatever rub he puts on it to flavor the meat, Totally most delicious pulled pork sandwiches ever!

    I hope you will droop by more often and keep us updated on how things are going. It gets kinda lonesome out here in Bogland when special friends drop off the radar!@! LOL!! Take care!

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    1. We would have gladly taken some of that rain you got, for sure!!

      Definitely planning on some pulled pork sandwiches sometime soon!

      I'm hoping to keep up with blogging a little better...definitely no promises on after Baby comes, at least for a while. :)

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  5. It's great to hear from you! So exciting to meet baby soon! Fall is indeed my favorite as well and it's so refreshing to see clear skies again. I hope you are doing well and we can get together for a visit sometime! =) God bless!

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    1. Loving these clear skies - it's good to see the stars again! We definitely need to get together soon! :D

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  6. Girl!!!!!! I have been so behind since I quit blogging, I had no idea you were expecting!!! So excited and loved catching up on what you've been doing! Miss you!!

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    1. Ally!!! I've missed you, too!! Hope you're summer went well and that you are doing well!

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