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07/17/2007: "I Love Summer"

I love being up at 5am for sunrises like this out the front porch. We leave the windows and screen door open all night and the house is nice and cool. We listen to the birds sing while sipping morning tea. Then off I go to work and off Nate goes to tend critters. Beautiful!


Our barn swallows have fledged their first brood. Last summer it seemed the swallows managed two broods, so we'll keep an eye out for more. But they sure were cute all sitting together on the wire.

Our cows are doing very well. During the heat of the day, Aura and Rainbow lay about the orchard under the shade of apple trees. Aura's doing a great job keeping the orchard free of falling fruit, and Rainbow's testing out her teeth. In the evenings Rainbow bucks and kicks and runs about the orchard like a rodeo contestant. (I have video I'm working on editing...) We've started milking Aura in the paddock. We put on her halter, fork some hay to the area we want her, then tie her to a tree. She responds very well. I think she's happy to be milked out.




This book is a lifesaver. It's "The Family Cow" by Dirk van Loon. We highly recommend it if you're daydreaming about having a cow. It's full of very practical advice, such as how to make a halter! Nate and I used about 9 feet of rope and the instructions provided in the book to make a fully adjustable halter and lead rope. We've been putting it on Rainbow, but haven't left it on for more than a few moments. But her big day of wearing her halter is quickly approaching!

Nate and I needed to add a "super" to the bee hive, so I donned my headgear and smoked the bees. What I found was that the bees have been busy! They've built comb up through the feeder (which they are no longer using), and into the roof of the hive. So that all had to come off. And we can't let good fresh honeycomb go to waste now can we?

It's fabulous.

Nate and I, as well as Kurt and his daughters went to the Oregon Country Fair on Saturday. I'm hoping Kurt has some photos of that interesting gathering to share. We'll see.


Goose Update: I took the injured goose into Chimtimini Wildlife Rehabilitation Center http://www.chintiminiwildlife.org/. I fully expected them to put the little guy down. I called over teh weekend and found that they had treated the infection in his mangled eye, and nursed him back to health. He has no broken wings, and other than looking like a pirate with his one eye, he'll be set for release soon. I'm going to pick him up on Saturday and we're going to release him here on the farm where we can keep an eye on him. He might need more care, or a reliable food source for a while. I'll keep you up to date!