Happy Thanksgiving from the Hens

The chickens had one of their best Thanksgiving celebrations ever today. I went outside to investigate after hearing dancing and loud Mariachi music playing on the back deck.

All of the dancing helped work up strong appetites. The chickens dined on persimmons and sweet pumpkins for dessert.


Pepper even got a little drunk and tried to fight the cat.

Then back to the nesting box to relax and lay an egg. A perfect day!

Manzanita Bees

I planned on not blogging this weekend to give myself a break. Oli and I went on a hike and took our cameras along in the hopes of spotting a bear. Instead we found this beautiful Manzanita in bloom with dozens of bees collecting its pollen. I can't resist sharing some of our pretty pictures.

Jessica's Pics (Olympus Camedia camera):




Oliver's Pics (V-tech Kidizoom camera):

Big News! We are Expecting...

Goat Babies! I'm so happy we are adding new babies to the family. And I don't even have to get nauseous or swollen (although I do feel for the goat moms). The goats are currently pregnant and will deliver in early Spring. Our house is about ten minutes from the farm, but I will be ready with my camera to try and capture the birth of our kids. We plan on getting two females and one male (who we will neuter). Later we will get one male from a different farm to breed with our females. Yesterday we went to visit the ladies and give them kisses. Here are some of my favorite shots.



This ram was wishing he could knock me over the entire time. Too bad for him there was a fence.

Our favorite goat, Lilly, died on Saturday night. She is the goat in the photograph below with short ears. She was a sweet girl and lived to be nine. As a tribute to her, I posted a picture of her great granddaughter below. She has got some strong genes!

Stress Relief

Work was unusually stressful last week. Glenn found me under a blanket on the couch last night fretting about silly things. I decided today would be spent focusing on what really matters. I stayed in bed until ten reading to Oliver, kept my PJs on until two, and spent the rest of the day hanging out with my boys, the bees and the chickens. I feel like a human again. I had to remind myself life is actually about...

1. Teaching Oliver about bees.


2. Taking hundreds of pictures of the "flight path" and never getting a great shot.

3. Witnessing a bee being born (emerge from a cell).

4. Doing art in the backyard.


5. Finding a salamander when we weren't even trying.


6. This sweet face.

Now to top things off with a glass of wine and a movie. I love a wild Saturday night!

Berry: My First Child

I feel bad that I have written 60 posts and have not yet mentioned Berry. Berry came into my life when I was 20 and living on my own for the first time. Some awful person had put Berry and her brother Bugsy in a bag in the garbage. Berry and Bugsy were dropped off by a Good Samaritan at the clinic where I worked as a veterinary assistant. She was just days old when I took her home. Caring for Berry was similar to caring for a newborn baby. I set an alarm and bottle fed her every three to four hours and took her everywhere with me. Berry loved sleeping on my head as a tiny kitten. I think my hair was the closest thing she could get to a warm mother cat's belly. I have added a couple new people to our bed and Berry has taken it very well. I was worried she would be upset when Oliver was born, but she accepted him right away as a member of the family. As you can see, she now has a new head to curl up against. After ten years of sleeping with a cat on my head, I am quite pleased with the new arrangement.