Nothing Very Special

I haven't blogged in too many days.  It felt like nothing particularly noteworthy was going on, just routine work and the progression of the season.  Then I chided myself about that just being a lazy a** excuse for not doing it, and blogging isn't about sensationalism every time, it's about what happens daily.  So after 20 whacks with a wet skein of yarn as punishment, here it is.

The honey locust trees on the front lawn have bloomed.

Locusts in full bloom

At least 100 years old, and we have the pictures to prove it!

The clusters of blooms are really pretty and smell wonderful as you might guess from the name.  The bees give them a real good workover.

If only the blooms lasted longer

Warmer weather brings out more interesting bugs.  I'm a bug person, also reptiles and snakes.  I can honestly say there's no critter out there that makes me go "Ewww" and while I don't exactly LOVE earwigs, I can appreciate them for how the good Lord fit them into the scheme of things.  I'm still working on appreciating ticks and deer flies :-/

Anyway, this spider set herself up in a perfect spot in a doorway.  The breeze actually kind of sucked the bugs right into her web.  It was pretty tattered when I noticed her, and she was carefully de-constructing the web, following a strand around the circle of the web, gathering the silk up in a wad, and then she deliberately threw it off the web.  Way cool. She had a new one built in a few hours.

This spider literally keeps a neater house than me.

We keep a flourescent light on in the barn every night to act as a night light.  It helps keep the sheep from spooking and causing a stampede if the cats get into a row or a pigeon falls down the metal silo chute after dark.  This guy must have been attracted by the light.

Yeah, I'm soft and fuzzy.... but so's the picture.

He also has cool eye spots on the wings underneath the top ones, but you really can't see that picture worth crap :-(

The cats spend a lot more time outside, but still manage to check in at chore meal time. 

Clem says, "You're looking at bugs when you could be petting me??"

Speaking of cats, we got a new kitten!!  Say hello to Calvin.  He is going to be a strictly indoor kitty.

Calvin

Calvin's about 11 weeks old and adopted from the Yates County Humane Society's Shelter of Hope.  Us deliberately adopting a kitten is like taking coal to Newcastle since we're usually the unwilling recipient of drop-off kittens.  But.  You can't count on that sort of thing, and while I love our current housecat, Dexter, to pieces, he's not a cuddly cat.  He does not want to be hugged, loved on and certainly not sit on your lap.  Besides, he was lonely.  After a couple of days convincing him that the kitten is SMALL and not up to being used as a chew toy, they are now best pals.

Hold still kid, I'll get that spot for you.

In other news, we sent 3 Cotswold yearling ewes to a new home - the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore where they will be joining a display of rare breeds of farm livestock.  At first I thought, "Ummm.......I don't know...."   I mean, there are zoos and then there are zoos, but after talking with the Mammal Collection Director and asking questions we knew it would be OK.  To city people, farm animals are as exotic as anteaters and capybaras, so the MD Zoo has a great display area of some of the more rare breeds of livestock - Dexter Cattle, Flemish Giant Rabbit, Ossabaw Island Hog, Nubian Goats, and until just recently when they went to the big green pasture in the sky from old age - Jacob sheep.  So, wanting to have sheep, but looking for something a little different, one thing led to another and we sent Kay, Kate and Kiera the Cotswolds to be lambassadors. 

I'm going WHERE??

"I'm sure it will be fine ..... but maybe keep eating just in case."

They rode in fine style in separate giant Sky Kennels inside a nice van with AC.  Probably had a good radio, too.  Or maybe a book on tape.

Bye.  Thanks for everything. We'll try to write once in a while.

Private accomodations.

These three are on the small side of the breed standard which is what the zoo asked for, and they won't be used for breeding - just sit around and be fed and looked at all their lives.  They're just coming into pretty curls post-shearing, so they'll look nice when they get there.

Cotswolds......the girls with the curls.

It's finally warmed up and the William Baffin rose is just coming into full bloom. 

Tough as nails, and blooms like crazy.  My kind of plant.





And that's pretty special.