Snapshots From A Farm Visit

I had one baby fantail pigeon left this season, and it was in a nest on the floor between the wall and the food bin. I feared the cold nights would be its undoing, yet it continued to grow and look healthy each time I checked:

The little thing was doing fine until one morning when it simply wasn't there anymore. I hunted through the pigeon room but it was gone. Then I saw two holes where rats apparently had gotten in. Farm life can be filled with beauty and contentment, but there are also heartbreaks:

But back to beauty - the red Asiatic Lily continued blooming into October:

And my sister came to visit, trying valiantly to get Remy and Blue to play with their Jolly-Ball. They weren't interested:

They wanted to play, but not with the Jolly-Ball. She wedged a pear inside its handle and got a brief reaction from them, but only to remove the fruit and eat it:

These two fun, friendly little guys are quite tame - but they also have minds of their own:

My sister's juggling partner (they are amateur jugglers and travel to conventions of fellow enthusiasts) also tried to interest Remy in his Jolly-Ball, but with similar lack of success:

I turned off the electric fence so we could take the dogs for a romp in the north field:

There isn't much the dogs love as much as a romp in a natural setting. As for us humans, we liked it also:

There is a gravel road between the north field and the house, so I try to get the dogs to heal before we cross it. We were approaching the road in this picture, so I got all the dogs except Jack to heal. Luckily, there is little traffic on the road:

I got a preview of their juggling routine. Alas, it was a short visit and soon they were off to a juggling convention:

A Day At Home With My Sister

My sister arrived on a Monday and on Tuesday we'd hiked up to The Pinnacle and onto the floating peat bog at Slush Pond. Wednesday morning dawned clear and beautiful, and she wanted to help do some work around the farm. I thought that was a great idea:

I noticed, on the way out to the barn, that the Wild Cucumbers which had been so lovely in bloom, had all gone to seed. There'll be plenty of new plants next year:

Inside the barn, we began blowing away the dust with an air compressor, but soon discovered that an old fashioned broom was more effective and less messy:

We pulled nails, cleaned around beams and windows, hung an old oxen yoke on the wall and cauked around windows and doors:

At lunch time, we drove into the little village of North Lawrence and ate at the Pit Stop Diner. We ordered the daily specials and even got dessert since it was homemade. I had maple cream pie, a novel but scrumptious take on a popular local product. The restaurant reminded us both of our childhoods, when our mother drove across the country, from Ohio to Oregon every other year. We used to stop at little diners such as this, and also at nearly every tourist trap and national park along the way:

When we got back, we let the dogs back out into their yard. Alas, two of them discovered how to squeeze out beneath the gate and we had to put flat rocks there to prevent any further escapes. Then my sister and I got back to work:

I showed her how to drive the tractor and we went out into the south field to remove some old rocks, lumber and concrete:

When the bucket was full, she drove it around the barn, across the road and the length of the north field to be dumped:

By the time we returned from dumping, she was feeling confident and having fun:

My sister spotted this Praying Mantis alongside the barn and I stopped for a photo:

And then, work over, we let the dogs out into the field. I had a moment of extreme puppy-love:

After dinner, in the setting sun, my talented sister dug out her juggling equipment and gave me a demonstration of the different techniques. She was quite good:

After juggling 3 and 4 balls, she put them down and showed me how to juggle Indian Clubs. She travels all over the country, attending and participating in juggling meets. She even sometimes does so while riding a unicycle. And that's not to mention running in a marathon. Well, you can tell who is the athletic one in the family, can't you?: