Life on the farm

Had a very nice (re: relaxing!) long Memorial Day weekend on the farm in Virginia. It's SO amazingly green here...we must have been lucky, not a lick of rain the entire time! During my lazy few days I did manage to peek in and read about Ryder's amazing Giro win. How great for American Cycling (even tho he's Canadian). And what an exciting race! Nice to have a Grand Tour come down to the final day...it just can't get better than that.


 OK...on to the weekend in pictures!

 My bro-in-law John sneaks a nap in the hammock while the Guinnie-hens (NO idea how to spell that, and spell-check is also at a loss) roam the yard.

 A tasty dinner out on the deck, Jeannie, Barb (Jeannie's friend from Norfolk) and John

 After dinner treat: home-made vanilla/mint ice cream, made with fresh goat-milk heavy cream and mint yanked from the garden hours before the making. Tasty beyond BELIEF! This recipe could make John a fortune I swear!
 

 Matt, the dog whisperer. Dogs LOVE me. That's Bosley (black) and Domini (white)...the "Pupples".

 Bosley focused on the objective. He LOVES to play fetch. He can run much faster than you'd think.

This is Marmaduck. She and 3 other ducks were the 'house-ducks' and the people were moving, so John took them. He dropped them off at the pond on his property, and a week or so later only this one was left (apparently there are 'critters' snacking on duck down there). She stays up at the house now, hanging out w/ her new friends the chickens and goats.

 Jeannie felt sorry for Marma so bought her a pool at Walmart. Marma LOVES her new duck-pond! You should see her splashing around, bathing, swimming...like a duck on water!

As we sit on the porch there are at least a dozen hummingbirds buzzing about the feeders, fighting for space in the sipping-spots. Turns out it's pretty hard to get a decent shot of a hummingbird!

I take pictures of this old house every time I'm here (our view as we sip coffee from the front porch). Today it's got a nice batch of thistle blooms in the foreground.
 OK...on to the weekend in pictures!

This is the cows. That's Bebe (the bald-faced Angus/Holstien cross) in the back left (has a white face). She's a keeper, as is the other lady on the far right. That's Sir-Loin 1 and Sir-Loin-2 (the steers) staring at me. Maybe I shouldn't be following them with a hamburger bun? (sorry, that's mean!)
 

And a view of the old dairy barn (near the wind generator) and the goat/turkey barn (on the left). The field was JUST bailed today by John's friend and neighbor Ken. Ken and Brenda have a farm just a bit away, with like 14 horses, dozens of goats and cows, and everything inbetween. I can't IMAGINE being a real farmer. It's not a 9-5 job by any means, more like a 5-9 job (Ken was driving the tractor doing the bailing all day on Mem Day while WE lounged around drinking beer and living the vacation life).

That's all the pics for this week...I have literally dozens more but paired it down to just these. Hope everybody had a wonderful holiday weekend. Today it's back to the air for Jeannie and I, as we fly home in mere hours (don't get home until midnight Calif time). Tomorrow is a work day too. Ugh...back to the grind.

Have a GREAT WEEK!