Mish Mosh

Finally I am writing about the rest of April!
It was a month filled with Play, Work and Sorrow

April 10th was the annual Swallow Fest in Ardenvoir.
Arlene and Kay came to share in the festivities, and Arlene took these photos so I could share with all of you.
The Shank Brothers were there, playing their great old style music.

Lots of classic cars and men.

Kay with the throngs of Valley folk watching the Big Parade.

Of course Smokey The Bear was Thear.

I was working the Used Book Sale for the Entiat Library.

The weekend wasn't just the parade, there was the Fire Men Auction/Dinner that we all went to, and I set up the incubator in the Brooder Room for Turkey and chicken eggs.

and of course there was the relaxing time spent on the farm with the animals.

Sadly that was the weekend Spaetzle died. Even though we were expecting her death it caught us by surprise.

She was such a great, friendly, brave, funny, and loving dog.

We miss her.

That Sunday our toilet started acting up and by Monday Keith had dug up the the septic tank lid to have a look-see. He then called the Septic Man to pump her out. It only took a couple of days and a few repairs by Keith but all is in good working order again.

The Tuesday after the Swallow Fest weekend, our favorite Turkey, Tessa, went broody. Her nest is hidden behind that rock in the brush.

We didn't realize she was broody -meaning that she wants to stay on her nest to hatch her eggs - until after dark when Keith went out to see if she was still there. It was late and I thought she was well hidden so decided that she would be safe for the night, and in the morning we would figure out what to do with her broodiness. In the morning a coyote killed our Tessa. And the next morning killed our old white rooster who never went inside to roost. Since then we have been having a time keeping the Turkeys in. The other two hens, Winnie and Penelope have been laying eggs and Winnie has gone broody. I do not let her stay the night on them but gather her up and put her inside. On another post I will show you what we have done to try to contain our flighty female turkeys.

Meanwhile it is Spring in the Valley. The Daffodils are outdoing themselves,

our young peach trees are flowering,

violets bloom under the fruit trees,

the old cherry trees are hanging on and acting like they are as young as ever,

and the pear trees are not going to out done by any of the other fruit trees.

Our kidds, Jack & Jill, named by our neighbor boys are growing strong.

They are very playful and tame.

A couple of horses came to visit us, they escaped their pasture to come sample ours. We called our dependable and knowledgeable neighbor Dave to show these horses back to their own place.

I close this post with a photo of another neighbors dog who came to visit the goats with his family. He just has the right face to end April with.

I wont be so long with posts on May, and hopefully I will have news of chicks hatching.

We're On The Cover of the Rolling Stone!

Well almost....Our friend/neighbor Alan wrote an article about us for a local publication and his photo of us was chosen for the cover!

Thanks Alan!!

Good Snowy Friday

"meow, wonder what awaits for me out yonder today?" mused Felix the Cat

"Snow!"

"At least my favorite puppy will accompany me on this snowy day"

"Blaaaad, Blaaaad, Snooooow!" bleated all the goats

Turkeys, Roosters, and Barn Cats all stay dry under the Breeze Way.

"What's the white stuff?" peeped the chick

"come out, come out it's fun" clucked the hens

'Hmmmm" pondered Ducky

We may get 3 - 7 inches from this late winter storm
"Time for a fire and indoor chores" whined Megan
"I'll take care of the barn animals" said Farmer Keith in his best Hero voice.

Fire On Purpose

There was a Thrill in the Hills a couple of weekends ago.
Our neighbors received a grant to do some control burning all in the name of Forest Fire Prevention. The idea is to burn the shrubs and debris (pine cones, needles, etc.) that act as fuel when there is a real fire.
We were warned by Dave before it happened, "it will be a show, get your camera ready", he said.
We always listen to Dave so here are the photos.

Just a few spot fires

Lot's of fuel here,

and here,

Our neighbor Dave!

It got pretty smoky.

They also used the burn as a training exercise for our local volunteer fire fighters.

Looks like these trees have hot roots and are stepping out of the fire, can't you imagine them saying "Hot, Hot, Hot!"

No burning on our side of the river, but plenty of smoke.

It was a good show and even beautiful at night with the fire spots glowing.
Now hopefully the hills are a little more prepared if a forest fire comes through.