Morning Magic

Mornings are a special time at the barn...
especially when witnessed before the sun comes up.
With the sun rising over the pastures,
the dark of night is magically transformed by a technicolor sky.

After a night of slumber, the animals are ready for their breakfast.

The horses and donkeys go out to pasture.
The ducks emerge from their yard...
greeting the day with flapping wings.


The turkeys emerge in their own style... as graceful as a 30 pound bird can be!


The rest of the animals wait patiently for their food, fresh water, and housecleaning.

Each day, though different... begins the same...
regardless of the weather or whatever is happening in the rest of the world.
In this little corner of the world the rhythm remains constant.
And there is a comfort in this.

Once the morning chores are finished, I head home for a little breakfast with Hubbs.
Hubbs' farm activities have been quite curtailed since his foot surgery,
so my morning chores are done solitary.
And though I love his company...
I also love the peace and solitude of doing chores by myself.
It's a chance to commune with nature and with our animals...

a time that is so very special to me.

Later in the morning, I head back out to bring in the horses and donkeys
and do a little gardening.
I sit for a while under the front of the barn.
It takes but a moment for the donkeys to spy me and head my direction.

Before I know it... I have a cat in my lap and two donkeys nibbling my boots.

In another moment, I feel Red's nose on top of my head and Ollie on the
other side with his nose in my ear.

I am surrounded by sweet, curious littles... on all sides.

There is no better way to start a day...
no better cure for what ails you.
The rest of the world fades away and there is nothing but soft furry nosies to kiss
and ears to scratch.

It's this moment that is the reward for the hours of work.
It's this moment that I feel a deep sense of appreciation both for and from my animals.

I've been working on winterizing the garden boxes that are finished for the year.
Weeds have taken over where there once were vegetables,
and I will pull them all before winter's arrival.

That is, if TomTom will allow me.
He's always right where my hands are.
Silly cat.

It's been a funny year for gardening... some things have come in so late.
The saffron crocus usually bloom by this time, but they have
just now finally emerged.
I am hoping for a few sunny days so that they will blossom and I can collect the saffron.

Outside the garden is this...

Everyone is always curious as to what we humans are doing...
so no chore is ever done without an audience.

On Monday you asked what the huge leaves were above 

Mackenzie's head in the life-sized fairy garden.

These are canna.

Canna are a summer bulb in this part of the world...

planted in the spring... blooms in the summer... dug out of the ground in the fall.

Yes, a bit of work... but definitely worth it.

They are showy and huge... and now I have a ton of them.

They reproduce each year.

The tuber gets bigger and bigger and can be broken into sections...

each section growing larger and larger the next year.

If you grow canna, then you know that eventually you begin to give them away...

or you are overtaken by them!

These and elephant ears make wonderful additions to a life-sized fairy garden,

in that they make life-sized fairies look as though they have been miniaturized.

I will be digging up all of the cannas, elephant ears, and dahlias in the coming weeks

and storing them in the barn for the winter.

We have a room at the center of the barn that houses the water heater.

This room stays a constant temperature throughout the winter... so nothing will freeze in here.