All In A Day

At this time of year,

by the time most people are just getting out of bed in the morning,

we have already put in a rather full day.

Yesterday was a good example of this.

We awoke during the pre-dawn, dressed,

and headed out to the barn at 5:15.

The pigs and sheep and donkeys were turned out to graze in the cool morning air.

The horses were led from the upper pastures

back to the barn for their breakfast (a pellet feed).

Chickens, ducks, and turkeys were let out for free ranging.

Waters were changed.

Pools were filled.

Manure was scooped.

Then, while Jack cleaned the pastures of the previous night's manure,

I worked in the garden...

picking raspberries, cucumbers, squash, lettuce,

and sugar peas.

By this time, the sun was up and a brilliant new day was beginning.

I headed back to the house to deal with the morning's produce.

The raspberries from the morning and the blueberries from the previous evening,

all went into the kettle...

and by 8 AM I had finished 7 pints of bramble berry jam.

With all of the necessary chores behind us,

we had the whole day ahead of us for other activities.

Our farm friends, Maggie and Macy, and their Mom

(the girls who gave us all those white roosters a few years ago)

came for a farm visit.

Chicks were held.

Kittens were snuggled.

Toads were found.

More raspberries were picked and consumed.

It was a great day, albeit a hot one,

and a full day...

a day filled with summer fun!

I wanted to share this video with you...

a funny phenomenon known as mutual grooming.
If you cannot see the video here,
you will find it at this link HERE.

"You scratch mine - I'll scratch yours!"

Here's a little taste of nighttime around the farm.

Mini lights illuminate the greenhouse for a couple of hours each evening.

Once the sun has slid beneath the horizon,

 we walk the horses back up to the pastures for a night of grazing.

The clouds still carry a hint of light.

Solar lights glow from the garden area.

Have a wonderful weekend!
I'll try to have a video garden tour together for you on Monday.