Saucy Gossip

 Days start early on the farm.  At least one of us gets to see the wondrous pre-dawn sky, while taking the horses up to the pasture.


It's an incredibly peaceful time - void of the birdsong and the thrum of insects that dawn awakens.  Perfectly clear, nighttime skies have given us quite chilly early mornings of late. 

 It is so unusual at this time of year to experience mornings in the 50's.  Personally, I love it - it reminds me that autumn is around the corner.  My heart beats just a little stronger in the autumn - it's my favorite (that is until the end of winter and spring is just around the corner - then, that's my favorite!  I'm fickle, like that!)

The thing is... each season has its blessings.  And, I'm not quite ready to trade this...

for the blessings of autumn - not quite yet.  For now, I will let August be August, and enjoy that which only this particular month can deliver.  It's always good to remind oneself that tomorrow might not come - so enjoy today while it is here!

I love the rhythm of life these days... the unhurried mornings tending to chores.  It's satisfying work - tending to the needs of the animals that we cherish.

You might notice that Moonie always takes the high road!

And Forrest is usually always on his heels.

Moonie couldn't care less.

With the equines squared away, we head up to the chicken house.  I was surprised to find this gal roosting in the upper house with the teenagers.

When queried, she replied:

"Those kids kept me up all night!"

"And they don't know the first thing about good gossip!"

(Hens prefer their gossip to be a little on the saucy side.)

Our last chore of the morning is to dump the night's accumulation of equine and chicken manure on the compost piles.  This gives me the opportunity to check on all of my pumpkin babies!  The vines keep growing and producing more flowers.

And the pumpkin babies are growing beautifully!  There are so, so many!

I cannot wait to harvest our own array of pumpkins.  Warty pumpkins are one of my favorites!

Yesterday morning, we finished picking our ripe peaches.


We throw our pits along the woods line.  The ones that the wasps eat (that end up with a fungus) we pitch into our wild patch just below the peach trees.  Maybe the next people who love this land will discover our gift of more peach trees!  (We have another peach tree beside our driveway, at the edge of the woods that grew from a pit that was tossed there years ago. )

Forrest watches as the peaches sail over his head.


Then he leaps into the long grass in search of these strange flying objects.


PS:  The morning pond duck count has increased to 30!


More arrive every day!

Lastly, we took a long, late afternoon bike ride through the countryside to a local butcher for meat sticks.  (We cut them in small pieces for treats for the dogs). The valley that we rode through was so beautiful...


Would you believe me if I said we saw a unicorn?

Comments

Kathy S said…
I’m so happy about your pumpkin babies! They’re so cute! Wondering what the final count will be…. and of course you saw a unicorn!
Lynne said…
The cooler50’s happened here as well.
We enjoyed the teaser!
Love seeing your pumpkins, warty ones too!
Enjoy your bike rides . . .
Marcia LaRue said…
Good morning!! You are going to get quite a pumpkin haul before too long!
I love the long view of your country roads, wishing I could be on them myself!
We are heading back into the 90s for about a week or so and then ... we are on the downhill side leading into the Fall! Winter will be here all too soon!
jaz@octoberfarm said…
i am out watering every morning at 4:00 am and i love that time of the day. you really live in a little piece of heaven. i LOVE these cool mornings and so do the pups.
I am loving this time of year too! Always my favorite through the holidays! Warm, pleasant days and cool nights and the short, but lovely autumn on its heels.
Barbara Anne said…
The night sky with stars is enchanting! We have so many trees and are so close to a busy street that we cannot see very many stars.
Wish I had some of your energy!
Hope you put a note on your calendar to order Ambrosia Cantaloupe seed for next year. You'll be glad you did.

Hugs!
This N That said…
I've been a fan of night and early morning (as long as I don't have to get up).. I have to have been up all night.
I think Moonie is taking the shortcut ??
Love the chicken shots!!
Wow! That's a lot of pumpkins. Won't you have fun decorating with them?
Peach picking looks like it could be hard on your back.
Unicorn...only you.. xxoo
EDGAR C. BEARD said…
AWESOME AS USUAL...I LOV'EM !!!! HAVE A GREAT DAY !!!!!
Eileen in Fla. said…
Your topic title reminded me of our beloved 15 year old Shih Tzu, Saucy. Never one to gossip, she did have a large receptive vocabulary and was so intelligent she listened to NPR radio, especially enjoying 'Science Friday's' ;-)
It's so fun to read your posts again after we were gone on vacation for a bit. Love all the news and great pictures you always provide. What a great load of pumpkins you're going to have. I saw in another post a picture of Pete rubbing up to Chester. How fun to see that they are pals too. Love your place!