Cool, dry, green

It has seemed an unusually cold and dry spring so far.

The only moisture in the air seems the morning fog off the near-freezing ponds.

It was so cold that we fired up the furnace again on May 27.

Bubba and Julius, who usually stay far away from each other except during the winter, have been forced to cozy together for warmth.
The fields have greened up nicely, though, despite the weather.

The woods are full of marsh marigolds

delicate little flowers
and fiddleheads on the ferns.
New growth amid deer bones and dry leaves.
Fresh burrows are proliferating in the meadows

and the apple trees are blossoming

including the ancient one in back of the house

Lilacs, long past their prime in most places,

are finally open here.

The goats are doing their best

to keep all the greenery in check.

Majority is lord of the manor, much of which he tries to consume.

Artful and Tammy Waynette still gallop everywhere they go

with occasional rest periods when they join Barb in a chair

and indulge their taste for clothing.

Now that one of the stump piles

has been buried in the west field

the goats enjoy playing on the bare hillock

which is now their arena for chases

and especially for combat.

Majority and Niblet like to tussle on their stump piles, too,

but they'd just as soon sit back and watch the chick fights.

Meanwhile, Dreamy the Octogoat is getting ready to deliver on or around June 14.

She doesn't spend much time on her feet these days, preferring to watch the more svelt and active goats from her favorite nest site near a door.