9/12/10

Where did summer go?

Unusually hot and wet August
 zipped by in a flurry of family visits and local events.
With the cool days of September, the Gang of Four becomes more active;
Dream and Alba resume their mother-daughter tete-a-tetes
and Kona joins in the Anacin-inviting feistiness.
The younger girls munch on pine needles
do a little flower gardening
and, borrowing a (combustible) page from Pastor Terry Jones, threaten to eat Barb's copy of Dairy Goats for Pleasure and Profit unless their daily ration of grain is increased.
The older girls return to one of their favorite activities:

rocking Barb in the hammock.
The ingrates still won't go out into their expanded pasture area


unless Barb sits out there with them

although once they're coaxed into the back 40 they always enjoy the abundant browsing.
Mr. T and Niblet keep an eye on the ladies.

Now that it's breeding season, Mr. T makes himself attractive by peeing on his beard and front legs, like that Justin Bieber look-alike from junior high who always splashes on way too much Brut.

Poor Niblet sometimes has to climb Mt. Tree Stump to escape Mr. T's overly affectionate nuzzling.
Louis Jenkins wrote an elegy to the quickly passing days by cataloging events now over for the year in NE Minnesota: Rutabaga Days, Wrong Days in Wright, the Carnivores' Ball, "the Polar Bear Plunge, the Monster Truck Challenge, the Poetry Slam."  We mark the enjoyable coming and all too rapid going of summer by way of the Free Range Film Festival
the Highway 61 Folks Festival

and,of course, the goat show at the Carlton County Fair.
Friend Laura entered her girls, Rosa, Luna & Crema (Alba's triplets from last spring).


They were the crowd favorites 
and clearly the most beautiful goats in the show

but the judge must have been having vision problems that day

and failed to award the trio the first prize they so richly deserve.
September also marked Caroline's 91st birthday (celebrated with a cake and a visit from Dave & Brigitte)

and the Blackhoof Fire Dept's annual pancake breakfast.
Marauding raccoons hurried the grape harvest a little before schedule

Dave helped pick, clean and ready the grapes for cooking.  They are now resting comfortably as jars of jelly down in the fruit cellar.
The winter squash vine breaks out of the garden and heads toward Wisconsin.
A volunteer vine of some kind has taken over one of the compost piles.
The young Haralson tree is bearing for the first time this year
and has produced so many apples that its branches are almost bent to the ground.
Despite losing more of its branches to disease

the old apple tree is having another prolific year 
and is attracting visitors from the woods.
On a typical early morning in the barn, no need to beg Dreamy to belly up to the milking stand;
in her 16th month of lactation, she is still giving a gallon of milk each day.
The girlets are dancing in anticipation of their own breakfast.
I can't believe this weirdo is my sister!?!
Them's fightin' words!
Happy when it's their turn at last.
Lassi hams for the camera while Kona keeps eating.