Departures

The barn swallows were the first to go.

Their nest was getting pretty darned crowded as they pigged out on the goodies that Mom and Dad brought

and Mom and Dad were getting tired out from dive-bombing the Farmers when they brought water to the Gentleman's Club.

One day there were only four babies in the nest;

the fifth had made its way to a beam across the room.

Soon the rest followed out of the Gentleman's Club and into the pole barn

where they practiced flying until they were confident enough to stay outdoors.

Now Niblet and Mr. T are suffering from empty nest syndrome

though the babies sometimes return to visit them in their back yard.
Desi was the next to go.
Her new family took her to her fabulous new home on the appropriately named Goat Hill

where she is enjoying lots of attention and the companionship of an older doe.

Then the hellions scampered away.

Artful and Tammy Waynette moved to their new home in Lakewood, where they are also receiving lots of love and attention, and are testing their new family's patience by refusing to return to their pen after romps outside.

The other goats remain, and are as feisty as ever. Dodger and Alba regularly duke it out on the Mound of Contention.

As do Opie and Spot, who don't really seem to miss their sister Desi much at all.

Dream stays cool on hot days by slurping Goatsicles -- chunks of ice in her water bucket.
The baby red squirrels remain very much with us, too,
eating out of the goats' grain dishes

and daring the goats

to do anything about it.

It's hay season;
150 bales arrived from our neighbor Mike's field

to be stacked away (with friend Chad's help) for the coming winter.

Barb was bold enough

to drive the tractor and trailer back to Mike's farm a couple miles away. (And now checks the ads in search of a tractor for her own.)

The rose bush is thriving (now that it's protected from nibbling goats)

as are the gardens.

Barb is experimenting with making new kinds of goat cheese,

including a nummy mozzarella.