Well everyone, tomorrow a new adventure begins. We fly to San Diego to start the Pacific Crest Trail.
I will miss getting to interact with everyone in blog land.
I wish you all the best of summers!
I hope you have the most spectacular time doing what each of you love!
Thank you for all the kind thoughts and comments that you have all shared with me.
Wednesday my lovely friends Christie and Jessica came over for the first time. I was giving them the grand tour of all the creatures here. We started out with Chickens and Chicks, then we moved through the Rabbits and Chinchillas. They both enjoyed getting to feel and hold the Chinchillas for the first time (their fur is really a magical thing to experience). Then I took them back outside, and was going to show them the cow herd, mostly because of our miniature black bull. I was pointing everyone out and paused, wait, there was an extra being out there. One of our girls had a calf! He was very literally brand new! Still wet, had not yet stood up. Very exciting.
This was a surprise for us, because we weren’t sure that our little bull had figured out his job….. We had never seen him accomplish the task before (mom says he must be a midnight lover). We had no clue that the girls were bred, just thought they were FAT. Now that she has had a calf, we can tell the other little girl is pregnant also, she will probably have hers in the next few days.
The two girls are not miniature cows, but mom bought the smallest girls she could find. They have stayed pretty small as they grew up. So their babies should be nice and small, because their dad is smaller than both of the girls.
It was a fun event for all of us. He is a really cute little calf. We decided his name should be panda, because his little face looks a bit like a panda with his black eye patches. I’m glad Christie and Jessica got to experience a bit of our “farm life”.
He has been figuring out how to use his legs and everything else. The photo above is Panda at one day old. We had to put him and his mom in a separate pen than the other cows, because they were being a little too curious of the new family member. They seem quite happy in their space, and he enjoys running around with his little tail up in the air. It will be fun when the other girl has her calf, and they are put in the same pen, the babies will be able to play together.
A birth can be even more exciting when you have no idea it is going to happen! It’s rather funny we didn’t catch onto any of the ’signs’, its just something we really didn’t expect.
So Welcome to the Farm Panda.
On Monday I had a nice little outing with my Mom. The backstory on this is my Dad is building a house for a gentleman that is a Tuna Fisherman. He was taking his boat from Bellingham to Port Townsend on Monday to put it in drydock for a clean up for the season. My mom was interested in the big boat, and asked if she could ride along. So I dropped her off at the Bellingham Harbor at 8am on Monday. Then I came home and did a few chores, got my things together, and drove to the Keystone Ferry. It was a spectacular day, and great for a ferry ride. As the ferry was nearing Port Townsend, I could see the boat that mom was riding in on, it was just behind us. I could not have asked for better timing!
So after we made land, I found my way to the drydock area, to pick her up. I only had to wait a couple of minutes before the big boat slowly slipped into the harbor. The maneuvering of the boat is second nature to these guys, they just slipped it in there, turned it around and settled in on the dock. My mom was beaming, she had a wonderful trip!
After chatting with everyone for a couple minutes, we made our way into town to enjoy the wonderful little shops that fill Port Townsend.
We walked out Union Dock, and enjoyed the view it had to offer. It is a newer structure for people to get out over the water. It was a nice space to sit, reflect and enjoy our surroundings. We then made our way through the shops, enjoying a few of them before they closed for the evening. I found a beautiful pair of chopsticks for Bernie. I had gotten him a really nice rice bowl for Christmas, but could not find a nice pair of chopsticks anywhere around here. So now his beautiful bowl has equally beautiful chopsticks.
Mom got us a room at the Manresa Castle. It is an amazing structure! It was a mansion built for a wealthy family. It has a long twisting history, changing purposes, adding a big addition, a handful of owners. It is now a lovely hotel and restaurant. Our room was fun and excentric, a maze of a few different rooms all connected together. Their gardens were starting to get some blooms, and although some spots were empty, you could tell it was a lush garden in the summer.
The next morning we went down to see the boat pulled out on land. Wow, its amazing to see how much of a boat we miss under water. This is my mom standing in front of the boat. Look how tiny she is! Boats like this really are amazing.
Here is a view that you can kind of see the whole boat. It was just so big I couldn’t get a good picture of the whole thing. Isn’t that lift system amazing! They lift it out with this, and wheel it to this spot where they presure wash it. It is over a couple of grates here to catch all the ‘toxic’ paint that comes off with the cleaning process. Then it will be wheeled over to another spot (probably happened today) where it will be taken off the lifts and they will finish cleaning and then start painting it again, with the same kind of paint that helps to resist things growing on the boat. I really have to wonder how much of that toxic paint just kind of wears off into the water, and with all the hundreds of thousands of boats that use that particular kind of paint that are out there, what are the effects on our oceans? Scary.
It was foggy in the morning, and as it started to burn off it really made everything look magical. Even this pulp mill looked magical with the fog and Olympic Mountains behind it. Every once in a while even industry looks beautiful.
Unfortunatly I have not trained myself to take enough pictures yet, I failed to get photos of the Ferry trip, and of the beautiful buildings of Port Townsend. I am sorry I don’t have those to share with you, because it really is a magical town. There are so many fun, artistic, and unique shops that fill the main street. Its a great town to even just window shop. We did find some good treasures though. I had been looking for a nice owl pendant for my hike, because owls are going to be my totem animal for the summer. I really had not found anything, and we went into a hat shop (because my mom loves hats) and there was some jewelry. So I peeked in the case. There were all kinds of great wildlife pendants and earings. Right in the middle of all of these was a beautiful owl pendant. After looking at it, deciding to look around town, looking around town, and making our way back to that shop, my mom bought it for me. A very kind gift (it was a wee bit expensive)!
After a lovely day of wandering around town, we made our way back to the ferry. The wind had picked up through the later part of the day, and there was a bit of swell showing up on the water. It made it a bit of a bumpy ride, but it was still quite enjoyable.
It was a great outing with my Mom before we leave for our hike this summer. We are starting to get things organized and packed up for our hike, we leave this Sunday for our big adventure. While on the trail we make it to a computer once in a while (it the towns we re-supply at), and I send out mass e-mails to let everyone know what we are up to, and how the adventure is going. If you are truely interested in being on this list, let me know by comment, and I will add you on.
Our weather has been spring like for sure. Rain and sun, back and forth. The perfect mixture for the plants that are starting to come out. I took this picture one day last week. It had been raining all day, the clouds were dense and dark. Then the rain slowly stopped and the sun came out. I really love it when there are dark storm clouds in the background and the bright sunlight on the trees or hills. This particular day it made the pasture look so bright, and the trees were such a great emerald green.
I was having fun playing around with one of my photo editing programs. I liked the way this version turned out.
Last night I was sitting in bed and meditating, and spending a little time communicating with my guides. I was reflecting on the many ‘tests’ that we come across in our life, and the lessons that they teach us. I was pondering how to work through some of these tests also, because seeing to the other side of them while you are immersed in the midst of them can be challenging at times. As clear as could be an answer came through from my guides.
Remember, for every ‘test’ you encounter in life,
You have the answer sheet,
Because you wrote the Ciriculum.
So when you encounter a ‘test’ (challenge) in life, remember that we chose to experience the lessons in our life, to help us to remember our whole story. We use these lessons to reflect off of. If you feel lost in something, take the time to center yourself, and look at everything that is going on from another perspective. Try to see what is being presented to you at that moment.
This morning I used Random.org to draw the winning entry for our Spring Time Giveaway. It was #62.
Julie Says:The Herbal Calendula Belly Butter would be my pick…cause I’m trying not to get stretch marks with my very first pregnancy!!
This first photo is from a trip last week (photo courtesy of Bernie). Bernie and I went up to the Mt. Baker ski area, and headed out on showshoes. It really was a beautiful day to be up in the snow. The sky was SO blue! And I got my first (although meager) sunburn of the year! I am so excited to have enough sun to get a burn. It was nice to hear the crunch of snow as we explored the slopes. Both Mt. Shuksan (the photo above) and Mt. Baker are spectacular from up there.
Yesterday we made our way back to the Chuckanuts (big surprise there!). First we hiked up to Fragrance lake. Its a great uphill climb, through a beautiful forest. It’s a good one for me to get in shape. It was a beautiful hike, but nothing inspired me to take pictures along the way. But when we got back to the car, this little guy was sitting on the passenger door, resting in the warm spring sun (This picture is for Joan, the bug lady). We all know what honey bees and bumble bees look like, but have you taken the time to get close to your flowers and look at all the different native bees in your area? I think it is something a lot of people miss. Last fall I had the honor of seeing the most beautiful emerald green bee. It was so beautiful! And I had never seen one before.
We then drove to larabee State Park, which was near by and walked down to the beach.
The Red Flowering Currants are still blooming in full glory. They really do add a beautiful burst of color to the countryside.
I love the patterns that the water wears in the sandstone along the shore. I really wonder what causes these little pits in the stone. Just a weak point that errodes out?
We sat on the rocks, enjoyed the view, and studied tide pools.
Sometimes the tidepools look back. This charming little fish was trying to get closer as Bernie took this photo. I think he liked getting his picture taken, cause all the other fish swam to their hiding spots. There were also two large Red Rock Crabs sitting in this little tide pool. We tried to take some pictures, but they just didn’t turn out. Its amazing all the life that can live in such a small pool of water.
We then drove down the road to a little mud flat/cove that we had not visited before (well, maybe I was there when I was young, I can’t remember). The tide was out, so it was a nice (although squishy at times) walk. We got to see three areas relativly close to each other, but different in feeling.
Creative energy has been bubbling to the surface for me the last couple of days. It has felt good. I have been accomplishing many little tasks.
Yesterday I made fresh pasta from scratch. Bernie helped me for about half of the process. This is the pasta maker that he bought me for Christmas, pretty handy little machine (Thanks Honey!).
I have only made pasta from scratch a couple of times, and unfortunatly in the past it has been a process that frustrated me greatly, and made me quite mad actually. Nothing seemed to go right, and it is so much work, it felt like it just wasn’t worth it. This time thankfully things seemed to come together for me. It is still a time consuming process (maybe I am just not doing it right…) but I enjoyed it this time. A step in the right direction for sure.
Now I just need to get a drying rack to hang the noodles on so that they can dry. I started making this a little late in the eveninig, so they did not have a chance to dry as much as they should have I think. In the future I think I need to make the pasta around lunch time or something like that. It sure did taste good though when it was all done!
And then tonight I had a bunch of stawberries that we bought, that needed to be used before going bad. And, our rhubarb is starting to come up. What better combination than strawberries and rhubarb. So I looked up some recipes and decided on Rhubarb Strawberry Bars. As I sit here typing this post I have not yet tasted them, but I do have to say they smell wonderful! They will be a weekend indulgence!
Today I finished another shopping bag. I usually am not drawn to such bright colors, I am much more into earth tones and such. But I just loved these fabrics when I saw them, and decided to make a bag out of them. The stripy liner is a little hard to see in this picture, but the colors are exactly the same, and it makes a wonderful summer shopping bag. I have really been enjoying matching fabrics for the outside and liner of these bags.
We will see if the creative energy carries over into the weekend.
Thank you everyone for participating!
Chick Approved
Three Beak Rating
Well everyone, with fresh spring energy comes fun new things! I am hosting a giveaway for my dear friend Christie. She makes SPECTACULAR herbal body products at Birchwood Botanicals. I have a large collection of her items, and love using every one of them!!
Birchwood Botanicals carries a wide line of luxurious herbal body products. Christie lovingly grows a wide range of organic herbs and flowers that are hand harvested to use in her products.
If you have gifts that you need to get for a lovely lady in your life, whether it is for Mothers day, a birthday or any special occasion; any of the Birchwood Botanicals products would bring a huge smile to their face (followed with many ooohs, ahhhs, mmmmms, and THANK YOU!). These products are not only wonderful for the women in your lives, there are many of the products that men would love to use also.
The body butters come in a wide range of to die for scents. Made with Shae Butter they are wonderfully rich and moisturizing, and feel great to put on. When I spend a little too much time out in the garden without gloves on, and then come inside with dry rough skin. After washing the dirt from my hands I put some of this wonderful body butter, and my hands feel so wonderful!
The Avacado Foot Balm make your feet feel so wonderful. After a long day on your feet come home, soak them and then relax and massage your feet with this great balm. Feel the tension melting away.
These are just a couple of her many wonderful products. Visit Birchwood Botanicals website and read about everything else Christie has to offer.
Christie has given me a spectacular package to give away to one lucky winner! The items that will be won are in the above photos. Three bars of soap (tuberose, sandalwood vanilla, white tea ginger), a White Tea Ginger body butter, and Avacado foot balm (a total value of $39) (Chicks not included).
There are multiple chances for entries in this giveaway.
1) Visit Birchwood Botanicals here and come back here to tell me what your favorite item is. (1 entry)
2) Go here and leave a comment in the form, telling Christie what your favorite part of her web page is. Be sure to come back here and let me know you have done this. (1 entry)
3) Buy an item(s) from Birchwood Botanicals, come back here and leave 3 seperate comments telling me what item(s) you bought. (3 entries)
This contest is open to everyone. Please be sure to include your e-mail with your entry, so that I am able to contact the winner. If you do not follow the three criteria listed above I will have to delete your entry. The drawing will be closed at midnight on Wednesday, April 15th. I will pick the winner using random.org. I will notify the winner by e-mail, if I do not get a response by midnight on Friday, April 17th I will randomly select a new winner. Good luck! And thank you for participating in my giveaway.
My Dad and I outside of the Farmers Market
This weekend finally felt like spring. We had REAL spring weather. Today it made it up to 68 degrees, wow!! And the energy felt like spring also. We got to do some fresh, new things. Saturday started out with my parents and I going to a local car auction. It is a once monthly thing, and there are some great deals sometimes.
My car is on its last legs, so I am looking around for some new possibilities. Unfortunatly I have little money to invest in a new car, so I am looking for the best deals out there. I had my eye on a couple of the cars, but they ended up going for a little more than what I could afford. I think they were still a very good deal, but just not for me. I will most likely go again when we get back from our hike.
And then we went to opening day of the Bellingham Farmers Market. I LOVE farmers markets, as I have said many times before, so it was really nice to go and enjoy it again. Bernie did not have interest in the auction, so he met us at the farmers market. I got to visit with some people I know that are vendors there. Christie my good friend that I work for some times was selling her body products, and doing very well.
Bernie and I went to visit Heather, the lady that made my purse (which you can see by going here) . She is such a sweet and loving soul, she always gives me a great big hug when I see her, and I barely know her! I can tell she is someone I would really enjoy getting to know more. We told her we are getting ready to hike the PCT, and she was very excited for us. Its always been a dream of hers to hike the PCT. She told us to chose one of her little pouches to carry with us on the trail, to put our things in. So sweet and generous! This is the one I chose, her new peacock design. It will be cherished, and well used!
We have a hen hatching out chicks. What we have been doing with the chicks from the last hen and this hen is to take most of the chicks away as they hatch and raise them in the trough with the chicks that we bought. Then the last couple of chicks to hatch (they hatch over a few day period) we leave with the mother. We have been doing this because in the past when we have let the hens raise all of their chicks, things go well for about a day if we are lucky. Then a chick dissapears here, and then there, and over the next couple of weeks we whittle our way down to one or two chicks. So instead of loosing those ones, we are simply raising them ourselves, and letting the moms handle the number they seem to be able to keep track of. It works really well!
This lovely trio is the chicks that I pulled out of the nest today to join our growing group in the chick trough. They are sooooo sweet! I had them out in the lawn, featuring as models for an upcoming post. These are some of the behind the scenes photos of them snuggling with me in between takes. They really thought I was their mother. They were sticking close to me, and I could tap my finger around in the grass and dirt and they would run over to see what little snacks I had found for them. My family was making fun of me (in good nature of course) of my love for chickens. I am a bit lost on chickens….. oh well. How could you not love that?
It was a very lovely weekend all said and done. Productive and full of fresh spring energy.
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