Competition for attention

The introduction of the 6 new chicklets to the broody hen did not go exactly as planned. She was quite puzzled by their sudden appearance. 3 of them almost immediately went to hide under her, and she allowed them in, but the 3 remaining were pecked at and warned not to come any closer.

So now we have 2 Easter Eggers and 1 Rhode Island Red in with the picky momma, and 1 EE and 2 RIRs in a crate in the garage...with a heat lamp because it is so stinking cold.

I am still undecided about whether or not to try to sneak the outcasts back in with her, or just leave them safe and happy where they are.

The boys in the house were looking for some attention while we were focusing on the cuteness outside. Willie in the mandolin case, Willie with my purse and the ice cube tray, and Woody just being Woody!

 

Spring all over again!

We have been having some strange (for late July) spring-like weather lately—lots of rain and cooler temperatures. I am pretty darn sure that the weather had nothing to do with this other anomaly: Lizzie the goat surprised us with 2 cute kids yesterday.

Back in early February, when most of the other kids were already born, Lizzie looked quite pregnant. She has continued to look large ever since, but we had pretty much given up on her. Then, after a rough couple of weeks here at the Flat, with too many things going on at once, I left for work on Ugly Tuesday at about 2:30 yesterday. On my way out, I went in to feed the goats when I heard what sounded like a newborn kid. Sure enough, Lizzie was just cleaning off the little white kid. I turned around to look for a towel or something to help with the cleaning, when thud, out popped number 2.

I haven't checked carefully, but I think the white one is a boy, and the brownie is a girl. Either way, it is always fun to have more kids. 

And I may have yet another spring-like addition: one of our blonde hens went broody about a month ago. With the other hens kicking her out of the nest box, and she moving off the eggs when it was too hot and the others jumping in, and then she goes to a different box; she is well past the time when those chicks should have hatched and there are none.

So I am going to buy some, probably tomorrow, and move her into a separate closed crate and just hope that she thinks she hatched them. Or at least I hope that she will care for them even if she is smart enough to figure out they aren't hers. More cuteness to follow.

Party for Peters people

A whole slew of Peters people turned up for a party this week in rainy Upstate NY. Several of them drove all the way from Florida. The Scalas and Mianos came from South Jersey, and a few of the New York Peters came for a Saturday dinner at Lester's Flat. The group photo was taken Sunday at the Scala/Miano's swanky Airbnb in Fly Creek.

There was a pontoon boat ride on Otsego Lake, a ride for young Colin and Owen in Cousin Greg's motorcycle sidecar, and far too much fabulous food including a vegetarian lasagna from Origins Café, a meat lasagna from moi, Greg's mac salad, burgers and dogs, and Maria's fabulous cupcakes.

Goats, fire and the WoodMan

We are always happy to sell our goats when we know they are going to a good home. Today Larz and Kelly picked up Dr. Robert and Sharon to take them to a home where they will be loved. Our herd is down to a more manageable size of 11 goats.

Our first official firepit evening of the summer was cut short by a plethora of biting insects who didn't seem to mind the smoky fire. Smoky fire from wet wood. Too many insects from wet weather. Hoping the weather improves for visiting family this coming weekend.

The last pic is Woody's answer to all the folks who are asking how he is doing since a diagnosis of a tumor on his spleen 4 months ago. The doctor gave him 6 months. I think he will go longer, but if not, he is still his crazy self and loving life.

 

Pretty weed and a fallen apple

St. John's Wort along the fence >

We have a lot of weeds and wild here at Lester's Flat. I enjoy figuring out which of them are worth keeping. There are the "pretty weeds" that are invasive (purple loosestrife, multiflora rose) and the harmless ones that take over if you let them (goldenrod, blackberry). My working theory is to let them grow until you find out they are obnoxious. Two on my list for elimination are not pretty at all, but are invasive: wild parsnip and Japanese knotweed.

This little gem with the yellow flowers turns out to be St. John's Wort, a plant which people actually cultivate for its medicinal use as a stress reliever, wound healer, all kinds of crazy things.

We have plenty of "wild apple" trees on our property. Most of them were most likely not wild at all, just selected varieties that were planted long ago and not properly pruned. This is another good year for lots of fruit, but sadly one of the old trees uprooted itself. We have had quite a lot of rain recently, and the old girl just couldn't hold onto the the little hill where she must have been standing for many years. Sad to see her and her many little apples go to waste. At least she didn't take out the fence on her way down.

A beer by the lake, blue birds and a butterfly

It was a beautiful night at Brian and Maria's place on Canadarago Lake. After several rainy days, we were blessed with some perfect holiday weather.

The only blue birds I see around here regularly are bluejays, but this spring a family of  Eastern bluebirds took over one of our birdhouses. Now I see them every day perched on the fence feeding their babies.

Last week what I thought was a bluebird, on closer inspection with the binoculars, was an indigo bunting and his mate. Quite exciting for this amateur birdwatcher!

It was worth the wait to see this Mourning Cloak butterfly open up. With his wings closed, he was just plain black and tan.

Happy Fourth!

We go from a dry, sunny, almost too hot, but sometimes too chilly June, to a gray and rainy July. That's OK too. The gardens like the rain, and the clouds make for prettier sunsets. This one from last night while it was still raining.

We accepted an offer on the NJ house. Now we are just waiting for everything to run smoothly through inspections and paperwork to get us to a closing in August. Is that too much to ask? I think not.

A fawn, a fiddle, and an old ....

The Husband captured a pic of this little cutie right outside the back fence today. Luckily the dogs were not paying attention. There's yet another really good reason for that fence. You are safer out there, little one, than you would be inside the fence with the killer Cyrus! Don't let your mama give you any ideas about jumping over.

Saturday evening was another great jam session in the R&T garage (I know, it's awfully pretty for a garage.) Miss Rachel, the fiddler, took some time off from her real job as a doctor in Boston to come back and play some tunes in Coop!

And then there's that Woody sleeping on his best dog bed ever. The old man is doing very well, almost 4 months into his predicted 6 months to live. It's hot and sticky up here the last couple of days, so he, and the rest of us, aren't quite as energetic as we should be. Trust me though, he is still up to his normal craziness and not showing any signs of slowing down.

 

Wine and sun

We have some good news, but I don't want to start the celebration until it's official. In the meantime, I started a private celebration with a glass of wine in the backyard. Woody celebrated by singing with the birds while the sun was going down. I will post the video version of his song on Facebook. Videos on here are always disappointingly small.

Franklin and Annie's parents are home and Annie survived our extra care very well. I just found out she is about 15YO, which is pretty darn good for a goat. We are going back for a visit tomorrow just to make sure she doesn't forget us.

Franklin and Annie and The Panther

While Drs J and T are in Cape May for the week, we are caring for Annie the goat who needs a little extra TLC—some milking, an injection every day, and some special love from The Husband. Annie has her own husband by her side at all times, Franklin the rescued donkey. He can't do the TLC part, so we are helping out.

The shortest route to Franklin and Annie's house is up Panther Mountain Road. It is a seasonal gravel road winding up and down a not so big mountain. Panther Mountain is across the road from us, behind the horse farm, on the other side of the lake.

When we first moved up here we heard rumors that it was named for a panther that escaped from a circus train. As regular travelers up the mountain this week, we found the real story, or at least the settled upon real story: it was named after a Native American man who lived on the hill and called himself The Panther. Even the sign calls this a hill, not a mountain, but by South Jersey standards, it's pretty darn big.

Bug post

This is not a blog post but a bug post. For the sake of a good title, these will all be bugs, whether they really are or not.

I don't know why that pretty butterfly died behind the picture frame on the back porch wall. I was reluctant to pull the frame away to see what was going on, but now that it has been a few days, I guess it is not going to fly away.

About the same time as the butterfly, this pretty little moth also lost its life on the back porch.

Yesterday, I found these unidentified caterpillars devouring a few leaves on a young mountain ash that was just starting to look like a real tree. I am questioning the DEC as to what they are and how worried I should be.

The last creepy crawly, which I identified only because of a Facebook post I had seen the day before, is a cicada killer wasp. Biggest wasp I have ever seen! He or she also met their demise on the back porch, probably due to a bite by the WoodMan. He likes to eat the bugs he can reach on the screen. He probably got the moth too.