Birthdays

Our super sweet little neighbor and friend Mullein celebrated her 8th birthday on Saturday at the beautiful and wonderfully shaded Montreat Park.

Cutest niece ever eating a violet topped cupcake

Sparrows weekend for babies!

Ever since Sparrow, the blue ribbon winner, came to live on our farm, we have thought she was a little strange. So sweet, a super milker, but prone to interesting behavior such as incredibly loud snoring. Sparrow had us very confused last year when we thought she was pregnant but was really just putting on some spring time pounds. This year we felt more confident she actually was pregnant, and became 100% sure when her udders filled, and I mean filled, with milk a few weeks ago. On Friday she went into early labor. She was panting, making a nest by pawing at the straw with her hooves, and had some juiciness going on. But after checking on her every hour for close to 20 hours, I began wondering if she tricked us again and was really just suffering some intense indigestion. But lo and behold, on one such check Saturday evening, she has some noticeable contractions and some juiciness that told me things were moving along. And within an hour, our herd increased by 2: one boy and one girl! The kids (ours, not the other goats) were there to watch and lend a hand ~ Nim especially has become quite the"midwives" assistant. And I think all three of them are about ready to move up to the barn so they can be with these sweetie-pies 24/7~

baby boy

Gita with baby girl

nothing like some new babies to make the older babies look huge!

Pocket of Sunshine

The living roof is alive!

Happy Easter

Back: Noah, Mullein, Aurora, Soleil, Banyan
Middle: Nim
Front: Lilikoi, Willow, Salome, Gita

It was a gorgeous day for our annual neighborhood easter egg hunt.

The littler ones found eggs in the herb garden while the older kids hunted by the spring.

A little group of kids gabbing away, behind a little group of dads gabbing away. Perfect.

With baskets full of eggs, the kids (well, most of them) gather on the hammock....

while parents capture the memory.

Crepe buffet and drinks on the deck excites both children and parents.

Little thrills

The pint size members of the Five Carmonas are always reminding us to find joy in the little things in life. They seem to be really good at that. The other day Gita set up my little recipe box on an upsidedown laundry basket to create a little office. It was cute, she had fun, life goes on. But then she started asking, no begging, me to let her have my little recipe box for her own. I told her that eventually I would pass it on to her, but for now, I rely on those recipes in their little box.

So today at work I found a little file box we were not using, along with some little dividers and index cards. When I pulled that out of my backpack this evening, pure joy (and a lot of squealing) filled the room. I was amazed by the reaction! Over office supplies! And to make the whole situation even better, Noah and Nim joined Gita with their colored pencils and cook books to help fill out recipe cards for Gita's box. I love child-driven activities that pull in all three kids! And I adore the reminders to see things (especially boring things like office supplies) through the eyes of children.

These little piggies

These little piggies came home!

Our farm animal count increased by 2 yesterday with the addition of these little oinkers (their brother will be joining us on Sunday). Their little noises are so cute! I could just sit and watch them for hours. David promised that when the piggies got here, the kids could get a kitten/kittens. The girls are saddened by the idea that some of the animals we raise will one day be killed for meat. So we decided that we should have some animals (a little more small and cuddly than Atticus) that the girls know are being raised as pets and are safe. So I suppose that means we will be getting kitties soon too!

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Presenting the Forest Children

Forest Children preform Fantasma
at the Lake Eden Arts Festival
http://www.theleaf.com/

In Fantasma, science meets performance art and bravely asks the question: Can time travel help a struggling planet? A creative and colorful show of home-grown talent from the Forest Children Enrichment Program, Black Mountain, NC. Circus style skills and young creativity at it's best.