Goats!

Brother #4 went out one morning last week with my camera, and came back in with fifty plus pictures. Even after I deleted the ones that didn't turn out so well, I still had lots of his pictures, so I thought I'd share some... these are three he took of our new goats. Jenni (brown, on the left) and Meg are does due to kid in the spring. They are very sweet and friendly, and we've really enjoyed having them around!

Snow, Snow, Snow!

Beautiful snow! Perfect for sledding, too... :-)

Snow!

There isn't much... but there is definitely snow outside! Brother #4 informed me with great delight that he was the first one to throw a snowball. And Brother #5 says he made a snow angel, "just like in the books."

I promise pictures later, but at the moment, a hot cup of tea is taking precedence, so I will leave you with a few quotes I've found lately.

"When we sip tea, we are on our way to serenity." - Alexandra Stoddart

"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort." - Jane Austen

"Storms make oaks take deeper root." - George Herbert

"Where Christ is, cheerfulness will keep breaking in." - Dorothy Sayers

Happy Thanksgiving!

I will praise the name of God with a song,

And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull,

Which has horns and hooves.
The humble shall see this and be glad;

And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.
For the LORD hears the poor,

And does not despise His prisoners.
Let heaven and earth praise Him,

The seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion And build the cities of Judah,

That they may dwell there and possess it.
Also, the descendants of His servants shall inherit it,

And those who love His name shall dwell in it.
Psalm 69:30-36

Bessie

I went out a few weeks ago to snap pictures of fall colors, and Bessie, our five month old calf, came over to investigate. First, she tried to eat my camera strap...

Failing that, and disgusted by my failure to pet her or feed her, she paused for a moment in thought...
... and apparently decided to begin training for a racing career.

Fall Pictures

Well, I took a walk today down to check a stock tank, and grabbed the camera as an afterthought on my way out the door. Here are some of the results...

...it was a misty, moisty morning (er, afternoon), and cloudy was the weather...

Cato may be photogenic, but he's hard to photograph... he won't stop moving!

The flowers are brown, but still photo worthy, I think... can you see anything in that photo on the left besides plants? I didn't notice anything else while taking the picture, but when I looked at the big version I was surprised to see the winged visitor on the plant. Not all the flowers are giving up, though... some, encouraged by the recent rain, are still bravely blooming! I think that this one with the red berries is my favorite, though. Enjoy! :-)

Marcy and Lizzy

A nice fall day... you can see the beginnings of our fall colors behind the girls.

Sourdough bread!

Yesterday at church a friend gave me a jar of sourdough starter, and today I made my first loaf of sourdough bread. I served it at dinner, and had to ration it carefully (next time I'll double the recipe!) so I guess they were telling the truth when they said they liked it. I do want to experiment and get a more distinctive sourdough flavor- this batch was fairly mild.

Does anyone have any good recipes (for bread, or anything sourdough!) to point me to, or advice on how to keep my starter alive? This is all pretty new and exciting for me... as I told my mom, this is like science in school, only much more interesting, and tasty too! :-)

There is no mundane

"The whole world is remarkable. Said with appropriate qualifications, the universe is a miracle. This is not because the universe is a violation of natural law (how could that be?) but rather because the whole universe is nothing but sheer, unadulterated gift or grace. God overflows, and He overflows infinitely into the created order. There is no such thing as the mundane."
-Pastor Douglas Wilson, here.

A shower fell in the night...

"A shower fell in the night and now dark clouds drift across the sky, occasionally sprinkling a fine film of rain. I stand under an apple tree in blossom and I breathe..."

~from Freedom to Breathe, by Aleksandre Solzhenitsyn

It isn't spring, so the apple trees aren't in blossom... but the rain is lovely anyway! We had some close thunder this morning, and clouds all day. :-)

Cato

Serious... and playful! :-)

Wires Crossed

One of my younger siblings (identity concealed to prevent this post from embarrassing him at some later date, such as his early teens in about six years) was talking about a cow this week, and made the emphatic statement,

"She was standing pot still."

This bewildered me for a moment. Then I got it... she was standing stock still. Not toooooo far off... pot, stock pot, stock... something like that. ;-)