Becky, Sweet Sixteen

Here's beautiful Becky with the cake she made and frosted herself. We had a quiet celebration with Gretchen and Sarah, Katie's friend who's visiting for the week. I've promised Becky a "real" party when things settle down and when Daddy's in town. Thanks Fat Suburbanite Dad (or Mrs. Fat Suburbanite Dad, as the case may be) for the tribute on your blog to our treasure of a daughter.

Bambi

In absolutely no particular order are these photos of our experience with a fawn yesterday morning. I think I'll tell the story in the order in which the pictures should have appeared, and leave it to you to guess which photo should go where. Once upon a time Danny and Mollie were having coffee under the oak tree when suddenly they heard the alarming cry of a baby goat in trouble down in the woods. Mollie checked on the baby goats, which were still safely in the pen, while Big Dan ran to the source of the noise and discovered a fawn being dragged home by Jeb, the puppy, to serve as a new and improved chew toy. Dan grabbed the fawn and brought it to the house. The cute baby deer got rested up, the dogs got tied up, and the girls took him back to where we found him. He went immediately to a flattened place in the grass to wait for his momma like a good boy. She came for him soon afterward and they all lived happily ever after. The End. The sequel will star Fat Suburbanite Dad as "The Deer Slayer" in a year and a half.

The Cat Days of Summer

I had taken a picture of Sirius Black also, sleeping soundly at the back door mat, but it was blurry. How can anyone blur a photo of Sirius? It's not like there's any action in those shots. The cats have been sleeping in the a/c throughout the heat wave over the last week or so. They slept during the derecho, or wind storm, that came through like gang busters on Friday night. They slept through the severe thunderstorm last night which gave us an inch of rain. I hope that looking at this picture of Debbie in repose causes your spirit to become peaceful and relaxed.

Flowers!

There was a sale at the local nursery so Gretchen and I bought loads of hanging baskets. Here's how mine look. It will be good to have Dan home this weekend and share coffee in the shade of the petunias.

Katie's Farm Pics

Since I'm too lazy to make an effort at creating an interesting blog post, I figured I'd dazzle you with Katie's lovely photos. These are the twin baby girl goats who will find a home next month on approximately a million acres over on the other side of Lynchburg. Today was such a fun day despite the alarming global warming that came on so suddenly. In the morning we read stories to children at the library, then went to the local pool with friends. At home we mellowed out in the central air watching Rupert Everett as Sherlock Holmes while Laura prepared a delicious dinner of glazed pork chops with wild rice pilaf. Afterward, we met a delightful family through, you guessed it... a Craigslist goat posting.

You've Heard of Feeder Fish?

Well, we have feeder squirrels here at Providence Farm! This is a common view from the back door. There are five squirrels now, and we think the more the merrier when it comes to enjoying squirrel behavior. Neither of these is Lottie, our darling pet squirrel. But she still comes around daily for love and for food.

Jeb

This is Jeb. He's moved into the girls' hearts and our home. I have to put up signs and talk with the animal control officer to see if he has an owner, but if nobody turns up I suppose we'll have another mouth to feed at Providence Farm.