goats and chief

As you may know we got our rain early this year but now we are having this freakishly late Indian summer ... it's kind of amazing really .. the rain came so all all the big ambitious summer projects have been put away till the spring. Now here it is almost November when you should be sitting in by the fire and doing paperwork and all the stuff you put off while the weather was nice and the weather is blissfully beautiful... so I spent most of the day out side and lapped up every last drop of sunshine it was really nice.


I took some time this morning with the goats it's really relaxing to just hang out with them ..I needed it ....









soo I'm kind of avoiding the elephant in the room by posting goat photos... as I haden't gotten the gumption to write about chief yet but here goes... I have been spending a lot of time nursing mr. chief the last few days. Chief and I had another accident in harness on Thursday and it's been a bit of a roller coaster ride.. I was not hurt but He got pretty banged up while running off in full harness with a single tree attached...he's on stall rest and is doing really well considering. His stall rest is because he fell on his knees so he's in big old bandages and on lots of meds. He's doing really well considering getting lots of shots and being in his stall full time for now. He's been really good about it all... I did tell him I know EXACTLY how he feels... He is getting lavished with love and attention and treats.

My Neighbor Monique has been a goddess she stood by my side for nearly 4 hours when the vet came right after and then has come down every day to hold chief and generally hold my hand while I administer meds (via needle) chief's not so happy about that... wrap his knees etc etc... it's been quite the experience for both Chief and I. This is her farm site

So given the number of "incidents" that chief and I have now had in trying to train him ... I have come to the realization/conclusion that we all have our limitations and no one needs to get hurt any more... so better late than never I have finally decided that I'm not the one to train chief and now with so much under our collective bridge I will not be able to "work" him either ... not sure if this means I will sell him that's a tough call and if so would only be to a perfect home... but he will for now just recover and then we'll cross that bridge when we get there... he's so nice to have around he may just be my big 1300 lb dog ... so it's sad and pretty hard to admit/ come to grips with as I had such big plans for he and I but I know in my heart it's the right decision now. And by the collective sigh of relief by Brian and friends and family I feel pretty affirmed in the decision.



I love this shot they look soo snuggly.. it's kind of how I feel after having been treated so kindly by, my neighbor Monique in such a big way ...and also my new friend Duane who took the time to talk to me about chief and have a glass of wine today.. now that guy knows how to have relax. Also my Vet Theresa for her great care! and Porter thanks for the pep talk glad that my decision makes me smarter than Bush : ) aka I know when to "change course"

- DO - try this at home... : )

AS you faithful blog readers know porter was here last week... on her visit she tried some of my homemade granola bars (which I'm pretty sure she'd had before when Brian made them) she asked for the recipe.. which we have all done... but to actually ask for a recipe.. and then subsequently get it (that's part was a major miracle) and then actually make said recipe dosen't happen that often...


And then another thing that dosen't happen that often .. with no pre-planning Porter and I just so happened to be making the bars last night ...at the same time... we discovered this while talking on the phone ... ... it was so much fun! if you can't be in your girl friends kitchen with her try cooking the same recipe at the same time... it was silly and fun.. and so we both decided to post photos of our evening on our blogs : ) and you have to go to hers to see the actual recipe because un like me she's a better typer... http://seekingsprout.blogspot.com/2007/10/goodness-from-kitchen.html

I'm not sure where the first recipe came from but ..Brian has made lots of changes to it so I'd say it's his recipe. Porter and I are just granola free loaders.. but damn is it good! and good for you!!!...









The hat is not a requirement to make good granola but is if your house is uninsulated and it's OCTOBER you may need one... yikes... will some one remind me again why we didn't insulate this past summer...

the elk came back : )

The same herd of Elk from the other day came at dusk this evening to munch on the lower field .. it was pretty magical... these photos don't even come close... : (

wine and friends...

Loads of friends visited in the last week or two..... It was super fine to see everyone and amid all the visiting we got our Syrah in ...

Johnathan came for some R and R and I really enjoyed his company... his friend Lauren also came out and she was a lovely guest as well. We had a lot of fun with all the creatures...










and this is Johnathan cooking a yummy curry for us, right out of the garden!... : )

June and Nancy came for a few days and I forced them into labor at the winery ...they sorted fruit when it came in... June was a trooper and Nancy as always was totally upbeat! thank you Ladies again for all your help!



The Fruit Looked beautiful! No surprise - thanks to Maggie! -
We are very excited about '06 and looks like '07 will be great too!!

















...and as always miss Clementine provided moral support...


This photo is from up in our woods I got a wild hair last week and thought I might find mushrooms in our woods..sadly I found a big fat goose egg : ( but it was pretty and I got my exercise : )

This Photo of chief is him at FULL attention the photo below is what he's looking at... it was a beautiful herd! (if they just look like brown smudges it's a herd of about 20 or so elk... they visited while Johnathan was here)










I managed to harvest more from the garden and pack it into the freezer...



And these Photos are of me and Porters feet!! Porter came for a super fabulous visit we hung out , went to an antique shop and had an in-house beauty visit. And on her last day we had lunch at with her adoption agency at an Ethiopian restaurant it was super great!

Sitting by the fire with my dog and my best friend getting a pedicure is my idea of HEAVEN!!!

These are Porters cute toes we both got rhinestones on our big toe nails : ) not very crunchy granola but VERY fun : )

Life off the Farm

The night before last was a pretty fun and full one .. Brian and I bought 1.5 tons of fruit for Rose and so I went into the winery to help sort fruit and help with care and feeding of the troops…

The Fruit we got (pinot) looked beautiful when it came in which is amazing given the weather we’ve been having… we hardly needed to sort it… Brian looked very pleased...I’m looking forward to making a rose… it will give us something to release while we wait for the Big Table 06’ Syrah which won’t be released till late next year …

What started out as me calling Deolinda and saying "is anybody getting fed down there?" Turned into a big old harvest meal…

We quickly decided that take out for 25+ people wouldn’t work at all… Deolinda graciously offered up the pork from one of their pigs (which dave grilled up)

and after a quick stop to pick up potatoes and beans and grab some home made apple sauce off my shelf we where all set for a feast!

Every one chipped in to make a big beautiful meal at the winery. Despite it being a CRAZY night and everybody going in a 100 directions we still managed to sit down and share a meal… Thanks Coelho's for hosting : )

Thanks to Miss Maggie for manning the camera while Brian and I sorted fruit.. and congrats again to you and Michael on the bun in the oven…

here are some more shots of folks at the winery all busy busy making wine...