“If you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute . . . “
Isn’t that the old adage for weather in New England? That could never be more true than what we’ve experienced lately. The other night, around midnight, we had HAIL…
(I took pix because I figured my sleeping family would never believe it!)
. . . which turned into a perfectly beautiful—pool or beach—day the next morning!
GOTTA LOVE NEW ENGLAND!!!
Want to meet an incredible little lady?
My Mom, known to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as “Mema,” celebrated her 87th birthday recently. She is a spunky little lady (about 4′ 10″) who takes daily walks on her farm; feeds the chickens and collects their eggs; and plays ball with her grandchildren. Mema has the most positive attitude of anyone I know, always seeing her glass has “half-full,” never “half-empty.” She rejoices in the little pleasures in life, whether it’s visiting with a friend or taking a dip in the pool. All this, despite the fact that advanced glaucoma has pretty much robbed her of her sight. She never complains, but just keeps moving! (That necklace she’s wearing sports my Dad’s wedding ring, who passed away several years ago.)
Happy 87th Birthday, Mema!
We recently celebrated Mema’s birthday with a pool party at our house, surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. After dinner, we sat around a fire toasting marshmallows for S’mores and you’d think she was one of the kids. She is so young at heart and she’s the exactly the kind of grandma I aspire to be someday!
When our kids were young, they loved to go visit Mema on her dairy farm. Who else would spend hours with them in the barn as they watched the new calves, take them to the brook to go fishing, or teach them to knit and sew? A favorite memory of my boys is when she let them create “spiderwebs” out of skeins of yarn all around the upstairs bedrooms, which mysteriously disappeared after they left, only for them to recreate another tangle of knots next time they visited. What patience!
Happy 95th Birthday, Aunt Nancy!
Mema recently helped her neighbor and good friend, who we always referred to as “Aunt” Nancy growing up, celebrate her 95th birthday! Maybe there’s hope for the rest of us!!!
OK, they may not be perfectly beautiful, but they’re native!
Every year, my family has a good-natured competition to see who can pick the first native tomatoes before the 4th of July, so it looks like I won!
I guess it probably helped that the tomato plants I put in the ground were HUGE and already had green tomatoes on them!
Can’t wait for native tomatoes and sweet corn to be flowing freely, sometime soon. . . can’t beat a better summer supper!
NEWS FLASH…………..My Mom called last night to say she’d picked her first two ripe tomatoes in a neighboring town. Told you we had a “healthy competition” going on here! (I had given her a big plant with green tomatoes already on it for Mother’s Day, hoping she’d get some early tomatoes, her favorite food.)
I’m in my third day of not being able to talk above a whisper, and anyone who knows me knows that NOT being able to talk is a severe hardship for me!
It started at a smoky fireworks party on Friday night and continued through a weekend of attending three parties and hosting one. I’m thinking it’s environmental (a reaction to the smoke), but I also know it’s my weak spot, when I overdo and “undersleep” (pretty sure that’s not a real word), I end up losing my voice. It usually happens twice a year, but never in the summer. Maybe it’s just too much partying!
I’m going to try to keep quiet today . . . right! My kids say, “Mom, just don’t talk!” (Easier said than done!) Secretly, I think my DH is enjoying it . . .
Does anyone out there have any family/secret remedies to soothe a sore throat and to bring a voice back?
Hope it’s a fun day for you, whatever you might be doing!
Last night, we watched some great fireworks (which were shot off from a barge on the Sound) with friends, which was wonderful.
It’s amazing that the show went on, after a severe summer thunder-and-lightning storm, which threw torrents of rain just hours before. The sky looked like ominous, as we raced to get the horses, including Annabelle and her new baby, Isabelle, into the barn. We—and them—got soaked to the bone, then we listened to the thunder and watched the lightning spark all around us, from the safety of the horses’ stalls.
The horizon right after the storm.
HAPPY DAY TO YOU AND YOURS !!!
Oh. . . I found this pretty mermaid in our pool . . . might you know her?
Friday is coming again, so that means it’s time for . . .
My “Aloha Friday” question this week is:
IF YOU HAD A BABY SHIRE WORKHORSE THIS CUTE,
WHAT WOULD YOU NAME HER?
Here’s a little background . . . her Mom is a Shire Workhorse named Annabelle and the baby filly (girl) is black & white and a week old. She’s more than 150 lbs. already with long, spindly legs, who loves to run!
Here are some of the names in the running, but our family is having trouble coming to consensus on the perfect name:
(Thanks so much for your ideas!!!)
If you’d like to participate in more Aloha Friday questions, click on over to An Island Life for Kailani’s “Aloha Friday.”
Annabelle & Baby (3 days old) out in the pasture for the first time.
I just couldn’t resist snapping these pix when a relative stopped by to visit with a new puppy recently. How CUTE is he? (He also may have a footwear fetish!)
I guess you could say that everything people know they learned from animals–about bonding with newborns, that is.
I’ve always appreciated the importance of “bonding” with our newborn children and I felt the same way about “being there” with our newborn baby filly as soon as she was born. Instinctively, I felt the need for my husband and me to bond with that filly, even though we aren’t the biological parents. After all, her mother, Annabelle, gets all the credit for all the hard work she’s done with carrying and delivering her baby, and with what lies ahead for this single mother (as the father is in Michigan and never got to meet his offspring.)
Anyway, back to the bonding. . . I knew it was important, I didn’t know until just recently that there’s an actual word for it in the “horse world.” It’s called “imprinting” and it’s vital to the newborn foal’s future relationship with people. I admit we humans are only surrogate parents here, but we do want to do our part. By the time we greeted our baby foal (still yet to be named, as we continue to seek the perfect fit!), she was already licked clean by her dear mother, nursed, and was walking around the stall.
My husband, Al, bonding with our new filly.
Horse experts say that imprinting in the first days after birth is crucial. This includes handling the foal, while always being cognizant of the mother horse’s anxiety level of those around her. Using soft tones, you must hold the baby in an embrace, while it’s laying down, and stroke its ears and handle its feet and gums, so that it’s comfortable later on when you need to clean and attend to these areas. Horse people even say you should blow gently into the baby’s nostrils, so that it recognizes your breath and smell and feels comfortable with you. If the mare is comfortable with you and how you handle her and her baby, then the baby also generalizes that people are good.
I’ve so enjoyed being a part of this process, although I’ll be the first to say that Annabelle and her new baby respond first and foremost to my dear husband and our children, who have always been directly involved in their care. I must admit that sometimes I feel like a “third wheel,” more of someone who documents this incredible phase of life through pictures and words. They’re the ones who actually do it.
I’m happy to say that all this imprinting is working. Annabelle’s baby is adjusting to her new home so well and Annabelle is such an accomplished mother. She is somewhat of an expert, as she’s delivered and cared for two previous foals before she came to live with us. Annabelle came to us as an expectant mother and as already an expert in the matter!
"The fam" walks Annabelle and her baby out to the pasture.
Annabelle’s baby walks nicely with us, in her halter now, as long as dear Mom is nearby. Annabelle also makes sure that she is always the one in charge, knowing where her baby is at all times. When the baby is sleeping, Annabelle stands guard over her. When people approach to visit, the baby will come up to the fence to greet them, and as I found yesterday, will even suck on your fingers in her effort to appease this oral stage. She gets the idea that people are good. We’re just protecting her from too much visiting by closely monitoring the time she spends–always with Mom–in public view. But we’re all adjusting nicely, this new family of ours!
Annabelle stands guard over her sleeping baby.
Our new filly, exercising her sucking reflex, on my fingers!
Since our new filly was born, she’s been the talk of the barnyard. On her third day, we introduced her to the menagerie of other animals on the farm.
Here’s what everyone is saying . . .
"Who's the new kid on the block?"
"I don't see what all the fuss is about. She isn't even a long neck!"
"Let's get a closer look. . ."
"Mommy, will they be nice to me?"
"I'm king of the mountain!"
"Whinny, you may THINK you're king of the mountain, but you WILL be nice to my new baby girl!"
"Mommy, I'm scared!"
"Will you be my friend? We're about the same size!"
"Mommy, I'm hungry!"
"Can we play together?"
"Mommy, I think they like me, but I'm SO tired . . ."
To see who else is “strolling” today, click here.
Annabelle’s foal surprised us my making her entrance into the world a little sooner than expected! She is the most beautiful, perfect, spotted draft filly with lanky legs, beautiful, long eyelashes, and a skip in her step . . . all in her first day!
Annabelle is the MOST PERFECT mother, catering to her young daughter’s every wish . . .
Of course, timing is everything and when I got the call early Thursday morning that our new baby had arrived, I didn’t believe it at first. I was also heartbroken because I was hours away, giving an educational workshop. Even though school was out for students, it wasn’t for me and I was dying to bond with our new baby. I dashed out just as soon as I could and spent the next 2 hours in the barn, just admiring this work of perfection! She is so perfect, it is almost surreal!
We’re still searching for JUST the right name for her. Under consideration at the moment are: Isabelle, Belle, Beauty, Rosabelle, Belle of the Ball, Cinderella, probably all preceeded by Rose Farms’ ___________. It’s a difficult decision to agree on! Any thoughts?
To see more pix, skip on over to our Rose Orchards site. Abbie and I have taken hundreds of photos of our new treasure in the first couple of days and will post more soon, as soon as I return from barn to admire her some more . . .
What Flower
Are You?
