Sneaky storm cells sent us flying back to the barn to bring the horses back in.
On the plus side, it's getting easier to call the horses in... I believe they associate lightning with extra feedings. Except for the two Super Seniors, I think they're half deaf.
Zeus is definitely having a tantrum tonight! Cole helps me calm the troops.
Then the Little General needs reassuring too.
Maybe we should consider moving to the barn. Would be a helluva lot simpler.
It's official: Summer in Alabama is here. Started the last week of March. Two of our horses who grow woolly mammoth coats every Winter had to be shorn.
Enough hair taken off to clothe an entire second horse. Titan, feeling 20 degrees cooler! Chance, about to get his yak legs trimmed.
The last tuft on his rump...
Remind you of anyone? What about this visitor to my porch, know who she is?
A Polyphemus moth. 5" wingspan.
Delightful surprise for one to swoop in for a hug! With warmer climes come blooms.
'Rootbeer" Bearded Iris, the fifth of over a 100 varieties in my garden. This year ought to be spectacular! Sensory overload.
Well, it's hard to get a reaction out of Pete. Unless he sees me stocking up the storm shelter and making emergency weather preparations. Then he gets worried.
And we had plenty to worry about on Monday and Wednesday. Especially today, Wednesday.
The governor of Alabama declared a state of emergency ahead of the storms. A first for me in the 27 years I've been here. Does have the effect of raising one's blood pressure.
So does seeing magenta on the radar. By 4 AM, I had the horses safely in the barn.
Fasten your seat belts, we're about to hit some turbulence. There's a price to pay for an early Summer...
Is this the end, or the calm before the next storm? In truth, we fared well. Our deflective shields held firm over the farm, while the storms were felt around us.
Leaving us to work on projects in the workshop, instead of staring at each other by flashlight in a tiny storm shelter. When severe weather skips your backyard and you get to go home to a house that's till there, that has electricity, that doesn't have trees thrown over it...you have reason to be extra thankful.
Another reason to celebrate: the barn sparrows came back today.
Our natural fly control program!
It's the same four adults as last year. Welcome home, now get to work!
Addendum: celebrations cut short... 10 PM local time here in Seale and a new tornado watch issued. A line of strong storms popped out of nowhere.
We're making a run for the barn again! C'mon dogs, grab your helmets and git in the car! Hang on horses, here we come.
Since my return to the farm, I've been busier than a moth in a mitten.
I love the farm. The routine is anything but routine. Every day is different.
One constant is the loyalty of my companions.
No matter how boring it is to watch me work.
"Woman loves to fetch sticks!" Cole prefers to fetch more lively items, like mice. Who needs a cat, when Cole's on duty.
I wish he wouldn't carry them around for an hour. Couple of weeks ago, he fetched a feral chicken.
We're all thankful to have a dedicated hunter in the house. After dispatching it, I handed the chicken back to Cole. Within 15 minutes, he had it all plucked, not a nick in the skin.
Now that's teamwork. Sometimes, his zeal exceeds the mandate though...
The dogs had shadowed me for hours while I painstakingly buried a cable 1000' down the driveway. Out of the blue, Cole wrassled me (Southernism) for the cable, yanking out some of my work... realizing his mistake, he offered me an olive branch. Figuratively, not literally. I wouldn't be amused if he'd snapped a branch off my beloved olive tree. The garden has taken a kick in the teeth this year. Spring had sprung....native Zephyr lilies.
Swamp roses bursting with blooms.
Lady Banks rose scaling by ox barn wall.
Even the first unfurling of a Luna Moth.
Spring was here. Seeing as Mother nature has turned bipolar, she unsprung Spring and gave us a very rude 23'F night, during fruit tree budding. Say goodbye to all the blooms, they'll be mush by morning.
I worked by flashlight for two nights to protect the garden.
Exhausting.
Threw everything I had into it, including bed linens and beach towels.
All the new growth on the fig trees and fruit trees died back, but they've survived and the blueberries kept their developing berries. See, could've been worse!
The horses' blankets that had been hand washed and put away for the season, were taken right back out. Dumb and Dumber:
Short horses make their jackets appear more like dresses:
Then laundry day, all over again.
Never an ounce of time to get bored around here. While Nature was preoccupied throwing a tantrum, I jumped heart and soul into recipe testing.
Gallons of chicken and beef stocks with an oxtail minestrone soup.
Blueberry zucchini cake.
Caramel nut tart. I'd never made my own chocolate ganache or caramel before. I think I'm addicted.
So worth the four hours it took to make it and the mess in the kitchen.
New goal is to make consistently good pizza from scratch.
First attempt looked like an amoeba.
Second Hawaiian pizza wasn't too shabby.
Encouraged, I took out my pasta machine and made my first raviolis.
This is how I unwind on my days off: four hours flew right by. Sweet potato stuffed ravioli.
Only one burst while boiling. Unfortunately, they clung together!
Not the same presentation as Frank Stitt's Sweet Potato Ravioli with Mustard Greens and Ham.
As delicious, plus I have 4 more portions in my freezer for work lunches! Looks ain't everything! And now that my hens have resumed laying eggs again, I'm dreaming of quiches and frittatas.
Feeding the machine is essential (and fun). Gives me an excuse to work late... it's called burning off calories.
Behold the fruit of Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights' labor. Total refurbishing of a rundown trailer... except for the wheels, they're still kattywompus -- you can't go fast with it, hence the joke of the flaming wheels.
New hay wagon is ready for action. Fruits of late Sunday evening: Apricot Pork Tenderloin over Pecan Rice.
Supper around here averages 10 PM lately. Who doesn't love eating supper in their pyjamas anyway? Looks like I missed some black paint with the mineral spirits and looks like we have more pesky calories to burn tomorrow. My most avid taste tester asked me last week: "Mama, are we getting fat?"
"No, no, no, we're holding steady at fluffy." (maybe extra fluffy)
