Super Moon Shenanigans

Have you seen her yet?

 

Lurking over the horizon, all hazy and otherwordly...

 

 

She defies the ordinary and casts a wicked gleam over the night realm.

 

 

Scientists have named her the Super Moon.  The phenomenon occurs about once a year when the moon rolls closest to earth in its eliptical orbit.  This results in a "Super" large viewing of the moon from earth... 

 

And she is a beauty.  Perhaps you've seen her dancing over the evening sky.  Beguiling beams of light streaking night with day.  And perhaps she is the one to blame for all the mayhem on the farm!  For something is amiss!

 

Yesterday morning while I was doing chores I noticed Miss Peacock playing hide-n-seek in the bed of the pick-up...

 

 

Up with her head, then ducked down, daring me to come see...

 

And this is what I found!

 

 

An egg!

 

Laid in the dirty, old bed of the pick-up!  In June!  Something very peculiar going on around the farm indeed.  Our peas generally nest in early spring, which is February or March around here.  So an egg in June is just down-right strange.  And then to drop it in the old pick-up... Maybe that Super Moon is messing with the order of things!

 

Then today when I got home from running errands, I noticed someone's goats out along the road...

 

 

And I thought... boy, they sure look a lot like our cashmeres.  And then I slammed on the brakes and realized... They Are Our Cashmeres!!!

 

And they knew they were in trouble... they actually beat me back to the pasture gate... which, of course they couldn't get thru because it was locked.

 

After they were safely tucked away in their "time-out" corners... I walked the fence line and found the tiniest of breaks near the creek.  Uh-huh.  They are nothing if not persistent.  So, fence fixed.  Goats in time-out.  I walked back to the house and noticed the apple tree.

 

 

Stripped to the bark...

 

By these little hoodlums

 

 

who don't appear to be feeling any remorse.

 

And then it gets worse.  The black raspberry bush...

 

 

Stripped clean!  Not even a leaf left, only the stake and tape holding it up.

 

But the final straw would be my beautiful rose bushes...

 

 

Nary a bloom survived the ravenous appetites of our goats on the rampage.  Dare I blame it on the Super Moon?  For this could not be normal behavior for our "sweet" herd of cashmere!

 

And the Super Moon is playing havoc with the garden as well... or perhaps I'm just a messy gardener, but the tomato plants are becoming a jungle!

 

 

 

What bounty!

 

 

Although Casey does not seem to be impressed...

 

 

Must be the work of a Super Moon!

 

May we always be blessed with the magic of Life Lived Large,

for even when ravaging pests strip us bare,

remind us that our roots run deep and our foundation is sure.

 

 

 

Soaking up the Moon Beams tonight,

     In Grace,

              Jane

 

p.s.  Thank you Stacy for the amazing Super Moon photos!  You captured it perfectly! 

 

Tracks in the Snow

Thunder Snow woke us up early this morning!

Only in Texas!  Thunder Snow...That's what the weathermen were calling it.

But seriously, thunder and lightening woke us up around 5am and as we peered out into the inky darkness, we saw fluffy flakes of snow drifting down to cover everything!  By feeding time we had a very generous...dusting...of the beautiful white plush!

And in Texas, a dusting of snow is something to write home about...and take pictures of!  So, you guessed it...here's the morning feeding in pics!

 

 

 

 

 

And as we pressed thru the newly fallen snow,

wrapped in scarfs and mittens and downy coats,

we noticed the tracks.

They were everywhere...

And we became Hunters,

the good kind

that is... 

Hunters of Tracks.

They did not disappoint!

 There were Petie Puppy Prints...

 

******

 

And Bam-Bam Cat prints...

 

******

 

 

 

Oh I just love this one!

Mama Peacock prints....

 

******

 

And then there are Papa Goat prints,

that are fuzzy because he was after the feed bucket

while I was snapping pics...

 

He doesn't look one bit sorry for pushing me around, stinker.

******

And then there are...

 

No Daisy Donkey prints, because,

well, because, she was smart and wouldn't budge

from the warm stable.

Not coming out til the snow melts!

Food please...

******

 

And traipsing all over the farm yard are these fascinating prints!

 

The Happy (but cold) Goat Herder

bundled in layers

(that are fashionably mis-matched)

and anxious for her Hot Chocolate,

Fuzzy Blanket and Blazing Fireplace...

 

But before I made it back inside, I noticed one more set of prints...

 

And it made me happy because I thought how nice it was that all our

farm animals get along...

The peacocks and the puppies.

Walking side by side, keeping watch over each other...

Then I came to my senses and

realized that those were cat prints and

they were most likely stalking the peacocks...

I'm not the only Tracker in this pack.

Thank goodness our peas can fly high!

Praying your day is stalked by Joy

and that Grace leaves Forever Tracks in your Heart!

Love Always,

                                                                                       Jane     

The Feathers of Fall

There are the usual signs that Fall's coming...

 

brilliant colors adorning the landscape

 

 

and bright yellow buses announcing the return of school!

 

Here on the farm, Fall gently floats to ground in beautiful, colorful gifts of fluff!

 

 

As daylight shortens, and evenings grow cooler, our Peacocks begin their annual molt.  Each morning as we head out for our chores, we find the signs of Fall coming....in Feather Bounty.  We love our Peacock family and delight in their antics, but we are simply enchanted by Mr. Peacock's regal train.  Gorgeous and lush. Reason enough for him to be Proud and Cocky.  He's handsome and he knows it!

 

 

But beware. Pride goes before the Fall...

 

 

 

As Fall nears, how the Proud are humbled!

 

And what a gift he leaves for us...

 

 

 

 

Fall is coming...Preparing us for Winter

 

And then Spring!

 

Don't worry, he'll be back and better than ever!

 

 

Graced by the Feathers of Fall this day...

 

 

The Wait is Over!

Welcome our newest little peeps!

Two safely hatched from a clutch of 3.  We could hear the peeping this morning, but mama peacock had them safely tucked under her wing and wasn't budging!  Late this afternoon she unveiled her brood to admiring fans:

I feel that we should somehow alert People magazine for the exclusive first pics... Brad and Angie move over.  There's some new peeps on the block!

Mama's giving me the evil eye for getting too close to her precious chicks!  But they just beg to be cuddled!  No?  Well, maybe another day...

Precious new life, these farm babies make me smile...

May your weekend be filled with the simple joys that lighten your heart,

                                   In Grace Always, Jane

Redecorating!

Call it Spring Cleaning.  Or needing a fresh start. Or even a bit of insanity... But the blog is getting a redo. 

Hope you don't mind...

I've been fiddling around with the blog design features today and have sort of gotten carried away.  I'm the most technically-challenged one in the family, so it's taking some time.  Forgive the construction dust if you've visited through-out the day.  Not sure I've got it right yet, and I think I've changed pics and colors a thousand times. 

And... it will probably change again.  Just because I can.  I love learning a new skill.  Sometimes I get carried away.  Forgive.

Besides, we're still waiting...  It's driving me crazy!!

And I'm not the only one:

Praying your day was more "settled" than ours.

In Grace waiting still,
                            Jane

Waiting...

It's Peacock nesting time here on the farm.  And Mama Hen's due date is nearing fast!  We can hardly wait...

Honey, our faithful farm dog, is beside herself with anticipation!

Or maybe it's hunger.  Did she just lick her chops?!

No worries, Papa Peacock has been keeping guard!

Actually, more like Pacing.  Poor Papa!

But the end is in sight.  Only a few more days.  After all, it only takes 28 days to hatch out Peacock eggs.  We're not talking elephants here!

Well, ok, easy for me to say...

But when you're waiting, even 28 days can seem like an eternity. 

And we know a little something about waiting.  Anyone who has lived with cancer knows about waiting...

Waiting for the test results... Waiting for the doctor... Waiting to see if the chemo has worked... Waiting to make plans for the "rest" of your life... Waiting for good news...

And dreading the Bad News with every fiber of our being.

Waiting can be a tortuous time.  Hard on a body, hard on the emotions, hard on the spirit.

Even the Bible Heroes of old had a tough time with the Waiting.  Moses struck the rock in anger waiting on the Israelites to cease their grumbling, Jonah ran in fear rather than waiting on the Lord to equip him for his calling, and Sara grew old waiting on the Lord to give her a son.  Might I add, she even laughed when told she would bear a child in her old age.

Waiting does that to a person.  It's not easy to sink in to the waiting.  How to quiet a mind that's racing with "what-ifs?"  or "could-bes?"  To relinquish the outcome, because it's already out of our hands...

Maybe that's why I love the Psalms so much.  David's perspective is so dead-on.  He was annointed Israel's chosen king when he was just a teen, but he had to wait many years, and endure many struggles before being able to rightfully take the throne.  Yet, through it all, he chose to relinquish the outcome and leave it in God's mighty Hand.  David was honest with the emotional upheaval in his life, we see it over and over in verse.  But his faith rings true as he proclaims an implicit trust in the goodness of God, despite his circumstances.

Psalm 27 is just such a song.  Read it all, keep it close, but for today, let me share the last two verses.  They are a beautiful encouragement for all of us who wait:

"I am still confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the Lord."

                 ~ Psalm 27:13-14

If you are waiting today, take courage, trust in His mighty Hand for whatever is coming.  And prepare to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living...

Waiting with you in Grace, Jane