Fall Changes

Fall is a time of change.  Al is now our only alpaca.  Paco was always of weaker constitution and more susceptible to all kinds of health problems.  He recently had an infection that was too much, and took his life.  It was terribly upsetting, but we are grateful for the care and comfort provided by the kind vet who came to our farm.  Craig buried him in the pasture and we will plant a tree on his resting place.  We were so concerned for Al, as they are herd animals and often don't do well alone.  The first day was awful, but then Al shifted into a new role which he now owns confidently and comfortably.  He has adopted all the other farm life, us included, as his herd.  He hangs out with the chickens (except when he gets feisty), and to our delight, has taken to the dogs and comes on our 2 - 3 daily walks with them around the farm.  It makes for quite an amusing menagerie as we walk down the trail.

The other big change was far heavier and even more significant.  Craig's mother, Rose, passed away.  That has been understandably difficult and complicated, but there has been one very warming result:  Hazel has joined our family.  Hazel was Rose's dog and lived with her in New Jersey.  Rose adopted her from Eleventh Hour Rescue several years ago.  We think she is around 12 years old.  She is very sweet with people but has a history of being attacked by other dogs and will snap and bite them if they get by her face.  We spent about a month keeping gates between her and Ember and Piper before she became motivated to join the pack.  She also never barked during her years with Rose, or her first month or so at our home.  We are so happy that she has settled in, no longer needs to be kept apart from our other dogs, and she has even found her voice.  Perhaps too much, as she now is by far our barkiest dog.  But we are so happy to have her, and for her to be living her best life with us. 

Fall is a time of change.  But there is more light to come.  

Summer's End

We continued to enjoy some rain through late summer, and the garden and animals all seem to relish this time.  We get wonderful produce and the critters all eat well too:

Summer Sun... and Rain!

This has been the best summer in years for our farm, and probably pretty much anywhere in the area where things grow.  The rain has been an enormous relief.  You can almost hear the thirsty ground and plants sigh in delight when the rain begins to fall.  And extra rain meant less fire and smoke in the area, which is obviously wonderful.  I hope we have more summers with milder heat and rainier weather:  

Summer's Arrival

The farm is vibrant this time of year.  All the little (and big) creatures are relishing the warmth and sun, and even some wonderful late rains.  We are very excited to get our first hive of honey bees, which is something we have been planning to do for years and finally took the leap.  They seem very gentle and so far are happy and seem to be settling in nicely.  All the critters are busy and doing their business of summer life, while the flowers are doing their own: