June so far..!

Sometimes, when I venture outside with the kids I simply cannot believe how beautiful it is; the wild leafy greenness, the abundance of wildflowers and the dragonflies flying in droves around us, eating any mosquitos that dare to get near us..It is so wondrous, and alive, and the very opposite of a long, quiet, cold winter. The tree frogs and crickets are singing their evening chorus nightly now and this has honestly got to be my favourite sound, following only the lonesome call of the loons on the lake.

Ollie has 'discovered' painting in a larger way this past week. He has been painting since he was quite small of course, but he has suddenly claimed an intense passion to paint on a whim and will become quite upset if he cannot do so, so I have a permanent painting 'station' set up for him, with quick and easy access to a palette, paint and brush for me for when I have to produce such things in a hurry! Mostly, he paints what he says to be dragons fighting knights, but sometimes he claims he is writing letters, too (:

The lambs continue to grow and strengthen, even Noble who we thought might not survive when we first got him. Now, he runs and bounces in the pasture and it is just the sweetest thing (: He run with the kids and usually trips one of them by crashing into them on account of his blindness, but they are usually laughing when they land in the long grass (-;

Our Russian Orloff hen was showing herself to be broody so we moved her, still sitting in the nesting box, out of the barn and into a rabbit hutch on our front porch. She had two eggs under her as I recall, so we added four more, and there she sat for 21 days. As I was finishing my nightly barn chores last Sunday evening I heard a peep from under her! I alerted Jason as to the tiny miracle on the porch, and when we woke the next morning, all six eggs had hatched! One chick didn't make it, but the remaining five are very healthy and doing well. If you have ever seen chicks then you know, of course, that they are very cute. But nothing can prepare you for the beauty of watching a mother hen with her chicks. They peek out from under her wing, they sit on her back, and you can see 10 tiny feet under her belly when she stands. It's a beautiful thing, motherhood.

We play inside, we play outside, I am perfecting gluten-free muffins, we walk in the pasture with the lambs and we enjoy the wondrous smell of peonies. Jason has been toiling and tending, planting and weeding our seven gardens and after the hardy bit of rain the past three days, the seedlings and plants have really taken off. We have already eaten asparagus and salad made with our delicious lettuce, and the rhubarb is just about ready for harvesting (:

I have to say though, that my very happiest day this month was when a new friend of mine gifted me with a gorgeous antique spinning wheel and carders. My heart is so, so happy! Now I can work with Pippin and Teapot's fleeces! This is all new to me, and I am feeling slightly daunted by what seems like a great deal of information, skills and terminology that I need to accrue, but I am excited and eager to begin learning (: Yay!