And it is August........

I didn't do too badly with Rowdy's summer haircut, did I?  My groomer moved away and I decided to purchase clippers and clip Rowdy myself.  That way I can clip him more than once over the summer and will not clip him down to the skin.  I have to admit, it has taken me since May to get him done all the way.  But he looks good and we can control the matting caused by his being constantly wet.

August is here already.  Wow.  It has never really felt like summer so far.  It has been cool, with nights generally into the mid 50's and even a couple into the upper 40's!  Lots of rain.  I have to say it has not been good for the garden.  The tomatoes like hot sunny weather and we just have not had it. So I have my very first tomatoes starting to come ripe.  Our corn has done miserably, mainly due to the mole that tunneled under it and ate the seed I planted before it ever even came up.  I do have a few cornstalks, but they are not as tall as I am, so hopes are not good.  Time will tell if we get a few ears off them.  Oddly enough, my asparagus patch is producing.  Squash is doing well.  I don't plant summer squash as we don't eat that much of it.  But we love winter squash and this year we have only planted butternut, as that is our favorite.

I also planted some pumpkins and there is one growing and several blossoms on the vines.  I need to plant some lettuce.  As soon as I can till up where the spring lettuce was.  

 Our 2 crias are doing very well.  Growing like weeds.  I love to watch them play together.  They are 2 1/2 months old now and have easily doubled in size since birth.  Adorable, aren't they?

 August means hay time on the farm. Yesterday Sam mowed the 2 smaller fields so we should be baling tomorrow (Friday) or Saturday.  Then we have to watch for a good window with no rain so we can do the main 4 acre field that produces all the hay our alpacas need for the winter.  Last year's is almost gone.  It is a lot of work.

 But there is playtime, too.  Grover and I are into our 3rd 8 week session of agility classes and loving it.  Since we started the 3rd session, the dogs have been introduced to all the obstacles and we now have all the dogs, large and small, in one group and we are running courses of up to 7 obstacles at a time.  I added a tunnel to our yard and am making plans to build a teeter, which Grover is somewhat hesitant about because he doesn't like the way it BANGS down when he goes across it.  He is doing wonderfully with the weave poles and we have added 2 more to make 8 altogether.  He loves the tunnel and so does Rowdy.  I may have to  move my course to the other side of the house where there is more room.  I just like this location because it is shaded.

 It was even mentioned at class this past week that some of the class participants may be thinking of  trialing with their dogs this fall.  I do not think we will be doing that since I have overbooked my fall already, but I would like to go spend a day at least at a trial, observing and possibly helping out.  I just hope the timing works.

And in my down time, I have finished a couple of knitting projects, a scarf called Trillian  that I started right before my Michigan trip.  I love the colors and the sparkly yarn! 


And the other project I finished was one I started on Mother's Day and it is a lacey open front cardigan made in a light sock-weight yarn.  It is perfect over a tank top in air conditioning.

It is called Hitofude  .  I know, more purple.  I bought 5 skeins of this yarn on sale last year and so far have knit 2 pairs of socks for gifts and now this little cardigan out of it.  I still have one entire skein and a partial skein left.  

Since August is  here it is time to think about Labor Day weekend, which in the 16 years we have been on this farm, has become a tradition of family and neighbors aall getting together.  So know if you are reading this you are invited.  It will be quieter this year as my brother and sister-in-law and their 3 kids and 2 dogs are now living in Arizona and they will not be here.  I will really, really miss having those kids here.  But the new generation has arrived and we are hoping my niece and her husband and their new baby, Blake, born 3 weeks ago, will be here.  Time marches on and brings change.