A Gaggle of Fun.

Of all the farm animals I have missed having the most, I'm pretty sure it was our goose. We affectionately called her 'Goose' because we never really knew for sure if it was a girl or boy and no one was brave enough to ask. Oh sure, you couldn't get close to her and she would chase us all over the yard but we all have our idiosyncrasies (hehe) that make us special, right? Visitors were sometimes nervous to leave their vehicles when she was around and you never turned your back on her or you would quickly be reminded where the term to "goose" someone came from. She would excitedly honk and hiss at you but we knew it was all for show. She was beautiful though and I miss her. So you can imagine my delight when I saw an ad at the local bulletin board for goslings. 

So without further adieu, please allow me to introduce Abigail, Amelia, Uncle Waldo (yes, we were inspired by the Aristocats) and finally...wait for it...you know it's coming.....

Mrs. Nesbitt!!!!!! 

I'm glad we waited. I'm pretty sure no other animal would suit the name as well.

So we aren't really sure if they are boys or girls and the breeder couldn't say for sure either at this age but assured us they would trade us if we got all of one sex once we can tell what they are. But I'm pretty sure after we (ok, ok, I) get attached to them, it won't matter. 

And if they are anything like Goose, we won't be brave enough to ask anyway.

Checking out their new digs.

                                 

I love the sound they make.

We set the pool up for them and that's when the real party started.

Just chillin' on a very hot day! Looks like fun!

                              

A little pool side snack? Ah, don't mind if I do.

They are still quite young so we wanted to help them get in and out of the pool. We put some crumble on our makeshift bridge and they figured it out pretty quick. Dumb creatures, they are not!!!

The first one is up...

...and out! The second one is close behind.

Just a little bit...

...further.

The third one is waiting in the wings. (hehe)

But, hey, this one wants back in. The water must be niiiiiiice.

We also picked up some roosters to keep these girls happy. It actually calms them down and keeps them from fighting. Who knew? (I couldn't get a decent pic of a rooster so I made up for it with geese pics).

Blondie here is out for her daily walk.

Hide and seek sounds more fun though.

I think she might be winning.

Ah, the life of the cat. So many naps to take, so little time.

Unlike these little balls of energy.

The are so much fun to watch!!

And then there are these stinkers. I'm positive that whoever came up with the term "dumb cow", never had one. They decided to go on an adventure the other day when we moved them to new pasture. Yes, they just decided to leave and go exploring. See the sights, I guess. They are always the first to tell us how good, or otherwise, our fencing job is. Hannah and Steve went up into the woods to look for them and were chatting, ironically, as they walked about what they would do if they ran into a bear. They had Riley with them, as we like them to do if they go up there and suddenly he just sat down and wouldn't move. He didn't bark or make any noise, not surprising since he's still so young, but he certainly wasn't going any further. They looked up and sitting there about 50 feet away from them was a large, black bear. Thankfully, they knew what to do and they slowly backed away and walked back toward the house. Steve looked over his shoulder a couple times and said it sat and watched them but didn't move. Our neighbour phoned later to warn us that she had encountered a mother bear and her cub earlier that morning. We are so thankful for the Lord's protection!! I can just picture the angel in between them and the bear and it brings tears to my eyes each time. Thank you Lord!! Definitely a reminder to us about where we live and that we are not alone here in these woods.

And the cows are back where they belong. In case you were wondering.

Right, right, this blog is supposed to be about the house. Well, we are still waiting for the exterior doors and that is holding up the heating system from being roughed in. They are  also waiting to install the fireplace and chimney too. It seems that once we get to lock up, things will pick up again. 

The shady side is always so much cooler and thankfully, there is always a shady side.

The front porch.

A unique view of both floors.

The plumber has been in this week and has been laying a myriad of pipes in the basement.

We are almost ready for the first plumbing inspection. 

At the end of the day, we are thankful for every bit of progress that's made, whether it's noticeable or not.

At the end of the day, I head out to water the garden. Can you believe how dry it gets in just one day? We are watering by hand right now to conserve water. We have some drip irrigation supplies on order to help with that but in the meantime we just water as much as we can by hand.

The garden doesn't seem to be suffering for it. The corn is getting big!!

It is a fight though to keep the grass from growing in and smothering everything.

But there is beauty there too. In among the weeds.

The cool of the evening is so inviting to be outside. (If you can time it before the mosquitoes arrive.)

We were invited over to some friends house to pick cherries from their tree.

There was a lot of sampling going on as we picked. Thankfully, they don't use any spray.

Can you say bumper crop? The cherries are early this year and there is lots of them!! The branches were literally hanging with an abundance of sweet, yummy goodness.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping thing, and the beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish he earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 1:24-31