A "Typical" Morning at the Farm

If there is such a thing.

This morning began at 4:45 a.m. when our oldest, and loudest, dog, Ruby, woke me up by her excited "let's greet the morning" noises.  I cracked open my eyes, and said "really?" and that set off a chorus of tail thwapping by Magnolia and Wilma who were also in the room, at the foot of the bed, waiting for me to rise.

After the morning ritual of letting dogs out and in and turning on the coffee, I donned my boots and hoodie (used not for warmth on this balmy morning, but rather as a layer between me and the mosquitoes) and headed out to the main coop.  The ladies begin chatting as soon as they see me outside their windows, and I get plenty of "buk-buks" as they each exit the coop in single-file.  I check water and food, and throw them some seed and it's off to the sheep.

The first morning visit to the sheep involves a stop in the garden area to fill a 5 gallon bucket of water, which I then carry out to the barn.  The 3 lambs are always standing at the doors when I open them in the morning.  We exchange good morning's and then I give them some hay.  This generally sets Tallulah off, who begins to baa ceaselessly until they get their morning ration of sweet feed.  I then empty out the usually filthy water trough and replace with clean water.  They pay no attention as I leave, closing them in the run, while they busily eat their feed.

Then it's back to the house with a stop at the garden and berry area to see how things are progressing (and take notes for Nora's daily to-do list :) ).  Lots of strawberries ready to be picked, so I made a mental note to do so after coffee.

Nora is usually up by the time I get back to the house, so it's safe to bring Made It and Daisy2 out to their area (Ruby likes to scream when she sees them - a sound Nora doesn't appreciate waking up to).  Once they are safely closed in their area, water and feed checked, I walk back to the house for my morning cup of coffee.  I like to take a quick walk through the flower gardens in the back to see what new flowers have bloomed.

Jackmanii clematis in bloom on the arbor

Light pink Astilbe near the gazebo

Shasta daisies in the circle garden

After coffee, feeding the dogs, letting Louie out of his room to run around the house, and morning chatter with Nora, I headed out to pick the strawberries and do a little spot weeding.  Pulled in quite a pile this morning, which I cleaned and prepped for jam making later this evening or tomorrow (I have several bags already in the freezer so more than enough for my first summer batch of jam).

Then it was time for my last chore of the morning before heading out to work, so back out to the sheep barn.   I open the run gate and top off the hay before leaving my little cuties for the day.

Tallulah greeting me at the gate

Yeah!! We're free!!

Then back to the house, with one last look at the sheepies and my very overgrown pasture.  I ordered a custom-made scythe from a small company in Maine to cut the grass, and hopefully it will arrive soon.  In the meantime, our neighbor down the road said he would brush hog it, but the wet weather has been a deterrent.

Off to work I go.