The monsoon is warming up!  We are having clear cool mornings and then gradually as the sun climbs higher and the temperature rises, the fluffy cumulus clouds start building up to the south.  They get bigger and darker and closer until they are right on top of us with lightening and thunder and rain!  Blessed rain!  But we've only gotten a smidgen of rain so far.  The weatherman says we will get more after the Fourth.

Another diet bit the dust.  I could not stay on my "smoothie" diet.  It had too much fiber and was messing up my routine, if you get my drift.  Ha!  Anyway, I am still walking and trying to eat a regular diet without overeating so, hopefully, I will lose some weight and be healthy.  Being healthy is the main thing after all.  I'm certainly in a better mood.

I decided that the new kid will be named Casper, The Friendly Goat.  He acts a little spooky and skid-dish even after all this time of bottle feeding him.  At first I thought of "Spooky"  but I remembered I wanted to name this year's kids with "C" names, hence "Casper."  I don't think I am going to like him as much as I like "Little Buck".  He is my friendliest buck and greets me every time I go out to the pasture.  He likes to have his ears rubbed and his neck scratched and he's never lowered his head to butt me like all the others do.  

I have been contemplating about what direction I want to take with the animals and our little farm.  We are spending a lot of time, energy and resources on the animals without much financial reward.  I plan on sending some, if not all, of the alpaca fleece to the Alpaca Blanket Project.  We'll see how much they pay for the fleece.  I also hope to sell some of the angora fiber with my online store.  The angora fiber is more difficult to work with than the alpaca because of the lanolin in it.  It has to be washed in very hot water and it smells more than the alpaca.

I have a couple of sewing projects going.  I am making myself a sundress for the Fourth.  I also just finished two aprons.  One I gave to a friend as a thank you gift.  The other will probably be posted for sale on my Etsy store.  I want to make another one for another friend and then make several more for the store.  

I have also been researching cashmere goats.  Some people who have cashmere goats comb out the usable fiber from these goats or they can be sheared.  It sounds like more trouble than the angoras but the fiber is worth more money.  The industry is still developing in this country, just like the alpaca fiber industry, so I don't know how soon I would be able to make a profit from that source either.  One thing about farming, you have to have lots of patience.  Nothing happens over night. 

Today we are supposed to hit 107 degrees and 110 tomorrow.  I have been out several times to make sure the animals have cool water and shade.  The turkeys really seem to dislike the heat.  They pant and run around and then collapse in a pile.  They have shade inside and outside but it is still difficult to escape the relentless heat.  I sprayed the alpacas with the hose.  They love that and will stand for as long as I squirt them.  The goats, on the other hand, hate to be sprayed and will run away and hide.  

I got some creative work done today and hung some red and white lanterns on the patio for the Fourth of July.  I hope to find some blue lanterns or stars or ribbons or something to hang between the lantern strings.

The baby swallows were out of the nest and flying around this morning.  Several of them landed on the wire that connects the lanterns.  I can tell that they are the young ones because their breast feathers are a lighter color than the adults.  They are pretty much the same size as the adults and I cannot tell them apart in the sky.  There must be about a dozen swallows darting about this morning.  There were three hummingbirds too.  They took off when I hung my asparagus fern out near the feeders.  They will be back this evening.  

Grandkids and moms will be coming over to swim this afternoon.  I'm looking forward to a dip myself.  I started a new diet this week.  I also started my morning walks again.  The diet is a "smoothie" diet.  I get to make a special smoothie for breakfast and then another one for lunch, and eat a normal dinner.  I am supposed to be able to lose 20 pounds in two weeks!  We shall see.  So far I have lost 2 pounds in two days instead of a pound a week.  I like the smoothies but I have difficulty not eating between lunch and dinner.  I blew it yesterday by eating some of the grandkids snack cheese crackers.  I couldn't resist.  My downfall is not sweets, you see.  It is salty snacks. So far today I have been good.  It is because I did some sewing and I drank the smoothies over a period of time while I worked.  Maybe if I go swimming, feed the animals and make dinner, I will be able to refrain from eating until dinner today.  Then, I have to be careful not to overeat at dinner too.  The diet does say to eat a "normal" dinner.  I blew that yesterday too.  Oh well, we do the best we can, don't we!

We had a very busy weekend.  It was my husband's birthday, we won't say what number. Ha!  We also celebrated our only granddaughter's 3rd birthday and Sunday was Father's Day.  We had family and friends over for a taco bar/buffet prepared by my oldest daughter.  Yummy food and fun company!

On Saturday I also got our new Delaware chicks, 11 poults and a rooster.  They are all so tiny and cute compared to the turkeys.  The turkeys are getting quite big.  One of them has a huge red waddle (chin skin)compared to the others so I'm assuming it is a tom.  He is displaying already, strutting his stuff.  


We have two swallow's nests over the patio this year.  One of them has 3 or 4 big babies in it.  The other has smaller, younger babies who don't poke their heads out far enough to take a picture yet.


Our weather has been hotter than blue blazes but perfect for swimming.  The water feels great after working in the yard, hanging out laundry and feeding the animals.  The wind continues to blast us all day long with nary a break.  I suppose that is the price one must pay to live in desert.

Hallelujah! It is good to be home.  I had a fun time in Colorado but it is good to be back with my own family and my own animals.  I actually lost 3 pounds this week! 

We did some fun things, like shopping at local wool and quilt stores.  We went to the Este's Park Wool Market.  There were lots of cool animals and lots of yarn and fiber there.  I saw some cashmere goats and they were impressive.

Colorado is a beautiful state.  The Rocky Mountains were an awesome backdrop looking westward from my friends' big picture window.  We had a few days of sunshine and a few days of rain and wind.  It was a nice cool change from Arizona.  I saw prairie dogs, pronghorn antelopes and elk.  The Big Thompson River on the way to Este's Park was swollen to the banks and very fast moving, another big change from the dry river beds in Arizona. Thanks to my friends for a good time!


My turkeys have grown noticeably larger since I was away as has my little buckling.  The temperature here today is close to 100 and it is sunny and bright.  The yucca are blooming everywhere along with the palo verde and desert willow trees.  I seem to have extra energy today, especially this morning feeding the animals.  I think the extra altitude in Colorado affected me more than I thought.  My surgery seems to be mostly healed and I don't have much pain at all.  I have stopped wearing my belly support. 


All the grandkids were here for supper last night and I really enjoyed all their sweet faces and noisy play.  I went swimming after they left and it felt wonderful.  They say that the day you go on vacation and the day you get back are the best days of your vacation!  I believe that!

 

It wasn't any cooler today than it was yesterday.  I filled water buckets several times.  We were under a heat advisory all day.

I forgot to say that Steve and I also clipped the wings on the young turkeys before we moved them to their new pen.  This is to prevent them from flying out and getting injured or killed by predators.  They were outside this morning checking out their new surroundings but went back inside as soon as it heated up. 

We also have a nest full of young swallows.  I can see about five little heads peeking over the edge of the nest.  Unfortunately, one has lost its life already from falling out of the nest.  They look pretty stressed from the heat too.   


I am going away for about 7 days.  I am flying to Colorado to visit some good friends.  I will take lots of pictures and tell you all about the Este's Park Wool Festival and whatever else we do when I get back.  Not to worry about the animals or grandkids.  Steve is staying home from work this week to take care of all of them.  I trust he will do an excellent job.

There was nothing cool about today.  It was 105* in the shade at 5 pm.  I'm sure it reached about 110 before the sun started its downhill slide.  I spent about an hour in the pool from about 2pm to 3 and still got a little red.  

Steve and I got some work done around here in spite of the heat.  We put a new tarp over the middle barn pen.  We also moved an old pallet into the inside of the pen to use as a perch for the growing turkeys.  It didn't fit exactly the way I had hoped but it is functional.  The turkeys will be off of the ground at night if they choose.  We also moved Caramel and her buckling to the larger pen where Falkor used to stay and reassembled the big plastic shelter for them.  Falkor, being a destructive buck, tore the shelter apart.  I think Caramel and the baby will use it instead of destroying it.  Then Steve brought all three hummingbird feeders inside to be cleaned and refilled.  They are an important source of moisture for the hummingbirds and other birds in this heat.  

The temperature will drop about 30 degrees during the night and that is a really good thing in the summer around here.  It gives all the animals a break from the heat and stress of the day.  I filled water buckets several times and will probably do it again before bedtime.  Buddy dug himself a hole in the muddiest part of the yard and laid down to cool off.  He is not really shedding much yet.  I think now that the heat has jacked up so suddenly, he will start dropping big clumps of hair soon.  I have brushed him a little but not enough.  It is a huge job.  When he really starts shedding I will make an appointment for him to be groomed at Petsmart.  They will have to shave that big "fro-fro" tail of his as it is a big tangled mat. 

Tinker and the little buck have been meeting at the fence to rub noses in the evening.  The buckling jumps up on a bale of straw that is in the pen and Tinker comes over to check him out.  I tried to get a picture the last two nights but they both move as soon as they see me coming.  It is cute enough that I will keep trying through. 


I swam without any pain in my abdomen today and have left off my support since then.  I am headed for the shower shortly though and think I will put my belly support back on as I am starting to feel some discomfort again.  I am glad that it is getting better every day and know that I will not have to wear it too much longer.  I wondered about that for awhile.  


My sunflower has lots more blooms on it and another smaller sunflower has come up.  The pansies are blooming like crazy as are the cactus and other flowers.  Even the big saguaro has buds on its top and branches.  The palo verde trees are bright yellow with blooms.  In fact there is so much pollen in the air that the pool has a thin coating on the surface.  And the flies are everywhere.  The news says that due to our heavy rains this winter, we are supposed to have the biggest invasion of grasshoppers in decades.  Something to look forward to! Ha!

It has been 2 weeks since I had my surgery and the new baby goat is a week old already!  Our weather has been sunny and clear but windy, windy, windy every day.

We had a very busy weekend starting with a dinner out on Saturday to celebrate our son's birthday.  He turned 28!  We went to a place we have not been before called the "Hog's Pit BBQ."  We had delicious pulled pork, ribs and sausage.  They also had an awesome side dish called "calabalacia" or something like that.  It was zucchini, peppers and corn fried up with lots of spices.  I had never had it before and it was great.  Then, on Sunday, we had everyone at our house to celebrate Sandy's 30th birthday.  We BBQ'd our own shish-ka-bobs made of big hunks of chicken, beef and vegetables all marinaded in pineapple juice and soy sauce.  We also had wild rice and yellow cake for dessert.  Everyone got to go swimming (except me cuz of my surgery) and a good time was had by all.

On Monday, our good friends who live in northern Arizona came to visit and have lunch with us.  They brought us a spring-type rocking horse that they made for the grand kids.  It is a replica of a horse that I used to ride as a kid.  I had forgotten all about it until  we saw one in an antique shop the last time we were visiting these friends in northern Arizona.  The original one was red but our friend thought brown would be more like a real horse.  It is just a wonderful gift and the grands love it already!

So today I am pretty tired but did take some pictures and got some work clothes ironed for my husband.  I have started feeding the animals again, although technically, I suppose I should not be lifting anything for at least another week.  

I did not forget it was also Memorial Day and decorated for the birthdays accordingly with red, white and blue balloons, flowers and a red star spangled table cloth.  I always remember my Dad and my father-in-law, who both served in the Air Force and the Korean War.  And, my husband, who also served 20 years in the Air Force.  Thanks to all of them and all the other young men and women who served us all and preserve our freedom to this day.