Good Morning

Yes, good morning. And perhaps I should say Happy Anniversary to us. Adam and I have been married 30 years, today.

There we are, all those years ago. No kids, no pets, no troubles yet. We thought we knew what troubles looked like, but we didn't have a clue. Thirty years doesn't sound like an astounding amount of time, but you can live a lot of sorrow and a lot of joy in thirty years. We've had both. We still have both -- much sorrow, much joy. Mostly I'm so grateful for a good, kind husband. It's his goal to be a good husband to me, so he leads me into being a better wife as well.We're still in love, still faithful, still hopeful.

This morning I'm having my usual, toast and tea.

 Adam's bread, my apple butter, creamy chai

I've painted two cards as practices for some larger pieces. A student from many years ago is interested in commissioning four watercolors of farm animals, 11x14".

I'll be doing a goat and a sheep also.

It was fun to be back at the farmer's market on Saturday morning after being gone for a month. I sold seven of my watercolor cards! We have a sweet group of cheerful, nice people there, and it makes Saturday mornings (and all that work!) worth it.

Above you see the chickens I have now.

The six in the front are all hens, 2 and 3 years old. Good birds who lay well. The two in the back (by the black pole) are new birds from this spring and I'm pretty certain they're both roosters. Ugh. I was hoping for at least one new hen! I may keep one of them, because a rooster is good for getting baby chicks, but I don't want two. I'm trying to determine which one will be less mean.

On to happier subjects!

Anna sent me this photo in a text last week. They're doing well. He's a good eater, gaining weight. She's feeling great, so much better than during the end of her pregnancy. Two cutie pies!

Now I must finish my toast and tea and get outside in my farm clothes and weed the herb beds. Our farm is in a frightful state after we were gone so long, and after this drought. It's hard to be motivated to care for garden beds that look half-dead from lack of rain. We did water for a while in June, but it increased our water bill by $100, so we won't be doing that anymore! See you later - I'm off to rescue the oregano!