Whew!! It was really close this year! We had snow earlier in the month but last week, a day of rain washed most of the snow away. It did, however, melt the snow and bumpy ice on the pond, so beneath this new snow is a very smooth skating rink. In another week or two of cold weather I'll shovel the snow off and be skating for the first time this year. If you're a believer in Santa, I hope he brings you a gift of wonder.
The elves came early this year to build a gingerbread house...actually it was Bev and Cooper who built it. I just monitored the progress and indexed the sweets as they were added. Sadly, it is the tradition to wait until after Christmas to start nibbling on it, so it's a waiting game now.
Early Fall brings its own special chores. Loading hay into the hayloft makes for great pics of farm life but it is a chore loading it in. In recent years, we've tried picking it up ourselves at a local farm in the pickup. I noted on several occasions that when we loaded the truck we got about 22 bails of hay stacked in. Then, after it was strapped in place it looked like a spider web around the truck. When the "real" farmers at the hay field loaded it, we got about 10 more bales stacked in, and it was so neat and tidy we barely had to tie it to keep it in place! Thank goodness for the conveyer belt!
New to the website is the shameless Goat Note and Barn Cards shopping page featuring blank note cards that are great for any occasion. As Bev so often says, "Nothing says 'love' like a goat." Most of the cards feature some of the many characters who live at Alewive Farm, and there are even a couple scenes from around Maine. All the photos are taken by Steve and copyright Steve Kelley.
Speaking of love, the photo above is Half-Pint, a Nigerian Dwarf goat. She and her brother Manley arrived at Alewive Farm only a few weeks old. They have been inseparable since we call them the :Bunions,: because of their curiosity and ability to find something to get into.
Hope you enjoy the cards! If you don't use PayPal, shuffle over to the Alewive Farm Shop on Etsy where you can use your plastic.
