Sunday Dose of Cute: Cats on High

Thursday Farm Photo: Looking Up

And Witnessing That Small but Mighty Staying Power Once Again

Want Another Piece of Sky?
8/6/05: Late Night Gratitude
9/2/05: The Work May Be Hard, but the Views Can Be Great
11/1/05: Good Morning
11/21/05: Seeing the Moon on a Sunny Day
3/2/06: A Brief Distraction from All the Cuteness
8/11/06: Tweet
8/21/06: Dreaming Up a Rainstorm
9/5/06: Another Beautifully Distracting Sky
9/12/06: A Peach of a Sunrise
9/23/06: Last Night of Summer Spectacular Show
10/24/06: There's that Distracting Sky Again
11/9/06: Big Sky
6/30/07: Stormy Weather on My Mind—But Not on My Farm
8/16/09: On a Sunny Afternoon

© Copyright 2009 FarmgirlFare.com, the craning your neck foodie farm blog where one of the best things about living miles from anyone is looking up on a clear, dark night—and last night at about 1:00 when I was crunching my way through the frosty grass in the front field to check on Dolores after a very long day off the farm (still no baby donkey news yet!) it truly looked as if there were more stars up there than sky. Amazing.

Sunday Farm Photo: On a Sunny Afternoon

In the Summertime

Are you remembering to look up?
8/6/05: Late Night Gratitude
9/2/05: The Work May Be Hard, but the Views Can Be Great
11/1/05: Good Morning
11/21/05: Seeing the Moon on a Sunny Day
3/2/06: A Brief Distraction from All the Cuteness
8/11/06: Tweet
8/21/06: Dreaming Up a Rainstorm
9/5/06: Another Beautifully Distracting Sky
9/12/06: A Peach of a Sunrise
9/23/06: Last Night of Summer Spectacular Show
10/24/06: There's that Distracting Sky Again
11/9/06: Big Sky
6/30/07: Stormy Weather on My Mind—But Not on My Farm

© Copyright 2009 FarmgirlFare.com, the sky high foodie farm blog where there's nothing like looking up from hanging laundry on the clothesline (while being kept company by Whiskers, because that end of the yard is his territory) to find a flock of fluffy white clouds floating by.

Farm Photo 6/30/07: Stormy Weather on My Mind

But Not On My Farm

Because of the way our farm is tucked into this little valley, we never get much in the way of sunsets. Most evenings the sun simply dips below the ridgetop without so much as a wave goodbye. Sunrises can be very nice, though, and once in a while at dusk the entire sky will turn some gorgeous shade of pink or orange. On a clear night there are more stars twinkling above than many people have probably ever seen. It wasn't until I'd moved to the middle of nowhere that I finally realized why they call it The Milky Way. Out here it's one big swath of white across the sky.

We may not be on the wide open prairie where the horizon stretches on forever, but we do get some pretty big glimpses of the weather as it heads this way. The spectacular displays will often stop me in my tracks, but it isn't easy watching storm clouds blow right by, knowing they're off to shower water on someone else when we so desperately need it.

You know it's dry when a cat kicks up a cloud of dust as it trots down the driveway. The storm in this photo passed overhead without leaving a drop, but thankfully we've had a little rain lately--enough to at least settle the dust. It's probably due to the fact that despite overcast skies, humidity at 80% or higher, and not a breeze to speak of, I've been dutifully hanging laundry out on the line. This trick has worked before, and it seems to be sort of working now. By the time I hung up the last sock other day, there were raindrops tapping on my big straw hat.

Three days later, I'm afraid to break the spell by bringing all that still-slightly-damp laundry in, especially since there's an awful lot of sunshine outside considering the 60% chance of rain in the forecast. Because we have no neighbors, I don't have to worry about word getting around town that I leave my laundry hanging on the line for days at a time because I'm either lazy or crazy or both. But reputations aside, I may have to give in anyway. I'm just about out of clean socks.

Want to see more?
--Farm Photo 7/6/05: Misty Morning Sunrise
--Farm Photo 7/24/05: Quite A Sunrise
--Farm Photo 8/5/05: At Sunrise, The Possibilities Are Endless
--Farm Photo 8/6/05: A Gorgeous End To A Lovely Day
--Farm Photo 8/15/05: Sunrise On A New Week
--Farm Photo 9/13/05: You Can't Fence Out A Sunrise
--Farm Photo 11/19/05: Good Morning Sun & Goodnight Moon
--Farm Photo 12/31/05: Final Sunrise Of The Year
--Farm Photo 2/8/06: There's Something About A Sunrise
--Farm Photo 4/15/06: I Haven't Shared A Sunrise In A While
--Farm Photo 9/12/06: A Peach Of A Sunrise
--Farm Photo 9/19/05: Morning Moonset
--Farm Photo 1/11/06: I'm Constantly Distracted By The Sky
--Farm Photo 9/5/06: Another Beautifully Distracting Sky
--Farm Photo 9/23/06: Last Night Of Summer Spectacular Show
--Farm Photo 10/24/06: There's That Distracting Sky Again
--Farm Photo 11/9/06: Big Sky

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares photos & stories of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Daily Farm Photo: 11/9/06

Big Sky

A year of Daily Photos ago: Top O' The Forest To You
And out of the kitchen came: Mexican Monkey Cake

Daily Farm Photo: 10/24/06

There's That Distracting Sky Again

A year of Daily Photos ago: Sheep, Sunlight, Shimmering Leaves
(And comments covering everything from what we do with our sheep to what that tree in the photo really looks like.)

Last Night Of Summer Spectacular Show

As I headed down to the barn to round up the sheep last night, I was sidetracked by this sky. There was no escaping it. Standing perfectly still in bedazzled, wide-eyed wonderment was mandatory.



Obviously summer was not going down without one last breathtaking display, and I inhaled it as deeply as I could.



As an added attraction, there was a special reappearance of the dragonflies, who I hadn't seen in such profusion in weeks, and who I'd been wanting to write about since the opening of Dragonfly Days back at the start of summer. This is one of my favorite happenings on the farm. Hundreds of them appear at a time. But some things are so magical they cannot begin to be accurately described in words. Nor can they be photographed.



The entire show lasted only a few moments, and then the sky went back to being just the sky.

But when I returned to the house after finally tucking in and counting all the sheep, I discovered that something surprisingly special had occurred. The dragonflies had landed on my photos.

Of course these little specks cannot in any way compare to the real things. But they are there. Captured by my camera. I can see them flitting about. And I am reminded of how very real and wonderful they are.

Until next year. Farewell, dragonflies. Farewell, summer.

Daily Farm Photo: 9/12/06

A Peach Of A Sunrise

A year of Daily Photos ago: One Hot & Happy Beagle

I'm hoping to get caught up on questions, comments, and & emails later this week!

Daily Farm Photo: 9/5/06

Another Beautifully Distracting Sky

A year of Daily Photos ago: Back Rub For Big Chip

Daily Farm Photo 8/21/06: Dreaming Up a Rainstorm

Our parched farm greedily soaked up an inch of much needed rain over the weekend. It's still thirsty.

A year of Daily Photos ago: All In A Night's Work

Daily Farm Photo: 8/11/06

Tweet

A year of Daily Photos ago:
Dinky Donkey Doodle Dandy Greets Our Surprise Visitors

Daily Farm Photo: 3/2/06

A Brief Distraction From All The Cuteness

Daily Farm Photo 11/21/05: Seeing the Moon on a Sunny Day

Are You Remembering To Look Up?

Daily Farm Photo: 11/1/05

Good Morning

Daily Farm Photo 9/2/05: The Work May Be Hard

But the Views Can Be Great

Looking at Late Night Gratitude

A Gorgeous End To A Lovely Day

Last October, a friend and I decided to begin keeping gratitude journals. We also started e-mailing each other our entries. This very simple act can have profound results. You simply write down five (or more) things that you are grateful for that day. Sometimes they gush out by the dozen, and sometimes you really have to think hard to come up with five. Either way, most of the time the entries end up being about very small things in our lives, rather than big events. But aren't those the ones that mean the most to us? That affect our daily lives and outlook the most?

Today was just a really nice day for me. Nothing exceptional or spectacular happened. There were simply several little things that, when added up, made it the kind of day that suddenly permeates every cell in your self and makes you feel joyful and very alive--and grateful to be so.

I took this photo earlier in the evening, and when I saw how it came out, that was the clincher. I decided I would share this photo and write a brief post about my day. It would simply be my gratitude journal entry. And so, today I am grateful. . .

1. For the luxury of sleeping in and yet still enjoying a pleasant morning walk because last night's (much needed) rainstorm had cooled the morning air. And for making it home just minutes before another thunderstorm dropped almost two more inches of rain on us over the next several hours.

2. For deciding to visit two of my favorite food blogs (Eggbeater and Delicious Days) and discovering that each of their most recent posts mentioned me! I was overwhelmed with surprise and absolutely flattered that these people whom I greatly admire find inspiration in what I am doing.

3. That it was cool enough to turn on the oven and bake two big batches of cookies to replenish our dwindling supply in the freezer. And that even though I was forced to change one recipe due to four-footed interference, the cookies not only came out better than ever, but while they were baking I managed to turn the experience into a story that was almost entirely written by the time the cookies were done.

4. For being late tucking in the sheep, because when I finally walked outside I was greeted by this magnificent sunset sky. For leaning my head so far back to take the pictures that I was able to see three, four, no five little bats circling high above me. And for perfect timing. I ran inside and grabbed the camera, took three pictures, returned the camera to the house, and when I walked back outside there was absolutely no sign that pink sky had ever been there.

5. For strolling out to the front gate after taking care of the animals and having our own personal bat escorts, who darted back and forth just over our heads, gobbling up all of the biting insects before they could reach us. And for being sweetly serenaded as we walked by the frogs and the cicadas and the crickets and all of the other summertime crooners while the thick evening mist slowly wrapped itself around us.

6. That it is bedtime, and for the thought of sweet dreams and restful sleep--and the promise of a wonderful tomorrow.