Mud Ranch’s Real Dirt

I had set out to make double chocolate chip cookies this afternoon, right after I put Annie down for a nap but found out I am out of eggs!  Ack!  So… I went out and took pictures instead.

First off, one of our City Girls had a couple of lambs today — both are very dark!  This is Hillside’s C.R. Boudicca (just did a search on her name and Boudicca is a Celtic warrior queen…) and her ram and ewe lamb, the ewe is standing.  They are sired by our ram Kenleigh’s Raider a very handsome four horned boy who is giving us very crimpy fleeces so far!

This is Kenleigh’s Kiara — also a City Girl who is actually a Country Girl turned City Girl turned Country Girl again.  Regardless, she has become one of my favorites.  She has such presence and really is a sweet girl — even though she took her lambs up the hill out of my reach.  Anyway, Kiara aka “Kiki” also had a ram and ewe on the 25th both sired by Raider.

Boudicca’s ram lamb snoozing in the afternoon sun

I was walking back from the pasture and saw a beautiful little patch of wild phlox growing on the hillside just below the ram’s pasture.

Then I noticed that Dub was above the phlox bathing in the afternoon sun also so decided to creep up and try to get a picture of the pink phlox with a sleeping ram just above it but at a shallow depth of field so the phlox would be the foreground and Dub would be the background.  Dub quickly decided that he would have no part in this photo…

…Frances didn’t mind so much.  He thinks he may actually look good with pink.

Female gold finches belly up to the bar

I also keep a couple of bird feeders out as I like attracting the little guys — especially blue birds, finches and orioles.  So far, I’ve got all three varieties — it’s just a matter of catching them on my camera.

I’ve noticed that the males and females tend to visit the feeders at different times in a matter of higher percentages.  I’m trying to get one of all the gorgeous boys fluttering around and will, it’s just a matter of time.

I usually set out an oriole feeder too with the orange nectar in it but haven’t done so yet this spring.  Mr. Oriole has decided to make a pig of himself at the seed feeder to my delight.  He did spend quite a lot of time there just pigging out but atleast I was able to catch Mr. Shy on camera (through the glass of my front door.)

Then this little beauty queen showed up do any of you know if this is the Missus?

Last, but certainly not least, is my house cat “Jack” turned out-door-adventure-kitty.  He’s really enjoying the bird feeders — but no worries, he weighs a ton and I guarantee there will be no harm to the cute little birdies while he’s on the prowl (he’s really not all that coordinated.)