Happy Full Moonday! or, When the moon is full and bright, dogs bark loudly through the night...

The moon is so bright and full tonight. There is a cloudy ring around it. Wish my Grandpa Rowe was still around so he could remind me what that means. Guess I better ask Daddy next time we speak. I know what it means around here. Our dogs and the neighboring dogs go into full protection mode on bright moon nights. Never fear, our defenders are here to scare away mean coyotes, bear, and other frightening predators like deer and raccoon.

Today was laundry day for me. Such a pretty day. I wanted to be outside pulling weeds but the mounds of clothes would not let me. They growled at me from many rooms. We separated, folded, set summer things aside, small things aside. Put away, put in piles to give away. We are not done yet but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Should I have the boys bring the winter things down from the attic? Maybe tomorrow.

Fall is making her presence known in our neck of the woods. The trees are so lovely. Yesterday we walked around the garden with some friends who were here for a visit. The silken strands of spider webs floated along lazily. They glistened in the late afternoon sun. It made me think of the magical string spun by the sweet grandmother for the little girl in George Macdonald's THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLINS.

Another sign of fall is that it is time to breed goats. We have a guest this week. His name is Victor and he arrived to the farm yesterday, courtesy of his owners, Don and Donna. He is a hunk of a goat, full-bred bohr and all the girls(goats, that is) are hearts and tails aflutter! They go wild with his masculine scent. We of the human species think he stinks, but what do we know? Our hope is that his visit will result in baby goats come mid-March. Baby goats! Goats require aprox. 5 months for gestation. We like to breed them so that at least most of the most bitter weather has passed. Nothing like sitting out in the 18 degree barn waiting for babies to be born! We love love love baby goats and are so happy to have Victor over for a time.

The last couple of mornings have been nippy. 38 degrees or so. The milk has been steaming in the bucket as I bring it into the house. The days warm up to 80 degrees. My favorite time of year. Sweaters in morning give way to t-shirts in afternoon. For some reason this weather makes me crave pecans and chocolate and big glasses of milk. Instinct to put on a layer of insulation? Hmmm....

The dogs are yipping and howling as I type. Such good protectors. I hope they will scare off all those bad guys by around 10pm so we can all get a good night's sleep!