I'm a slacker, what can I say

I know, I know...I was going to tell you about our new cow and then I disappeared. We have had Mattie and Moose (the new cow and her baby) for weeks now, so many weeks I don't even know how many. As you can see below, she's a beautiful Guernsey girl who gives luscious milk semi-willingly--we have had some trouble with her kicking and such, but we are getting it down. Steve is the larger part of that "we" since she seems to like him milking her better than me. Mattie's a big girl, so let's just say that getting the hang of this milking gig was a whole lot more intimidating than it was with Brigid. The best I can say is we are learning and she is getting used to us. It is bound to calm down soon. She's a sweet girl even if she does like to swing a leg. And her milk makes the best kefir ever!

Since I've checked in we've also had a lamb born (with more on the way). And the butcher came and went. We couldn't find a shearer, and the raspberries have been pruned as have the orchards. Big huge compost piles have been built and the hoophouse partially replanted. Needless to say there were a few holidays thrown in and well, it's been busy. Here's a few pictures to give you an idea of what we have been up to. Including a shot of our first snowdrops of the year.....