You Give Me Fever

Once a week or so we put Banjo and Pumpkin in with the animals in the front pasture. This is our lazy way of giving everyone some extra exercise. Banjo and Pumpkin love getting to spend some time with the girls. After humping Pumpkin all week (and being humped by Pumpkin-it's only fair), Banjo is eager to get his hooves on members of his own species.


When Pumpkin and Banjo are initially released into the pasture, there are always a few minutes of pure chaos. The alpacas do not like Pumpkin and make effort to stomp him to death (don't worry about Pumpkin, he loves it). Lotta spends her time trying to get between the alpacas and Pumpkin. Once the stomping fest is over, Lotta and Pumpkin wrestle until they drop.





Banjo could care less about all of the chasing and stomping. He has one thing on his mind-Leche. Leche is apparently very "hot" as far as goats go. She is even sexier from the back side as far as I can gather from Banjo's behavior. Poor Leche has to be on her toes to resist Banjo's advances.

She escaped! I'll be frank-I put in this action shot because I think Banjos swinging sac is funny (sorry).

Here Leche is using Glenn (and Pearl) as a human shield.

Finally, Banjo got so fed up with trying to catch Leche he tried to make it with Oliver. Oliver politely declined the offer and went on playing with his stick.

I'll end this post with a picture of our new rooster. He is gorgeous and needs a name! We welcome suggestions. Photo by Glenn.

Oh, and also a picture of Pearl. I can't leave her out!

Sleep, Eat, Poop, Package!

Holding a newborn for hours on end every day is blissful. And just slightly boring. The endless cycle of sleep, eat, poop makes the day go by slowly (which is good because I want to soak up every moment).

Oliver is used to a more exciting way of life and has been bouncing off the walls with energy. If only we had cable, just for a couple of months! Our daily thrill includes feeding the animals in the pasture. We introduced the baby to all of the animals and everyone seems happy with her or at the very least wants to lick her.


(Thanks Erin for Pearl's lovely white dress! We should probably keep it out of the pasture.)

What was the highlight of our day today? A package arrived from our friend Doris (and Gizzy) at Crocheting in Georgia! Doris makes great crocheted items. Check out her blog to see some of her amazing work. She made a beautiful blanket for Pearl, hats for the boys and a cute bee kitchen scrubbie for me (although it is too nice to get wet or dirty!). She even sent a funny onsie that sums up my life right now, " Loading Diaper, Please Wait...".
Photo credit: Oliver



Thanks Doris! We love everything you sent.

As an added treat, we ran into this baby snake when we went outside to take pictures! Can anyone (Kate?) tell me what kind of snake this is?

Our Smelly Visitor

Even "experienced" parents learn new lessons all the time. What did I learn today? Never attempt to sneak up on a wild animal to take a photograph of it while holding your nine day old daughter.

Pearl and I were just settling down to read a book when I heard a funny scratching sound in the laundry room. Last night I heard the same sounds coming from the laundry room and managed to get a glimpse of a black and white tail escaping through the cat door. I needed proof that this was not just a large cat breaking into our house. I grabbed the camera, ever so quietly walked toward the laundry room, aimed into the darkness and took a picture.

This scared the "big cat" and he promptly lifted his tail as if to spray (I could see this with my flash as I was attempting to take a second picture-but wimped out instead). Pearl and I ducked around the corner and the skunk ran out the cat door.

I wanted to see if he was brazen enough to come back inside, so we waited patiently to see what would happen next. Sure enough, the skunk popped his head back through to check things out. I yelled at him to leave while his bum was still safely outside. Now our skunk friend is attempting to break down the barricade I have rigged in front of the cat door. Well, at least we have had a little excitement on this quiet Friday evening!

Here are a couple of pictures of Pearl while I am at it just to satisfy grandparental needs:

The Beautiful Birth of Baby Pearl

I went to bed last Tuesday thinking I would blog the next morning about the guinea fowl, Pumpkin and Banjo, or my mom and dad's 35th wedding anniversary party. I spent the evening getting all of my favorite pictures ready. Little Pearl Kathryn decided she would be arriving instead. I woke up at four in the morning with contractions every seven minutes and I knew we would be having a baby in the next few days. Here is a picture I took of Oliver kissing my belly the day before I went into labor.

My experience giving birth to Oliver four years ago was pretty traumatic. For the two of you who haven't heard about Oliver's birth, you can read about it here:

Oliver's Birth

I had a miserable surgical birth and I was praying for a normal birth experience this time around. I spent the day at my sister's house in early labor. My contractions were regular and strong, but didn't appear to be getting any worse after 14 hours. My sister decided we should try to move things along, so we went for a walk down her block. I felt a pinch during a contraction and then felt my water breaking all over her neighbor's driveway. We laughed and Kate (my sister) vowed to bring back a hose later. Once my water broke, I knew we were going to be meeting the baby soon. We headed to the hospital where I was hoping to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean section).

My mom met us there and knew I was in active labor when I politely asked for some f****** water. I always hoped I would be "zen" and quiet during labor-a birthing goddess if you will. I was more of a birthing drunk sailor, loud with a foul mouth. No more "fudge crackers" for me, it made it hurt less to just say f***.

We arrived at the hospital at 7:30 PM. The nurse checked me and told me I was three centimeters, then patted me on the knee and left. She was assuming I would be laboring for the next 12 hours or so. Luckily my mom, sister and Glenn were all there to be my support people, because I was left alone by the hospital staff. They were all so helpful during my three and a half hours of active labor, cooling me with cloths, squeezing my hips, staying calm and letting me hang on each of them. I can't imagine how anyone could labor naturally without proper support. When I felt as though I might split down the middle, I insisted the nurses call my midwife. She came in to check and I was six centimeters. An hour later I had to push during a contraction, then thirteen minutes later Pearl arrived.


I thought I would save you from having to see the crowning pictures. It wasn't even close to being orgasmic (thanks Ina May Gaskin for that shred of hope), but it was painfully wonderful. I would do it all over again to meet my daughter in such a peaceful way, surrounded by the love of her family.

Oliver came to meet his little sister at the hospital the next day. You can see how thrilled he is to finally meet her. We were released from the hospital later that afternoon (thanks to our groovy postpartum nurse) and have been enjoying our quiet time at home together as a family.





This morning we had a placenta burial in the garden. My mother/baby blessing gift was an apricot tree to plant over Pearl's placenta. I'm sure next year we will have the best tasting fruit in town.



So, that's it, the perfect birth of our daughter.