Milky Way Tonight

I went to bring the sheep in a while ago and was awe struck by the stars and the Milky Way. When I was living outside in the trailer I was much more in touch with the sky...couldn't help but go outside and look once in a while! I used to lie on the picnic table and look for meteors. The best viewing of stars takes place when there's no moon, but that makes it pitch black outside. We have virtually no glare here, and the only planes we see are way, way up there being far off any airport flight path. Venus and Mars are still visible, although not as bright as last winter. I watched those planets all winter. There's a nip in the air, ever so slight. That's enough to trigger the ram's instincts to breed. I saw a ram lamb checking out the back of a ewe today...no mounting but that will come soon. Time to seperate them! I mailed some fiber out to be spun into yarn today. I bought Hannah and Luke some school supplies, candy and toys for Luke's sixth birthday. He begins kindergarten this month. I crammed everything I could into two flat rate boxes, including soap for Annie. I bought him some thick "first pencils" and lots of cutsey erasers, sticky notes, erasers, pencil holders, doggie notebooks, etc. It was so much fun. On the way back from the mall I stopped to buy corn and not far down the road there was a field of sunflowers. Had to stop and take some pictures. They were past prime but still beautiful. Made me want to plow some of my land and plant some. The pond tonight was just gorgeous, air clear and crisp. Had so much fun with the doggies. Holly swims to the ball and will bring it to me sometimes. She is beginning to connect bringing the ball to me and getting it thrown again. After two retrievals she took off with the ball - bye,bye ball. Matt had surgery on his ingrown toenail today. Nasty, nasty. Worse case I've ever seen, with one side of the nail going straight down into the toe the whole length of the nail. I called this AM and told them what awful pain he was in and they took him in today. Got home from shopping and sure enough, he was laid out on the sofa with a big bloody toe sticking up. Heck of a way to get out of his chores. He has to go back in a month to cut some more out and deaden it so it won't grow back. YUCK!! I do most of the everyday chores anyway, but he has the skills I can't afford to hire in. Electric, plumbing, carpentry, he can do them all. It gives him job security and makes him cocky sometimes because he knows I need those skills to make my farm run. He signed on to this outfit and, so far, has not said "I ain't gonna work on Maggie's Farm no more."