Remember September

We had so much fun at the beach Labor Day weekend that I thought we'd take a look back. The weather was perfect and we spent most of our time outside--Dad organized a family bocce ball tournament which he then handily swept.

Ready!

The gear, ready for action

Rhonda, Alex, and Ole playing in the ditch. See the minion perched on the mole hill? Even Legos got involved in the bocce game.

Nice form, Dad!

The award ceremony. Ole grins with his trophy.

We really soaked up the sun at the beach. It was busier than usual because of the holiday, but we staked out a good spot for kite flying. It was Josh's first time!

Then we hit up a nearby beach, a short drive from our usual spot, and enjoyed the long flat coastline, the surfers, the driftwood shanty town, and tide pools.

Back at home, more sunflowers!

So tall!

Ole heads into the towering sunflower forest.

Our kitty, Maeve, keeps an eye on the hummingbird feeder.

A fun surprise in the chicken tractor...4 baby chicks!

Five

It's hard to believe that this tiny guy turned five this month. They've been five great years!

We celebrated in a pretty low key way this year: birthday lunch out with his bestie, a ninja cake after dinner, and a few fun outings in the days surrounding. Mostly he just played with all his new Legos.

Silly boys

We went to see the Portland Pickles play. They're a collegiate woodbat baseball team and they played really well this evening, walloping the Sacramento Stealth 11-0. Our favorite part was Dillon, the pickle mascot.

"Look, Dad, Dillon signed my glove!"

We headed east for the Dufur Threshing Bee. Gotta love a tractor parade!

Back at home, we picked apples with the baby goats' help. Our young Jonathan apple tree gave us a nice basket-full, already canned away as applesauce.

 And then there are the sunflowers...my summer pride and joy!

Five is pretty great so far. Up next, kindergarten!

The annual camp

We took to the woods last weekend for our annual Ecovillage camping trip with friends. It was an adventure just finding the site, hidden back in the woods not far from the Molalla River. We were tent camping, but I love our friend's picturesque little trailer.

The kids set up some ground rules: People can come to Ecovillage if they are our friends and nice to the animals.

 We had some much-needed river time.

Ole and Arlo goofed around and enjoyed some freedom to explore around camp, breaking trails through the brush. We spent lots of time around the campfire, and hiked the trails around our campsite.

I think we figured out it's the 18th annual Ecovillage. It was a pretty good year.

Those of us who weren't too shy to have our picture taken.

Soaking up summer

Summer is in full swing and we are loving it! We've enjoyed a steady stream of guests this month eager to see the baby goats. Ole has really enjoyed playing host and even the goats are remarkably tolerant.

Flowers are in full bloom at last. They'll surely sizzle in the coming heat, so we're oohing while they last.

Gorgeous and gaudy gladiolus

The garden is plugging along. Weeds have all but taken over at this point (we brought the lawn mower in the other day--not a good sign!), but the veggies are still producing...zucchini, potatoes, walla walla sweet onions, cucumbers, peas, swiss chard and kale so far)

And here's the reason we grow lots of cucumbers:

The rest of our days are filled with bubbles, water balloons, jumping, and a new idea below: sailing wine cork boats in the birdbath.

Isn't summer the best?

It's a boy! And a girl! And another boy!

There's so much excitement at one point seven this weekend--we're welcoming three new baby goats to the family. I've looked forward to this day for years and it did not disappoint! I brought our doe Stella to visit a buck back in January (a craigslist hook-up!), but was unsure if it took until her belly started to grow and grow beyond doubt.
We knew her due date was Saturday, and goats typically deliver within 5 days of their due date, so I'd been watching her closely all week. I checked her Friday morning before my appointment in town, but didn't have any definitive reason to stay home, so off I went. Before I even reached my destination, Alex called, "There's a baby goat! What do I do?!?" I told him to help her clean it off and then I busted it for home. I was in such a hurry that a car driving ahead of me on our curvy road actually pulled over to let me pass!
I got home just before the action started up again and she delivered another. Each kid came about a half hour apart, giving mama time to clean it off, check it out, and encourage it to start nursing. I bounced her belly and felt another baby moving! I was worried when the third baby came out motionless, but after cleaning it up, it started to wriggle and we were thrilled to have three healthy baby goats. Of course Stella could have handled it all on her own, but it felt good to be there "helping".

It is truly amazing how quickly they pull themselves together. Within a few hours, the first born buckling was bouncing around ready to play. They all mastered nursing and each chose a preferred spot to curl up and snooze.

So, Milton, what do you think of the new goats?

Ole and I head out to the barn every couple hours to check on everybody. I intended to stay out of their pen as much as possible the first few days but it is simply not possible to leave them alone! They're very friendly, always tottering over to say hello and get some pets.

And a big shout-out to Stella, who is a wonderful mother. In the above photo, for example, she is just out of frame, watching intently and ready to rush in to help her babies should they need it. We're pretty cautious around mama bear, staying quiet and moving slowly. When our dog Pepper tried to come in the barn to see what was going on, Stella gave her a dirty look and snorted loudly.

Introducing Lewis, Clark, and Lena!