Lots accomplished today — and even had some time for socializing! We spent the better part of the morning with our friends the Steinhagen’s, who bravely hosted all 10 of us for a delicious breakfast served in and on many of Erich’s wonderful pottery and stoneware mugs and plates. After returning home we had a couple of surprise visitors, including a wonderful older local couple, the Van Deusen’s, who stopped to buy eggs and stayed for tea and some inspirational conversation. I say inspirational because Mrs. Van Deusen is my new idol! She is 86 years young and grew up on a dairy farm, raised horses as a young woman and still can’t get the country out of her! If it weren’t for her arthritis and artificial joints and reconstructed shoulder, she’d still be using a chain saw!
One of my favorite tidbits she shared that I could relate to was how she used to have to feed her horses before she could have her own breakfast, and her husband could never understand it. She said, “They’d be out there looking in at you, waiting for you to feed them — they could see you in there and it just didn’t seem right sitting down for breakfast with them looking in at you waiting for theirs!” Roy can never understand how I can go out there before I even have my morning coffee, but it’s just like Mrs. Van Deusen said — the sheep, like her horses, know how to make you feel guilty!
After all of the wonderful socializing, it was time to get to work – double time – to try to accomplish all of our goals. All I can say is thank goodness for that extra hour of daylight we have in the evening now!
We spread our composted manure on the garden, moved the new manure pile into place, limed and tilled the garden (yep, that’s me, having a blast!) and moved the rams to a new paddock to allow their paddock to rest and be ready for the lambs and ewes after the lambing is over.
I’m tuckered out, but it’s a good “tuckered” feeling, and for that, I feel totally blessed!
Morning Star Meadows Farm 
sounds like a great day from start to finish.