Alice Gertie Baby Ninya is One!

We can't believe a year has passed already. Alice is toddling around and falling down a lot as toddlers are wont to do. She is a very happy baby, even when Clyde is pushing and hitting her, which he is wont to do. Mumsy got her this special birthday outfit:

The Smiths came and stayed with us, which was a lot of fun for us and we hope for them. We took them out to feed the calves and the horses came to see what was going on:

We always get asked, "What are you calling her?" The truth is she gets called "Baby" a lot, but that's not something we want to stick. As you can see from the cake, Alice and Gertie are both getting top billing:

She is really a joy these days!

Berry Sad News, But a Berry Good Summer

The huckleberries are done. It was so sad to see only one or two with the rest withering on the bush. I suppose that we can get by until next year. At least we have some jam to tide us over. Lucky for us, Mumsy's raspberries started right when the huckleberries quit, so our summer of berries continues. Mom thinks that we've made about 4 gallons of jam this summer, which doesn't sound like a lot until you realize that it was about 40 jars of the stuff. We hope that next summer some of you will join us for huckleberry picking and jam making. Mark off your calendars for somewhere from late July to mid-August!

Strawberry/huckleberry jam we made with Aunt Libby:

Libby and Ben's huckleberry haul:

Clyde, a good picker and a good eater... these are Mumsy's raspberries: