Shipping Sheep

The other day we picked Daddy up at work and went to Sater Meadows north of McCall. There were so many sheep! I got a cane so I could help tell the sheep where to go. They loaded some on trucks and the others they sorted. Mommy didn't have her camera, but Marg took these with her phone. It was so fun! Daddy couldn't believe how quiet sheep are compared to cows. They can jump really high. Sometimes they tried to jump the fences. We put the girls in one pen, the boys in one pen and the old ladies in another.

I like sheep!

Look what Mommy Made...

Stuck up in the woods without many sewing resources nearby, Mommy was thinking what can I make for this baby shower. Her friend is having a second baby girl. So she made both girls little homemade purses. One is made out of part of a pair of jeans and the other a stained sweater, and they both include 3 extra quilt squares from a quilt she was making for another baby that's coming. She's also including some diapers and a baby toy in the package. The purses are reversible too. Check them out:

Back Yard

One of the best things of this summer has been the yard. Good for mom because it's got wire up and no one can get out. Good for Clyde because he can run around and beat on things. Both kids really like being outside (and the house stays cleaner too!). We'll miss the yard as it cools down and we get ready to move south with the cows.

The Last Huckleberries

It's cooling down in the mountains. We took a road trip over Lick Creek Summit down the Secesh River to the Salmon River to Warm Lake and back home. It's a beautiful drive if you're ever in the McCall area and have some time.

But the best thing happened, we found more huckleberries!!! It was September 6th and they were totally done in the valley for weeks, but we got high enough that they were perfect. And, as Clyde would say, there were "So many!!!" Clyde always asks for so many of everything. Not more or a lot, but so many.

And, they were gigantic! For those of you not familiar with huckleberries, these were probably double the size we're used to:

Luckily, the Smiths were planning on coming the next day (Labor Day) so we took them up to the same place. Some berries had succumbed to the frosty night, but there were enough they got about a pint and a half to take home. And we had huckleberry pancakes for dinner, mmmmm.

Here's some of the other cool scenery we saw on the drive:

Cool dead tree.

Fungus growing on burnt tree.

Tree growing out of a rock.

Mossy tree.

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:

It's all about the berries...

Today we went to Mumsy's and we picked huckleberries. The other day I went to the bone pile and picked huckleberries. Mommy and Daddy went rafting on the river and brought home huckleberries. I went to see my cousins at Warm Lake and picked huckleberries. Then we went there again and picked huckleberries. Tomorrow we're going to go pick huckleberries with Aunt Libby.

Today I saw so many huckleberries and I picked so many huckleberries but then there was only one in my bucket. Mommy said the rest were in my tummy. I like to pick huckleberries!

Mommy has tried twice now to show you pretty berry pictures and of course pictures of me, but something is not working.... more again soon!

Happy Baby!

Mason came to visit...

I really like Mason. He came to visit one time when I wasn't home and his mommy and daddy left this on the fridge:

Another time he came to visit and we went to the beach. It was cold and rainy in the morning so nobody had swimsuits, but it didn't matter. The sun came out and we had fun anyway...

Little Drummers

Two little drummers with Mumsy's big drum... lots of fun for everyone.