Abby, her Daddy and Mama visit LBF for Christmas! We love being grandparents!

Abby is "a little bit brave" petting the horsey!


Kissing the Kitty Cat and playing Jingle Bells!

High hopes!

It is Christmas Eve; that night of nights, when hopes are high! Young and old think beyond the usual mundane minutia and latch onto lofty imaginings! We light luminarias to shine brightly in the dark of night. In so doing, we issue our welcome to the weary mother who would soon give birth to the Christ child. In so doing we open our hearts and spirits to the world weary - our neighbor, a stranger, a member of our family.

On this Christmas Eve, I embrace hopes that are high and generosity of spirit! Merry Christmas Eve!

Oh, yes. It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!

We awoke this morning......to THIS!

Last week with Piper Gaye, her daddy, her mama, her dog, her two kitty cats and her 5 chickens!

Grubepop and I spent a very special week in North Carolina with these dear kids! It was great! We enjoyed time with old friends. We even got to enjoy Piper's VERY 1st snow! She seemed fascinated by the fat, wet flakes. And - we got to see her VERY 1st Christmas tree! It was a truly beautiful time. Thank you J, P & P! And thank you Paige - for the yummy fresh cookies you baked for our trip back home. WAY better than peanuts!

Good Morning, Moon!

Tim is here to stay...and it's his birthday PARTY!

I do believe that a GOOD time was had by ALL!









Happy Birthday, COMMANDER!

Ralph

Ralph was born the 3rd week of August at Little Bird Farm. His beginnings were tentative at best. The Commander found him early one morning in a very shallow hole, among his two siblings who had...well, not been as robust as Ralph and had breathed their last. We felt so sad to see them...but we were hopeful for Ralph! "Hope" seems to be what we live on at Little Bird Farm. The Commander carefully removed the two dead baby bunnies and covered tiny, new-born Ralph with fresh straw; we then left him alone, so his bunny mama would come take care of him. And she did! Within a couple of days, Ralph and his mama had relocated, undoubtedly to a safer place, where they were less vulnerable to bigger wild creatures. The bigger wild creatures are in abundance here!

In a couple of weeks, we were having breakfast on the front porch, and here came Ralph! Still just a little fellow, but much bigger than when we first made his acquaintance! And he remembered us! He bounced right over to us and said a bunny "hello". Sprightly and so enthusiastic was he, literally jumping around in circles! He was not afraid of us at all, and he came right over to Tim-san and let him pet him and scratch behind his ears. We began giving Ralph apples; he likes them cut into big pieces, and he especially enjoys eating the core. He will eat right out of our hands.

As the weather has turned cooler, Ralph has moved from the iris bed by the orchard, to the wood pile in the pole barn, where it is presumably warmer and safer. We may go a few days without seeing him, and yes, we worry when we don't see him! Zorro, the hawks, coyotes....so many dangers exist for a young bunny! But as you can see, Ralph has gotten pretty big! He is much fluffier and more bright-eyed than most of the wilder "wild" bunnies we see. Must be the apples! And all the LOVE!

Time to pickle the beets!

Mom & Aunt Connie joined me yesterday to pickle beets. Messy but FUN! It was a beautiful fall morning! It had rained and the wind had blown all night the night before, so golden cottonwood leaves were everywhere! I sure enjoyed spending time with these sweet gals. Thank you Mom and Aunt Connie!

Standing on the top of the world...and such places!

We spent last week "doing our hood" with dear old friends from North Carolina - Tommy & Debbi Nixon. Here are a few favorite shots!


A stop along the way to the Rio Grande Gorge





Near Taos Ski Valley


Tommy & Debbi, intrepid sightseers!


New Mexico is chock full of fabulous old churches and missions! We saw a lot of them! Lovely!


There's always time for Our Lady of Guadalupe on any road trip!


Of all the balloons at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, this one was my favorite. And it flew right over Little Bird Farm!

A busy and beautiful time of year!

I spent one full day in the sewing room - making these fun britches for Piper! The pattern is from "Made by Rae", and I love it! These "big bottom baby pants" will accommodate Piper's giant cloth diapers! And they are a fun owlie-design for Fall!


One day of canning - Bread & Butter Pickles and Peach Jam. The house smells really weird when you have a big pot of pickles and another big pot of peaches simmering away!


The Commander got serious with this dusty old Arbor Vitae tree. In this photo, he was not quite done. Those last tall branches still had to go. We felt a little bit sad to cut it down...but the view of the mountain and the sunrise now???? AMAZING!!!

More sweet blessings as we have more special visitors - Abby and her folks!