Summertime

           I have decided that summer is my favorite season. I might change that in the fall, I'll let you know. We have settled in to our warm days and thunderstormy afternoons. I love it! The garden is growing by leaps and bounds. I have been picking black raspberries and freezing them. We have a lot of them that grow on our creek (in West Virginia it is refered to as "crik") bank. I had to wade out in the water and trim some crab apples and russian sage back so we could walk down through the water to get to the berries. The fattest and juiciest ones are always right on the bank. It won't be long and I'll have enough for a cobbler. Tim put me in a berry patch in the back yard. I have red raspberries in it. I love the flavor of the red raspberries but don't have enough of them yet to do anything with. It could be because when he mows the yard, every time he goes by the berry patch, he grabs a handful. We have been eating lettuce and onions from the garden and we have peppers and tomatoes set now. Won't be long and we will have zucchinin too.
           The kittens have taken over the milk room and the barn. They are officially barn cats now and loving it. They have had to have a lesson on the milk stanchion though. They love to romp and race and play in there but I cannot have them running up through a goats legs while I am trying to milk. Mostly because I love milk but prefer not to wear it. So, when they start coming up the ramp, I squirt them hard right in the face with milk. They hate it and run off but then they enjoy washing their faces off. They will learn like all the cats before them. They already line up waiting for their bowl of warm milk. One of my jobs for today is to whitewash the inside of the barn. I hope they stay out of the way or we will have whitewahed kittens. Well, better go start all my chores for the day. I hope you are enjoying your summertime....