Or - What do Molly Bryn and her Uncle Al have in common?









It was such a beautiful evening.  Warm, sunny, slight breeze, no recent poop soup applications on surrounding fields.





Ziggy met the pigs for the first time and was Thrilled that such creatures exist and reside in his barn.  (Does he know instinctively how yummy they will be this fall?)

I said "Let's go for a walk!"

Molly said "Let me ride Spinner in the meadow.  We can put him on a lead rope.  He will be fine even though we don't have any tack for him yet."






And he was.

So happy to be spending time with The Girl and the Woman and The Man in the meadow.  The Boy stayed further away and he was O.K. with that.

All the horses were happy and calm.  We walked to the back of the meadow where they usually don't go and they discovered that the grass and clover back there were very good.

There was a lot of happy snorting and snuffling as they ate - "Check out this great grass!"   "Yes this is very good."  " Let's come back tomorrow!"





And then we turned around.

Stupid, stupid me.

Ziggy was being a pain on his leash and the horses were being so good that Bry and I traded.  He took the dog.  I took the horse.

Why it is good to have former Boy Scouts/ a WFR & a Fireman in the neighborhood

 Right about that time, the horses got very excited     
"Let's go back to the barn!"  
"There might be carrots!"
"Let's RUN!"
"YAY!!!"



I have to say that it was a pretty good dismount at 15 or 20 mph.  And she didn't land on her head or smash into any rocks or get trampled or anything.  Just broke her ankle.  Really well.   It needs a pin.

Tune in Later for a story about why Molly will never be a Drug Addict.

One of the first questions the ER nurse asked was "Have you ever had surgery?"

...

 This is Elaine.  It is a good name for her - she is named after Lancelot's accidental, unwanted wife. 

 Emmeth brought her home this winter while he was feeling all sexy and she has stayed.  And apparently, had kittens. 

Not that we can find any of them. 

And she eats ALL the cat food while poor, stupid Emmeth watches longingly, wishing he could sneak his face in the dish - just for a second - without getting clobbered.  He runs through the door every time it is opened and cowers next to me, begging for food. If not promptly ejected, he goes off to sleep in my bed with his dirty little kitty feet. 

I think Elaine will be finding a new home as soon as I can either find & catch the kittens we think she had or verify that there are no kittens to worry about.

Maxx communicates with the new arrivals
















Who's in the bag?















A little Pink Pig!












And her brother.



They are still pretty nervous.









But Emmeth doesn't want to tangle with them.



Bringing piggies excuse me - bacon and ham - home has highlighted how messy this place is.   One of the previous owners left garbage and barnyard trash all over the place.  Everywhere we turn, there is some heap of twisted, rusty metal or broken glass or just general dumping ground to clean up.  We've got to try to get out to the pig pen this weekend and make it safe for little animals so we can let them get out and wallow in the sun and mud the way that piggies like to do.  Plus that exposure to sun and grass and grubs and bugs makes them very, very tasty and better for you. 

Molly also took lots of photos of Max and Truman.  They were having a great day - until Maxx discovered the truth about leeches!   Enjoy!


Catching Crawdads.  This is a BIG one! 















A good splashing place:  


















Two handsome boys










How I love this grin!















. . . .  . .

Molly took some great photos on Saturday while I was away teaching a jewelry class in Potsdam.  














There's a dramatic shot of the old barn against a stormy bright sky:
















Some fun shots of the Cow Slips that she and Bryan transplanted a few weeks ago.










More dramatic foliage:   

















Blossoming trees













Interesting textures:



















And here's a silly shot of the lovely photographer herself against that same dramatic sky.  (taken from down in the stream bed.  We need to get a goat to keep that area well mowed so we can enjoy it during the summer.)














.....

Bry is eager to have his photos at work but we forgot to put them on the jump drive last night so here are a few for him to share with everyone.













I wish I could make Blogger line these all up - Maybe Bry can edit this post and tell you what all of the peaks are.





















I think this one is my favorite. 













 . . . . .

We've all been a bit under the weather lately.  I'm not sure what's up with Molly and I but I'm pretty sure that THIS is what is bothering Maxx and Bry.  Pesky pollinating trees!









Bry went out to grb a couple of peaks last weekend with Jonathan and Cameron.  The weather was perfect.  That means that the temperatures were below thaw in the Adirondacks - so no mud, no floods, no avalanches.  Good for them, too bad for all of the rest of us.  It's a bit chillier than I would like around here today.








Some scoff at the Adirondacks because the elevation isn't as high as Western mountains.  Granted, there are plenty of trails tame enough for me to wander around on but the terrain is pretty rugged off the beaten path and the weather can be pretty unforgiving if you aren't prepared.  Bry and his brothers have been taking a winter trip since Molly was very little.  Derek hasn't been able to make it the last couple of years but Cam has been filling in.  I always feel better when Bry is out with more than one other adult.
Molly was sad about not being able to go this year but her broken arm would have made the hike a bit too rough for her.  She stayed home and watched '80's chick flicks with me instead. 

Next year she'll get to go again.