Therapy

As I've mentioned, I'm in therapy and it's going well. Actually, my therapist has brought up a couple of times for me to become a therapist myself. How I work with people, how I listen to people, and how I care about people. Keep in mind, I've used this therapist off and on for over a decade, so he knows me well. He wants me to think about it. 

He also wants me to get off my duff and begin writing. I've started so many fiction books, but never have followed through with them. He suggests I begin writing plays instead. Even if I didn't use them even if I don't show anyone, just for me to start writing. I know I should, that's just a huge self criticizing task for me. I'm my harshest critic by far. 

I am a voracious reader in case y'all didn't know. I'm a Renaissance woman where I paint, play piano, and write. You won't find me in petticoats and corsets though!

That's my rambling for today. Enjoy a pic of Mounds. 

Roll Call Cow Edition

It's time I give an update of all the cows in a simplified manner. I'll list all their names and say cube and/or pet to identify who is doing what. If they allow both, I consider them social. This means they will eat out of your hand and let you brush and hand pet them. 

Fiona cube pet 

Flora cube pet

Brogan cube pet

Maesie cube pet

Cíarin cube*

Callie cube pet

Josie cube

Dolly cube

Valentina cube

Rose cube*

Rory

Now, Cíarin and Rose will let you pet them or brush them if you have given cubes, but only briefly. Then they demand more cubes. So not too shabby, but I've still got work to do. 

A New Project

Somehow with all my newfound desire to paint, I have created a new project for me to tackle. As I was painting today, I realized that the color wheel I remembered from kindergarten isn't quite enough for what I'm doing now. I'm going to have to make a color chart. 

Granted, this isn't quite farm-related yet, but stick with me. Yellow and blue make green. Primary colors, easy. Green and white make a soft green while green and black make like a forest green. Ok yeah, but then you get into adding a little more yellow to the green and then it becomes a spring green. Add a little more blue to the green and you get a dark teal. Add white to the dark teal to get a lighter teal. It just goes on and on. So when you're trying to remember how to get one shade, you got to remember the mixture. Hence, my next project is to make a chart. 

Now, to tie it into the farm for those who read about the animals. Chickens lay different color eggs. We've got light brown, medium brown and blue egg layers, but our chickens are red, black with white, and all black respectively. They will always lay the same color eggs regardless of how much sunlight or what they eat. But, you will get brighter yolk colors if they have a diet rich in protein. The more you know. Have a great weekend! 

S'mores with her candy bar kids

Fall Road

For most of the day today, I painted. I wasn't the most pleased with this work and I'm starting to get frustrated. So, I'm going to look for some food to try to do tomorrow. Maybe a strawberry? Just thinking out loud. 

At least the animals weren't as frustrating. Mounds is learning how to buck with her horns which is always cute to watch. Almond Joy is all about the loving and petting. I find the boys are like that until they get those hormones. Then the girls become the sweet ones. 

Rory was my only punk today. He played keep away from me and it truly was a game to him. He's got to learn though that I don't chase. I'm too old and too lazy to run after a boy no matter how cute he is. He can lick a cattle cube tomorrow if he doesn't run off again. 

Rock & Eggs

Sometimes, I just like to take pics of a collection of rocks or eggs. Things that are in a jumble and each one unique. Months ago, I took a pic of my bucket of eggs. Last week, I printed out that pic to use has a concept for a painting. Today, I did the painting. 

The painting is not exact, I never wanted it to be. I don't know artistic terms, but I was going for the painting that looks one way further out and more intricate upon close scrutiny. It's just a 3"x5" because I didn't want to attempt this on a huge scale. I'm calling it Rock and Eggs. Art doesn't have to make sense and neither do the titles. Anyway, I enjoyed being a little more intentionally chaotic. The colors weren't exactly what I wanted, but close enough. 

By the way, we didn't get more rain but the animals and I are greatly enjoying the cooler temps. I wore long sleeves today! 

Rain-ish

As per usual, the farm only got a light sprinkle where rain announced everywhere around. More rain might come in later tonight? I'm just going to be happy there's cooler temps. 

I'm going to share a little grievance with shopping I've experienced today. As y'all know, I ran out of paint last week and ordered some more. I eagerly awaited the UPS truck and once it arrived, I was upset that instead of the white acrylic I had ordered in a large size, I got a very tiny tube of watercolor paint in dark brown. I tried to call, but they're on Eastern time and they were closed, but the message suggested to go to the live chat. The live chat online was also closed but encouraged me to leave a message. I tried several times, but it wouldn't submit my message. I get it, this world today hates actual phone calls, but don't give options that don't actually work. It's ok, I drove two hours round-trip to pick up the paint myself, but in store shopping isn't that great either. That's a story for another day. 

Here's hoping for a rainy day and fun painting tomorrow! 

Dolly says to not boop her snoot unless you have a cattle cube

Time Change

I don't know what time it is. All I know is the animals have been fed and the sun has gone down. A wonderful thunderstorm came in this morning and hopefully more rain and cooler temps are on the way. 

This weekend, trees were purchased for the farm. Loblolly Pine, Sycamore, Burr Oak, Mexican White Oak, and a Little Gem. The Little Gem was planted today and depending on weather, more or all will be planted tomorrow. These will hopefully provide shade for the animals, beauty to the farm and a little more privacy. In the spring, I'll be adding an orchard if all goes well. 

Everything is also ready for Tootsie Roll to have her first litter of pups. She's a double registered English Shepherd, Teddy Bear is registered also, and this breed was almost extinct and is an excellent breed. They're incredibly gentle, have great and natural herding tendencies, beautiful coats, and I'm excited about being a responsible breeder of this breed. I know in the past, I was adopt and don't shop, but to help a specific breed that is so perfectly suited for families and farm life, I've made an exception. 

Have a great start to the week. I've almost finished through my stages of grief and moving forward and I feel so much better. 

This is Little Gem (a hybrid of magnolia). Grow well little one!