A Virtual Fall Trip to Vermont!

With autumn making its presence in the air, I thought today I would take a virtual tour of my Fall trip to Vermont last October.

My parents & I stayed at the Arlington Inn in Arlington. This picture captures only a small portion of the beauty of the Inn. The room we had is the one with the porch & chair on it. Because we were there during peak fall foliage, it was expensive......$275 a night but you know it was so worth it & it was a gift for my mom & dad. There is a beautiful garden atrium/breakfast area off the back of the house also. We stayed there for 2 wonderful days!
This was a beautiful New England Church we saw along the Battenkill River area.

I fell in love with Bennington Pottery!! They carry beautiful clay pottery. The inside of the story is so unique & there are so many awesome pieces to choose from.

This was a wagon display outside the store.......such a festive autumn creation!

These are some of the Bennington Pottery pieces I came home with. I am hoping to add to the collection with plates & cups, slowly becasue it is a tad expensive. My dad made the shelf to hold my new collection & the wool sheep are compliments from my mom! My dad has a wood shop at his house & makes some beautiful pieces of furniture.

One of the many covered bridges Vermont is famous for!

This was one of the mountain river passes we found....I wish I had an audio to let you hear the beauty of the whole experience.

We got to visit the home of Robert Todd Lincoln......I have so many pictures of the place but I thought this one captured the grandeur of the house & gardens the best!

The day we went driving around there was a hazy that covered many of Green Mountains & I just could not capture the awesome display of colors falls but I tried my best. I still think all my animals & I would look good with a cute little farm house & some barns nestled right in the valley of this picture!

Next summer my parents & I are planning to take a trip back up to Vermont.

Until then I dream on...............

Pumpkin Sightings at Harvest Thyme!!!!!

Oh my, pumpkins have been popping up all week at Harvest Thyme!!!

Pumpkins have been sited in the flower gardens in the front yard.........

Pumpkins have been found on the flag at the garden barn............

And what is this.......a pumpkin on Speedy, my miniature horse? Oh my!

And a spooky pumpkin (that was made by my mom) was found hanging on a picket fence!

And would you look at that, a scary pumpkin hanging out by the cornstalks!

There were pumpkins even found by the birdhouse on the garden terrace!

A pumpkin has even staked its claim in a flower pot!

I believe these pumpkins think they are the stars of October.........for they were even found hanging out on the chicken coop!

And what is this? A fuzzy pumpkin?

Why, this is Harvest Thyme's Lil' Pumpkin!!

She is a black gulmoget, a twin ewe, & she has been named Lil' Pumpkin because she is just over 3 months old & I think on a good day after eating she might weigh 14 #, maybe. She is the littlest lamb born this summer but boy does she have a loud mouth when it comes to feeding time!

Did you really think I was not going to show you a lamb?

Gee, can you tell I really like pumpkins & autumn thyme?

Stay tuned because there have also been black cats sited at Harvest Thyme too.......

Got Wool for the Fall Weather?

Northeast Ohio got its first taste of that Lake Effect weather as a very cool breeze & rain came across Lake Erie today. Tonight it should drop down into the 40's! This prompted me to think that I need to pull out my fall sweaters, turtlenecks, & warm socks for my boots. This is a little quote that I found that I thought I would share with you :

"The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes from summer cottons into winter wools."

Henry Beston, Northern Farm

Of course this meant I had to pull out my totally favorite wool sweater! I bought it like 2 sizes too large because I love to wear turtlenecks under it. I got it from Woolrich 2 years ago & just live in it during the cool/cold weather!

Some of ewe lambs just wanted to let me know today that they are working on those winter wools too! They said they are a tad behind because they are summer babies but they should be good to go by November!

A Spooky Story about Simon

After such a long, trying, & sad weekend I am trying to be uplifting & think of happier things. So if you have a moment I would like to tell you a spooky story about my cat Simon who almost wasn't...............

Long ago about 7 ish years ago when I was working at the vet., I had gone into work, I believe it was around this time of year, and my first routine was to clean up in the kennels & check on all the animals who were sick or had had surgery that day. I did my quick routine of just checking the kennels and when I came to the last corner cage there was this black little kitten just sitting in the cage, no more than 10 weeks old. There was no tag indicating why the kitten was there so I opened up the door & I believe that little kitten made one jump right into my arms but not before I noticed he was dragging his right front leg. I walked out front to inquire his status all the while holding him in my arms. I was informed he was brought in by an older farmer who believed he had fallen out of a loft resulting in very serious nerve damage to the right front leg. He, the farmer, paid the fee to have the kitten euthanized & the vets just had not gotten around to doing it yet. Well, by this time the kitten was purring in my arms so I carried him around while I did kennel chores, not taking the chance that anything was going to happen to him if I put him back in the cage. So he stayed in the front office with me during office hours & after the vet closed I inquired what could be done with him. Of course, the whole office staff knew my patheticness when it came to animals & they just shook their heads at me.

After a few weeks of steriod attempts & the little black kitten adjusting to life at my house, the decision was made to amputate the leg up to the shoulder. The vet. who performed the surgery is the same wonderful vet who helped me with Autumn. There were many weeks of taking care of the surgicial site but it was a successful operation.

This is my beautiful Simon, a photo taken yesterday, 7 ish years later. Simon is a wonderful cat and is always the first to find a place right on my lap to take a nap. He enjoys taking walks around the yard with the dogs & I, but always manages to get me to carry him . Simon, the kitty who almost wasn't, loves to spend time outside with me and today he & I hung out together.
Why, he suggested to add a spooky black cat to the front of the chicken coop for Halloween!

And of course, Simon knows that I love those fall decorations and with Halloween coming up, he and I thought this flag looked just perfect in the yard.
After all that decorating Simon said he needed a nap in his favorite place.

These are those little things that help heal all the sad things that happen in life.

Thank you for caring..........

I want to say thank you for all of you who came by today & shared your kind words......it means so much to me knowing that you took time out of your day to share it with me. I know things happen for a reason but sometimes I just don't know why it has to happen at all. My home is my safety net, it is my comfort zone, it is what I am all about.......it is my own little world and my animals have become my life line, they inspire me everyday in some little way & for as much work as they can be, they remind me to slow down & enjoy the day, to just hang out with them.

I need to learn how to do that more often.............

I need to stop and see the beauty of the seasons..........

I need to see how just a simple fence can provide a beautiful picture......Life is so short, it does need to be embraced, for the simpliest things can mean so much, and so much of that for me is my animals & my little farm. I need to smile also when I feel so sad because I do not want to miss someone trying to help me feel better.

I captured this picture of Abigail's ewe lamb today & she just seemed to smile at me as if to say it will be okay & my heart melted & the tears flowed. I love my little lambs so much. They have brought so much joy to my farm this year. Perhaps I shall name her "Autumn's Blessing" in honor of Autumn Splendor who captured my heart and whose name I want to live on here at Harvest Thyme.

Thank you to all of you who shared your hugs & kindness.

I hug each & everyone of you back for thinking of me & Autumn:)

Saddness in the Autumn air

Friday evening Autumn was not feeling well as she had a temp. of 104.8. & she was not eating. I gave her a penicillan shot & kept an eye on her. Saturday morning the temp had come down a bit but still I decided to take her to the vet. We started with a Bose shot & SMZ & we ran a fecal which was negative. Saturday evening her temp was still high at 104.5 & I repeated the pen shot. I have given all my lambs 3 CDT shots already.

She was just so sad yesterday esp. her eyes.

My beautiful Autumn passed away last night & I am crying right now because I miss her so much already. She was beginning to trust me & now I have let her down.

11:30 am....After my intitial shock, I could not go on without knowing what happened. Autumn was in a pen with her twin brother & my youngest ram lamb plus both moms (these were the youngest of all the babies born this summer). I only let them out when I was home to eat grass & run around. I was very fortunate to be able to go to the vet. this morning & have a necoprsy done which I did stay to watch. The first indication that something was wrong was when the doctor said there was way too much stomach fluid in her abdominal cavet. She found a tear in her intestinal lining that most likely started out very small and got bigger over a period of time which lead to the fluid becoming toxic in her system. She said this was a very freak incident, one that she has rarely ever seen in sheep/goats. There was nothing I could have done. The only question, one that will never be answered is, how did she get the tear? A question that will pull at my heart for a long time. I believe the doctor called this "peritonitis", but I am not 100% sure. I love my animals with all my heart & I put so much into this & it just hurts so much when something like this happens. I know my hobby farm will never be perfect but I try. And loosing a lamb as beautiful as Autumn just makes my heart ache. In all only 3 months she become such a big part of my life.