Sunday, the best day of the week. Each week I take this one morning off from milking the cows and spend a few hours puttering contentedly. Didn't really do much this AM, just watered the beefers and took note that the Belgian Blue is pushing the poor little shorthorn steer back and not letting him eat much. Have to put him in his own pen this week. We will probably be spending a lot of time moving calves and heifers around, as we need to get Lemonade out of the sawdust shed pen with Argentina and get her fitted up for the fair. She will be the middle animal in Liz's "get of sire" class with Junie and Bubbles on both ends. We will put Argie out on the hill with the big heifers and put five or six weanling "water calves" out in their pen. Feeding so many calves with buckets is a time consuming chore that no one enjoys and we will all be glad to do the job with a hose from now on.

We had some fun this spring when we set up the water garden and put a couple of guppies in with the ten or so great big goldfish that live there. Imagine my amazement this morning when I saw both the original pair, plus at least one more fighting over a piece of floating goldfish food. They sure are hardy little fish. Now I have to figure out how to get them back out this fall when we take the pond down for the winter. The same goes for innumerable baby goldfish that have hatched out there. Guess I need a real fine meshed net.

I will miss the tranquility and peace there by the pond when the snow flies. The fountain drowns out the sound of the interstate nearby and calls to an amazing array of birds and frogs. There are three of the latter living there now, a big green frog, a small one and a pretty little leopard as well. It is great fun to feed Big Frog the fat, green katydids that are chewing their way through the daylilies this year. As large as he, is he has quite a time swallowing them. Birds have become so tame that I can sit in my red Peck's Lake chair and they still come to the feeders right by my head to squabble over the sunflower seeds. The chickadees get very demanding if I don't fill the feeders fast enough to suit them.


Three nice loads of hay yesterday. It is good to see the mow filling up.