Missing Willow Farm

In Parantins, Brazil we were treated to an Amazonia folkloric festival show called Boi Bumba.  The actual festival happens in June and is the one of the largest in Brazil.  It didn’t hurt our feelings to miss the real deal.  You also won’t catch us in New Orleans during Mardi Gras or in NYC on New Years Eve!  They gave us an energetic one hour show with live music and gorgeous costumes.  They also served us caipirinhas, made from fresh limes, sugar and cachaca (a brazilian spirit made from fermented sugar cane juice).  Plus I scored a free CD from one of the performers.

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We just got home from another great trip!  This one started in Brazil and ended in Fort Lauderdale.  I’ll start getting photos up when the mountain of laundry is done.

I’ve been busy planting tomato and pepper seeds for our garden and greenhouse this year.  I also plan to purchase some heirloom vegetable plants this year as we intentionally got a late start due to travel plans.  It should give us a later than usual harvest.  Not a bad problem once the Fall arrives.

We put up our own seeds after every growing season, including seed potatoes.  These were set aside in a dark corner of our laundry room after harvest last summer with a towel over them to keep them dormant until planting time.  Evidently, we’re running a bit late this year…  We got the message.  These went into the ground yesterday.  🙂

Our dinner guest bunny is back.  It munches the grass and clover right behind our deck just next to our dining table whether we’re sitting there or not.  We haven’t started having meals back there just yet (snow is expected this weekend) but seeing this little guy makes us want to.

Brian and I got away for a quick Valentine’s Day visit to Las Vegas last weekend.  At our daughter Tracy’s suggestion, we went to Holstein’s in the Cosmopolitan Resort to try their milkshakes.  I had the Cookies and Cream shake, Brian tried their Campfire S’mores.  The Cookies and cream shake was made with whipped cream vodka.  The glass was dipped in vanilla frosting then rolled in Oreo cookie crumbs.  It was topped with about a cup of fresh whipped cream and a five inch chocolate chip ice cream sandwich.  The S’mores one was made with marshmallow vodka.  Both were to die for and no, we weren’t able to finish them.  🙂

We have nine lambs so far this year.  They hang together like a little fluffy gang.  So cute!

Claire received one of these for Christmas from my friend Shannon over at http://barrelocoopers.blogspot.com/.  It was so very awesome that I got Claire to leave it at home until her first 2017 visit so I could make one of my own.   This is what I came up with.  It’s a reference to the Honeydukes shop trolley that sells wonderful sweets on the Hogwarts Express train.  I’ll have another Harry Potter craft to share soon!

When you live remotely and realize you’re the only one of your neighbors without power.  We investigated the source last night in the pitch black and found we had a tree across our driveway that took out a few panels of our fence and about 300 feet of power line.  Brian had to walk the lonnggg way around in the dark to get our gate open for the power company.  We were concerned that our entire pasture fence might be electrified.  Luckily the sheep were sleeping in the barn at the time so we just closed them in for the night.  Power is restored, sheep have been relocated to another pasture, now the fun begins…

Twins born yesterday, both doing well.  We had another ewe in labor this morning and had to pull it.  Mom and baby are resting comfortably in the nursery section of our barn.  Another day on the farm.