Why I love New Mexico

It's hard not to love a place ....

... where you are always greeted by friendly faces:

... where you are asked to play fun games: and often more than once:

... where you get to hang out with friends who have the exact same obsessions interests as you do:

... where you are whole-heartedly invited to jump right in to the group effort of animal health care:

... where you are always invited to "go for a ride":

... where you all drink out of the same water bottle (now *that* is true friendship):

... where you are always learning about new things that aren't common where you come from, like, how to identify the infamous (and poisonous) loco weed:

- and what a plant that has been chewed by a porcupine looks like:

... where you can have lively, heart-to-heart talks with the ranch dog and nobody thinks this is unusual:

... where a  165 pound pot-bellied pig named Wynonna will let you take a close-up photo of her nose - with only minimal complaint:

.. where your friend really appreciates your help doing ranch tasks:

And where, at the end of a busy day, you are fed a delicious dinner on a plate specifically chosen to to match the color of paint you got on your pants earlier that day:

I really love New Mexico.  :-)

Thank you, 7MSN and Morning Bray Farm, for having this rain-sodden, Oregon girl come to visit. Again.
:-)

I think I need...

...a change of scenery.

In my part of Oregon, March brought record-breaking precipitation amounts.  We received 8 inches of precipitation in the form of rain:

hail:

...and snow in that one month alone:

Houses were underwater:

So were roads:

Our year-to-date rainfall - as of today - is 18.67 inches.  This has made us very muddy:

Straw is our new best friend...:

as it helps to keep our feet dry:

The boys think I need to get away:

They don't have to tell me twice:

I'm very excited. :-)

Today is a milestone day

This is my mom:

Through the years, she has been the calm water that keeps the little boat that is me afloat.  If I had a fan club, she'd be president: 

She thinks I'm funny and clever and she worries about me constantly.

She is also, without a doubt, my number one cheerleader in all things Critter Farm-related.   I truly believe that she loves our little farm as much as I do.

She was on-hand (and so excited) to unveil the grand opening of our brand new chicken coop in April of 2008:

She was overjoyed when the first six donkeys arrived on Critter Farm in May of 2008:

She fell in love with them instantly:

And delighted in getting to know every one up close and personally:

To this day, almost four years later, she remains always willing to help with any farm task (as seen in the goat-hoof-trimming photo below...and, yes, Reggie is sound asleep on her lap):

My animals love her.

Even grouchy Chester will stop whatever he is doing for a bit of momma-love from her:

So...what makes today a milestone day, you may be wondering?

At the end of December, my mom was diagnosed with cancer.
In January, she started chemotherapy.
And every three weeks since then, we spend half a day at the hospital, where she receives her chemo treatments. She has made so many new friends (here she is, photographing her chemo nurse, Robin, who is humorously flexing her "chemo drug muscles" for her)...:

and she has somehow remained upbeat and enthusiastic every step of the way.

A few weeks ago, a package was waiting for me on my doorstep:

It was from my mom.

Inside was a headlamp...because she was worried about me being outside in the dark on the property:

Despite all that she is dealing with, she is still worrying about me.

 I love wearing my new headlamp:

But Roxy hates it. She has been pretty clear that I should be the sole-wearer of it:

So be it.  However, we both agree it was a lovely gift.

But the milestone today? 
Today is my mom's final chemotherapy treatment:

I can't tell you how incredibly thankful I am (and our whole family is) that she is responding so well to her treatment.  These last four months have been a strange time of appreciating the moment, while planning for the future, yet not taking anything for granted (if that makes sense).

My mom, though, just seems anxious to have this period behind her, so she can return to focusing on the things so very important to her...:

One of which is the family she loves so well:

My mom has her own blog - one that she hasn't posted to in quite a long time - however, if you happened to feel the urge to wish her well, her blog can be found by clicking: HERE.

We never, ever tire of festive head wear

So. 
I was all set to write a post about the trials and tribulations of living in a state (Oregon) where the weather is, quite frankly...crap.  Almost all the time.  For months and months on end.  (I may still write that post - be warned...) 
But, then, today happened.  There was no precipitation.  There were no gloomy clouds, or fog, or wind.  It was sunny.  The sky was blue.  The animals were happy.  It was Easter.  And the temperature actually reached 70 degrees.   It was paradise here on my little farm again.  And this all but propelled me out the door to take pictures.
Roxy was my first victim:

I kept telling her how cute she looked:

But what she really wanted to hear from me was how much she looked like the Easter Bunny (which she did not  in this picture):

So I showed her her shadow and then she felt happy:

And off she hopped to play Easter Bunny for the donkeys:

Once Chester realized that this Easter Bunny didn't have any carrots, he took off and only Beau stuck around for the entertainment:

Beau, being a *huge* fan of anything that goes on his head, insisted that he and Chester try out the fuzzy ears, too:

And, then, it was Kai's turn.
By the way, this was the first (and most likely the last) time, I have ever attempted to place any sort of head gear on my llama's head:

It did not make her happy:

But, I got a picture:

...of my llama wearing fuzzy bunny ears:

which is an odd sort of milestone, but a milestone nonetheless (trust me).

Pete and Reggie were very excited to see me coming.  They *love* festive hat day:

And once they were finished admiring each other, they needed to headbutt (at least they're consistent):

The chickens didn't want anything to do with the ears, or the concept of the Easter Bunny, and immediately fled...except for Skippy, who briefly thought the bunny ears might have oatmeal for her:

Heading back to the house, I came across Clyde and George sunning themselves.  "Look", I said, in my sweetest, come hither voice, "Fuzzy bunny ears!"  They weren't interested in the slightest:

Though George was very interested in cuddling:

And I took full advantage of this:

So, I think I can say it was a really good day, as long as none of my critters holds a grudge: