Summer has arrived after a long up and down winter and spring. It's hot out, although to most it's probably not all that hot. For me, anything above 75° is too hot, and it's in the mid 80's now. There is a slight breeze which makes it nicer. A good day to hang clothes out on the line to dry!
The babies are all growing. Louise's are a week old today. They almost didn't get back in last night. I let the goats out into the pasture and Louise took her kids out. They got worn out and curled up together out in the forest and didn't wake up when everyone went in for the night. They were sound asleep. I couldn't find them right away, but eventually found them next to a tree down towards the bottom of our land. They barely woke up when I picked them up to carry them up to their mom. Louise was very glad to see them! She had been standing up in the pen calling for them for quite a while. I am so glad I found them! The dogs weren't much help. They came out with me, but didn't even go near where the kids were, they were too busy going after the ground squirrels that are taking over the place since we thinned it out.
I have come to the conclusion that the ravens tell other animals when something is good. Like telling the ground squirrels there is open ground up here now. We didn't have very many at all before the thinning, and now there are probably over a hundred out there. I guess we will start trapping them. Good thing I don't have a horse anymore, it would get a broken leg stepping in one of the many holes out there.
Yesterday I adopted a new kitten. She's sleeping and purring in my lap right now. After hiding out all afternoon and night yesterday when I brought her home, she's come out to play today. John is gone, so she came out. When he's home she stays hidden. I didn't know kittens could still purr when they are sound asleep. I'll post a picture soon. She's been moving around so much I can't get a good photo, and now I don't have my camera or phone anywhere near me while she's still. I named her Tabitha. It was Sneakers, but that name makes me think of smelly gym shoes, so I changed her name. ☺
The big thing of the week is I signed up with a website called "Hipcamp". They get landowners to rent out camping spots on their properties. Like Airbnb for campers. They handle all the bookings, payments, etc. We made the round pen area into a nice camping spot. Turned the shed part of the woodshed down there into a little restroom with a composting toilet, built a shower stall for a solar shower, and I am going to build a covered kitchen area very soon. There is a fire pit, a grill to go over it, and a good amount of firewood all ready to go. We provide water, too. I flagged the trail up to the "Rocks" better so anyone can follow it. The field scout and three of her friends came up and camped Wednesday night. She wrote a good review, and they enjoyed camping, even though the weather wasn't all that great. We kept getting short showers off and on. The kind that is just enough to get you nice and wet, then it quits, the sun comes out, and then it rains briefly again. They still managed to have a campfire, play some games, and hike around a bit. They got to hold the baby goats and see everything around here. Here's the link to our campsite. https://www.hipcamp.com/montana/pine-needle-farm-cashmeres/pine-needle-farm-cashmeres. Hope this link works...
We are only an hour and a half away from Glacier National Park, so if you want to see the park without staying in a crowded campground, it's a good day trip up there from here. We've done that many times over the years. It's a long day, but quite do-able.
