Alexzander

I finally got some pictures of Alexander this evening!

Here's a good picture of his beautiful blue eyes.



Alexzander didn't know quite what to make of Cally the cat.



Kaia has been stuck in the garage for a few days until I finished the fence. Then, I realized that she can STILL squeeze through the cattle panel, so I had to double up the fence until she gets a little bigger!

She was excited to be back with the "boys."




I snapped this photo of some thunderheads.



We had rain today and then the afternoon was beautiful. But, right after I took these photos...in the middle of chores...we had a little shower.

In the barn, Zander decided that he would like to help himself to some of StarFire's grain, so he hopped up on the milk stand. StarFire wasn't too happy about it.



Never a dull moment with goats.

Swimming in the Slough

Around here, we have sloughs (pronounced sloo). They're really no more than low places in the topography where water collects. We really have them this year since we had all the snow and rain.

This slough is about 200 yards from our driveway and I'm surprised that I have kept the girls away from it this long! But, they finally had the thought that they now have their own private swimming pool, so, I'm a lifeguard.

Josiah was with Daddy this afternoon, so it was just the girls.

As you can see, Mariah wasn't really too sure about the whole idea, but the girls had a blast.





Jumping off the culvert.





A good time was had by all, as I spent the time sitting in the van, parked on the road, reading my book. I finished the book I was reading, Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History. If any of you like non-fiction stories about weather, this is a GREAT book. I highly recommend it.

The book is about Isaac Cline, who was the chief meteorologist in Galveston, TX when the hurricane of September 8, 1900 hit. It was the worst natural disaster in the United States and around 6000 people died that day.

The only sour note was that about a half hour after we got home, the girls were covered in hives. No idea what caused that! Oh well, a little Benadryl fixed them up and I'm sure they'll sleep very well, he he he.

Kisses From Cookie Monster

Olivia and I had fun taking pictures this afternoon.



Cookie Monster, our newest little buckling, is doing very well.




He decided that Olivia's nose looked tasty enough to take a sample of.



It doesn't look like Olivia enjoyed it that much though, hehehehe.






This is Olivia's Oreo. She LOVES this goat and Oreo loves her. She was the first doeling born on our farm, so she's pretty special to all of us. She should be kidding later this summer.



We didn't do much today...just a lazy Wednesday at Swan-S Grove Farms .

We're having a little shower as I write this. Lots of bad weather in other parts of the state. I have a friend that lives south of Dickinson and it sounds as if there was rough weather there, so I pray she's okay.

God Bless and Protect you all.

Independance Day

Well, we decided to do something different this year rather than going to the Mandan 4th of July parade.

We went to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and Fort Mandan.

It was a beautiful day for being outside and the kids had a blast. It made me think that we should do a unit on Lewis & Clark! (always the homeschool mom, I guess)

This is a statue in front of the Interpretive Center.



At Fort Mandan, the kids had tons of fun.



They had the MOST fun, though, dressing up.

Olivia in her garb:



Sophia and Mariah playing with the dishes:



Joey:



Miss Mariah:



So, remember the other day, when I said that Mariah didn't remind me of any of the kids?????

Mariah looks so much like Olivia here!



Fort Mandan is surrounded by trees and the grounds are beautiful. Here's a shot of Josiah and Mariah that I thought was cute.



I couldn't resist taking some pics of the flowers that were growing on the grounds. LOVE to photograph flowers, and orange is my FAVORITE color. I just LOVE ORANGE FLOWERS, lol!



Here are a few pictures of the Missouri River. There is only a 65 mile stretch where it's allowed to flow unfettered by dams and such, so it meanders across the prairie here flanked by beautiful trees and fauna.

I found a stand of Russian Olive trees with the Missouri River in the background.

First cultivated in Germany in 1736, the Russian Olive tree was introduced into North America in the late 1800s, and subsequently naturalized into the wild. It is considered to be an invasive species because it has low seedling mortality rates therefore crowding out native vegetation in the wild. It often invades habitat on the banks of rivers where a stand of cottonwoods has died. (information taken from Wikipedia)

Russian Olive is one of my favorite trees, next to the cottonwood. I know, I know! Cottonwoods shed (it looked at times like a snowstorm) and the Russian Olive is an invasive species, but...well, I just like them. There's no accounting for taste, they say.



The Missouri has a high level of silt, which it deposits as "sand bars."



Here's a couple of random photos I took of the kids that I thought were interesting.

Mariah is so photogenic. She has such a range of expressions!




Olivia:



Here's a photograph of my husband's hands.



His hands are strong, like my father's and grandfather's hands...the hands of a working man with the earth and grease embedded under the nails. He works so hard to provide for us.

And here's a picture of Joey and his new bike! Poor Joey has been riding girlie bikes, but not anymore!!



Hope I didn't bore you with all the pictures! But, it takes a lot less time to look at them as it does to upload them, lol.

Hope you all had a GREAT 4th of July.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!!

What is an SLE?

My good friend Dawn asked what an SLE is.

The single-lens reflex (SLR) camera uses an automatic moving mirror system which allows the photographer to see exactly what will be captured by the film or digital imaging system, as opposed to non-SLR cameras where the view through the viewfinder could be significantly different from what was captured on film. (information taken from WikiPedia)

It's the kind of camera that you can change the lenses on.

Been Away for a Few Days

We had a little mishap with the camera, so I didn't have pictures to post...the most important part, he he he.

Also, my computer was acting up, so I took it to the computer hospital, lol.

In Bismarck today, I bought myself a brand new digital SLE camera. OH MY GOSH!!!!!

I LOVE it!

I bought a Pentax since I already had lenses. (That's the brand of SLE I currently own.)

Here's a picture of My Three Girls: