The Long-Realized Dream of a Trampoline

I went “shopping” in the Bessette basement this morning. We purchased beans and grains in bulk when we first moved here, so I don’t have to mess with the bins at Whole Foods. I go through about 45 pounds of spelt every three weeks, and it is sure handy to simply pick up another 5 gallon bucket from the Bessette basement when I need more. We hadn’t been to the Bessettes since Christmas Eve, and we are missing them!

(Slightly unpleasant note: Michelle told me that, so long as I didn’t hear a snap, I didn’t break the lamb’s neck; all dead animals flop out, since there is nothing to hold up its head. This was a huge relief to me; there was a question in my mind that the lamb may not have been dead. But now I can feel better, that I saved the ewe and B.B.’s lives.)

Phil put up the trampoline with Jadon and Isaiah’s help. That dream has been years in coming for me; when Jadon was about two, I realized that there was no space on our Boulder lot that would allow a trampoline—now we have one. It has a great bounce, and my heart skipped happily as I jumped.

Isaiah went in to greet the sheep today. B.B. the ram lamb could not escape capture, and Isaiah held him peacefully. Little Bethlehem the ewe lamb is much more canny, and much quicker. Neither Isaiah nor I could catch her—she skips away with her little docked tail wagging.

In this photo, you can see Acorn feeding her little B.B. and larger Bethlehem sneaking in for a drink. Notice the length of the tail naturally, versus the docked tail.
This afternoon, in about three hours, Phil put up four more cattle panels through the trees. He chopped down some trees with an axe. After he put up the panels, he began to clear the southwestern corner of the land, making brush piles.

One of the things I like most about winter is that we can walk easily through brush and scrub that is very challenging to push through during the summer and fall. It makes sense that farmers tend to do forestry during the winter.