*on the run!

Our beast of a dog, Frayja the great dane, is finally considered full grown and no longer a puppy.  We still see puppy behavior out of her from time to time though, but she is asking for a break since this month marks her as no longer a puppy.  While there was a time that we were a bit concerned about her eating habits (too little), she has really developed a healthy appetite.  She started out at a mere 16 lbs at 7 weeks old and has grown into her full grown status at 118 lbs.

She continues to be more and more attentive to our commands and obeys most of the time.  Erilyn Farm would not be the same with out her, so say Eric. Actually, I know this may sound silly to some of you, but she has really enriched our lives and I am glad we added her to our craziness.

These things she will do upon command: sit, stay, wait, hand shake, and give kisses. She loves to fetch and run like the wind.   You can see this displayed in the photos below. These were captured from an afternoon of throw and fetch!  Note the dust she stirs up as she gallops out to get the ball.  Enjoy.

The end. (sorry I suppose I couldn't resist)


~Lynnie

*chick-inn news

 We have an assortment of egg sizes, colors and contents!  Small, medium, large or extra large? Usually we have a super large egg every couple of weeks and these larger eggs normally will have a double yolk, which is a rare happening in young hens. It has something to do with their immature ovulation process when they are still young layers. 

 The white egg is from one of our Buff Leghorns, previously know as "Goldie, but been renamed to Mrs. Trump or her sister Rebel.  They are the smallest of our hens, but two of the most fascinating!

 Just thought I would give you some perspective of the different egg sizes that we collect daily around here at Erilyn Farm.

 Surely the one who laid this egg walked around and talked about it for hours.  Seriously, once our hens have laid an egg, some of them will walk around and cackle so loudly for a period of time.

 mmmmm... meat.  That's all I got to say about that. (Lori, Kathy... are you still with me?)

Lucy is just glad she isn't a rabbit. She is so glad that she can daily produce something for our homestead. She is thrilled that it is not her body we are looking for at the end of a given time.  Lucy, your safe! Keep that egg production up girl!  (Since mid June, we have collected 1021 eggs)
~Lynnie

shared today at homestead revival 
& farm girl friday blog hop

*the tree

Last week I posted some of my favorite photo's in black and white, this tree being one of them. I got so many comments on this particular photo that I thought I would post the original, unedited image for your viewing pleasure!

This photo was taken at our home in Fayetteville during our once a year snow in the month of January! It was a beautiful covering.

Lynnie

Also shared at Better Than Best  
(won top three the week I entered at Better than Best)

Also shared at: Snap & Share

*busy bees

This morning when I went out to feed the animals I decided to walk out and check on the bees.  They were busy taking flight, and others landing. I sat and watched intently for a few minutes, when I noticed the ones landing on the landing board has bags of pollen on their legs. Beautiful yellow pollen. I sat and watched for a few more minutes then ran back to the house to get my camera. This is what I captured.

Aren't they amazing!

If you are interested in beekeeping,  you may want to bookmark  Honey Bee Suite.  I have really enjoyed reading and learning from this seasoned beekeeper!  Read more about our bee adventures HERE.

*morning glory

I have been drooling over a macro lens for my camera. I will continue to drool, because there is not enough money in the budget to purchase such a luxury at this time. Since I am not a professional photographer I have no real need for the investment.   I have been doing some reading on macro photography and came across an alternative to a lens.   Filters.  You will be able to dabble in macro with filters but will obviously not get the same quality photograph that you would get using the lens.   I decided to spend under $20 to get 4 lenses and give it a try.  I am happy with my decision and have been having a bit of fun capturing beauty and being arrested by the wonder of it all!  (UPDATE.. after further "playing" with the filters.. I have decided that I would not recommend them to anyone. Save up for a macro lense!)

I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.  ~Claude Monet

In search of beauty..

Earth laughs in flowers.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.  

~Walt Whitman

I am able to use the +1, +2 & +4 filters with my all purpose lens.  I am not able to use the +10 filter - boo, hiss!  It simply will not focus. This would really allow me to get in there and perhaps even count a fly's compound eyes.  Well, maybe not that close, but closer than the +4 which is what I used here on these small Morning Glory vines.

Shared at In Search OF Beauty Blog Hop 
& Tammy's Behind the Camera 

*black and white beauty

 

Tonight I spent a bit of my quiet time looking at past photos and edited a few in black and white.  I think these are perfect candidates for black and white. What do you think?

~Lynnie

shared at Tammy's Behind the Camera 

& Weekend Reflections

*thanks tropical storm Lee

A few days ago we were visit  by many bands of rain which left our dry dusty ground saturated and for that we are grateful.  We were spared of any damage, thankfully.  Our power was out for a short while because of a fallen Oak on our street, we took advantage of this time and played a game of Life!  Before we were able to finish the game the power was back on.

For weeks prior to TS Lee coming through we had been under Fire Advisories, unending.  We have piles of branches, debris etc that we need to burn but have not been granted a fire permit due to the dryness.  We were in need of the rain, and boy did we get it.   We did not have any big plans for Labor Day 2011, so the wet weather did not bother us one bit.

Here are a few pictures from today, a different story from the past three days.

I was riding along and just could not stop looking at the majesty before me. It is glorious! Isn't it?   I sort of felt like Ann Voskamp must have, the night she chased the moon on their farm that evening that she spoke of in her book, One Thousand Gifts. I have even been know to chase a sunset down, or should I say try. I have driven over the hills and through the wood to grasp a better view of the sun going down on more than one occasion.  These photos are all straight out of the camera, no editing at all.   Have a great week!





Shared at Behind the Camera.

*fullness of life

I saw this quote somewhere and decided to search it origin. Melody Beattie, is the author and I love reading through some of her quotes. One that is very timely for Labor Day is also a favorite of mine. 

"From labor health, from health contentment springs.”- Melody Beattie

 Happy Labor Day! 


Lynnie

Shared on Domestically Divine