September 2021

 This will be a short and sweet post. September just kind of slid on by. We did have a surprise visit from Nick in late August or early September but I was so surprised I didn't get any pictures! He joined us for a Sunday night dinner. We had dinners over Zoom every Sunday throughout the pandemic as a way of keeping in touch. It was something we looked forward to all week. It was especially nice to spend time with Leslie. Nick rang the doorbell one Sunday night and we had dinner in person. Such a treat.

Aiden and Lindsey came down for a weekend too. It was great to see them. We had dinner together. Played some games and just hung out. The weekend went by too quickly. Wish they lived closer.

Sophia has been riding Nicki some, doing some jumping on Autumn and also working with Brisk. She will start competing with Brisk after Nicki retires next month. This will be bittersweet for sure.

One low point this month was our air handler leaked and caused a buckle in our kitchen (our new kitchen) floor. We are still waiting for the floor to be repaired.

We did a DNA test for Loki. We were curious what this lovebug of a dog was. Turns out he is mostly German Shepard with some Lab, Akita, Pit and a little bit of American Bull dog and Great Pyrenees  and Collie.  

I can't let a month go by without sharing pictures of our pets. Loki loves his people and his furry family members. He often brings a ball or toy to Boba or Mr. Twinkletoes. And he loves chasing Otto. They all love him too. He especially loves Steve and Sophia. 

August 2021

 August was a relatively uneventful month with a couple of highlights. The most impressive one was Sophia passing her test and getting her learner's permit. She will hold the learner's permit for at least nine months before she can take the road test. She is already a good driver. She has driven to the barn using back roads and to local shopping center. 

Sophia went to the Howard County Fair with a friend from high school. She also went to Hershey Park with friends from the barn. She is not a fan of rides but she did go on a roller coaster (and didn't like it) and a couple smaller rides. Unfortunately it rained just as they were getting ready to go into the water park section. They had a blast hanging out.

Sophia's friend Jemma is going off to college. There was a party for her. They girls from the barn always have fun together.

Sophia was pinned with her Silver Award Girl Scout pin in August. She and one other troop member worked and earned their Silver Award last year. Hopefully she will manage a Gold Award but there is a lot that goes into that. Sophia is so busy with school and work. Hopefully she can make it happen.

We did some back to school shopping. Sophia and I went to the mall on our own then took her cousin, Stephanie shopping with us.

Sophia received an award for best senior level record book in the state for 4-H. This is quite an achievement. You had perfect scores in each category. I need to push you to get the record book done but you do it well once you sit down to focus on it. 

Sophia started her sophomore year. This is her first in person instruction in high school. She drives in with Steve every day.

I have done so low maintenance gardening. I sewed some wild flower seeds. They are blooming and attracting bees, birds and butterflies. I wasn't getting any hummingbird activity until I realized our fence is higher and they may not have seen the feeder. I bought a taller shepherds hook and the very next day I had hummingbirds. I am getting three that visit regularly.

Our animals are all doing well.