thursday was ted's day

we stayed up until midnight last night eating and drinking with new friends. they are farmers too and we were collectively appalled at the hour when we were made aware of it. i can't remember when exactly i became so old that midnight was an irresponsibly late bedtime.  winnie was unimpressed with the night's cider still on my breath. and today, if these clouds continue to roll through and we get a bit of rain we may be able to excuse ourselves for a slower day and finish watching a movie we started 3 1/2 weeks ago.  so forgive me a post short on words.

but i did want to tell you that ted received an Upgrade of serious dimensions yesterday from stall to paddock. from isolation to five new comrades. we walked the gangly creature up from the barn yesterday to the winter paddock where the main house keeps their aging animals. the paddock happens to be directly next to our modest home (we live in what used to be a sheep barn) which makes it a perfect place for the calf we are bottle feeding. he now lives with two shaggy scottish highlanders. two donkeys. and the horse. the highlanders have taken a motherly interest in ted. as i write this they are eating hay as he lies between them at their feet. the donkeys and the horse are curious and at times unwelcoming. but he is no longer the lonesome calf in a stall. he is now bopping and leaping all around. learning how to be a cow, a donkey, and a horse. and i am trying my very damnedest not to fall completely in love with his big doe eyes.

thursday in photos:
1. ted, the bastard.
2. could you imagine a tinier stove?
3. yesterday i made pasta, and butter. nick made kombucha, yogurt, and pesto. it was a Day for Dishes.
4. pasta dough and foraged ramps for the pesto.
5. keeping a close eye on him.
6. repotting the house plants. if my garden fails we will have plenty of succulents and cacti to feast.
7. we were just recently given a pasta maker and i can tell you, it is a helluva lot faster than pounding and cutting by hand.
8. the sun doing his late afternoon routine.
9. a beer to slow it all down.