Classic Farm Moment

Dragonfly & Dristan, Luna & Apollo.

Mother & son alpacas (Dragonfly & Dristan), with 2 Maremma Sheepdogs, Luna and Apollo, usually referred to as just Maremmano, they are a breed of livestock guardian dog indigenous to central Italy, used for centuries by Italian shepherds to guard sheep from wolves. 

These are Huacaya alpacas (Vicugna pacos). They are are a domesticated species of South American camelid. There are two kinds of alpacas. Huacaya alpacas, (pronounced Wuh-kai-ya), are fluffy like teddy bears and Suris have long shiny locks like very soft, slightly curly hair. Alpacas are bred specifically for their fiber. High quality fleece from both species fetches top dollar on the international market. Some hand spinners like to spin alpaca fiber mixed with cotton, wool or Silk. Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items, similar to wool. These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, ponchos, sweaters, socks, coats, bedding, and a wide variety of textiles.

At the Green Mountain Alpaca Fall 2014 Spectacular. From Parris Hill Farm, in Brownsville, Vermont, the white one is PH Davide and the brown one is PH American Trouper.
Alpacas (Vicugna pacos) are a domesticated species of South American camelid. They resemble a small llama in appearance. There are two kinds of alpacas, the Huacaya (pronounced Wuh-kai-ya) and the Suri. Huacaya alpacas are fluffy like teddy bears and Suri alpacas have long shiny locks like very soft, slightly curly hair. These are Huacaya Alpacas. Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas, and unlike llamas, they were not bred to be beasts of burden, but were bred specifically for their fiber. Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items, similar to wool. These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, ponchos, sweaters, socks, coats, bedding, and a wide variety of textiles.

Excellent Herbal Videos

Here are some great herbal videos:

St John's Wort
https://youtu.be/w-uxXUF-MdI

Dandelions
https://youtu.be/1oLVOOmghKY

Calendula
https://youtu.be/EoyRXngV5Xg

Stinging Nettles
https://youtu.be/WFdura21G1Q

Snake Root Medicine | Wild Ginger
https://youtu.be/SAKEanqMNvg

Exotic Columbine Flowers

Exotic Columbine

I just love the swirl of the yellow stamens, cast their shadows over the white, which in turn casts it's shadow over the blue of this flower. This photo has been awarded the Photo of the Day award on Capture My Vermont, 6-25-2015!

I Believe In Beauty

Sara Steele wrote this on her blog and I could not have said this better myself.

I believe in beauty.

I believe beauty has the capacity to heal, to change one’s mind, to literally alter cells (and I do mean literally not figuratively.) I believe there is far more beauty available to us than we generally notice. I stumble upon it and am stopped in my tracks, breathe in, feel suddenly grateful -- for the encounter, for my capacity to perceive, for the simple fact that both the beautiful thing and I exist.

The beautiful thing is not necessarily an object. It may be birdsong, an angle of light at a particular time of day, a few words I overhear, something I discover while reading, an idea, a sensation. In the moment of that encounter my attention is riveted, and whether for a few seconds or several hours, that is all that exists. There is no ego-me, only the lucky appreciator.

In that space/time when my attention is so completely held, I can almost feel neural pathways re-routing themselves, mapping better, healthier pathways. (Researchers now say this actually happens when one shifts one’s attention for as little as fifteen seconds.)

I believe beauty has the capacity to heal.

This is why I spend my time as I do: because over and over again I have been healed by these encounters. I don’t know what else to do but pay as much attention to them as I can. It is the antidote to despair, to helplessness, to being overwhelmingly saddened to the point of incapacitation by all the devastation that goes on in the world, people willfully hurting others, destroying natural resources, greed, power-over . . . on and on. I can become paralyzed by the vastness of it all.

It is within my power to return to beauty.

I believe beauty has the capacity to heal.

I believe in the possibility of healing.

I believe in beauty.

Lady's Slipper

Lady's Slipper In The Woods On Bolton Mountain. Lady's slipper orchids (Cypripedium acaule), (also known as lady slipper orchids or slipper orchids) are characterised by the slipper-shaped pouches (modified labellums) of the flowers – the pouch traps insects so they are forced to climb up past the staminode, behind which they collect or deposit pollinia, thus fertilizing the flower.
    This photo was Awarded Photo of the Day for June 17, 2015, on Capture My Vermont.

Beyond Adorable - Baby Red Squirrel

Beyond Adorable. Baby Red Squirrel Hanging Out  Amongst False Indigo.

Blue Hydrangeas

Not all hydrangeas produce blue flowers. Hydrangeas with white or cream flowers, such as Annabelle hydrangeas, oakleaf hydrangeas and members of the PeeGee family, can only produce white or cream flowers. Sometimes their blooms take on a pink tinge at the end of the season, but that's about as colorful as they get. Hydrangeas with bloom colors that range from pink through blue and purple (such as Nikko Blue hydrangea, Forever Pink hydrangea, Pretty in Pink hydrangea) usually belong to the hydrangea cultivars known as mopheads and lacecaps. These types of hydrangeas have the interesting ability to change the color of their blooms based on the chemistry of the soil. When grown in alkaline soil, the bloom colors are pinker. When grown in acidic soil, the bloom colors are bluer.

Red Horse Chestnut Tree Flowers

Red Horse Chestnut Tree Flowers