Actually, this new baby face stud will have a couple weeks reprieve before becoming a steer! I bent down to gather some baling twine with camera in the other hand and Butch ventured away from his mother to investigate. The whole time she was growling like a mad dog warning him of possible danger, but still Butch independently checked me out, looking back at her every other step. He finally did heed her call but not until I got some really good photos of that milk face!

Click the link to see other views. But, this is just a week and 2 days later, and look how much it’s moved to the northeast. I’ll take another photo on the longest day of the year (June 21) to compare. Being in touch with nature is what I like about living here!

Here’s a photo of a side of Cloud 9 Relaxation Home. 4 bedrooms for a great family reunion spot.

So, kids from 3 to 10 who were staying that day had a ball scooping the eggs and catching individual tadpoles with buckets (and mud, of course) while parents took photos. We took them to Peterson pond’s warm edge and dumped them ceremoniously into their new home, proud to have done the amphibian kingdom a favor.

After they left and I continued working nearby, I was heralded by two ducks quacking in the sky, and plummeting skillfully with cupped wings in an almost vertical drop to the pond. You can guess what their first order of business was. Just hope they were tasty.

I could rent Cloud 9 Relaxation Home and Heavenly Heavenly Hideaway cabin 10 times for this last weekend in July because of the popularity of Bele Chere, Asheville’s (and the Southeast’s) biggest and free street party.

So, get your reservation plans done now! We are 15 minutes from down town Asheville. A total of 4 turns and you’re there having fun. P.S. – It always rains at least once during Bele Chere. Bring an umbrella!

Waiting to meet another hiker they just kept walking and the dog excitedly followed them, sniffing rabbit trails along the way, but always running to catch up. After reaching the top (2,470 ft.) and coming down again, no other hiker showed up, so reaching down to check the dog tag, “Duke” belonged to an address down the road.

The hiker called it on his cell phone, and Fred and Brenda were so relieved to find out someone had found their new dog, Duke, that had escaped that morning. They met the hikers and Duke at the bottom of the Cloud 9 trail and were happily reunited, thanks to good people!

The best place of ALL to hike is right up to Cloud 9’s own, Buzzard’s Roost. It’s pet friendly and you won’t need a leash. There’s a mailbox with a journal at the top, just so you can write that you made it! The hike starts at the garden in the valley of Cloud 9 Farm and is about a mile of gradual incline tractor road. Here’s a quote from one of the entries I found in the journal,

“Hill, my foot, this is a friggin’ mountain.” Obviously she needed that hike!

Antique hunting in those barns where they have consignment antiques in little room-like settings is where I found my cute little horsey toy decoration on the fireplace, as well as wooden filing cabinets that I had made into bedside tables in Heavenly Hideaway. I found the greatest cast iron heart pan there for $25 that I have in the Hideaway. Hearts are my theme there!

I rarely get to see my own cows having their calf because usually it occurs so early in the morning or night. But Pepper, my favorite cow, because she is such a good mother to her calves and has plenty of milk, gave me the first oppotunity at 4 in the after noon. These pics were taken with a zoom so they are a little fuzzy but I didn’t want to disturb this private moment. Look for the white valentine on its little black head. All the other cows came curiously over to investigate. I usually name a calf for whatever renter is staying at Cloud 9 Relaxation Home, but this was too obvious…Valentine is his name.