This Week at Cabin Spring Farm

The week started out with a romantic getaway for Valentine's Day.  John and I went to Durham NC.  The animals love it when we go away for holidays because our farm sitter gives them treats for the holidays.

 People around here think Durham is a strange place to go for a romantic getaway but for us it was perfect.  It is only a 3 1/2 hour drive with NO interstates.  We have taken Rt 501 many times to Lynchburg VA, but never beyond that.  It crosses over the Blue Ridge Mountains, going along the James River for a stretch. Beyond Lynchburg it is flatter and straighter and passes through a few small towns, before arriving in Durham, 501 all the way.

We went to the Sarah P. Duke Botanical Garden on the Duke campus on Monday and the University of NC Botanical Garden on Valentine's Day, which is at Chapel Hill.  You know your husband loves you when you visit 2 gardens in 2 days.  And we went to see Chris Rock at the Durham Performing Arts Center.

I took many pictures of the gardens but I wish I had pictures of the the critters the last couple of days, here on the morning rounds.  One day there was a bright red cardinal eating with the chickens.  The chickens go up to the bird feeder, most days, to check for spilled seed, so on the day the bird feeder was empty, the cardinal went to see if the chickens had anything to share, they did. The next day Penelope stepped through the ice in the puddle pond and trudged on across like an icebreaker on the bays.

We went over to Karen and Jame's house and out to dinner with them to catch up.  They have 3 boarders (2 donkeys and a bull) and 3 new chickens that just showed up one day, and the first kid of the season.  Karen didn't even want to count how many critters there are in current residence.

Today, one of my students came over with her mom to help get the fiber studio and dying garden looking good for the season.   Five students are coming for a "no school" fiber day Monday.

Later today, a couple and their baby came for a farm tour.  They were on a getaway from Northern Virginia where they are intelligence analysts for the government.  They kept saying how quiet and peaceful it is here.  They said they could see a farm in their future.  I was glad I was able to reciprocate a pleasant getaway  destination for them.  Reciprocity,-- saying yes when someone calls on short notice and wants to come out to visit a sheep farm.  Providing for complete strangers, what gardens in NC had provided for me.