It would be fun to have twelve of anything, and name them after the months of the year. Goats would be the best. I was saying to Pete that I’d like to have a milking parlor and milk a dozen goats. I enjoy milking, it is very meditative, by machine and by hand, it does not matter.

Swampy has settled in. She has finally figured out that there is a routine, and that she is the only goat being milked. So she is giving us her all, this being a gallon and a quart of milk a day. The jars in the refrigerator, they are indicative of the passage of time – I see six quarts and then some and I am reminded that three days have gone by, and it’s time to make cheese or yogurt.

Terry and Alys on Grizzly Camp Trail

July is already a blur – tonight at 10:45 p.m. I was cleaning the horse pen, I noted that it’s now getting dark earlier. No more 10:30 p.m. rides, but now 9:30 p.m. rides. My friend Becky is of the exact same mind I am – winter solstice is preferable to summer solstice because it’s a sign that the days are again getting longer.

The month just flew by. I think that for us here, July is the most hectic month of the year; however, with harvest happening, August may be the actual winner. I’m going to keep track of this, the way I keep track of the vegetative changes in the woods. Now the vegetation is very lush – there is a lot of Monk’s Hood, and the fireweed, bright pink, has now bloomed half-way up the stalk.

Today my friend Terri Mielke and I went for our now annual fireweed ride, to Grizzly Camp. The weather did not disappoint – it was sunny and warm, but not too warm. The clouds hung low over the Talkeetna Range, and the sides of the mountain were covered with green vegetation and splotches of fireweed.

It was an amazing ride – Terri’s horse Dinni and Raudi are very compatible – Raudi enjoys being out front, and I am no longer apprehensive on being in the lead. Like the shirt says, “Unless you’re the lead dog, the scenery never changes.”

I was sorry to see the ride end – I tried to drag it out, by engaging in good conversation up at Grizzly Camp and by taking some side trails, lengthening the route a bit. I wanted to go up the bench as well, but Terri had other obligations.

Got back, talked with Bill about the book project. I didn’t go in and sort – he said there wasn’t much there. But there were a few boxes of kid’s books and some fiction, so we’ll have enough to work with this week.

I next went for a ride on Hrimmi, then went with Pete to a recycling center fundraiser, held a long ways from out place, out at a place called Settler’s Bay. Talked with a lot of people that I knew and purchased a Fireside Books sweatshirt. Very important, to support their efforts, as they are supporting that of the Bright Lights Book Project.

Yeah, I was going to write about July coming to an end, but I got caught up in the details of the day. Well, it’s been that kind of a month, that is one full of details.

Next: 211. 8/1/21: Heatwave