Dear Family and Friends,

Don't know how she knew last Sunday was Mother's Day but Blue Bell made it unmistakably clear that she was in the mood and wanted relief NOW. After chasing Paul around the pasture, she stood emitting long drawn-out moans that I could hear from inside my house. (She was over by the barn on the new place). Her calf tried to come to the rescue, but lacking the essential equipment, all she (the calf) could do was some imitation mounting.

A quick phone call to our dairy friends brought the needed relief. Bernadette and her son Nathan arrived with arm-length rubber gloves, giant syringe, thermometer, and a selection of frozen sperm. Our farm family and interns were there to observe the modern livestock mating ritual known as A I (artificial insemination). Seems to have done the trick for Blue Bell. All this excitement occurred while I was at church.

When I got home I heard all about the morning's adventures. Earlier in the day an intern couple left a bit sooner than anticipated. I met Ursula, a new intern, who arrived just after Bernadette and Nathan left. So we had quite a group at our Mother's Day brunch including Robin's sister Jenn, visiting from Chicago with Rob; Brett, who has been here for almost two months; Steph, who arrived a few days earlier to spend some time before taking him home to start a summer job; and Katie, soon to be our senior intern.

On Sunday evening we welcomed a Waldorf school group from St. Louis, Missouri. The teacher had called Robin about two weeks ago desperate for her third grade class to have a real on-farm experience. (We have learned from our Nashville Waldorf group that the third grade curriculum is centered around food, clothing and shelter. The Nashville third-graders have been coming for five years. In fact, Robin and family will attend that first group's graduation later this month). So the new group came for a four -night visit. I was pleased to watch one little guy, Jacob, go from counting the hours until they would return home to exhibiting real skill in workworking as well as the stirring and application of biodynamic preparations to the fields. He even got over his aversion to mud.

Meanwhile our batch of heritage Blue Slate turkey poults are coming up on three weeks old. Already their little wings and tails are feathering out. Last week they seemed to tire of their present accomodation in an above-ground brooder house. They kept finding ways to push out the bottom or side slats. For some reason when they are separated from the flock they broadcast their location with loud and persistent peeping. To me this seems to invite predators. Here I am!! I had just left the shower one morning when I heard that sound right outside my kitchen door. I wrapped a towel arouond me and ran out the door to find my cat Nutmeg with one in her mouth. It was peeping away at the top of its lungs. Nutmeg dropped it. I picked it up to examine it for injury. All I could find was one small cut near a wing. This was the second time I had taken one from Nutmeg. When several other times during the week I heard that loud signal I quickly found Java and Nutmeg to bring them inside the house before I searched for the lost poult. If there was more than one escapee I phoned for reinforcements.

The Hill and Hollow shareholder season begins tomorrow. We've already been to St. Andrew's Market twice with bushels of wonderful spinach. I love it when someone comes back looking for "that delicious spinach". Opening day there was quite exciting with the whole famly and our interns present as well as friends who will be new vendors. Some of our new Glasgow shareholders came to meet us, too. We had such a good time drinking coffee and talking that we hardly noticed the pouring rain! (I must confess Paul did most of the selling). Fortunately the sun came out later to provide a bright and sunny afternoon for Georgine's Derby Day party. I actually won some money on a tip from our intern Katie.

Sasha turned eight on May 9. (He actually was born on a Mother's day). This year it took two chocolate cakes, homemade ice cream, and three parties to honor the occasion. A very special treat came in the form of a visit by "his" intern Allison who flew down from her current internship at Hawthorne Valley Farms in New York.

Right now we are utterly surrounded by lush growth of pasture, vegetables, strawberries, and flowers. And we give thanks. Louise