Empathy for babies

I've decided that pregnancy is designed to give you empathy for babies. In the "blehhh, i'm hungry and don't know what to do about it and feel nauseous and can't walk up the hill without being winded and don't understand why you're waving a rattle in my face" sort of way. Since it's hard to remember how all that feels from when you were a baby, I figure it's a good reminder before there's a new one around, especially one without quite as many words to express it. It's almost countdown time around here, meaning we could have an actual baby baby arrive in the next couple of weeks, or he/she might hold out for quite some time yet.

Here, unlike in much of the rest of the country, it has been one of the coolest summers of the past 40 years -- which means it has really been quite pleasant -- temps mostly in the 80s, some 90s recently... Normally I might feel like I'm missing summer, but I have to say this year I haven't really minded. Mike has been making his way through the garden-weeding, and I did a little yesterday too. We're still trying to get things in place for goat milking trials and a better goats-eating-the-lawn-fencing system... and I'm still putting the pieces in place to be ready to take time off of work. So we'll see how it all evolves.

Traveling has just recently gone on hiatus. I had a couple of recent work trips -- to Hood River, Oregon and to Boise, Idaho (which, apparently, has the largest Basque community outside of Spain, and was having it's Basque festival the weekend I was there).


Basque festival dancers


Basque community center


Paella on the street


Capitol building

And Mike has had some overnights away for work (fish monitoring stuff). We also just decided (somewhat disappointedly but probably wisely) to forego a trip to Sandpoint, Idaho to swim a one and three-quarters mile swim across Lake Pend Oreille -- we've been hearing for years about what a fun event it is, and had been hoping to finally make it there this year... but between the driving distance and the swimming distance and the cooler weather this year making for cooler water temps than normal (and apparently, nobody seems to make or rent out wetsuits that would fit 8-months-pregnant people -- go figure), we figured we'll just stick at home instead :)

Other than that I can't really think of much other news. Except that Gaspar (one of Frosty's recent babies) got his head caught in the fence yesterday so effectively that I couldn't get it out without running for the wire cutters and cutting the fence -- it was actually kind of scary, he was yelling and yelling and his tongue was sticking out and turning black (although maybe goat tongues are always black? I have to check) but he was pushing so hard to try and get out that I think he might have been in danger of suffocating if he were left too long... and Ed was bumping him from the back (I've heard that goats sometimes do that -- beat up on each other when they're stuck in a bad spot) and Frosty was sitting by him but couldn't do much... So I was glad I was home, although probably he wouldn't have done it if I weren't (at least there wouldn't have been as many riled up goats hanging out by the fence waiting for me to throw them weeds). But once freed, he ran off seemingly unscathed -- except, I assume, for a whole lot of adrenaline (which I think potential babyface and I got a good shot of ourselves).

Oh, and I can't say I'm really one for purposeful belly pictures (as opposed to pictures that just happen to have bellies in them), but I figure some of you far away might be looking for them, and since we've got to be pretty close to (hopefully) maximum size now, here's one for the record.