Arriving 12 days early, Beaumont showed up around 1:00 a.m. last Wednesday morning, born only a few minutes before I arrived for my nightly check. With a heart as big as a wash tub, no, his forehead, he came into the world looking for a heartfelt home.

This was Miss Daisy’s first calf.

Feeling a sudden spring in your step?

Photo by Wikkie via Wikimedia Commons

Perhaps a dazzling sense of delirium?

It’s called spring fever, my friend—and none of us are immune.

Thankfully, the symptoms are generally … sensational!

“There’s more daylight, so people have more energy, sleep a little less,” Sanford Auerbach, M.D., director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Boston University, told Web MD.

Plus, levels of serotonin, an important mood-regulating hormone, soar in the springtime. The LA Times reports, “This mood-elevating neurotransmitter may be at the root of the giddiness, energy boost, and enthusiasm that characterize spring fever.”

No cure for me, thanks. I’m just fine letting the fever run its course.

If you weren’t planning on planting a garden this spring, I suspect that hearing Ron Finley’s story will inspire you to not only plant one, but to sneak seeds into every sliver of barren soil you see.

After you watch this video, Ron will be on your list of AMAZING people/super heroes.

“I think of the garden after the rain;

And hope to my heart comes singing,

At morn the cherry-blooms will be white,

And the Easter bells be ringing!”

—Edna Dean Procter

Geep.

Nope, that’s not a roadrunner misprint.

It really is “geep.”

“Geep” is what farmer Paddy Murphy in Ireland is calling a notable new baby on his farm …

Photo: Snapshot/YouTube courtesy of MNN.com

The little tyke is not merely a sheep, like his mama.

Nor is he a goat, as his dad is reputed to be.

He has become known, therefore, as a geep.

“He has been a great source of craic (gossip) for the lads in the pub,” Murphy told the Irish Farmers Journal last week. “We might even have a competition to name him.”

This post is for Winnie. (Ha, I accidently typed in Winner!) So, Winner Winnie, here’s Myrtle, the girl wearing the bling light in Sunday’s post, as well as today’s photo-of-the-day. This is a truck I used to drive, but now that I’ve turned her into a hay shed (wonderful in her hayday), she’s been officially put out to pasture.

Here she is getting her new roof framed up.

And now she’s getting covered in reused metal siding from our old barn.

A true Jersey girl!

P.S. Winnie, the yellow flower was the bloom on a kale plant in my greenhouse.

Have you heard about the new Barbie in town?

Well, she’s not really here, in town … and she’s not actually a Barbie.

So, let me try this again …

Have you heard of Lammily?

Image courtesy of Nickolay Lamm via Lammily.com

She’s a doll, isn’t she?

Touted by her creator (yes, he’s a man) as fun, fit, and healthy, Lammily is posed to give Barbie a run for her money. Much to many a thinking woman’s relief, she was modeled using the standard body proportions of an average 19-year-old gal, which—as we know—don’t include a corset-crimped waist or a Nefertiti neck.

Out with the old …

Photo of first Barbie doll, introduced in both blonde and brunette in March 1959, by Barbieologin via Wikimedia

In with the new …

Image courtesy of Nickolay Lamm via Lammily.com

“When I look at current fashion dolls, I’m reminded of my experience in high school. I’m reminded that there are some things that are just a mirage and not worth emulating,” explains Nickolay Lamm, the genius behind Lammily. “Moreover, I’m reminded that there is beauty in embracing all the aspects of who you are, and in staying true to you.”

Lamm goes on to say that Lammily (named for Lamm and his family) has a stylish, yet simple, wardrobe without a barrage of bling. She wears minimal makeup, promoting the realistic beauty standards of the everyday girl.

And her lifestyle? Forget glamorous partying and shopping-till-she-drops …

In a recent Huffington Post editorial, Nickolay Lam wrote, “I want Lammily’s accessories to be reflective of real life in miniature form. I envision her reading books that inform and playing instruments that educate on the sounds and intricacies of music. I see her constructing her own home, cultivating her own garden while learning about the wonders of plants and vegetables, and eating these nourishing and healthy foods. All of these aspects are authentic, and can be complemented with an online world where children can explore these realities in depth.”

Well, it’s about time, don’t you think?

You can’t run to the store to find Lammily just yet. She’s in the works as we speak. But you can pre-order a first-edition doll at Lammily.com with an expected ship date of November 2014.

In the meantime, here’s a little more about Lammily: