Thursday Links

I haven't spent a ton of time online this week- friends of ours offered us the chance to get away for a couple of days and stay down at their place on the coast. As much as I love the mountains, the ocean holds a special place in my heart- so we jumped at the opportunity. Thankfully, my mom is able to take care of the animals and garden for us, making it possible to sneak off for a little while. (Thanks, Mom!)

One of the things that I like best about heading out for a couple of days, is how dramatic the changes seem when we get back. We went from no strawberries to a handful of red ones, and a whole bunch more that are almost there. The peas had just sprouted, and their leaves weren't open yet- yesterday each one had at least four leaves on them. Hooray! Between photos from the trip and here, I've got some good pics to share tomorrow.

But for today, we'll keep it simple and stick to our regular routine. Here's what's caught my eye around the web this week:

• I'm thinking more and more about goats these days. There's a goat rescue not far from here; I plan on volunteering with them to get some more experience with the animals so I can see if they'd be a good fit for us at some point. 
• This "ice cream" looks fantastic. I'm going to have to make some ice and dig out my machine. 
• And while I'm thinking about frozen desserts- does any one else make this? We always have frozen bananas on hand- well, we used to anyway. I seem to run out now... It's great plain, but I like to add a little nutella for grins. 
• My chives need a haircut, so I'm going to make up a batch of this vinegar. Beautiful!
• I've been spending a lot more time with my camera set to things other than "auto" lately. This article has been very helpful!

That's all, for now. What have you been reading online this week?