THE PEACOCK TREE

Up early this morning...brewed a cup of tea and went out onto the deck. Spring, it definitely is the season between winter and summer....had all of the makings of becoming a warmer day, but with a slight reminder that winter was not that long gone. I took an afghan off of the back of the couch and wrapped myself in it. At first I was watching and listening to the ducks that stayed on the pond last night, but out of the corner of my eye I could see the silhouettes of our peacocks roosted in our old walnut tree. It did not rain last night and there was only a slight breeze so they decided to enjoy looking at the stars rather than their roost in the barn. I stayed out there long enough to see if there was any order as to how and who would fly down to the ground. I noticed the oldest female re positioning herself to a different branch. I could see her bobbing her head just like we would before jumping...then what she did surprised and amazed me. She flew over our house and onto the yard between the house and the barn, I thought she was going to just fly down to the ground below the walnut tree. From the kitchen window, I have watched them come sailing over the house from the other side, some making noise, some quiet, but all landing beautifully and then running a bit. I always thought they jumped from the tree to the roof and then flew down, but, this morning, I watched them all maneuver the branches of the tree, take off, fly over the house and then saw the last few sail softly down to the ground (after going to the kitchen window). Our big male peacocks all sleep in different areas, one always stays in the barn, one in an open machine shed and one up in the trees with all of the females. What a glorious sight. I think I'll get up early every morning just to watch our peacocks start their day.

LUCKY LITTLE LAMB....TWO MAMA'S LOVE HER......

Decided to name a new little lamb, Lucky Lucy because she not only have one mama that loves and takes care of her, but two. The brown sheep that you see is her mama. The white sheep, for whatever reason, did not, could not, take care of her own little lamb, so we took after a few hours and are currently bottle feeding. We take our time watching the mom's and babies to make sure that all is well, but if they are not, we are prepared to bottle feed. The white sheep was clawing the ground and moving away from the baby lamb....for hours. So, we went in and took the little girl and she is doing very well on the bottle....with three other lambs that we rescued from another farm (they don't want to bottle feed and we can't stand to see them not cared for). Anyway, the next day, Lucky Lucy was born and her mama cleaned her and fed her and took good care of her. The white sheep would hang around and nudge the baby and just generally stick really close to the mom and baby lamb. The brown sheep, the mom, was very patient with the other sheep and allowed her to lay with them and just generally be really close to her baby. They do everything together....Lucky Lucy has a mom and a 2nd mom, sometimes the very best situation....much more love to go around....you are a very Lucky Lamb..Lucy....

WINTER CAN BE BEAUTIFUL.....THROUGH A CAMERA LENS....

I've realized that the trip to anywhere, in the winter, is always so much more enjoyable for me when I bring my camera along. My sweet husband has to stop and turn around and pull off and do truck tricks for me to 'get that shot'. He's so patient....what did I do to deserve this guy. (He knows that I am a much happier person when I'm creating - taking pictures, working on a blog, writing or working on crafts for Etsy or my online store). Even when I'm driving, I take pictures....have gotten pretty good at driving with my knees. So, that would be an additional reason he is so willing to drive and maneuver. Took these this morning when we were on our way to our favorite little breakfast spot. Nothing much to say, but, it's a beautiful day winter day...enjoy it...we'll soon be complaining about how hot and humid it is soon enough.  So, enjoy each day and Blessed Be.  

HOW CARMEN SPENDS HER DAY....

Carmen may not have any special breed or variety name....she's just a Commercial Egg Layer Breed known as Black Star, but she certainly makes up for that in personality. She is very vocal, has hatched some chicks, lays a lot of eggs for us and just generally entertains...She is large,shiny black and has a bright red cone on top of her head. Her bright yellow eyes rarely miss anything. We love her large brown eggs with the darkest golden yolks. Every morning when we open the chicken coop, she is the first one out and hops right into a garbage can full of feed. She lays one large brown egg each day and better not be disturbed while she's in there. Then she hops out and begins her day. One morning when I wasn't paying attention to her routine, I stuck my hand in the garbage can to throw some feed around and I thought that I had received an electrical shock. She pecked me and reminded me that this was her time and to just be patient, she'd be done in a moment. I now check every time I stick my hand in anywhere, enough with the shocks. She then joins the group on the ground and gets her share of oats, corn and layer mix. She then heads out to the heated bucket of water and drinks for a good long time, lifting her head each time,letting the water quench her thoroughly. After making everyone else wait for a drink she looks around to decide what to do next. They may all head back into the barn and look for a spot in the sun (we have clear siding in various areas to allow the sun and light to warm up and lighten up the coop and barn)and just generally try to stay out of the wind in the winter time. They all interact,follow and chase each other around (pecking order you know). They duck under the gates and go into the llama/sheep pens and into the donkey pens. They scratch and clean the floors of the barns and pens. In the summer they really keep the bugs and mice count down by doing what they do naturally, scratching and snacking on the bugs and larva they find most tasty. Carmen's beau is Juan, he's a fancy bantam rooster. Their arrangement is kind of odd but it seems to work. He is about half her size and yet they have had chicks together. Our other rooster, Big Red pretty much stays away from Juan when he's with Carmen because generally two roosters in one coop or barn is one too many roosters. Carmen might just be Juan's body guard. Anyway, any chance Big Red gets to go after Juan, he does. But, Juan is smaller and much faster. So, for years he has escaped the testosterone and ego of Big Red. In the spring, summer and fall, the hens, with Carmen usually leading the group, move into my flower beds. It is a special day when we are out there working in the beds, turning over soil and planting new bulbs or plants. There is no fear when it comes to a worm. Carmen will stand on my foot and wait for a worm to appear. Needless to say it's hard to get anything done when there's a chicken standing on your foot and several more within inches. I cannot even use a big shovel for fear of hurting one of them. So, I have to use a small hand scooper and it takes twice as long to do any planting job in the flower beds. But, the show is well worth the wait. I've seen a worm suspended between two beaks and squabbles over a big juicy one. When we are not working in the beds, Juan is instructed by Carmen, I'm sure, to jump up onto a platform bird feeder, and kick down some seed. Then, all of the chickens would gather around the base and eat dried meal worms, sunflower seeds, much to the dismay of the local birds. As the day winds down and all of the scratching and just generally messing around is done, everyone heads back to the coop to pick out their place to roost for the night. As I secure the coop door, I love to just hang out for awhile and listen to their sounds. After having a few arguments during the day, they all sound like they are speaking very nicely to each other, that's what I like to think anyway. Maybe apologizing, maybe wishing a good nights rest, maybe talking around the next day's adventures. Goodnight Carmen, goodnight Juan, goodnight Big Red and all of his girls...sleep well and we'll hear you (Juan & Big Red) and see you first thing in the morning for another day in the life of barnyard chickens

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HONKEY DONKEYS...Mini Donkeys are the cutest.....and smartest....

 

 My very patient and understanding husband and I have had a number of miniature horses and donkeys. We really love our mini donkeys...Frankie and Annie. A bit about mini donkeys: they are very protective, but gentle in nature. They are highly recommended for so many things...companion animals for sheep, goats, chickens and calves. They are very intelligent, they continue to learn throughout their lives and have the capability to remember and think for themselves (which is why they are accused of being stubborn)....unlike humans, it only takes one time for them to learn to not do that again. They are wonderful therapy animals because of their gentleness and they sense how to act around older or smaller people (kids). When I go into the barn, they know I'm the one that messes with them and the one with the water bottle...which they promptly steal as soon as I put it down somewhere and then run way out into the field with it. They can pull a cart or sleigh carrying one adult. They can hold 100 pounds on their back and so are recommended for new riders (kids). They live for a long time....into their 20's. They have a natural dislike for wolves, coyotes and aggressive unfamiliar dogs. A lot of farmers will use donkeys to protect their livestock. They will kick and believe me when they kick and have an intended target, they do not miss. They will play around and buck and semi kick, but when it's serious...it's dead on. They also are great weed control - stinging nettles are one of their favorites....yikes - like eating a porcupine. Mostly they are funny and good for the soul. Glad that your home is with us Frankie and Annie....when you bray.....I always think it sounds more like long, incredibly loud honking, like a giant semi is going to come plowing right through our barn....you are very special you honkey donkeys....!

A WINTER DAY ON THE FARM,

Winter is definitely a beautiful inconvenience....I have found it (being from Chicago and now living in the country) especially hard on a farm....But, the good part is that you have to go out into it....no choice...all your animals are waiting for food, water and a pat on the head. I can't go to bed at night until I've made sure that everyone's tummy is full, they've had a drink and they are able to lie down out of the wind and snow in some clean hay....so, you get dressed really warm and go out into the cold night.  Once you're out there...you're really glad that you ventured out....the animals are all so happy to see you. I wonder if they recognize me sometimes with just my eyes showing, but apparently they do...or they just love anyone that is going to give them corn and oats and fluff up their hay. Anyway, I find myself spending more time out there than I had originally planned, and I always feel so good when I turn out the lights and say goodnight...sleep tight... to them all. We check very often at this time of year because sometimes lambs are born early and we don't want them to freeze so we either move mom and baby into a special stall with heat lights or we actually bring the babies in if mom is not wanting to feed - our moms are all great, but we do go and get babies from another farm that don't pay as much attention as we do...so, I bottle feed the lambs and they live in my bathroom and then in a whelping pen in our indoor kennel for our dogs. Some days it's really tough...equipment breakdowns, frozen water, etc. but, most of the time my husband gets it all to work and we go out and work in the barn together and laugh a lot.....and then we come into the house frozen and tired and snuggle up in front of a fire and fall asleep having more sweet stories to tell about our life on the farm....

DISLIKE WINTER? ME TOO....sort of...

I've never really liked winter (maybe when I was a child I enjoyed it) but, not in recent years. I decided I needed to do something to help me manage winters better, to enjoy every season. I bought a camera and started shooting. A strong cold wind might keep me in the house, but, otherwise, I go out everyday with my camera over my shoulder. I placed a basket of seed on the deck right outside the window where I sit at my computer and was amazed at how beautiful the ever changing scenery was at that seed basket. I've always been a bird watcher but never really had a feeder near enough to me to really see the birds up close. When the Blue Jays fly in everyone else disappears...except one day, a female Cardinal, that basically gave him the "I'm not leaving" look and after starring at each other for awhile, he went on to eat seed together. At about 4:00 each day it becomes Cardinal hour...so many of them fly in and feed on the sunflower seeds....so beautiful. You really don't notice them as much in the summer, but with their brilliant red and softened tones (of the female)against the white snow....they just brighten the whole landscape. You don't see the variety that you see in the summer months when the vacationing birds come back, but you get to know the ones that come each day. The squirrel pictured is a Fox Squirrel and he has a boo boo above his eye....I watched the boo boo heal each day as he would come for his daily treat....winter....it's not so bad...in the summer I would be outside seeing some of this but not from my warm comfy chair with a front row view....I've started taking my camera with me on my drives to and from work and have gotten an amazing variety of beautiful pictures of winter in all of it's finery....find a way to enjoy this beautiful season.