Wordless Wednesday - That Was Then, This Is Now

~Tell

I'm Calling Shotgun Now

If there's one thing I've learned about living on a farm, it's that springtime means babies. Already we have played foster mama to a fledgling barred owl and four cottontail rabbits. And that owl sure made me nervous, the way he was watching those buns, so we made sure nobody went hungry until they were released (far apart from each other, I made sure of that). But the biggest surprise of all was when My Boy's show heifer, Ruby Tuesday, had her baby last week. Lookee here!

I'm a bit jealous that he has more spots than me. He even has a heart on his forehead. So far we can't decide on a name for him, but it has to be a special one because he will be My Boy's show calf next year. Isn't he a lucky one? We think so.

My new best bud weighs four times as much as me and is growing bigger every day. I have to watch where he steps so he doesn't mash my head in the ground. My Boy is teaching him to lead right now while he's small enough to handle. I just hope that when we all ride in the pickup, he knows I like to sit by the window.

~Tell

Spring in the Hollow

In spite of a few snowflakes the other day, I think Spring is here! Let me show you around our front yard...

Here are some of Mom's Daffy flowers. They used to be planted all in groups and rows, but the landscaping a few years ago bulldozed them, and now they pop up everywhere.

These white blossoms are from our pear tree in the circle drive. The tree will have so many heavy pears that the limbs bend all the way to the ground. If our piggies get out of their pens, they head straight to the tree. They love eating pears!

This is Dottie, our Silver Penciled Wyandotte hen. She lays brown eggs.

Here are two of the guinea hens. I have not plucked a guinea hen yet because they are very good at flying.

These are the Blue Andalusian hens, and of course, Dottie is peeking at the camera again. The Blues don't like the hen house, so they roost in trees at night. They lay white eggs.

Here is a quick look at a Production Red hen. I think she was in a hurry to be somewhere else. See ya!

This is the view out our front door where the pickup is parked. And Dottie again. Methinks she is wanting a blog of her own.

Yes, the grass is greening up nicely here and the weather is warmer. I'm ready for spring!

~Tell

Spring Has Sprung, The Grass Has Riz...

Spring seems to have sprung overnight here on the farm. Snow one day, sunny the next, and then came the flowers. After all the bulldozing and terrace remodeling around the house last year, we weren't sure if any of the daffodils would come back. Suddenly they were everywhere, though not where we remembered planting them. That's okay, though, we live on a country farm and things grow wherever they want to pop up.

The big yellow flower is a daffodil (but you probably already knew that). The smaller white flowers with the tiny lavender stripes are called American Beauty. Grandma-Great used to call them Good Morning, Spring. They are one of the first wildflowers to bloom and are so small that they are easily overlooked. Still, they are one of my favorites since they are early bloomers. Did you know that Native Americans used to eat the tubers from these flowers? Wow, I'll bet they had to dig a whole lot of them to make a meal.

Leo and Cedric, the resident goats, have decided to stay on our farm after the show season ends. Their job will be grass mowing and weed eating, so I guess you could say they are in the lawn maintainence business. Here is Leo, ready to begin his first day at the new job. "Hey, open the starting gate! I'm hungry!"

Clover seems to be the favorite right now, but soon they'll eat everything in sight, including the dreaded poison ivy that grows around the tree trunks, and also the sumac that grows near the clothesline. Yuck, how could anything eat that and not swell up and die? They love it though, and it doesn't hurt them at all. God made them tough, I guess.

So here's a view of our yard in the springtime. The goats are happy, the chickens are happy, and all's right with the world. Springtime is the best time!

~Tell