Jeepers, Peepers!

Hi ho, everybody! I've been a good dog this week. At least that's what The Family is telling me. I haven't escaped from the yard for a whole week now, so I CAN be a good dog when I have to be. I was so good, in fact, that I got to help gather eggs from the hen house this morning. Since they're under my protection, it's imperitive that I check security and don't let a fox or possum in. Here are pictures of some of the things I am responsible for. These are brown eggs, and the yolks are extra bright yellow, none of those pale store-bought eggs on our farm! Sometimes I am given one of these to play with. You gotta play real easy with these, otherwise they explode and turn your beard yellow.



We also have three laying hens. Their names are Lucille, Rosita and Henrietta. They are called Production Reds. They eat bugs, which is a not cool thing to do, but they seem to like it.



After feeding and egg-gathering, I got to take a ride in the pickup and we went to a feed store. I think feed stores have the most marvelous smells in the world. We got a surprise on this trip, too. We brought home baby chicks!

We bought guineas for tick control, and bantams just because we like little chickens with feathers on their legs. See that cheeky fellow front and center. Is that a little roo, or what? He looks like trouble to me!
~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