Sunday October 23, 2011
Of the things I have had to come to terms with regarding farming and animal husbandry that I hate the most are animal deaths and disappearances. This week produced a double whammy. I went out to open the chicken house and first stopped in the ice house shed to spread some chicken food and there lie a dead chicken. My heart sunk. It was one of my bantams with those cute feathered feet and cheerful demeanor's. I immediately got Jim to remove the body and couldn't watch! Then I opened the hen house and I noticed there was only one polish chicken. Jim investigated the crime scene and noticed a ton of white feathers. We deduced that the perpetrator killed 2 chickens but only could carry one. And we think we know who did it....a bob cat. Two days later, right by the spring, the bob cat sat ready to pounce but Jim and Burt were on the scene and chased off the killer. Bob cats are such gorgeous wild animals. It is difficult to be angry at such a beautiful animal that was doing what comes naturally. So, we will continue to let our chickens live a happy life free-ranging, eating bugs and grass and accept nature's will. Nevertheless, it doesn't mitigate the sadness I experience when it happens.
Here are the chickens this morning drinking from the spring. Could I ever deny them such a luxury by keeping them caged?
Sunday October 02, 2011
I always wondered if any of the eggs that the turtles lay in the sandy part of driveways and roads, in June, ever hatch. And this week, I got my answer....
Jim picked her up and deposited her in the swamp - saved her a long, dangerous journey!
Sunday September 25, 2011
One can understand how these chickens lay the best eggs around!!
Sunday August 28, 2011
Walked down in the cellar, and there was this snake in the window well. Looks like he caught lunch.
Sunday July 03, 2011
A Shorebird in the Mountains - More Common than we Knew!
About a month or so ago on our walk down the driveway, Jim and I noticed an adorable bird. She would run ahead of us as if to say, "follow me." We both figured she was leading us away from her nest. But what was most striking is we both thought she looked and sounded like a shore bird, a plover. We thought, how could a bird get that lost? So I finally got close enough to take a photo and spent some time on the internet and guess what, our bird is a shore bird - and a plover. She's a killdeer. And fortunately she is not endangered.
And the killdeer is said to be found away from the shore and loves pastures, golf courses and parking lots. So, not surprising she is in our horse and cow pasture. And she has BABIES!!
We just love these birds. Her sound is pleasing and reminds me of the beach. She also feigns injury to distract us from her babies. This is what she looks like when she does that:
This is nature at its finest!!
Here's some more information and some audio - so love this bird!!
Sunday June 12, 2011
Among the miracles of nature are the migration of the turtles to lay their eggs. They emerge from swampy bogs, make their way across highways, roadways and other perilous paths to find a sandy, dry place to lay their eggs. I find this fascinating. She lays her eggs and goes bck to the swamp. When the turtles hatch they are hard-wired to find the swamp and their mom - how cool is that?
Here's one of those pre-historic looking snapping turtles laying eggs on our driveway:
