Walk About

 Hello everyone!  Lake Ophelia is home to a large number of frogs with the number increasing every year.  The noise they make is staggering even though it can be difficult to see them.  Here is a bullfrog.  Frogs are a good indicator of the health of the surrounding environment so we are very pleased to see and hear so many of them.

Holly is enjoying a late morning splash.  Lake Ophelia is not really a lake but a large pond we had created several years ago.  We named it Lake Ophelia after our beloved Yellow Labrador, Ophelia.  Over the next couple of years we would like to have the pond expanded as the cattails have taken hold and over the years the banks have started to fill in.

The allium is in full bloom in the Hercules Garden although the leaves are already starting to die back.  Soon the plants will go dormant but reappear in greater numbers next year.

 This is a very old honeysuckle that we found on the property when we moved here.  We needed to move it to prepare for some construction last year and it is seems quite happy in its' new location.

 It is ironic that such cute little critters are such a menace on the farm!  Each year raccoons nest in our large maples to have their young.  The adult raccoons are known to kill chickens and last night they managed to kill one of our laying hens.  Several years ago we lost 40 chickens in one night.  Raccoons have also killed some of our turkeys as well as some of our muscovy ducks.  They are not welcome residents on our farm!

 We have an assortment of laying hens.  They have a fenced area adjacent to the hen house where they can scratch around for bugs.  In addition to grain we also feed our chickens grass clippings and weeds from the garden.  

 Our hen house has several nesting boxes which the hens use to lay their eggs.  On occasion a hen becomes "broody" and tries to protect the eggs in the hopes of hatching them!  We are careful to remove the eggs throughout the day although I must confess that I dread being pecked at by a broody hen!  Long sleeves and heavy garden gloves usually provide protection.  All of our hens lay brown eggs although contrary to popular belief white eggs and brown eggs are equally nutritious. 

Thank you for visiting!