End of Winter

Hello dear friends, we are in crazy times are we not?   With all of the panic and anxiety about Covid19 in the world right now I thought I would share some quick photos that were left on my camera to provide some relief!

I had kept a plastic net bag that onions come in.  I filled it with dog hair, lint from the dryer and tiny little threads from a project I had been working on.  We hung the bag in a tree thinking that the birds might pick away at the contents and use it to build nests.  I don't notice any difference in the appearance of the bag but we will have to inspect some birds' nests to be sure!  Each year we find nests that have been constructed using all kinds of materials including sheeps' wool, grasses, and pieces of feed bags.

The weather has been unpredictable to say the least.  This week however we have had some very mild temperatures and our snow has been melting.  It is of course too soon to hope for a complete end to winter but I have a very strong case of spring fever. 

I have not been in the right place at the right time to capture the many birds we have here at the farm.

One of many photos of our chicken coop in the winter.  We did however have a surprise visitor!  One evening while locking up the sheep I was surprised to see a possum behind the barn.  Surprisingly my trusty assistant Abby The German Shepherd was so engrossed in sniffing that she didnt even see it.  That is fortunate as I was not sure how that encounter might end.

Possums are not very attractive, are they?  My husband however has done some research and has learned that overall they are beneficial creatures and like to eat small rodents and ticks.  As we had ticks at the farm for the first time last year I am happy to hear about this.  I am not that happy to learn that the possum was in our chicken coop.  Possums will eat eggs.  The chickens were rather stressed about this visitor but as we have not observed the possum in a few days it may have relocated elsewhere. 

Here is one of our Muscovy ducks.  I am not sure which one this is but we apparently have a female as we have a nest with eggs in the barn!  We are anxiously waiting to see if they hatch.

We are busy working away on our kitchen which we hope to have finished...mostly finished?? before Easter.  The floor is down but the hardware for the drawers needs to be installed before the counters can be ordered.  So many counter options!  I think we have narrowed down a choice and hope to be able to order the counters in the next couple of weeks.

~Thank you for visiting!~