Friday’s Farm Fotos

Time once again for a look at miscellaneous pictures I took around the farm this past week.  This first picture is of Valrhona, one of our Shetland sheep ewes, bedded down in the dry grasses in the main pasture.

The grass is maybe 6-8″ long, and seems to be just perfect for nestling down into it for extra warmth.  All of the 4-legged animals seem to think it’s great!

Once again, the animals are out in the main pasture:

I took this picture from inside the house, looking out the window in the dining area.  The sheep are in the shorter grass areas, grazing the green stuff tucked underneath.  Our Maremma sheep dog, Neffie, likes to stick close, but keeps to the highest vantage point she can find.

Still looking out the window, I saw one of our Buff Orpington hens.

They love to scratch around in the leaves along the fenceline, looking for something tasty to eat.

One of the escapee roosters was doing the same thing around the base of a tree.

I sometimes throw crumbs out there, which they seem to enjoy.

The wild birds like the suet feeders.  Sometimes a Tufted Titmouse comes to visit.

And sometimes these little birds show up in bunches.

I’ve been trying to figure out what kind of birds these are, but can’t find anything that looks *exactly* like them.  The nearest I’ve come up with is an American Tree Sparrow.  But the colors aren’t quite right.

Here’s a couple getting a drink from the birdbath.

And one was sitting on the picket fence.

So, anybody know what this bird is exactly?

Now, I know exactly what THIS bird is.

That’s an immature male cardinal with a punky ATTITUDE.

And I do mean, ATTITUDE.

I think his mohawk “hairdo” looked pretty cool.  Bet he thinks he’s a read macho dude!

Our farm collie, Toby, isn’t so much macho as goofy.  The minute we go outside, he runs around like an idiot trying to find a stick to carry.  It doesn’t matter if it’s toothpick sized or a log.

Sometimes he gets sticks that are so big he can barely drag them around.

He and Neffie seem to enjoy grooming each other, each though they are both “fixed.”

Later in the week I saw a Northern Mockingbird getting a drink from the birdbath.

The cardinals also visit the birdbath.

Sometimes even the chickens hop up for a drink from the birdbath, like this little Golden Sebright Bantam hen.

Glancing through all these pictures, you might get the idea things are pretty fowl around here.  From the looks of all these guineas following our male llama around, I’d say you’d be right.

We’ve got all kinds of birdbrains outside and inside.   This one on the inside is hanging from the curtain on the back door. . .

And bidding you GOOD-BY!

Have A Goat For Christmas

Yes, have a goat for Christmas!  Maybe two goats!

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Backyard Chicken Raising

There are a couple of orphaned chicks on the farm.  I really think they belong to Peepers, but hatched out after she had already left the nest.  I made them into pet chickens and kept them in a birdcage on the back porch until a week or so ago.

By then they were getting a little big for the cage, and I figured they could fend for themselves.  I decided it was time to turn them loose, but first I wanted to introduce them to the other critters.

So The Farmer carried the cage out into the backyard for me.  It wasn’t long until our two most curious creatures were checking the new chicks out.

Hey Lady, WHAT are these little critters???

The sheep were a little more wary, and just looked on from what they considered a safe distance.

Whatever they are, we’re not going near them!

However, with Cinnamon the goat and Keira the llama, curiosity wins out over caution.

Let’s get a closer look at these pet chickens that crazy lady put out here.

I guess since nothing jumped out at them, they decided to move even closer.

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Even the guineas decided they needed to check out this strange contraption and it’s inhabitants.

We don’t care if they ARE your pet chickens, we don’t share our food!

One guinea decided to get up close and personal to check out these newcomers.

You don’t look so tough!

Neffie gave me the evil eye, no doubt figuring I was just making more work for her.

Thanks a lot… that’s two more critters I have to watch over!

I finally opened the door so they could come out.

They were a little tentative at first, but it didn’t take them long to want to get out and explore.

That was when some of the old Buff Orpington hens decided it was time to check out these new additions to the backyard flock.

Hey look! There’s some new youngsters!

Now they’re right out there with the rest of the chickens every morning, looking to see what I’ll throw out for them to eat.

They seem to have blended in okay with the rest of the chickens, and are growing fast.

I love my little chickens.

The Dead Animals Need Love

We came back from the grocery store yesterday to see a pasture full of dead animals.

Buried among the weeds was our Maremma, looking like nothing more than a pile of old white fluff.

It kind of looks like I just threw a white fleece out in the weeds.

The other dog, Toby the Farmcollie, looked done for too.

There he was, toes up, and dead to the world.

Worse, this apparent plague seemed to get the hoofed animals too.  There was a lump that was once a cute little goat.

And alas!  Even the llamas looked like goners.

What caused this dreadful plague? Why were all the animals keeled over like that?

In a word, sunshine.  After days and days of rain, we had a beautiful day with bright sunshine and the animals were enjoying stretching out and soaking up the heat.

The cure? Well, dead animals need love.  All I had to do was walk out there closer, and up popped heads, and the lump of a goat came to life. . .

As did our llama lady. . .

… and all the other “dead” critters.

They just can’t resist seeing if I have any treats or pets for them.  They sure do enjoy attention, so like I said, all the dead animals needed was a little love!

Wish it was that easy all the time!

Friday’s Farm Fotos

It’s been a while since I posted some miscellaneous photos.  So here we are, a snapshot in time, pictures from today around the farm.

First I went out and fed the chickens.

It’s still kind of drizzly out.  We seem to be having a monsoon season here, and I must say, I’m getting a little tired of it.  The chickens don’t seem to pay much attention, however, nor do the guineas.  Here’s a couple of keets from two different age groups. . .

They’re starting to look more like adults, and a whole lot less like babies.

The mutant chimera chick was getting a share of the grain.  It’s still looks strange.

Noticeable in his absence, however, is the lone white rooster running around in the pastures.  We caught his compatriots a few nights back and put them in a pen by themselves.   He was roosting in a catalpa tree by the sheep shed with some other chickens.  The Farmer got hold of him, but did not KEEP hold of him and the rooster escaped.  I guess the rooster figures he doesn’t want anywhere near us in case we try catching him again!

Out in the main pasture I can see some of the trees in the neighbor’s yard have turned color.

The colder, rainy weather has brought down a lot of leaves.  Most of which are boring brown, like these in another neighbor’s driveway:

In spite of fall being here, there is still lots of green grass and grazing.  Keira and Cinnamon like to spend a big part of their day in the main pasture, munching up on the grass.  Samson is also out there, but doesn’t seem to worry about being so close by these days.  I’m hoping Keira is already carrying a cria.

The dogs were out playing this morning, but as soon as they saw me with the camera they stopped.  They were more interested in what I was doing.

Neffie is the white dog, our Maremma.  Toby is an American Working Farmcollie, though I think he’d rather play than work.

Walking back to the house I noticed there are still berries on the Tea Viburnum.

The camellia bush still has a lot of blooms and even buds, along with numerous visiting bees (or hornets or whatever they happen to bee).

And now I BEE-lieve that’s enough pictures for today!