Friday’s Farm Fotos

Another week has slipped right by.  Spring is in residence most of the time, although old man winter rousts her out now and then for a light frost or some nippy weather.  But flowers are blooming and birds are nesting and the peacocks are screaming, so it must really be spring!

I saw the first iris blooming in the flowerbed around a big oak tree in our front yard. . .

And the Solomon Seal is starting to put out little dainty bells of bloom . . .

The Farmer saw some of the pond denizens out enjoying the warmer weather . . .

The frogs are also hopping all over the place.  I guess they’re just hoppy!

Another day I saw a bunch of the chickens congregating in the evening.  I’m not sure if it was a chicken conversation or a conversation of chickens.

It’s not exactly a hen party, because too many roosters are attending this event.

They’re not the only ones who hand out together. Here’s a line-up of the happy hoofers. . .

And now I must get back to work.  I am determined to finish up this book project!

Time for a Turtle Tomb

We’ve had our Eastern Painted Turtle a long time.  The Cave Geek found her as a hatchling, maybe the size of a quarter, when we were living near Cleveland, Ohio.  Way back in another lifetime, and when the Geek was only about 10 years old.

In other words, she’s been part of the family for 20 years.

She was named for Michelangelo. No, not the famous Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer Michelangelo.  Well, only indirectly.  Because she was named for… remember he was 10 years old!  Mikey, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

And since Mikey was named for Michelangelo, I guess indirectly, our turtle was too.  But our Mikey was not a famous artist or a mutant turtle.  She was more down to earth, an Eastern Painted Turtle.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t been doing too well of late.  She seemed to have trouble staying right side up for one thing.  Then yesterday, I realized I hadn’t seen her move on her basking spot for quite some time.  Upon closer inspection, I realized she had died.

So today I dug a turtle tomb, wrapped her in a little shroud of sorts, and buried her beneath a big walnut tree.

After I covered the grave with some rocks, I saw some dandelions blooming, so picked a few of those and put on her turtle tomb.

Losing a long time pet is sad, even if turtles aren’t the most cuddly critters in the world.  Twenty years is a long time to have a pet.  Her little corner of the living room is going to seem awfully empty. 

Good-bye Mikey.  I’ll miss you.

Turtle-ly Awesome Weather

We are having some wonderful fall weather right now, with cooler days in the 80s instead of high 90s (F.).  The sun is shining, there’s a nice breeze… it’s beautiful out there!

Even the turtles in the pond are enjoying sunning themselves…

But wait!  There wasn’t just one turtle, or even one KIND of turtle!  There were two turtle youngsters right close to each other.

I’m not sure what sort of turtle the one on the left is.  The shell is covered with stuff, so it could be a Painted Turtle or an Eastern Chicken Turtle.

But this one I’m pretty sure is a snapping turtle.

We see a big snapping turtle in the pond once in a while, or going walkabout.

This turtle is pretty easy going.

Not all snapping turtles are mean and aggressive!

At any rate, we end up with little turtles in the pond from somewhere!

More Signs Of Spring

I’ve talked about the wild birds and peacocks looking for a mate and nesting. But there are also signs of spring from the amphibian and reptile sectors.

In the reptile kingdom, I saw a couple of turtles out sunning on the log in the pond yesterday for the first time this year.

In the amphibian sector, the frogs are out too.  But getting a picture of one of them continues to elude me.  I’ve even tried walking along the edge of the pond with the video going, and though you can see a splash in the water or hear a little cheep from time to time, you can’t actually see the frogs.

However, when it comes to the audio, well, for a couple of weeks now I’ve been hearing the “spring peepers.”  I stood down in the bottom pasture beside the bog yesterday and took this little video. It’s not much for looks; it’s the sound that matters.

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Here again, being able to SEE the little critters just doesn’t happen. They hide down in all that vegetation – you can see what I mean from where I zoomed in on it near the end of the video.  I have never been able to spot even one little frog, much less get a picture of it.

For one thing, the minute they hear or feel the vibration of me getting close, they shut up.  For another, I really don’t want to crawl around in that marshy area peering under clumps of weeds, trying to see a frog.  With my luck, I’d come on some kind of water snake!

That in itself might be a little unsettling, but we have a plethora of water moccasins around here, and I really am not keen on a poisonous snake bite.

So I fear the shy little frogs will continue to elude the paparazzi.

12 Days Of Christmas, Country Style

We do things different in the country.  If our true love sent us presents for 12 days of Christmas, we wouldn’t have any namby-pamby stuff like 12 Lords a leaping or 3 French hens.  No sir.  Here’s how WE’d do it:

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me. . .

A Parrot in our pantry!
.

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me. . .

Two Loving Llamas!

and a Parrot in our pantry.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me. . .

Three frosty sheep!

two loving llamas,
and a Parrot in our pantry.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me. . .

Four Calling Birds!

three frosty sheep,
two loving llamas,
and a Parrot in our pantry.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me. . .

Five Canning Rings!

four calling birds,
three frosty sheep,
two loving llamas,
and a Parrot in our pantry.

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me. . .

Six Hens A Laying!

five canning rings,
four calling birds,
three frosty sheep,
two loving llamas,
and a Parrot in our pantry.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me. . .

Seven Turtles Swimming!

six hens a laying,
five canning rings,
four calling birds,
three frosty sheep,
two loving llamas,
and a Parrot in our pantry.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me. . .

Eight Goats For Milking!

seven turtles swimming,
six hens a laying,
five canning rings,
four calling birds,
three frosty sheep,
two loving llamas,
and a Parrot in our pantry.

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me. . .

Nine Peacocks Prancing!

eight goats for milking,
seven turtles swimming,
six hens a laying,
five canning rings,
four calling birds,
three frosty sheep,
two loving llamas,
and a Parrot in our pantry.

 

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me. . .

Ten Roosters Leaping!

nine peacocks prancing,
eight goats for milking,
seven turtles swimming,
six hens a laying,
five canning rings,
four calling birds,
three frosty sheep,
two loving llamas,
and a Parrot in our pantry.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me. . .

Eleven Chicks A Peeping!

ten roosters leaping,
nine peacocks prancing,
eight goats for milking,
seven turtles swimming,
six hens a laying,
five canning rings,
four calling birds,
three frosty sheep,
two loving llamas,
and a Parrot in our pantry.

 

On the twelveth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me. . .

Twelve Guineas Grazing!

eleven chicks a peeping,
ten roosters leaping,
nine peacocks prancing,
eight goats for milking,
seven turtles swimming,
six hens a laying,
five canning rings,
four calling birds,
three frosty sheep,
two loving llamas,
and a Parrot in our pantry.

 

And THAT’s how we’d do presents for the 12 days of Christmas, country style.