Our winter friends

Sometimes we need a reminder of why we have animals in our lives

I'd say this shot about covers it for me.

What are they doing out there?

And I thought I had no sense of direction

Last week I noticed a bird who looked different than any I had seen around the property. He would hang out by the feeders and hop along the ground. Always alone, and usually hanging around the same group of trees. So I took some pics and googled him. He is a Bronzed Cowbird. The thing is, they are from Central America and go as far north as Louisiana. Well, we are pretty far north from that so it is a mystery how he got here. Perhaps he hitched a ride with a moving van. I saw him yesterday, and our temps are dropping so I hope this little guy can make it through one of our winters. And just so ya know I did report the sighting on ebird which I believe is run by Cornell.

First cardinal of the season

and her hair is a damn mess. Gosh, girl go and get that fixed now.

Another guest at the farm

Lynn and I have been trying to get close to this little guy for weeks now with no luck. He has a highly developed fear instinct and bolts usually at the sight of us. We started leaving food outside for him and slowly moving that food into the barn, in an effort to get comfortable in there. My hope is that he sleeps in there to escape the elements. It appears as though he does.
So we leave food in the barn every morning and every night as well as leave the barn doors slightly open so he can find shelter. Not sure how we are going to handle winter with him. Leaving the barn doors open is not the best idea. I think we should put in a cat door, Lynn does not agree. What to do! Should I just pull a Nora and buy and have Jim install the cat door? Probably. Even though this little one is a major snot-head for not liking us, I feel responsible for his well-being. And obviously Lynn does cause she is the one who started feeding him in the first place. Damn we are suckers. Little stinker dude.

A chill day

Our weather has been really strange as of late. Over the last two weeks we had windy and hot days with temps in the 80s and winds at a steady 15-20 mph. And an unfortunate deep freeze one morning, that did a number on some plants. Not our usual May that is for sure. I think Mother Nature is experiencing wicked mood swings.
We got some very welcomed rain yesterday and more today. It is about 50 degrees right now and breezy with showers on and off. A perfect day to just chill and relax. So that is what Mags and Tilly have decided to do.

Earning their keep

Some of the girls are out today helping Lynn weed the blueberries.

Chickens and ducks can be pretty helpful with the removal of garden pests. You really want to limit them to mature plant areas. They disturb the soil too much for newbies.

And some are just posing

New tenants at Sleepy Dog

Lynn put a bird house up on a fence post at the tail end of last summer and it did not take long for someone to claim it. We now have Tree Swallows nesting in it. These two are absolutely adorable so of course I had to take some pics. (without getting too close)

beautiful blue male

Female standing guard. apparently I looked suspicious.

You can always make room for someone you love

Playing with Tilly

Tilly is a very energetic and intelligent little girl. We are always looking for ways to engage her and tire her out, otherwise she turns into a nut. So I thought it would be a good idea to run her ragged by throwing her favorite toy(a pink purse given to her by my sister Dee) up the stairs for her to retrieve over and over again. And initially she did, until she decided that was too much of an effort. She changed the game on me. See below to see her modified game in action.

This kid just cracks me up.

Another guest at the Duck Coop Hotel

This one just came for breakfast.

The quality of the shot isn't the best but you can see that one of them is not of the avian family. Here's another shot a little later.

Do pets choose us?

Apparently they do. Lynn has relocated Gertrude several times from either coop. This pic is from late afternoon yesterday. She just keeps coming back. I can't blame her. The coops are warm, comfortable, and have both food and water. Kinda like a hotel. Lynn has been asking if we should give her a place in the barn. I am not sure. But I may not have a choice if Gertie(named by Lynn) keeps coming back.

Magnolia

Every once and awhile a sweet, gentle soul enters the world.  

Newest addition to the family?

This little girl or boy first showed up under the bird feeders a few days ago, around 4:30-5pm.  This is the first time I've seen an opossum out and about in daylight.  They are a nocturnal, slow-moving animal; the only marsupial in North America.  It is extremely rare to see them this far north in New York (another sign of climate change perhaps?).  They do not hibernate, and are sensitive to the cold; prone to frostbite on the tips of their ears and tails, which this little being has signs of.  They are opportunistic feeders, eating everything from carrion to berries and seeds.  Here, she is thoroughly enjoying the sunflower seeds thrown from the feeders by our pack of red squirrels and flock of blue jays.  She stayed for about an hour and then moseyed under our back stoop.  She continued to show up at the feeders for the next couple of days anywhere from 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Then, on Saturday, I saw her once again and then she disappeared.  I assumed back under the stoop for some shut-eye.  I headed out to the coops around 5:00 p.m. for the evening feeding and tuck in. I opened the big door to the hen/duck coop and there, hanging out in a bed of straw, is my little 'possum friend. "Well, hello there," I say.  "You're not supposed to be in here."  I stepped into the coop and tried to encourage her to leave.  She just sat there and looked at me.  So, I walked back to the house to grab my work gloves figuring she was going to require a more explicit re-lo program. Lorna and Tim were already at the house cooking the prime rib (to go along with the fab, colossal king crab legs Nora purchased directly from some place in Alaska - these things were almost 2' long!) for my b'day dinner, and Lorna was astounded that I was going to pick this animal up and move her out of the coop - not that I had a choice, she could not cohabitate with the hens and ducks.  When I got back out to the coop, she had not moved.  So I stepped inside again and slowly approached her, talking to her while I did so.  She continued to stare at me, but no hissing and baring of teeth.  So I figured what the hell, and reached out to pick her up.  She was, after all, not much larger than the numerous ferrets I've handled over the years, with not much sharper teeth and a seemingly more docile temperament.  She didn't resist at all, or turn to try to bite me.  I carried her back to the house, curled up in my arms.  Lorna met me at the back door and I asked her to grab some sunflower seeds on a plastic lid, which I placed under the stoop along with Miss 'Possum.  She just sat there not moving for a bit, not "playing dead" as they are known for, but not sure she should move either.  However, within 5-10 minutes she was up and eating seeds.

Oddly, I've not seen her out in daylight since Saturday, but saw signs of her tracks in the snow yesterday morning.  I hope she lingers here long enough to put on some size and then wanders off to her next locale before she gets big enough to potentially do some damage to the hens...because then I will have to relocate her back into the woods; a considerably more dangerous location for her from a predator standpoint.

Flashback to 2012

A young Daisy2 and MadeIt with their brothers. All were hatched here. So cute. We had to say goodbye to the roos though. :(

And remembering Mistah! 

Mags and a pair of ears

take a walk in the snow.
Happy Thursday

Tilly chillin with her sis

A rare moment of calm in the little one's day.

Roasted ducks?

Nah, just bathing ducks. Today is rather temperate(in the 20s) so Lynn suggested I fill their water catch pan with water to let them bathe. Needless to say, they are loving it. Of course I have to check on them to make sure they don't get stuck inside if the water freezes. Apparently this really does happen. Lots o beauty not so much brains.

My apologies but I just can't stop

taking pics of this kid. She just kills me. here she is sporting her new hoodie.