Around The Farm In December

The fantail pigeons have been locked indoors all month, even though we've had such surprisingly good weather. I had screwed their window in place to weatherproof it and would have had to undo all that to open it again. They didn't go outside much anyway, but generally seemed content indoors:

 The two pigeon babies made it past the danger-of-freezing-in-the-cold stage and appear headed for a healthy and happy adulthood:

The chickens, on the other hand, have been able to go outdoors whenever we had good weather. Seamus was talking to them when I shot this photo:

The favorite hanging out spot for the chickens is right here by the bird feeders, the generator and the porch. They get dropped seed underneath the bird feeders and can hide under the porch if they become frightened or to escape the rain:

At other times, they roam freely:

One of my Amish neighbors trotted by in his work wagon. I waved, but then snapped a photo when he had gone far enough so he wouldn't be shown. Amish, I am told, do not like to be photographed:

Our little dirt road got a fresh coat of gravel and Fergus' vocal chords got a workout as he barked at them. Fergus thinks he is protecting our home from Attila and his marauding Huns:

I was walking out to the cattle one day when two jets did a U-Turn in the sky overhead. We don't see many of those newfangled airplane thingies around these here parts:

I got an opportunity to buy two giant hay bales as insurance against running out. They were truly huge, five feet long by six feet in diameter:

They were so incredibly heavy that they squashed down the tractor's front tires and threatened to tip it over when I picked them up:

When I stood next to them, they were taller than I am:

I was unable to lift them up and over the rim of the bale feeder. I had to set the bale on the ground and then force the bale feeder over the top of it. It was a mighty tight fit: