Around The Farm

We've had confusing weather this year, with spring weather in February and winter weather in April. But the cattle were happy when the snow melted:

 Canada Geese and Snow Geese are returning to our area on their way north. Some of the skeins are mixed species, but mostly they have been Snow Geese:

 And speaking of Snow Geese, they have been stopping in corn fields near me, ideal for taking pictures:

 There are two color phases of Snow Geese, white and blue. The light gray birds are the immature blue phase:

 They are spectacular birds but more shy than Canada Geese. I always need my zoom lens to photograph them. Even if they're right next to the road when I see them, they are moving rapidly away by the time I stop and grab my camera:

 I saw this bold fox walking across my south field one morning when I was feeding the cattle. It turned in my direction when it arrived at the gravel road and began walking toward me, stopping only when I pointed a camera at it. I saw fox tracks every morning we had new snow. That is not good news for the chickens:

 The miniature horses seem immune to the cold and snow, but I'm sure they'll be happy to have green pastures once again where they can feed and play:

 We had one really nice day before the latest snowstorm, and I opened the door for hens to come outside:

 They had to cross a snow pile to get out, then ran down the driveway toward the bird feeders:

 They pecked around, looking for goodies:

 And then moved to the bird feeders (just to the left of this photo), where there was lots of spilled seed:

 I am almost out of bird seed and have a big rat which is feeding on spilled seed. I've been unable to trap the rat so far, but either way, I'll stop feeding the wild birds very soon: