What's Going On Around The Farm

Our snow finally melted and spring seemed to have arrived, but Georgette and the other household pets weren't much affected, one way or the other:

 The cattle's hay bale feeder had been on the east side of the barn all winter so the barn could act as a wind break:


 But with warming weather, I moved it out into the field. Even though there is no green grass to eat yet, the cows' hay consumption went down, presumably because they now need less energy to keep warm. I liked this photo so much that I put it on the farm website:

 But there were some scary moments also, like when my basement flooded:

 The water was rising rapidly, and had reached the motor at the bottom of the furnace. I put on tall boots and waded in to turn off the circuit breaker:

 I had to rush to the hardware store to buy a pump, and then I set it up with the discharge hose spilling out over the septic tank. Yes, we had snow that day, I hope for the last time:

 The chickens are happy and one of the new Easter Egger Bantam hens has gone broody. She seldom leaves the nest box. The other hens have been sneaking out the door at every opportunity to raid the pigeons' eggs. I finally hooked two bungee cords to their door so it will snap shut quickly and keep the ravenous, marauding hens in their own room:

 I began letting them outside in nice weather, though for shorter periods than I used to. I hope the shorter outdoor times will help protect them from foxes. The Easter Eggers took a dirt bath and then rolled onto their sides to soak up the warm sun:

 The Barred Rock bantams did likewise, but a few feet down the side of the house:

 Remy is mighty happy to have warm weather and snow free fields. He's done less playing than I would have expected, though. Like the hens, he seems to spend much time lying down and sunbathing:

 And sometimes he scratches an itch:

 Blue and Remy still like to hang out in the barn, but spend much less time there than they did in the winter: