Winter On The Farm

Winter mornings are sometimes beautiful, the scenery inspiring:

And other times, winter mornings are disheartening, making me want to go right back to bed:

Inside the barn, though, the white fantail pigeons are preparing for spring:

They are pairing up and choosing nest sites. A few eggs have been laid:

 

  Their hunger and thirst seem to have increased:

And they look healthy in spite of the invading English Sparrows:

There are now only ten bantam hens left, and seven of them are getting pretty old (one hen died this winter):

But they are healthy and active - and they too are beginning to lay a few eggs:

I know they'd like to go outdoors when the weather turns nice, and I may let them do so - not for too long, though, because of our ravenous, bold foxes:

The horses and cows are getting a fresh hay bale every two or three days:

And learning to find piles of waste hay on which to sleep:

As for me, I am longing for spring more than ever and have succumbed to the temptation to order two fancy Peony plants, a variety called Coral Sunset. I will have a lot of planting to do this spring and I'm looking forward to it: