Do I Smell Spring In The Air?

It's still cold here and there's still snow and ice on the ground, yet on sunny days I smell spring in the air - and it makes me happy. It also gives me energy to get more done. This is the view across the county road from my upstairs front window:

Jasmine, Remy and all the other herd members have built up such a layer of wasted hay that they can always find something to eat and something on which to sleep:

Two of the little hens are laying an egg every other day, so I am averaging an egg per day. That may not seem like much, but it's more than I can eat. Soon I'll be cooking them (the eggs, not the chickens) for the dogs again:

Some pairs of fantail pigeons have laid eggs, but it's still too cold for them to hatch:

But they seem healthy and happy:

The cows and horses relax more now that the temperatures have moderated:

What the heck is this? It's last year's Day Lily flower stalks poking up through the snow. I have big plans for growing flowers this spring, though that will mean not letting the chickens out:

The feel of spring in the air has not resulted in me spending more time outdoors, at least not yet. But it has inspired me to do more indoor cleaning - which in turn inspired me to take some pictures of the memorabilia hanging on my living room wall. This was a collection of pieces of work horse equipment, nailed to an old barn board. They were souvenirs brought home from the abandoned farm in eastern Oregon where my maternal grandparents began their married life. We visited it when I was a boy, some time in the 1950s. My grandparents farmed there in the late 1800s or early 1900s:

I used to live near a dairy farm and had permission to hike on the land. I discovered the site where he dumped the cows who had died. I rescued a skull and spent untold hours scraping and bleaching it. Then I glued two horns on it and spray painted the skull white:

And this was a drum I made for shamanic drum circles. Atop it is a feather fan to use when burning sage:

A wooden mask, which I purchased on a trip to Taxco, Mexico. I was buying gifts for friends but got this one for myself:

More of my spring planting fever. I ordered six Yarrow Plants of various colors to plant somewhere (I don't yet know where). One of these days I'll have to post photos of all the plants I've ordered for this spring:

The Horsey Boys

When my sister visited, she made it a point to stop and say hello to the horses. Blue, as usual, was shy:

But Remy never had a shy day in his life. He's a love sponge:

The two boys are so bonded that I can't imagine them ever being separated:

They spend all day out on the pasture, sometimes staying with the cows, sometimes going off on their own:

Sometimes they separate from each other, but not too far and not for long. They always keep an eye on each other:

The muzzles have by now become routine and I haven't had to go searching for a shucked muzzle in many weeks:

Each night I give them a tiny bit of grain (too much would be bad for them) and then they spend the night in the barn with hay and water. I put the hay down in four spots, separated by bars to keep them from fighting over it:

The vet said they both look extraordinarily healthy except that Blue is still a bit too fat:

On the day I did fence repair, both horses came along to "help" me:

And they make a pretty picture for folks driving by on the county road:

Remy likes the company of his cattle friends. They tolerate him but don't seem to return the affection he feels for them:

One morning I went out to the barn and discovered that they'd opened some gates and raided the hay supply. They keep me on my toes:

Snowy North Field Perimeter - Part 2

I was driving around the outside perimeter of the north field to see and photograph the wintry beauty (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). I stopped when I saw this snowy pine. It looked like a Scotch Pine, though I've never taken the time for a closer look. I didn't do so this time either, but maybe I can remember it in the summer:

There are remnants of a stone wall along the perimeter, though they are so old that it is now difficult to discern:

And there are still piles of old farm refuge - tires, farm equipment, pipes, etc. I removed close to a hundred old tires, but more keep appearing:

I came to the two big Sugar Maples which provide such nice color every autumn:

I own the woodland off to the right in this spot, and it did my heart good to see an Eastern White Cedar growing there:

Some giant rocks were piled along the woods, apparently removed from the field before it could be used. I have heard a story of how the former owner had someone clear the rocks but never paid them. He also never paid for his new silo, so they came and dismantled it - which is why I now have a silo base but no silo behind the barn:

One lone Beech tree still held onto its golden leaves:

This was my path. The north field lay to the left and the woods to the right. I had a narrow path between them, a path which I have to bush hog each summer in order to keep the weeds down. But this photo shows the great beauty I experienced as I drove the perimeter:

In places, remnants of an old barbed wire fence still separated the field from the woods, and Birch trees began to show along the edges:

Another shot of an old, leaning barbed wire fence, with woods just beyond:

The brushy places had such an abundance of small branches that they appeared extra white:

I think these dark, withered berries were those of the Shadbush, sometimes called Serviceberry. They should be blooming again this spring:

I turned left, heading back to the house and barn, with the county road to my right. There is a row of cattails along this section of road:

The most beautiful sight of the trip was this Foxtail Grass. The seed heads were so white from a coating of snow that they looked like extra fancy, hybrid ornamental grasses in miniature. Alas, the photo doesn't do them justice. They were exquisite. They were also my final photo. I put my camera away and began using the tractor to remove the snow which the town had piled at the end of my driveway:

Happy LIttle Horses

I love to take photos of my two little equines, though they seem to be always in the same pose, which is eating grass. In this picture, Blue was next to the electric fence along the county road:

 Remy in pretty much the same place:

 Blue trotted over to the barn for a drink out of the stock tank:

 I have a hunch that Blue was thinking, "Hey, I wanted to eat the grass in exactly that spot!"

 The grass close to the barn is the shortest of all, but they sure spend a lot of time there:

 It won't be long until they'll have no grass and will have to eat the 88 bales of hay stored just outside of their fence:

 For now, Blue has no interest in the dry hay:

 I often close the barn door to keep them outside when the weather is pleasant and the fly population is down. Remy, however, thinks he'd prefer to poop indoors and is not happy that I foiled his plans:

 A pleasant scene, with the farm house in the background:

 Remy was rubbing his butt on this fence post and it wasn't long before he knocked it over. This is the section of fence I removed in yesterday's post:

 Both little horses are getting fat, but especially Blue:

 Remy is a bit tubby also, and his legs seem to be getting sturdier. He'd make a great mini work horse: