Spring Surprises

Spring has been full of surprises so far, including two early lambs at the neighbors' farm:

And of course snow melting off the roof of the barn, then freezing into long, crystalline icicles:

I started opening the pigeons' window to let in fresh air on days when it's not too cold:

And the little hens are beginning to lay more eggs:

The farm gets covered with snow, then it melts:

Even the snow piles beside the driveway are almost gone:

And the melting snow revealed these amazing plants by the back door. This is not new growth, but Bouncing Bet, wildflowers in the Pink family, which stayed green all winter beneath the snow:

And then, just as I was feeling all the glories of spring, we got buried once again:

I found the cattle's backs covered with snow and icicles hanging off their sides:

I had to drive through deep snow to bring out a new hay bale:

And I had to plow and shovel snow once again. You can see how the piles alongside the driveway grew overnight:

And inside the barn, the snow which had blown through gaps in the wall revealed animal tracks which went up into the hayloft. I suspect they are cats from across the road, and I think they are hunting my infestation of English Sparrows, for which I am grateful:

More Snow In March

Just when it looked like we were going to get an early spring, three nor'easters in a row hit us. The third was the worst, dropping two feet of heavy, wet snow which quickly froze into two feet of hard, crusty snow:

 The cattle and horses continued to thrive in it  although they didn't much want to walk anywhere. I finally used the tractor bucket to clear paths for them to make walking easier:

 The bird feeders became more popular when all the natural food was covered with snow and ice. The suet feeder regularly draws large Hairy Woodpeckers with their long bills:

 And the smaller, sparrow-sized Downy Woodpeckers with their short bills. The big Hairy Woodpeckers are the bosses, but the Downy Woodpeckers know how to dart in for a meal when the bigger bullies fly away:

 The cattle and horses are visible to passersby on the gravel road, just past the cattails and electric fence:

 I grew weary (and crabby) with the snow, but I had to admit that it was pretty:

 There were 40 hay bales left to last the winter. Last year at the same time there were only 20, so I'm hoping to have extra. Actually, I'd rather have none left, but I wouldn't want to run short:

 The addition on the house developed an ice jam again which looked dangerous:

 Not only did it look heavy and lethal if it slid off onto a person or dog, but the icicles were reaching back to touch the windows. I began to worry that the icy mass would break windows when it slid off. There was such deep snow beneath it that I felt sure the dogs would not/could not go there. That was one good thing about the situation:

 Each morning, no matter how cold and snowy it was, I'd call the cattle and horses in for a bit of grain. But I carried some out for those who didn't come in. I wanted to make sure that they all got their minerals and nutrition:

 Red Polls are a hardy, docile breed and mine spent their days eating, then lying down to digest their hay:

 The horses played in the snow and stuck their noses into it, looking for some grass to eat. I sure want spring to get here soon!

Around The Farm In March

We had several brief thaws, during which the cows and horses got to lounge around in comfort. You can see that Gracie's two ringworm spots have not cleared up. They're only white, though, because the spray I'm using on them is white:

The bird feeders continue to draw a crowd, including this Hairy Woodpecker:

And many Chickadees:


Inside the barn, the white fantail pigeons are safe and protected from the weather:


And some have been nesting, though only two eggs have so far been laid (and then abandoned):

But our early March thaws were soon replaced by cold snaps. I saw these icicles leaning in so far that they were pressing against the house windows. I broke them off with a snow shovel, but the whole ice jam slid off while I was doing it. It was massive, so I was lucky it didn't hit me:

The bantam hens have begun laying a few eggs, though not yet many:

The Barred Rock bantams are getting kind of old now for egg laying, but I imagine they'll still lay when it warms up:

Every morning we have new snow, I can see fox tracks coming from the field across the road, up my driveway, around the barn and inside. The fox explores the barn, even going inside the old milk room:

The herd's appetite has increased and I usually have to bring out a new hay bale every other day now:

They are wrapped in plastic mesh, and it must be removed before giving the bale to the animals. If it's not locked in ice, that's a simple job. If, however, it's all iced up, it becomes a difficult and frustrating, even infuriating, task:


We've had Snow Buntings in the wintry corn and hay fields all winter, but they are skittish and nearly impossible to photograph. This was the only shot I got. They look like  a flock of white parakeets when they flit around the fields. They won't hold still and they won't allow me to get close:

Around The Farm

The icicles hanging off the house addition were smaller this year, perhaps because it has been so cold that there have been fewer melts, perhaps because the heat is turned down inside the addition:

 The white fantail pigeons are getting restless, pairing up and choosing nest sites. I have cleaned up the manure buildup since I took this photo. They are pigeons, after all. Imagine what it would be like to be a statue:

 I also cleaned the main floor of the barn, a major job:

 But the biggest job was cleaning the chicken room. I began by letting the little hens outside, the first time since I last cleaned their room:

 They hurried excitedly toward the house:

 They knew there would be spilled seed beneath the bird feeders. They are overjoyed to be outside and it is a shame that our large and ravenous fox population makes it impossible for me to let them out anymore:

 When their room was clean, I used the leaf rake to herd them back inside. They remembered the routine. They're not as dumb as people like to say they are. I did notice, however, that their lack of time outdoors has allowed their toenails to grow overly long. I may have to trim them:

 Newly fallen snow means a morning of examining the tracks to see what wildlife passed through in the night. There was at least one Cottontail rabbit, and perhaps two;

 And a fox comes to visit every night, walking around the barn and then exploring inside:

 Over by the milk room, I saw this and interpreted it as evidence that a Least Weasel had killed something:

 One day I saw Remy and Gracie lying together and nuzzling. They are friends:

The Red Poll Ladies

Scarlett was drawing close to her theoretical calving date - if indeed she was impregnated via artificial insemination. If so, she would be the only cow for which A.I. was successful this year:

Amy was always one of the calmer, friendlier cows, but she became even more so as the cold strengthened and she became accustomed to getting grain every morning. I had pulled out my camera to snap a photo and she came lumbering through the snow, hopeful that I had come bearing grain. Alas, I had none with me:

One thing the grain has done is to make me more interesting to the cows. They stop what they're doing and watch me whenever I appear in their yard:

Scarlett's udder began to swell, likely a sign that she was going to calve soon. I've been wrong before, though, so I snapped a photo of her udder (on the left), then compared it with a photo of Violet's udder. I had planned to compare it to Rosella's udder because she is Scarlett's daughter and built much like her, but her udder was so small I couldn't even see it to take a photo. As each day passed, Scarlett's udder became more swollen and I became more worried about the brutally frigid weather we were having:

Jasmine was herself through it all. She's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but she's calm and friendly and easy to handle:

For two days, our weather warmed up and all our snow melted, even the 6 foot drifts. Alas, all the melted snow began to flood the pasture and I then worried that Scarlett might drop her calf in the water, where it would surely drown:

But our two day warm spell ended suddenly and spectacularly with a snowfall of two to three feet and temperatures nearing -20 F. I went out the next morning and found this pitiful face looking through the partially open barn door. They were all crowded by the door, hoping for grain:

They had up to 8" of snow piled on their backs and faces:

And icicles hanging off their bellies:

They ate their grain, shook off a lot of snow, and went back outside for a drink of water and more hay:

Our weather finally moderated to near normal temperatures, still not ideal for calving, but better than it was. As I type this, I am still waiting for Scarlett to calve:

I keep moving the bale feeder and try to replace it before they really get low on hay. They probably like the extra hay so they can pick and choose, but all the wasted hay is making quite a mess: