The Red Polls In Summer

Little Winston is looking great, and I've had more people stopping in to ask about buying him. Even after I say he can't be a herd sire because he'll be sterile, they still seem to want him - but it will have to wait now until he's five or six months old so I can get him into the barn and away from his mom:

Scarlett is due to calve soon and makes frequent trips in for mineral supplements and water:

And sometimes the whole herd lounges near the compost/manure pile:

They are a happy, healthy bunch except perhaps for the obesity of some of them and the pesky flies in the summertime:

But life is good, and the scenery is beautiful:

Scarlett and Rosella, mother and daughter, one pregnant and one making milk for her calf, need lots of water and often come to the stock tank together:

Winston often runs to greet me when I'm in the field, coming surprisingly close and regarding me with fascination:

They drink lots of water in this hot weather:

I began letting the stock tank overflow in order to clean out the algae and keep the water fresh. It worked well except that I developed a big patch of gooey mud. I had to stop the practice, or at least do it less often:

The cattle have created many dust baths around the pasture, this one right next to the horses' corral. This a place where they kick the sandy soil up onto their bellies in an attempt to chase away the biting flies:

Rosella on her way to the stock tank to refill her milk making supply of water yet again:

Winston wanted to sleep but the cows wanted to move on:

Red Poll Ladies, Preparing For Winter

Violet is by far the biggest cow, and she is hard to miss as she grazes near the county road:

 The day was hot and the flies were bothersome when I took this photo, and the cows collected beneath the Box Elder tree for a bit of relief:

 Scarlett's udder is still a bit swollen, even long since her calf was sold. She seems happy and healthy, though, and has been artificially inseminated again:

 Jasmine's hooves are getting long again and I've taken to walking up to her when she's lying down like this and trying to clip off the tip of the longest one. So far it hasn't done any good, but I'll keep trying, at least as long as she'll let me:

 Scarlett, relaxing and chewing her cud:

 Gracie is definitely a full figured gal:

 The recently lush grass is looking shorter and sparser now. It won't be long before I start putting out the hay bales:

 Up on a sandy rise, the cows have created a couple of dust baths. They can stand there and kick dust up onto their bellies to shoo away the flies:

 A blue sky, white clouds, green grass and red cows make for an idyllic scene:

 The herd covers a lot of ground during the course of a day. They don't want to miss any green edibles:

 And the Pennsylvania Smartweed which they rejected all summer long has suddenly become a favorite edible. It happened when the plants bloomed, so my theory is that the flowers sweetened the taste:

 That's Jasmine on the left. I can see on her face that she is engaging with me. The other two, Amy and Gracie, are mostly ignoring me. Jasmine is exceptionally friendly and easily my favorite:

The Red Poll Girls (and one boy)

It's a comfy life for a Red Poll cow here, with summer days spent lounging in the shade:

Or gathering around the water tank for some bovine gossip:

Or munching tender grass:

Or tending to one's baby:

Or, as Jasmine is doing here, chewing her cud:

This is little Merlin, the only male in the herd. He's growing rapidly and is both friendly and smart. He's also fiercely bonded with his mother, Jasmine, and the only calf I've so far not been able to catch and tattoo:

There have been two round dirt depressions in a far corner of the pasture whose origin have been a mystery to me - until, that is, I saw Violet dusting herself in one of them. Besides rolling her head and neck in it, she pawed the dust up onto her belly, a form of fly control, I'm guessing:

Little Merlin again. His little boy parts are visible now. They were hard to see when he was born:

Jasmine and Merlin. Look how big he is already. He's going to be very difficult to tattoo and tag:

Merlin, lovingly nuzzling his mom, with Gladys tagging along for the company:

Chickens And Pigeons

I guess, since this post is all about chickens and pigeons, you could call it a fowl post. But I hope you won't call it a foul post. Every morning now, I open the chickens' door and let them out to peck happily all day long:

And they are all excited about being let outdoors:

They run/waddle full speed toward the house:

And directly to the bird feeders, where the wild birds have always dropped lots of seed:


On nice days, they take dust baths, leaving holes in my gardens. They also sun themselves, spreading out their wings (as they are doing here) to collect as much warm sunshine as possible:

After that ritual is taken care of, they spread out all over the yard, the road, the pasture, wherever they can find food or mischief to get into:

The fantail pigeons, however, are locked in a room and never get out - at least not yet. But it's a comfy and spacious room, with high shelves where they can feel safe:

I've not yet seen any signs of pairing off or nest building, but they clearly do enjoy each other's company:

They had been in a confined space all winter and their tails were rather poopy, with ruffled and missing feathers. They're beginning to look more fancy now that they have more room:

But boy, do they poop a lot! If I can ever arrange to let them outdoors safely, I'll be happy to have the poop outside instead of inside:

They roost on the highest shelf they can find:

And come down to the lowest shelf, formerly a work bench, to eat and drink. They seem to be happy birds: