Around The Farm In March

Once our snow and ice melted, I began opening the window for the fantail pigeons during the day. They seemed happy to stand on the windowsill and look, but did not fly out - at least not at first:

They've paired up and have been busy building nests:

The chickens too got their door opened and they were very happy about it even though at first they had to walk across some ice to get to what was left of last season's grass:

They remembered from last year that the best place to find goodies to eat is right below the bird feeders. Those wild birds drop a lot of seed:

Inside the farm house, the parakeet cage sits empty and reminds me of my former bird, Chirpy. Some would find it difficult to get so attached to a parakeet, but this one had such a happy personality that he was a pleasure to have in the room. I fear his guinea pig neighbor, Dixie, misses him also. It's awfully quiet now in that bedroom:

I had several woodpeckers at the suet cake. This is a Hairy Woodpecker, the bigger of our two common species:

He or she was bigger than a robin, with a comparatively long bill:

The Downy Woodpecker looks nearly identical but is much smaller, nearly as small as a sparrow, and with a shorter bill:

This Downy put on quite a show and was less afraid of me than the Hairy:

Here's a chuckle at my own expense. The barn door hasp tended to lock itself shut when the door was closed from the inside, causing a problem for whoever had entered. So one day I used a Sharpie to print an alert on the door frame, with a warning on how to avoid that problem. But the next time I used the door, I discovered that I had misspelled "vertical" as "verticle." I know how to spell the word, but there it was, misspelled, for all the world to see. I corrected it as best I could, but my mistake will be evident to anyone who uses that door for many years to come:

The melting ice sent the cows out into the field to find grass:

Alas, it was still too early. There were tiny green shoots, patches of ice and frozen cow-pies, but nothing much to eat. But still the cows enjoyed getting out in the sun:

Update On The Household Pets

It's been a comfy winter for the household pets, and this collection of Daphne, Clover and Jack would be a good example of what it has been like for them:

Bramble rested up high, where he could keep an eye on Seamus and Fergus down below:

Feeling pretty smug and good about yourself, Bramble?:

All five dogs and Bramble in the farm house kitchen. I was about to go outdoors and they were hoping to go with me. They didn't get to, as I had chores to do:

Seamus has taken to resting beneath a window and over a heat register, in just the right spot so that his head rests between my two hanging gloves. He looks, at first glance, like a mini-moose:

Slumber party - Clover, Daphne, Seamus and Fergus:

Chirpy the parakeet seems to have hurt his feet. There wasn't anything I could do for him, but he was smart enough to discover a notch on a branch where he could sit on his butt, keeping his feet in the air and giving them a rest. When necessary, he also grabs onto the bars of the cage with his beak for stability:

All five dogs on the fleecy dog beds. Notice that the big floor pillows are no longer there. That's because someone was peeing on them. I removed them for about a month and am just now giving them another try on the floor. I'm hoping they won't get peed on anymore but the verdict, as of this writing, is still out:

All five dogs in their fenced yard. It's hard to imagine any winter days without snow around here, but we've had quite a few this year:

Jack, Clover, Bramble and Daphne on the newly reintroduced floor pillow. No pee yet:

Bramble, again up high so he could keep a watchful eye on us. One never knows what mischief we might get into without his supervision:

Clover, Daphne, Bramble and Fergus:

Pets At Home

The household pets have been warm and comfortable indoors as we began our voyage into winter:

And as always, the dogs' favorite spot is the corner of the farm house kitchen:

Bramble shows up everywhere, but I thought he looked especially stunning near the big chainsaw bear and the tiny RCA dog:

Another kitchen corner collection of dogs - and, in this case, one cat:

Snoozey has always refused to eat canned cat food but had become so feeble that and thin that I tried again. This time he ate it, so I began feeding him two meals each day, up on top of the kitchen table, using a boot tray to catch the dribbled cat food he left behind. I had to stand guard to keep the other cats and dogs from helping themselves to Snoozey's cat food, but it was worth it because the old gentleman has perked up considerably:

All five dogs plus Bramble:

Dixie, the guinea pig, who lives upstairs in my bedroom:

Chirpy, the parakeet, Dixie's next door neighbor:

All five dogs plus Draco and Bramble:

The cats stay indoors, but the dogs also get to go outdoors, into their fenced yard:

And when the dogs decide they want back inside the house, they are not subtle about it:


Ah, the comfortable life of a household pet:

Pets At Home

Our weather has been so very cold, snowy, icy and windy that I let the dogs out only for short periods. I try to do it often, but no dog wants to stay outside for long in the brutal cold. Fergus enjoys his time outside, but quickly wants back in:

Other than having to go outside, they live a lazy, warm, comfy life:

Clover and Daphne get cold much faster than the two dogs with the thick Poodle hair:

And as soon as they're back inside, they huddle together to warm up:

We've had much more snow since this photo was taken - snow, in fact, nearly every day and it's piled up to amazing depths. There are now snowbanks alongside the driveway seven and eight feet high. Yesterday brought us what was called "freezing fog" and everything is now coated with a white matte finish. That's why I let the dogs back in quickly:

Upstairs in my bedroom, Dixie the Guinea Pig stays warm and comfortable on a bed of clean pine shavings:

And Dixie's neighbor, Chirpy the Parakeet, keeps her company:

These fleecy dog beds get tumbled in the dryer every morning. It helps me keep them relatively clean, and a dryer sheet helps them smell better:

Old Snoozey is the only "floor cat" of my five. The other four are climbers and prefer to be up on something. Poor old Snoozey gets less petting as a consequence of not being at eye level. So I try to remember to seek him out for a little attention, which he surely enjoys:

I should amend my comment on the first photo to say that gigantic Seamus, with his sheep-like wool, seems almost immune to the cold. Unlike the other dogs, he'd stay outside in the coldest of weather:

Happy Pets At Home

Draco, my deaf cat, has discovered an unused cubbyhole beneath the microwave from which he can watch all the kitchen activities:

And speaking of kitchen activities, these three were watching me preparing PeeWee's dinner and wishing they could get some of it:

Seamus, Fergus and Daphne, all cuddled up together in the living room:

Five dogs and two cats - not bad for one picture:

By the front door: Daphne, Fergus, Seamus and Clover:

And on a fleecy dog bed in the kitchen - Clover, Daphne and Bramble:

Rocky is an upstairs cat, though he comes downstairs every so often. But he has four cat trees, three litter boxes, two sets of food and water bowls, lots of hiding places, and Georgette to keep him company:

And speaking of Georgette, she's an upstairs cat also. She has taken over the top shelf of the tallest cat tree as her spot:

At the foot of the stairs again - Clover, Seamus and Daphne:

All the dogs except PeeWee, who was busy walking in circles at the time, on the ramp into their fenced yard:

Dixie,, the guinea pig, lives in my bedroom:

And so does Chirpy, the parakeet. It seems to me that I've managed to include photos of all the household pets in this post except for Snoozey the cat and PeeWee the dog. They'll have to wait for the next pet update: