That'll do pig, that'll do.

So it's been a few days since I've posted on farm happenings, and I've already managed to forget most of them.  If I'm going to keep a phenology journal I've got to step it up!! I think I'm pretty distracted overall, I want to go home for a visit but it's not the right time to leave the farm.  Too much going on and Winston and Oak will be introduced in the next two weeks, so I want to make sure that all goes smoothly.

Harris's sparrows are visiting every day now, handsome little dudes.

 Mike Fuhr photography

The yellow warblers are still here, hunting in the garden and on the crazy spring winds. I think the palm warblers have continued on their migration north. Still some yellow-rumped hunting in Oak's paddocks.

I saw a greater yellowlegs in the flooded field the other day, and the kildeer are still around, but I don't know if they are nesting. Would love to go and look but I feel so bad for them when they put up such a fuss about being disturbed.  The mourning dove hen is still sitting on her nest in the gutter on the front of the house, and a house finch is on eggs in the robin nest from last year.  Tree swallows have taken over three nest boxes, including the bluebird box!! Glenn put up a new nestbox and that very night there was a bluebird pair checking it out--but Oakley knocked it down overnight and I haven't seen them since...


Barn swallows are constant chatty companions in the barn, and it's a good reminder that I need to stay on wasp control this year.  They infested the east wall of the house, killed numerous barn swallow nestlings, and stung poor G when he was in the hayloft--he's highly allergic so we need to get an epi pen just in case.

I also saw our first yellow-headed blackbird yesterday. No photo-op unfortunately.  They nest in western and prairie wetlands. Again I'm grateful for the 3000 acres across the road, as I'm sure we get spillover from the wildlife it attracts.


Some cool facts from Cornell All About Birds:

In 1825 Charles Lucien Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, gave the first detailed description of the Yellow-headed Blackbird, which was collected in 1820 by Thomas Say and Sir John Richardson.

Pleistocene fossils of Yellow-headed Blackbirds (from 100,000 years ago) have been dug up in California, New Mexico, and Utah.




I found this beautiful little red-bellied snake in Oak's hay the other day--he was sooooo cold and barely moving, so he warmed up in my hand and then I put him in the new straw bale squash bed.

 

BAAAAAAAAA

 

We went to the Shepherd's Harvest Festival at the Lake Elmo Fairgrounds on Sunday.  Some amazing fibre artists, sheep, goats, llamas (including llama agility course competitions) and herding demonstrations. Found this great bicycle wheel spinning wheel : )

 



 

 

 

We met some giant Lincoln Longwools (think 400lb white puli for dog folks) and a wonderful Gotland ram named Logan who was for sale....

 

 

SMITTEN!!!

 

 

We chatted with the woman from WI we bought our sheep from and told her they were all doing well and of course we are loving them and this new adventure.  She's been keeping Shetlands for about 25 years, is a full time professor at a college, and runs a fibre art studio. I don't know how some people do it!  I asked about Lace's mom, and apparently she still has her--not surprising, as these sheep are definitely wonderful little pets with fantastic personality and I think Lace got her 'lap-sheep' attitude from her mom and likely a lot of human contact as a lamb.

 

 

Lorpie has been doing well out with her crew during the days, and I bring her into her cage in the computer room at night. We had some nights down to freezing last week and I just don't want tough weather to put any more stress on her. She wasn't putting on weight so I'd feed her extra high calorie foods in addition to whatever she ate during her regular daily foraging. Nothing competes with a natural diet, and she does love her worms....




I was really hoping she could live out her retirement days as Lorpie, Queen of the Compost once again, but I think she's got ascites again so we will have to see what's going on with her now...At least her last treatment bought her a month, and she got to be like her old self again. She learns so quickly--every night around roosting time I see her waiting for me by the fence, when the other hens have gone to bed, she knows I'll come to get her. It's quite charming : )

 

 

 

Lorpie the Rescue Chook--two harbour seals on their way to the seaplane terminal to go to MMR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Have a great day y'all.