Wonders of the Week

There is something delightful, instructive and amazing happening every day. Here are a few of the things that tickled us this week...
Such as the tall blue alliums planted last fall that are now at their blooming peak.
This is how the two runner ducks and the chicken-that-thinks-he's-a-duck snuggle up every night to sleep. I 'd love to know how that chicken convinced the ducks it was a good idea for him to sleep between them atop their backs.
The runner ducks don't really care for swimming, but they do appreciate the wading pool as a drinking fountain.

While watering the seedlings, Cadence found the first dragonfly of summer - a beautiful coppery tan and blueish-green variety we hadn't seen before.
In other insect news, I found a cranefly by the back door. When I was a kid I loved these insects because they look like gigantic, impressive mosquitos but do not sting.

In the evenings after supper, Reuben and Lariat usually race around the perimeter of the pasture, over hill and dale, under fallen trees, through the chicken tractor obstacle course, at breakneck speed. It's rush hour and it makes us laugh.

Thurday evening we looked up from planting to see sundogs on either side of the sun (only one fit in this photo.) We didn't realize there could be sundogs in summer.
Shortly after that, a hot air balloon floated by, driving the dogs crazy but rekindling fond memories of three summers ago when Rog surprised me with a hot air balloon ride on our anniversary when I was broken. I was hoping the balloon might land in our yard - the chase car was even stopped out front - but I suspect we have too many trees and fences for a safe landing.

The recently-released, totally free-range chickens seem to be adapting well and enjoying their freedom. Freedom comes with risks, however. One chicken has met his demise - stepped on by the cow, we suspect - and two are limping from getting underfoot the cow. The 8-week-old roosters are getting pretty big now, but still a bit small for dinner.
Chicken farmers probably know this already, but it was a delightful discovery to us: When an errant hen strays too far from my laying hen flock, our (undeniably homely) rooster Chagall runs over, stretches out his right wing and sweeps her back into the group, precisely the way I use my outstretched arm to herd the chickens where I want them to go! I'll try to capture this rooster gesture in a photo someday.

The bees are working from morning when the sun first warms the hive until dusk. Watching the traffic logistics at the hive entrance is mesmerizing.

Ordinarily the bees fly smoothly in and out in a split second--pzoom! One morning as I watched many smaller bees were tumbling out of the hive, often landing upside down on the entrance approach, righting themselves and jerkily taking off. New workers taking their maiden flight, perhaps?

The peonies have begun blooming! So beautiful; so fragrant!

He's a Lumberjack and He's OK

Gradually we have been dealing with the mountain of wood and brush created by the big, dead maple tree we had felled. Rog has been arranging the most unwieldy slices of trunk into a big campfire circle. We are contemplating a big midsummer bonfire there.
We have stacked the more mnageable pieces into two woodpiles between trees on the north edge of our yard. It seemed like a good spot because it ids fairly close to our pizza oven, will block someof the northwest wind that whips through there in winter, and will screen the view of the road so the dogs won't bark at passing bikers or other supicous characters passing by.
I don't know if there is a special art to stacking wood, but so far our pile looks fairly sturdy and rather pretty.

Some of the cross sections of the trunk are quite dramatic.

Abstract lumber art.

We'll have to figure out something sculptural to do with these slices.

Halter Skelter

A couple mornings ago I was up at 6 a.m. making coffee when I was surprised to see the neighbor dairy farmer ride into the yard on his 4-wheeler. He had come to tell us that our cow had gotten out of our fence--in fact was at their dairy farm. I woke up Cadence and we ran there to discover Lariat (our Dexter cow) running around the outside of the pen containing the young heifers. We weren't exactly sure how we were going to herd her home down the gravel road. Cadence ran back home to get a bucket with Lariat's favorite treats when Lariat suddenly bolted homeward. I stopped traffic on the road and used my instinctual herding technique to drive her toward the fence. It was a high adrenalin way to start the morning (no need for that coffee.) We realized then we really need to focus on getting the cows used to wearing a halter and walking on a lead.

Sara and Cadence had just begun putting a halter on Lariat and Reuben a few days earlier. Now, each evening they are doing halter work. Cadence is working with her Jersey steer, Reuben. He is growing so fast and he is so affectionate he needs to be well-mannered so he doesn't hurt anyone inadvertantly.

Sara is working with Lariat because she dreams of actually taming her enough too be able to milk her. Fortunately, Lariat is highly motivated by calf starter kibble.

Reuben balks a bit occasionally but doesn't seem to mind the halter much. He would follow you anywhere anyway.

Lariat follows the bucket of treats. She feels entitled to her evening treat and bawls crabbily if we are late with it.

Cadence ends the training session with a bit of grooming. Since Reuben doesn't have a mother to lick him clean, it is important we brush him regularly.

Sara discovered that Lariat also LOVES the young pampas grass, so she is using that as an incentive. She lets us pet her whole body now - even touch her udder- but doesn't like us to stroke her forehead the way you always see people pet horses. I suspect it will be quite some time before she allows us to milk her.

A Few Farm Blooms

We have color! Stuff is starting to bloom!
Last week at the Farmers Market I purchased a pretty begonia - called "Bonfire" - for a hanging basket in the hummingbird/butterfly garden bemeath the windmill. The farmer selling it assured me that hummingbirds and orioles find this plant irresistable. I haven't seen any hummingbird action at this begonia yet, though.
I found some of my favorite Victorian-looking snapdragons. This variety is called "Chantilly" and will be up to 48 inches tall.

The first Icelandic poppy is blooming by the patio.

Geraniums and chives I tucked under the windmill on impulse last fall are now flowering.

Nasturtiums may be my very favorite flower (I even had them on my wedding cake.) I couldn't resist buying this darling fringed variety when I found it at Sargent's nursery where I work. It's named "duckilicious" --I hope that doesn't mean our ducks will find it tasty!

Far Range Chickens

For some reason, one of our chicken tractors (we have two, each with 53 birds) became a very tough neighborhood. One day last week we lost a chicken who was pecked to death by a gang of peers. A few days two more were killed and Cadence rescued two in the nick of time who had been attacked, but not fatally.
Sara and Cadence mulled over the options and decided to let the chickens in that tractor loose to be totally free-range birds. Then, a pecked-on chicken would have a better chance of escaping his attackers. There would be a greater risk of losing a few to predators but that wouldn't be as bad as losing them to cannibalism It will be an interesting experiment to see which birds grow faster and fare better--those in the other chicken tractor or the totally free-range chickens.
The minute the chickens were let out, our older dog Nutmeg raced into the pasture and plopped down among them. She has turned into an amazing farm dog who takes her duty of watching over the chickens very seriously - even though she appears to be lying down on the job in this photo. Toward evening I went out to see how the chickens were doing and they had all settled in under the tree that fell over into our pasture during the big wind. Great chicken shelter! We needed an excuse to leave that tree there a while.

Buff Chicks

It is difficult to believe that next fall these twelve tiny chicks will be my new egg layers! They are Buff Orpington female chicks that I picked up on Friday at the Pine Island Feed store and that I chose because they are supposed to be very gentle, sweet, big hens who are great layers of brown eggs.
The chicken grower drives them up from Iowa so they don't have to go through the stress of being mailed. When I picked them up they were in a little box like a Happy Meal. As I carried the box out to the car, Cadence asked, "Want fries with that chicken?"
The chicks are currently living in my office in a small plastic swimming pool. Tomorrow I have to figure out a more secure home--they could jump out if they tried. So far, the dogs and cats seem to respect the chickens, ducks and geese as animals that are important to the people and that must not be bothered. So don't worry, Shamu (the cat in the corner) is just curious about the commotion in my office.

Something Fishy

My skyway mural is finished and I finally had a sunny day off work to take a few photos of it. The mural is part of Rochester's Art in the Sky project. Six artists painted murals in the downtown skyways. (A "skyway" is an enclosed walkway above the street - so wimpy people don't have to venture outside during Minnesota's freezing winter weather!) Tjis is the view from down below on the street.

My fish design was inspired by the morning walk I used to take along the Zumbro River in downtown Rochester before we moved to the farm. There are huge carp that live in the Zumbro and congregate by the little waterfall across from the Government Center in spring.

I have to admit, the carp don't really look very much like this (it's called artistic license.)

There is one brilliant golden fish among the ordinary drab carp - perhaps he was a pet goldfish that was released and grew to be wild and huge. You rarely catch a glimpse of him so every time I do see him I consider it a lucky omen.

I think what I like best about how the mural turned out is the shadow design it creates on the floor.