Rain as Reminder that We Need to Get Stuff Done
It was raining this morning which wasn't in the forecast. I don't mind at all. I'm so sick and tired of looking at all the brown from this hot dry summer we've had. (It was enough rain to make the cows want to take shelter under an ash tree even.) But it's August 27th and this rain is a reminder that the clock is ticking. There's a lot of stuff that has to get done while …
The Pastures Are Kicking Our Ass-tures
Last year was the first time we turned our attention to our pastures, and wow, it turns out 22 acres is a lot to take care of! You might think, like I did, that’s it’s just grass so hay it or graze it. How hard could it be? That’s how we thought about it for the first 12 years, but…we were wrong. For one thing, we have the parts of our land going back to wetland, …
Our Pond Has Its First Residents…
My first sighting of Pacific tree frog eggs…the first of many! Once the weeks-long freeze ended, the Pacific tree frogs came down out of the woods to our wet areas to call out to each other and breed. This has been going on every year since we moved here, and their nightly croaking is music to my ears. But this is the first year I was moving slow enough to notice frog eggs. Sure, I've …
Why the Sight of These Swallows Filled Me With Awe
It’s mid-March and the annual bird migration has begun. Around here, the robins returned in February, and I thought I saw a turkey vulture. As the weeks go by, I will hear plenty of different types of birdsong in the woods, letting me know the seasonal residents have returned and are ready to breed. But this migration took on new meaning yesterday. Here’s why… After feeding the cows, I happened to catch a glimpse of movement out …