In the garden...

We moved the duck house. Underneath it there were all sorts of insects, worms and this lovely creature. Turns out it is a Blue Spotted Salamander. From what I read they are rarely found above ground except in the spring during mating season. I hope he or she finds a love! I scooped it up so the chickens wouldn't turn it into a snack, and moved it to a safe spot in the herb garden.

Above ground the apple blossoms are near the end of their too-short lives. The air has been heavy with their incredible scent, the bees humming in each tree. As they fade the lilacs are beginning to bloom. When I was a kid we had a whole lilac hedge, and we were allowed to pick armfuls of the blossoms. It was a fragrant richness that I treasured.We would carry bouquets of them to the house, and take more to the local cemetery where we'd decorate the graves that were very, very old. We figured those old stones had few if any visitors and we should grace them with flowers. When we bought this house there were two well established lilac bushes; one traditional purple and one white. I adore them. One is right by the main entrance,and it is such a treat to breath the perfumed air as I come and go about my work here. Spring is unfolding, one tree or salamander or duckling or flower at a time.

Look what sprouted..!

Where there was once field a building sprouted!

Steve from Roots, Coops and More, the people that built my wonderful chicken coop a few years ago, came out and created ...

a wonderful, sturdy, adorable "run in shed." This will be a sweet shelter for my horse and goat. There is more to do... a load of gravel is being delivered as soon as it stops raining. We'll shovel that inside the shed, and smooth it out, then top it with heavy rubber matting to make a smooth, easy to clean, comfortable-on-the-hooves floor. Then I want to stain the wood of the shed white to match the coop. They have the same pretty green metal roofing material so they will coordinate sweetly. I also think I'd like to have the name of my little farm painted on that top board. I wish I was better at things like that, I need to find a friendly artist! Meanwhile, the goats have had great fun exploring the new space, and every time I look out my window I find a happy grin splashes on my face!

Mother's day...

My sweet niece Aimee came to visit us. It is always a treat to spend time with her... and this time it was fun to teach her how to milk a goat, and let her hold the wonderful Adventure Chicken!

Of course I kept my mother, Dorothy C. Waters, in my thoughts throughout the day. She was a beautiful, kind, funny, creative woman. I miss her, but carry her with me in so much that I do. And I see a glimpse of her in the curve of my daughters cheek, and know that she lives on in the lives she helped to create.

And today would have been my sister Diane's birthday. She died 10 years ago, and I still struggle sometimes to wrap my brain around the fact that she is no longer here. I have a garden in the front yard that is in riotous bloom this time year. A bit of "Dicy's" ashes are buried there, and her vibrant personality is reflected in the colors of the fruit tree, daffodil's and tulips. It is a bitter-sweet garden, and today was a bitter-sweet day. I basked in the love and kindness of my little family, and dearly missed the ones who have gone before.

After the rain...

After days of heavy rain I woke this morning to sun shine slanting through wet branches. It lit up a delicate spider web framed by the heavy wire of our new fence. Nice juxtoposition! The Crab Apple tree is beginning to bloom, and in the warm light I could smell a hint of its wonderful perfume. I left my "muck bucket" in the goats pasture while doing chores. It took the buckling about 20 seconds to discover this new addition to his world and less time than that to get himself inside it. Buckling in a bucket... perhaps the latest craze? Every kid should have one!

BEE-utiful..!

My friend came over today and opened up my bee hive. I was on pins and needles, hoping upon hope that all was well within its walls. Tra la, tra la! I spotted the queen, (the longer bee in the top photo, center-ish) and there was lots and LOTS of capped brood. This means the queen is successfully laying eggs and those eggs are developing and hatching into wonderful new bees. My hive is growing! It is tucked up under some apple and pear trees, and because today is warm and sunny the bees have been very active. They zip from one dandelion blossom to the next, and the fruit trees are fairly humming with bee activity. It gives me great pleasure to know the animals in my care are thriving... from the worms in the dark soil of the vermicomposter bin to the bees in the air and all the birds and mammals in between.

Little faces...

A few days ago my sister called. My husband was chatting with her before handing the phone to me. He told her about the bees, the chickens, the goats and the soon-to-be-hatching ducklings. Then he said, "We have a LOT of little faces at our place." Yes. Yes we do. And what a great way to describe the menagerie we call our own!

And we have...

DUCKLINGS! The mama duck has had eggs audibly "pipping" since last night. That means the ducklings inside their eggs are making sounds; communicating with their mama before they even hatch. The mother duck becomes very intense when this happens, cocking her head to listen to the tiny sounds and being extra protective of her nest. The wee ducklings begin to peck out of their shells. This is a long, long process. It takes every bit of my restraint to not "help!" Belle the Muscovy duck, laid 20+ eggs and has been dutifully setting on them for 34 LONG days. She only leaves the nest once a day to eat, drink and eliminate. The chicken in the nest box next to her was also broody, (sitting on eggs.) None of the chicken eggs hatched. Somehow the resourceful chicken managed to hijack 4 duck eggs. I have NO idea how she did that... the duck is a fierce guardian of her nest, and besides, hens lack hands, how did she get eggs from one nest box to another without breaking one? The mysteries of the animal kingdom never cease to amaze me. At any rate, the chicken has duck eggs that are hatching too. She'll have a fit the first time "her" chicks insist on going for a swim!

Meanwhile the goats have learned to get out of the large, roomy pasture and into the back yard. They found a spot where the fence is a little saggy and leap right into the hen yard. There they ate the chicken food, and moved on to eat the blossoms off of all the pansies I planted over the weekend. When Chris got home we shored up the fence. I can see this might be an ongoing effort! On a brighter note I had a much more successful milking session this evening. Luna goat is very patient with my ham-fisted efforts and I came away with about 1/2 of a quart jar full of fresh milk. I can see that when I become more comfortable with the process that the time I spend milking will be very pleasant and relaxing. After I milked I gave Luna a good brushing. She loves this... and stands statue still, with her eyes squinched shut in pleasure. Pleasure is all around me. In hatching ducklings and fresh milk and naughty, happy goats.