May in Maine...

It's been a gray and rainy month so far, but it seems silly to complain after last summers drought.
The plants certainly don't mind...

 Gentle new leaves are unfurling around last seasons fruit, and on old wood.

I try to plant some flower bulbs each fall, gradually increasing the number of bright flowers that burst, glowing, each spring.

On their own, they multiply each year, and are most welcome after a long Maine winter.

In a few days the fruit trees will add their blossoms to the mix, and the air will be rich with their perfume and the buzzing of bees.

After a weekend away I had to agree with my flag, home IS where the heart is.

Chris and Rachel took excellent care of all the animals while I was away.  This morning I was happy to wake in my own soft bed and hop up to see and tend to the critters.

 The broiler chicks are getting their adult feathers in, and I will move them  to a new enclosure outside soon.  Maybe today if the rain holds off a bit.

 This hen is broody and sitting on a dozen eggs.  Broody hens settle on a nest and only get up once a day (sometimes every other day) to eat, drink and eliminate.  Otherwise they are spread out rather flatly, in a sort of chicken trance,warming the eggs with their deep feathered chest for 21 or so long days.

I'm not sure if this duck is broody or not. I hope not, I'd rather not have ducklings. She is pretty under the brush pile, though.

The goat girls seemed happy to have me back, staring at my face and pressing their cheeks against mine.

I saved the best for last... ready?
Last fall we got a very  nice hay rack. The upper portion holds the hay up off the ground, and the tray underneath catches fallen bits to keep it clean.  Sometimes it holds other things, too, it seems.

Seven wee baby goats, all tucked in on top of the hay. Interestingly enough, they tend to cuddle closest to their siblings, so on the left the three kids that belong to Ella are all intertwined, then Jane's two press against each other in the middle, and Celeste's lovely doelings are cheek to cheek on the right. Here the mama's  are close by keeping a watchful eye out, (though, truly, goats are not terribly attentive mothers.)  I find this scene so sweet I simply had to share.

May at FairWinds is a treat.