Fledge

Not sure if it was the little ones or mama that had the idea that Saturday was a good day to fledge.  It rained, it poured and the little ones kept mama very busy... the first barn swallow fledglings on the first day of summer.

Meanwhile

 Meanwhile, new life is springing up everywhere around the farm.  In the barn, the mama and papa barnswallow have raised a brood of fine looking fledgings.  After a couple weeks of dive bombing the barncats, they've left flown out on their own, sometimes returning to roost at night near the nest. 

The turkeys are making their way through the pasture, cleaning up bits of corn and oats, parading through morning and evening, sometimes with little ones trailing. 

Then, there are the twin fawns born in the pine grove paddock.  What a smart mama to have her wee ones in such a protected area.  Everyone is enjoying catching a glimpse of them now and then.

If you haven't already, please take a minute to comment on Monday's blog post for an opportunity to win a 2014 Sheeps and Peeps Farm Calendar!

Spring Birds

Spring Birds, a photo by Sheeps and Peeps Farm on Flickr.

With summer just around the corner, we thought you might enjoy this look back at spring 'out our window'.

Sunday Muse

"True hope is swift and flies with swallows wings..."
~ Richard III, Act V, Scene II, William Shakespeare

Bird Watching

Although a very busy weekend, it was almost impossible to ignore all the wild bird activity... 

a Purple Finch and its mate visiting the platform feeder outside the dishwashing window... 

a pair of Bluebirds guarding their territory in the late evening light...

some Barn Swallows took turns standing guard...

while others were waiting to be fed...

and not one... but two Pileated Woodpeckers treating us to a yard side visit.

While we were enjoying the glimpses of wild bird life between chores, Barncat Davita found it a challenge to get anywhere, moving at a very slow pace, crawling on her belly a few steps at a time while she was being dive-bombed alternately by Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows.  Apparently she has a very bad reputation in the bird world.  And then it was nearly impossible to ignore Barncat Spot's bizarre behavior, as she spent her entire Sunday afternoon on this rafter, obsessively watching one corner of the barn roof; a corner where, try as we might, we could find nothing to warrant all this attention.

You know... honestly... it's never dull around here.