Well it's raining and the snow is slowly melting. It has been warmer for days now but it freezes every evening and you could ice skate quite easily all over the barn yard. It's really dangerous when it gets like this, each step could be a slip and fall and sometimes that fall is really hard. This has been a very warm winter so far and the snow fall has been rather light compared to our usual winters. I ain't complaining now. Less work plowing, less diesel used and less muscle power.
All the animals are doing well but this weather makes things very mucky. We have a Coopers Hawk hanging around and usually they are gone south by now so that is interesting. The deer and turkey have been seen a lot more, when it rains they have more food available to find with much more ease. One of my wife's co worker lost her Jack Russel Terrier to coyotes two days ago. It was a sad thing to hear. Coyotes are the bane of small pets and it is good to watch out for them if you let them out at night. Coyotes are opportunists and will take a cat or small dog quickly. It is time for the coyote hunters to go and hunt these varmints. They are everywhere now. They use drives to hunt them and with the snow it is easier to find where they live and travel. This warm weather and rain may make it harder to hunt them this year but many will still be out looking.
Hay is the at its most expensive price this year, We have never seen prices this high. It was an average year for hay making, two cuts but a lot of folks said they still did not get a good amount. This is what drives the price up during this time. Everyone is getting low and they buy to keep them in the hay they think they will need to they can put the animals out to pasture in the spring. You have to wait till the ground is not wet and soft or the animals will tear up the pastures so bad that it creates problems, deep holes that could trip and injure them latter on.
Life on the farm is wonderful but there is always something old and something new to deal with. Weather conditions do make the daily plans change by the hour. This makes for a very interesting work day, you never know when you have to stop something and start something else. For some this may seem a frustrating life but I love the changes. It makes to constantly aware of what is going on around you.
This year I will be getting 500 tree seedlings and can't wait to get them in the round. I love planting trees and watching them grow each year. It changes our environment for the better and attract new animals, birds and insects.
The photo of the fish tank shows my 3 year old polypterus, a fish that looks like a snake. It is sold as the dinosaur fish. She is about 10 inches now. When I tap the glass she knows it is time to eat. She always has her predatory smile on.
Well I gotta go and and get more work done. everyone have a wonderful weekend.
