Instinct And So Much More

It's been one of the most spectacular Autumns of my life.

The colors were amazing.

The weather was perfect...lots of sun, lots of warmth.

To ask for anything more would be downright greedy!

But Autumn's colors are fading now.

The almost fluorescent hues of reds, oranges and yellows are gradually fading to brown...

and in their drabness, the leaves find their way to the ground.

It's been perfect weather this week for working outdoors.

The dogs and I have been spending our afternoons cleaning out garden boxes,

scooping manure, and cutting and moving wood.

Yesterday I cleaned the pig yard.

(yes, I scoop the pig manure daily to keep their yard clean.)

The sheep called to me from their resting places on the other side of the fence.

Everyone is always quite interested in the jobs that I do and seem to enjoy my presence.

I have come to understand so much about animals over the past years.

They, like humans, enjoy the diversion of visitors.

They especially like the presence of other animals.

As I cleaned the yard, I watched the interaction between Annie and MaryAnn

as MaryAnn tried her hardest to get Annie to play with her...

I have received several questions regarding the "motor" sound that my camera makes.

This is due to the autofocus of the camera as it films in video mode...

(one down-side to camera-based video. )

I have found through observing my animals that they possess qualities

so often attributed to only humans...

intelligence, emotion, compassion.

If you understand animal behavior, then you know that much of it is rooted in instinct.

But, they are much more complex than that.

Although their survival depends upon instinct,

they have the capacity for so much more.

There is nothing that makes me happier than seeing well-cared-for, contented animals

enjoying each others' company and...

playing!