A Hike to The Stream

With the mercury reaching 70 yesterday,

it was the perfect time to take a walk in the woods.

There's something about the sound of dry leaves crunching beneath your feet,

and the moist smell of leaf decay that feeds my soul.

We headed out the side of our house,

past the woodshed

(that Jack has spent the past two months filling for the winter).

We try to augment our heat with wood in the fireplace, as our fireplace is equipped

with a mechanism that burns all of the particulate matter in the smoke...

making what goes up the chimney much cleaner.

This fireplace puts out a good number of BTU's and really helps to cut down

our electricity usage.

Sorry... I digressed... back to the walk....

You may have noticed in yesterday's video that there was a rectangular, green field very 

close to our house.

This field lies at the foot of a trail through the woods next to our house and acts as a buffer

to the neighboring farm with a stream running alongside.

It's a favorite hiking place for the dogs and us,
not to mention, a favorite hunting place for the dogs.

The Jack Russel terrier in Chester really shows as he sticks his head and shoulders
down this groundhog hole.

We wanted to place a few game cameras next to the stream to see

what animals frequent that area.

If you asked our dogs what their very favorite activity is...

I am sure they would reply, "a hike!!"

The dogs had a blast, wading...

splashing...

fetching...

 enjoying every moment.

Sammy loves to wade in the water 

almost as much as he loves to just follow his nose.

Chester's favorite?  Chasing sticks!

Annie?  Chasing balls, but since we had no balls along,

she satisfied herself running with Chester.

On the way home we stopped by the pond to sit and relax by the water.

It's something we love to do, but the bugs of summer keep us from doing it until autumn.

There is nothing more peaceful than sitting watching the ducks.

We have a nice flock right now.

5 farm-raised mallards (rescued from a swimming pool),

5 pond-raised mallards (their Momma ended up here and stayed),

two Cayuga-mix drakes,

one lovely Swedish crested duck, sporting the latest in head fashion,

one white muscovy gal who prefers to stick to herself,

and one recent acquisition - a lovely khaki Campbell drake.

All in all, they have adopted each other and spend their days happily swimming,

eating, and preening.

Each morning when we stop by the pond to feed the ducks,

though, we are reminded how dependent upon us they are.

Even though most of them are a wild breed-

because they were raised on the pond, with readily-available food,

they don't know how to fend for themselves.

It's a good reminder of how much of a commitment domesticating animals is.

When we take the wild out of animals,

they rely upon us forever.

Once again, Friday has rolled around.
I have no idea where our weekend will take us...
but whatever happens... we will be here on Monday to share it with you!
Hugs, from all of us here on the farm.