So Many Beautiful Sights

Since we last chatted, we have been subject to every type of weather.

From warm and sunny to torrential downpours with tornado warnings,

from sunny and wildly windy to cold and frosty,

our weekend was not for the unprepared!

We took a drive on Saturday morning to a small, local college town for an arts festival.  

It is the perfect time of year to get out and see the countryside.

The Eastern Redbud trees fill the woods with the most beautiful lilac hue.

A drive through the countryside provides so many fascinating scenes.

The winds were so strong that morning,

that many of the vendors decided to not set up their wares.

There was still plenty to see, but the winds were harsh enough to make us

want to take in the sights as quickly as possible.

After a stop for lunch on the way home, we spent the rest of the day on the farm.

The winds continued, but the sun was shining and everyone was out enjoying the 

break from the rain (we'd had torrential rain on Friday night).

I sat outside the goat pasture watching O'Malley

as she watched the various flocks of birds on insect patrol in front of her.

Both the guineas and the ducks were crossing the pasture in formation

as they searched for tasty insects.

It amazed me just how many species were all intermingling at one time.

(a pretty common scene around here)

Sunday morning, after farm breakfast, we solicited help

from Dr. Becky and her family to round up our two sheep

and herd them to the barn in preparation for today's shearing.

This is never an easy task, as they are not food-motivated enough 

to just follow me into the barn.

I did get them to follow me almost to the barn as I fed them Ritz crackers,

but then faced with the choice of entering the barn for more crackers,

or heading back to their yard....

they bolted and ran back to their yard (and beyond).

Eventually we cornered these two tired gals,

and maneuvered them into one of the empty barn stall to await their shearing.

Moonbeam was quite interested in who had moved into the barn,

and spent quite a while just watching these two wooly creatures.

In the afternoon, we took another drive to a beautiful country church

for a fascinating lecture about the original indigenous peoples of our area...

mostly Lenape and Shawnee.

Our beautiful Juniata River made for a resource-rich home for these hunter-gatherers.

We have a rather active historical society in our county.

This old academy serves as our county museum...

a place we plan to visit this summer when it re-opens.

We ended our weekend with plummeting temperatures.

I knew I was taking a risk by planting my stumps with zinnias.

I placed canning jars over each of the tiny plants in order to make

greenhouses to keep them warm through the night.

A little extra work... but worth saving the plants.

Sadly, our apple trees are in blossom and will be subjected to the frosty temperatures.

I took a photo of the flowering crab apple by our garden,

as it might lose its blossoms as a result of the freeze.

Almost every day I talk about the little spring surprises that I find each day.

I spent a little time with these two

 in our Field of Dreams in the midst of our Hundred Acre Wood,

and saw lots of swallowtail butterflies... the first of the season.

And this weekend marked the return of the Ruby-throated hummingbirds.

In honor of their return, I bought this glass hummingbird at the arts festival.