For some, I think, the fear of venturing outdoors in the cold is worse than actually venturing out. I have learned that with appropriate dress, it is actually more pleasant to be out in the cold than it is to be out during the heat of summertime. But then, I am quite active while I am outside... and that makes a big difference.
I love spending cold, sunny days outside wandering about the farm and the woods.
Spending time quietly observing our animals is a treat...
especially when they ignore my presence.
Although some are unable to mind their own business- unable to resist the opportunity to see just what it is I am doing sitting by the pasture fence.
Yesterday, after chores were finished and a little inside work completed, I headed out with my camera in hand. I had wanted to find the pair of early-arriving bluebirds that I had seen just three days before. I had alerted Hubbs, who always cleans out the bluebird houses in the first week of February, that I had already seen a couple.
He immediately hastened to get all bluebird accommodations ready for guests. You see, we have about twenty bluebird houses scattered throughout the farm - most of them hanging, appropriately spaced, on fence posts.
It's always fascinating to see the intricate nests that are built inside the wooden houses.
The birds are very resourceful in their building and use whatever is abundant in their neighborhood.
Some are minimalist,
and built mostly of grass or pine needles,
while others are quite lavish - baroque or art nouveau-esque appointed dwellings with finely curated decor touches of guinea, duck, or chicken feathers. Besides being resourceful in providing a soft, cozy nest for their hatchlings, I can't help but think that bluebirds have an eye for aesthetics and enjoy expressing their personal style with great panache!
I noticed as I walked around looking at last year's nests on the ground, that one of the houses had some new activity and was bursting at the seams. Its side wall had popped open exposing part of the nest within. Amazingly, this nest had been constructed in the past three days. The birdhouse was in need of a little modification to keep the nest securely tucked within its walls. Hubbs added a screw and all was secure and weatherproof.
I circled all of the pastures searching for the sapphire couple with lilting song - perhaps newlyweds searching for their first home - but they weren't to be found. Now I am wondering if this nest was the handiwork of a pair of common house sparrows- and that perhaps the bluebirds I had seen were merely on a reconnaissance mission, surveying the neighborhood. If so, they are sparrows with a taste for the ornate... nothing common about them!
Either way... all of the birdhouses are ready for occupancy when the bluebirds do return to the farm for nesting. If not now... certainly quite soon!
While out and about, I found a pair of AWOL donkeys inside the sheep yard.
Ignoring them, I headed to the barn and then let out the call..."DONKEY GIRRRRRRLS!"
and they came running... as always... both looking as wide as a barrel!
(Hay bellies from cleaning up under the sheep feeders. Naughty donkeys!)
As for the sheep... resignation. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em (or ignore 'em)."
Comments
We have an Amish community a few miles from us and every summer they have an open house for the greenhouse and have coffee and raised glazed donuts....they are dangerously good!! Enjoy your finger licking good treat. Make it a great weekend. xoxoxo
I am a collector . . .
and often find them this time of the year
blowing across the lawn
some have been sitting in place for a few years
i don’t remove them, even as I am sure that they won’t
be used again
one . . . a robins nest is almost cemented
into the crook of a tree, somehow the robins seem to
mix a bit of mud with the twigs and grasses they use for building
might be a good day for a nest hunt
love your feathery nest . . . high end living . . .
Enjoy your weekend! It's a new world out there! ;0D