Our Ambassador

We got a little late start to morning chores yesterday.  I have no excuse other than the fact that I overslept and missed the rising of the sun.  I caught the tale end of it as we left the house, but too late to capture it on my camera.  After so many days of clouds, I would have loved to bask in the colors.  But, sleep got the upper hand!

Don't worry... we were only a few minutes later than usual.  We don't like to make hungry animals wait.

When we arrived at the pig yard, we were greeted by Pete.  He's become the self-appointed farm ambassador and makes his rounds of all the animals.  

On this particular morning, he was there to greet the pigs as they emerged from their house.  MaryAnn was particularly interested in seeing who was peering out from behind the tree.

From there, Pete ambled across the yard to Faith's little house. 

 From here, he greeted Bobby.

The two of them stood there checking each other out.  Bobby has a tendency to elicit a negative response from most other cats.  However, Pete just smiled and said "Good morning!"  He's very good at putting others at ease.

And so, Bobby walked on, rather than pick a fight.

Within seconds, Faith came around the side of the house, startling Pete.

Faith is the only one of our animals who Pete has not mingled with up to this point.  Unlike the pigs, Faith does not seek out the company of other animals.  She's a bit of an introvert and prefers her very small circle of friends.

Yesterday was a break from all of the precipitation we have received lately.  (And... by the way... it's snowing today!)  We gave the horses some pasture time.

Such a handsome little fur ball!  

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pasture, the girls had gathered in the coffee shop for a little gossip.  This is a favorite hangout for the chickens.  And though this run-in shed is meant as a shelter from harsh weather for the horses, it's always occupied by our chickens.

We were greeted by this scene the other morning.  This old apple tree has been dead for years.  We left it in place because the trunk was quite interesting.  However, the recent wet weather helped speed along its demise.  Though it landed on the fence... there was no damage to the fence.

Hubbs took the chain saw to it, and in about 10 minutes time, we had it all cleaned up. 

I did find some interesting black jelly fungi on it.  Find me a dead tree.... and I'll find you some interesting fungus, helping to break it down.

So, about that snow... we are supposed to get three to six inches today, followed by rain and temperatures well above freezing.  By the end of the day, we will most likely be left with 3 to 6 inches of mud, instead.

Again... the snows this winter have been fun... beautiful and short-lived... just the way I like them!

Last night's sky was lovely. - cloudless with just the sliver of the moon behind me.  With little ambient light, I was able to capture it with my camera.  Circled in red is Mars (three light minutes away from earth) - it glows a warmer orange than the stars.  Above and towards the right is a cluster of stars known as Pleiades or the Seven Sisters.  At 444 light years away, it is one of the closest star clusters to earth.  When viewing the night sky, it is easiest to see this cluster in your peripheral vision.  This is because the rods of our eyes (which are most effective in low light) are located away from the center of our eye.  

 Circled in purple in the lower right corner is Orion's belt.

It's hard to capture all of the stars that I saw without a tripod and my big camera.  It was the kind of night sky that makes one feel so small - the kind of sky that gives meaning to the word infinity.  At least as much as my little guinea brain can comprehend.