Quiet Weekend on The Farm

Although February is the shortest month, it often feels like the longest.  Typically we endure much cold and wintry water in February.  This year, however, the month has sped by.  We've had many days of sunshine and warmer temperatures.  

Now, March sits just two days away - beckoning to us with longer daylight.  In the gardens, daffodils and tulips have emerged through the layer of dry leaves blown there by last Autumn's winds.

We enjoyed a quiet weekend here on the farm.

Greeting the sunrise...

Morning chores...

We take off from farm chores one morning a week - Saturdays.  Our helper and friend, Anna, takes care of  the morning chores for us... feeding and watering and cleaning the animals.  This gives us one morning a week to be lazy and stay in bed beyond sunrise.  We head out mid morning to brind the horses back in from the pasture.

Saturday afternoon, we went to see Anna's oldest daughter play in an indoor soccer game.

This little sprout is Helen, the youngest of Anna's three girls.  Her older girls have spent a lot of time here on there farm... so we look forward to Helen toddling around the farm in the coming months as well.

With cold nights and cold mornings, the numbers of the pond breakfast club have remained steady.

You might notice that Chester is looking a little contrite.  That's because he had quite a bad run-in with a skunk on Saturday evening.  A direct hit - right in the face.  To add insult to injury, we had to bathe him with our special skunk kit in the barn (there's warm water) so as not to stink up our house.

It's breeding season for skunks here in PA.  (just a head's up for fellow dog owners)

Sunday morning, Jack called me back into the barn to see this:

Pete and the two Beas were curled up under one of the heat lamps together... fighting the morning chill.  You might notice Moll on deck above the other three - waiting her turn under the lamp.  As soon as one of the Beas moved, Moll settled into the empty spot.

Meanwhile, on the ladder heading to the hay loft...

she hops, one rung at a time,

until she reaches the top.  I have yet to see her exit the hay loft, but I am sure she just does the same in reverse.

I finished my knitting project and blocked it (wetting it and stretching it into the correct shape),

 

then started another project...

It's white and blue... although the shadows make it look yellow.  This one will be a quick knit (extra chunky wool).

I am so looking forward to all of the changes that March brings.  And though it's not unusual to have some snow during March, this month is the turning point towards spring.  Before long, our monochromatic landscape will begin to awaken and with that the emergence of green once again.  There's nothing like spring on the farm!