Our Heroes

It is my humble opinion that crows don't often get the recognition they deserve.  Some say that crows are one of the smartest in the animal kingdom.  They seem to be capable of critical thinking, have been observed using simple tools to accomplish a task, and are thought to have the intelligence of a seven year old human.   Apparently, crows have an intricate social structure and communications network.  This and much more are the conclusions of some fascinating studies of these birds.  You might find this article interesting. 

(photo by Jamie Dantas on Unsplash)

All of the above is merely an introduction to something amazing that happened this past weekend.  Below is a text that we received from Hubb's sister this past Sunday:

Isn't that incredible?  Thank you, crows!!

 Needless to say, since a red tailed hawk wanted chicken for dinner on Sunday, we have decided to keep the chickens in their yard for a little while.  Hopefully the hawk will move on and find another source of food.  

The chicken yard is plenty big for our little flock.  It is well-shaded by a couple of willow trees, and there are lots of greens (weeds), filled with insects, for the chickens to forage through. 

 I've also been giving them overgrown produce from the garden.  They love cucumbers - they're too big and bitter for our taste, but the chickens think they are yummy!

The only chickens who were not happy with the new arrangement were these lovely grey gals.  They threatened to stay indoors in protest.

I explained to them that it was for the best.

That I certainly did not want them to end up as a chicken dinner.

But, in spite of my explanation, one of them flew the coop and hung out with  (or possibly hid from?) the runner ducks.

Yesterday morning was lovely... misty and cool.  Dragon's breath hung low over the farm - moisture from the half inch of rain we received overnight that condensed in the cool morning air.

Instead of waiting by the dry lot gate, Ginger was in her house awaiting breakfast.  I'm assuming she slept indoors last night due to the rain.  As you see, she has a comfy bed available - unused as of yet.  After MaryAnn passed, I thought she might like something soft to sleep on, since she no longer had her sister to sleep against.  She promptly moved it out of the way.  Perhaps she'll change her mind during the colder winter months.

Look who's peeking in the back door...

After morning chores, I headed back to the house to bake the bread dough that had been rising overnight.  By morning, it had doubled in size... a perfect rise!

Two lovely loaves - one for us, one for a friend.

Then, after the sun burned through the morning haze, the dogs and I went out to the garden.  They played in the grass as I weeded the box that had contained my already harvested red potatoes. I'll be planting this box full of next year's garlic.  We enjoyed such success with the garlic that we planted last autumn... I am excited to have even more garlic to harvest next year.   My plan is to weed one box each morning so that the garden is ready to tuck in for the winter.  One box at a time is quite do-able and not as overwhelming as trying to tackle the entire garden at once.

Meanwhile.. a pastoral scene in the sheep yard...