Summer is arriving at the Flying T. Here are some recent pics that tell a story about what that means on the farm.
It’s been really rainy lately, but today we have a good bit of sun… just in time for our son’s baseball game!
The ducklings are now a month old. Just before the three week point, one of the other ducks (Mocha) adopted them as her own. Unfortunately, this meant that she stepped off her own nest a week early, so we lost a clutch of 20.
However, she has been a great mother, and guards over them dutifully so that they can eat, drink, and swim… and take naps in the sunlight outside the barn.
For the past week, Mocha has been bringing the brood on a field trip each morning down to the beaver pond. They spend most of the day there, swimming and eating bugs and weeds, then waddle back to the barn in the afternoon.
Try to find her if you can… this pic was taken with my phone, so the resolution isn’t the best. Once you think you’ve found her, look below. You should be able to imagine Mocha’s blurry brown and white form with a mass of ducklings swimming in front. There also is a brood of wild Mallards sharing the pond, and we’re hoping that another of our Muscovy hens, Sunset, is sitting on a clutch hidden nearby.
Katy was the next to start her nest in the barn. She’s been on for about a week, so about 27 days left in her vigil before the peeps start happening.
Summer means that the grass is growing quickly, especially with all of our rain. This gets the horses frisky.
The grass has been too wet to mow around the house, but with a bit of help from the temporary electric fence we use when trailering, we found a greener solution to the lawnmower.
Still, there’s plenty of work to be found. I’m a bit behind in putting away wood. The good thing is that we have a good bit left over from last year. Here’s the current pile I need to split, and I’ve got another cord lying in the woods right now waiting for me to cut into logs and drag out.
After an hour or so of work, I’ve got a good pile of cut wood waiting for the kids to start stacking (and still a whole lot more to split)!
More to come!