Yes, It is Spring

 

Well, at least the bluebirds know what time of year it is!  They have been romancing my truck and its mirror and flying around having a good time.

Spring is such a mixed up time. Madi, the young woman who works for me, was so happy on Wednesday because she got to cut the grass on the farm! Having sun was so unusual, she forgot to put on sunscreen and so was suffering the following day (when it rained again!) We got up to nearly 80 degrees on Saturday, but we were spared the tornadoes and hail that were predicted! Early this morning it snowed--but of course, it didn't stay long!

Sunday, after a beautiful morning, it rained, but the Girl Scouts that came for a farm visit didn't seem to mind. They enjoyed visiting the alpacas, feeding grain and petting BMCA Madison and BMCA Leyla, who always love the attention. The group of older girls and geldings and Katherine, the llama, kept approaching the girls with their usual curiosity. The girls learned what it meant when I explained that alpacas were herd animals, as they pursued the animals to try to get them interested in the grain.

The girls collected eggs and laughed at the skinny, bare necks of the turkins! They each picked their "favorite" egg to take home. They also took small ziplock bags of alpaca poop home!

In the garage, after spending time with the animals, the girls used alpaca fiber dyed with Kool-Aid which they felted and strung along with beads to make zipper pulls. They feasted on cake and lemonade and worked on an alpaca crossword puzzle and word search.  I gave them a demonstration of spinning and they read the display boards that showed pictures of shearing, a cria birth, and other pertinent alpaca "facts."

"I really had fun!" one of the girls said to me. And her grandmother who came along as one of the chaperones decided that she really wants two alpacas!

Creatures on the Farm

Yes, it's an alpaca farm! But alpacas aren't the only creatures (read "living" creatures) around! This morning, in fact, I was working on the computer, looking out the window, and I saw a rather unwelcome sight! Yes, right out in the driveway--a coyote, looking like he belongs here. I'm glad that all my crias are not so small any more . . . and that there were no chicken feathers hanging out of the coyote's mouth! Maybe he was just a sign of the wierd spring we are having.

And it has been wierd--high winds, show, sleet, hail, rain, wind, and more rain. Planning for this year's shearing, I thought we weren't going to have trouble with mud on the feet/legs, but over the past two weeks, all that was dry lot is now "mud lot." But the grass is growing taller [too wet to mow :( ], the trees are in bud, the daffodils and narcissus are in full bloom and the tulips getting ready!

But plans for the garden are also on postponement! Hopefully, the potatoes and onions put in two weeks ago aren't rotting underground.

I had a new greenhouse erected over the winter and we haven't quite learned how to use it yet. Although I have had lettuce, spinach and radishes to enjoy for over a month.

Oh, yes, I was talking creatures. Last month, well in April, I had an interesting sighting: a pair of bluebirds. This really was exciting because I had never seen a western bluebird before. The day

was wet and windy--I was in the garage skirting fleeces and looked out at my Dodge Ram that was parked in front of the garage. This male bluebird was flirting with himself around the side mirror. He hopped all around it, hanging on the door, sitting on the mirror. I learned from a good birder friend of mine that bluebirds (and robins, he said!) have this habit--they are acting aggressively toward another bird in their territory! At one point during the afternoon (because this went on and off quite a few hours), I saw the female sitting on the Dodge roof--"What a silly male," she seemed to be saying!

On another day when I was down at the pen of weaned crias, down at the edge of the woods, I saw another pair (or the same pair?) I had recently purchased some beautiful handcrafted bluebird houses from a friend of mine, and I got them up as soon as possible. I haven't seen any action around the birdhouses yet, but it's been so miserable, when I go out to feed the alpacas, I get it done as soon as possible and get back inside!

The hummingbirds are back, too! Saw some flitting around the back porch and so put out the feeders, but the feeders are emptying in the high winds. The kingfisher is back, checking out the spawning goldfish in the pond. The dreaded flickers have been back and we've already had to seal up some holes they made. I've had someone knocking on my front door and ignored it, thinking it was the flickers back at the grouting between the logs! They are attractive, but cause too much damage for me to enjoy them.

Looking out the window--it's snowing again! But the Ren Fair is over and Mother's Day is coming--maybe we'll get some sunshine again!