Sun Rise

This morning I was sitting in front of the fire, drinking a cup of coffee, with my nose stuck in a book.  It was a book about Tuscany, and the descriptions of the food, wine, and scenery had my complete attention.  Ah…to be in Italy, wouldn’t that be wonderful.

Then I raised my head (and my nose) and my eyes were drawn to my window.

What was this?  This glorious burst of color right here in front of me? I dropped the book, set down the coffee and headed outside.  This had to seen without the frame of the pane of glass.

The entire eastern sky was lit in vibrant gold, soft peach and varying shades of lavender. I stood and watched as the colors shifted and moved across the sky.

It was almost overwhelming…

and then it was gone.  The gold shimmered away and the sky turned into the soft pastel pinks and blues of daybreak.

 

Sun rise on Morris Brook Farm…as beautiful as anything I will ever see in Tuscany.

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Nellie’s New Neighbours

I took this picture a couple of days ago…just had to share it with you.

It was such a beautiful soft morning.

I also had a call from my neighbour Susy.  She wanted to know if I was interested in a couple of Heritage breed chickens.  I had no idea what a Heritage breed chicken was, but thought things had been pretty calm and stable around the farm, maybe it was time to shake things up a bit.

It always shakes things up when I bring new animals home.

So off I went that afternoon and picked out a couple of colorful new girls.

If I remember right, this is a Barred Rock Chicken, and I don’t remember what the second one was called.

Any suggestions from you chicken farmers out there?  She is very pretty though.

I brought them home late in the afternoon and kept them in a cage until dark.  Then I tiptoed out to the chicken barn, and slowly with the help of my headlamp, set each new hen on the roost.  There was a gentle clucking and chirping from Nellie and the girls, wondering what was going on, but as soon as I closed the door it was quiet again.

I was hoping that in the morning they would all wake up and great each other and begin a new day, a day with seven chickens.  That was pretty much what happened.

The new girls explored a little bit but spent a fair bit of time just sitting on the roost, in a corner facing the wall.  Keep your back to the others, and maybe they won’t notice we’re here.

Last night I went out to close the door at dusk and to check that everyone was in. Imagine my surprise to see the two new girls up on the top roost, snuggled right up to Nellie.  Dear Nellie, who has always slept alone on her own end of the roost, now had neighbours. I closed the door with a smile on my face and a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart.

This morning all is still well.  No big fights, no feathers flying.  I look forward to seeing the eggs start to appear once they are settled in.

Looks like they have decided to stick with Nellie too.

So far Nellie is the only chicken to have a name, the others have just been called “the girls”. I am thinking it might be nice if her neighbours had names too…any suggestions?

 

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This is Winter

They weren’t kidding when they forecast a big dump of snow.  It arrived!

It was almost too much for John Deere to handle.

 

It is a good thing Emma doesn’t sleep in her dog house.

My gate looks small now, tucked in amongst the piles of snow and towering trees.

 

There really is a driveway here, although it feels more like a pathway now.

A deer had crossed the driveway  and left huge tracks.  They were so deep they had a blue tinge to them.  Can you see it?

Emma was not at all interested in a walk…she came out the gate and that was as far as she wanted to go.

Let me in, let me in!

There is a lot of snow, it makes for a lot of work plowing and shovelling, but it is quite beautiful too.

Life in a land of seasons…this is winter.

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Ah…Wood Heat

A winter storm is on it’s way…the forecast calls for lots of snow.  I went out this morning and lit the stove by the cows water trough.  It seemed like a good idea, thaw out the ice before the storm hit.

This little stove generates quite a bit of heat, even sitting outside in the field.  Olivia and Birdie were standing close by, their backs covered with snow.

 

It didn’t take long for them to figure it out…by the time I was back at the gate they had gathered.

All four of them, standing close to the stove, soaking up the warmth.

There is nothing like it, even the cows agree…ah, wood heat.

 

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