Busy, busy days just keep coming at us full speed ahead. The new vacuum pump is like a dream though, and a very nice dream it is. The first few milkings drove us crazy because it is so quiet that is you can’t hear it at all inside the barn. Thus you have the sense that the milking machines are not going to work when you plug them in. They do, however, work just fine and we are making good time milking because we now have a huge vacuum tank as well. This gives us more of a vacuum reserve so the machines work better. Now if we could just get rid of the dreaded inch and a half pipeline everything would be practically perfect.
A small milestone in life up here at the farm. (Real small.) Although the boss and I have been married nearly 21 years and have worked together here even longer, we have only actually lived up here for about four and a half years. Before that we lived in town. Anyhow, I have spent a little time here and there, ever since we moved up, trying to get chickadees tame enough to land on my hand to take a seed.
That finally happened yesterday. Today they came right down off the clothesline to snatch seeds out of Alan’s hand too. It is so neat to have those tiny, but very brave, little creatures come close enough to touch. Hope the bird flu stays away and they are spared.
The boss planted one bag of sweet corn about four days ago and is going to try to get another bag in tonight while the rest of us milk. We hope to get a good enough crop to sell a bit this summer, but I will settle for enough to freeze a lot and eat homegrown corn all winter. Yum.
We were supposed to test tonight, but the tester canceled out, which is just peachy with me. Not having to rush around tidying up for that allowed me to get a bit of gardening done. I am really excited about something I saw over at Sunnycrest Orchard. They have hanging plant baskets out in the greenhouse, with zucchinis and cucumbers, loaded with fruit, growing in them. I have just got to try that. I am sure they need massive amounts of water and fertilizer, but I am going to have a go just the same. I can't wait.
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9 comments:
Oh, I'm so envious! I just love the chickadees, and it would be such a treat to hand feed one. Your patience finally paid off.
Hi, so nice to "see" you here.
It is a wonderful small thrill to feel the tiny claws on your finger tip for just the least fraction of a second. I love it! Come down if you get a chance and you can give it a try.
I live in the mountains of southern California and we too have lots of birds, including chickadees. So far, they won't eat from our hands, but the scrub jays do it all the time. Such fun.
Loved your post.
Blessings,
Shirley
Shirley, wow, jays! Ours our so wild they don't even stay in the yard if you go outside. We only have the common blue jay, but they are not at all tame.
Thanks for stopping by,
Great work with the chickadees.
Hey, I'm picking yellow squash tomorrow or the next day.
FC, all I can do is be jealous. You have bull frogs calling in your pond AND squash. Sometimes life is just not fair.
We have rain....lots of cold, soggy, miserable rain. I hope it brings the grass on anyhow.
That with the birds is more than a smnall milestone! Very cool. I knew some folks back in Colorado, who had lived in the same mountain home for decades. Because they spent lots of time outdoors and had feeders everywhere, generations of wild birds were tame - the babies grew without fear of humans. It was just lovely, although I wondered if the birds were really learning less-than-adaptive behaviours by being so unafraid (and dependent) on people.
I have birds year 'round, but I'm currently living in a city and none are tame. I enjoy watching them, though.
Hi, glad you stopped by. I can see why you might worry about wild birds becoming too tame. However, with chickadees I think it is more bravery than trust. Even ones that have never seen people will come right up out in the woods. They are about my favorite birds.
My dad finally managed to tame a squirrel into eating out of his hands. After she had 3 litters in the box he made for her, she finally trusted him. He was thrilled.
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