We don't live on a bay or a coast, just a medium sized river. However, if our cows had horns, this morning they would have been fog horns. The air was crispy cool and sweetly fresh when the sun was just starting to come up. We had to go out early to get the cows in as it is tanker day and for the first time this season we put the cows out in the Dimond farm pasture at night. They have been going there days, but we haven't trusted them out at night in a field they are not so very used to. However the pasture they have been grazing nights has gotten depleted and needs a rest. Milk production has been suffering because of it. This morning they came happily when called, ready to be milked I guess, but for some reason most of them were bawling as they wandered down the lane. It was cool enough that puffs of steam billowed as they bellowed, like big bovine steam engines. It was a strange sight.... long, narrow cow heads pointing in every direction, muzzles open wide, like trumpets at a jazz festival, with unlikely clouds of warm, moist, and suddenly visible air crossing above them. As happens all too often, I wished I had brought the camera. There is no fence on part of the lane they must use to get to that field, so four times a day I get to stand by the horse trailer and "be" a fence. I make a darned good fence too and so far none of them have gotten by me....not that they have tried very hard.
The butterfly above got caught between the screen and the stained glass door the other day. I only noticed it because the Sassenachs were harassing the house wrens again and I went out to chase them away. The wrens nest in the porch pillar every year and we get a great deal of enjoyment from them. Amazingly they know we aren't going to bother them and pretty much ignore us when we go out to chase the English sparrows out of their nest hole. I think the latter want to kick them out and the male tries to get into the nest about fifty times a day.
As I was opening the door I noticed the butterfly fluttering against the screen (which doesn't open). We couldn't reach it so Liz stuck the fly swatter in front of its feet until it finally climbed on. It paused for a fraction of time while I took a picture, then floated away down the hill. There seem to be a bunch of these around this year as I see them in the upper garden where I have been planting this week. I believe it is a Milbert's Tortoiseshell. In the course of tracking it down I FINALLY found a decent butterfly identification site, after looking for a couple of years for one that is easy to use.
I have never seen so many butterflies as there are this year so it is going to be wonderful to able to come inside and look them up.
I could pictures the steam from the noses as they walked by. I'm glad the weather cooled for you, and the cows.
ReplyDeleteI thought that was a fly swatter, thanks for butterfly ID link, it is so hard to find the right book, and it seems we are getting different species of everything these last few years.
I was glad to see the Cedar Waxwings last week, now they have decided to stay and eat green blueberries, which they have never done before, I'm hoping with the warmer weather they will move on as usual.
I love the wrens. I waited 20 years for them to grace us with their presence and now we have 4 pairs fighting amongst themselves. It's crazy though, if i walk by they quit squawking with each other and direct it at me:)
ReplyDeleteNita, it was so cool! Sorry to hear about your blue berries. That is sure a pain in the neck. They always used to clean the cherries off the boss's Mom's tree too, although the starlings got right in on that.
ReplyDeleteLinda, I enjoy them too, except that they ran our tame chickadees out of the box on the front porch. We got three barn swallows today and I am eagerly crossing my fingers that they stay. When the boss was a kid a boy tore all the nests down and they never came back. His mother was so upset.
Thank you for visiting. I am certain they were not Northern Mockingbirds as there are lots of those here in Ohio and they don't look like the birds we saw at the Botanical Garden. The bills especially are distinctly different.
ReplyDeleteI love all three of your blogs. I grew up in farming. My grandparents were farmers. My dad taught Vo-Ag/FFA. I belonged to FFA and had several projects, was a chapter officer and the first girl from my state to be in the National Band for the Convention. That was too many years ago.
G's cottage, thanks to you too! I liked your blog as well...just happened to stumble on it reading other people's blog rolls.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you are right. I looked them up after I commented but it was too late to take it back. Sorry. They are certainly lovely things!
Thanks for your kind words. Congrats on making the National Band for FFA. Quite an accomplishment. I was always sorry that FFA isn't offered at our school, although we did have a 4-H club, which was great fun.