Tuesday Edition

Cold again, or still, or whatever. Around zero I guess. I dragged myself out in the dark for morning barn check. Everyone but me has the dreaded cold/flu thing, so I could hardly expect anyone else to do it. Beautiful morning though. By the time I was done the sun was just rising like a peach and melon watercolor, washing the land with light. Old Mr. Fluff was crowing his heart out and ringing the morning in. The tracery of foot prints in the snow showed only cats and no foxes nudging around the hen house (unlike yesterday when some varmint was clearly looking for a free lunch right outside the windows.)

Everyone in the barn was fine. Heather was nice and warm and standing over her baby chewing her cud. Evidence and Lakota were not showing any sign of calving right away. I stopped to give Lakota a nice scratch on the poll, which she seemed to quite appreciate. It is getting to be an itchy time of year, with all of them shedding like crazy, and they love a good scratch. (You should see my dark blue work pullover...covered with enough hair to stuff a sofa.)

You would probably get a good laugh out of Bama Breeze and Carlene when I milk them. They stand side by side, so I go up between them to milk.

Bama is a real pet and always turns her head around toward me, soliciting a good neck rub. It only took a couple days before Carlene got the idea from watching her and decided to get in on the action. (Cows solicit each other to scratch their necks with their tongue, by stretching their neck toward the other cow and bunting and nudging...they groom each other quite a lot.) Now if I have time I can stand up between their heads, digging my fingers into their furry necks, as they turn this way and that to get the best angle.

Bama even licks my back when I milk her too, practically knocks me out in the aisle sometimes. (You would never guess that the same cows will stomp you flat if the mood takes them.)

Anyhow, the sun is up, it is time for chores....wonder when maple season is going to start.

PS, I think the peacocks started eating yesterday. They tipped their food table over twice, I believe getting up on it to eat. Guess I will have to make it more secure. Liz called the man who got them for me and it turns out that they have not been fed by hand, having lived free on the farm they came from. Thus they simply don't know what my food is for. I think I will go around the house and catch them a jar full of these darned box elder bugs that wake up whenever the house gets warm and crawl all over everything. That would make a nice treat, don't you think?