Breaking Good

Not new, but a favorite, a Savannah Sparrow

The unseasonable heat wave broke and left us with cool, bright sunshine with a brisk and vigorous breeze. After all the recent not fun we have had birding public spots, I took myself to the base of Seven-County Hill seeking new birds.
 

Hickory Tree, guarding the entrance to Hickory Tree Field

Got a couple, maybe three, but mostly just enjoyed the incredible day. It was cool enough to make the walk easy,  birds were singing, and traffic was fairly quiet for a change. I took a short video of a Cottonwood shadow dance. Turn up your sound for a taste of wild Northview. Extra points for naming the bird singing....

***Update, yes, three, including an Alder Flycatcher

Up and Down the Pony Trail

The other night at just about sunset the kids invited me to walk the newly mown paths to the pond with them. I couldn't resist the temptation....

Our fearless leader forged the trail, riding her palomino pony, intrepid and fierce in the vanguard. 

The pony is a runaway.....giddy up giddy up giddy up go.....and must be called back quite often. One of the farm dogs went along for the fun and the possibility of woodchucks and was actually a good deal more biddable than that little horse.

After that walk I was going to beg off and go birding with the boss. However, the little boss was quite upset and so we ventured on up to the Thirty-Acre Lot too, and had a look around. 

Once again that wild little pony was in the lead all the way up that great big hill and all the way back down again.

Even at the bottom that golden bronco just would not be broken....however, his tough little owner kept him in line as she explored the trail for us all over the wilds of the hay fields...

I Hate to Complain

Should have known when we saw this thunder cloud gesturing at Heaven that we were in for trouble

Oh, who am I trying to kid? I am a whiner from way back.

However, there is something wrong when you can't go to a public park and not have the experiences we have experienced lately. Last week it was pervs in the park for Mother's Day. In broad daylight. On a picnic table.

Yeah, you can't unsee that. Haven't had much desire to go back there...

Then last night we went to our other park, minding our own and not bothering anybody.

The boss went to sit at a picnic table while I wandered around taking photos and looking for interesting birdies.

There were a couple of dogs along the bank, on leashes. I didn't pay any attention. There are always dogs. Some of them are real sweeties. One old lab comes by to visit us every time we are there and we give him a pet or two and then he is on his way.

This time there was a cute little yellow mix at one table and not too far away a barking pitbull. At first I didn't pay any attention. Just another dog.

I walked over to join the boss to look for Bank Swallows on the river.

Suddenly, for some reason that second dog took a heckin' hate to me. She lunged to the end of the much knotted and patched retractable leash to which she was attached, clopping her jaws, flinging spit, and snarling ferociously. Her owner was sitting on the ground with a tenuous hold on the handle and was pulled right over backwards on the ground..... just a couple fingers between me and those teeth.

The owner gathered her back up and I sat down kind of tentatively near the boss. The dog stared right at me and went on with the show. I said, "There is no bird worth this, let's get out of here, " and we rose to leave. I don't mind dogs at all but.....

This one again pulled her owner over backwards on the grass. Fingers on the leash handle....just fingers mind you, no thumb...were again all that separated me from those teeth.

We headed for the car. The lady, still being hauled around by the dog, hollered at us, "She doesn't bite."

Um, well, maybe not, but I wasn't waiting around to see. Words were exchanged, mostly between the "lady" and my protector...and we went away.

I was honestly afraid of that dog. Worked for a vet for 8 years, handling all manner of beasts...and that dog wanted me, I know it. I would wish away the harsh words that were exchanged. Better to have left them unsaid. The nice lady told us that the dog didn't like my ugly face. I guess you can't ask a man to let someone say that to his wife. 

I am still wondering what would have been the right thing to do in that situation....

I think I'll just chase birds here on the farm for a while.

The kids' dog, Ren

Wild Water

Blue-winged Teal 

We braved the Thruway yesterday, without our boy as chauffeur, to go to Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. The boss did great driving in all that nuttiness, although we took Route 20 home. That took a while, but turned out to be a good choice, as there was a terrible accident right where we might-coulda been if we hadn't.

One of three Snow Geese that we saw...it's a wonder that they didn't melt

It was kind of overwhelming, mostly because it was so hot and there aren't a whole lot of places to get food on 20.

We watched this Great Blue Heron try to choke down this big bullhead.
He was still working on it when we had to move on

His eyes were definitely bigger and all

However, it was a treat to see Ruddy Ducks quite close and a number of other ducks and wading birds.

Ruddies are like improbably bathtub toys bobbing on the pool

Recent rains have the place unbelievably full of water though. Many of the pools where we normally count Trumpeter Swans and Sandhill Cranes were completely flooded so no nests or colts or chicks there.

Common Gallinule

Two new birds showed up here at the farm today. I didn't even have to chase them. Two Willow Flycatchers were calling at dawn and the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are back and on the feeder....finally.....

Punctuation

Workin' at the Drivethru

There isn't any today. Things just keep on coming.

So far we have been writingtheFarmSideCountingbirdsRototillinggardensPuttingthedogsoutBringingthedogsinTakingtheplasticoffthedoorMovingplantsoutsideandfertiliztingthemGettingthehaycustomerwhocameupthewrongdrivewayturnedaroundandredirected....

So far that is....and it isn't even noon yet.

Now the other folks are going over to load out hay while Peggy stays with me. Later it is school budget vote day and time to visit the second annual FFCS Ag Fair. There is said to be cow chip bingo.

Big Day

The weather forecast for this week's Global Big Day was plumb discouraging. Last year's event fell on a gorgeous spring day, with migration well advanced and Becky and Alan both home to help.

This year it rained, almost all day but I decided to do my best and went out at five for dawn chorus. That netted 22 species and a lovely time watching the light slowly pour across the land like thin silver.

Then a walk to the middle of the farm to see what was shaking out on the land. Bobolink numbers are terribly low this year. Dunno if it is that the season has been slow or that the grass is short and the crows are giving the Bobs hell, but there are a lot fewer than normal.

However, I heard an oriole singing as I came back down that was not a Baltimore, our commonest of that clan. I pulled out my phone to check iBird to be sure how an Orchard Oriole sings. Bingo.

And then it flew right to a treetop and sang for me to get a good look, although alas, I missed a photo.

That is when the rain started. Mappy and I dug lilacs and peonies anyhow. And rhubarb too.

Later, the boss, Becky, and I chased all over a couple other counties grabbing birds...figuratively.... We ended up with 52 species, ten up from last year. Last year I only looked on the farm though....

It poured to varying degrees most of the day. We went through a couple of changes of clothes and got very wet.

But man, was it ever fun! At the end of the day, last tick off the list of the day, one of my two favorite birds of all, Carolina Wrens, were counted in the driveway. Multiple Carolina Wrens, as the adults have already raise a brood. The driveway was scattered with tiny, fluttering, just-fledged babies, the color of cinnamon toast and cuter than kittens.

What a day..... Thanks Ralph for a really nice Mother's Day gift.

Happy Mother's Day

To my mama, who gave me my bright side, amongst all the traditional family gloom....and to all the mamas out there who are doing their best to unleash good citizens upon the world.

And to Liz as well, who is helping our Peg to be the funny, bossy, clever, little wonder that she is.

Hope you all have a wonderful day.

A Near Disaster

The boss and I ran over to Sunnycrest to get a plant for my mama today..... I am lucky enough to be an old fogy myself and still have a wonderful mom and dad.

I hope it brightens her days a little.....we took it up this afternoon and Becky hung it for her and got it all watered up and ready to go.

On the way to the greenhouse, we always take a narrow back road that runs past a farm that used to belong to friends of ours. Now it is owned by some Amish.

As we approached I noticed a furor to our right, partly behind some buildings and well down off the road.

"Watch out, Ralph," I said to the boss. "There's a fired up team coming up the hill."

He couldn't have seen them and didn't really have time to look, as there, in the center of our lane on the road proper, were a Border Collie and two little blonde children, past toddler size but not by much. They were right in front of us, and directly in the path of a three-up of half-crazed chestnut light horses hooked to a farm implement, charging towards the road.

The farmer was screaming something at the kids, who totally ignored him, and standing up on the machine, leaning his whole weight on the reins to little avail. The muscles in his arms stood out like cords, but the horses were flinging sweat, throwing their heads fighting the bits, rearing, and hopping, and not really stopping. He finally managed to drag them to a bouncing halt maybe twenty feet from the kids, who still didn't move.

Egads.

The youngsters finally caught on and stepped out of our way, but were still partly in front of the team. We would have waited, but the father gestured impatiently for us to move, so we did.

I don't know what happened next....but I guess things turned out okay. Didn't hear otherwise at least. I swear it took at least a day or two off my life. I literally had a stomach ache as we drove off over the hill.

It was too darned easy to imagine several other outcomes....

Cows are Out to Pasture

The two old retired cows we kept when we sold the milking herd went to pasture this morning, along with the big beef heifer. 

I wish I had paid more attention to them this spring. In winter they are kept down in the old heifer barn, which the kids use for their operations, and I hadn't gone in lately to look at them.

We wanted to send the big heifer to freezer camp last fall but didn't get it done. Figured this spring she'd need a couple weeks at grass to finish. 

If only I had looked at her. She is coming off winter as fat as a hog on just good hay. Now we are going to have to catch her when we are ready to send her.

Mad props to Liz for keeping them looking so good all winter...the old cows look pretty darned good too, especially since they are 10 or 11 years old....and to the boss for making such good hay.

100

Hit 100 birds today in our home county. Number 100 was a male Indigo Bunting chipping at me from Roger's Folly (a hole in the lawn left behind a somewhat less than perfect construction project bitd.)

Yesterday we added that Common Loon, Ovenbird, and Spotted Sandpiper to get to 99.

This sure is a lot of fun.

FM vs AM

I've come to a conclusion about birds this cold and rainy spring. Regular birds, your robins and Bobolinks and all, are FM.

Frequently Moving.

Warblers, gnatcatchers, and vireos are AM

Always Moving.

Usually behind leaves or to the other side of trees just as you point the camera at them or get your binoculars in the right place.

However....we got a Common Loon in our home county today! How cool is that?

Something in the Sky

Do you know what is going on here?

Thanks to building fence with Alan I do but before that I would have been mightily puzzled

Not sure just what. I have this vague memory of days when you didn't need three shirts and you could see where you were going.

Whatever is causing this odd extra light is coming up over the horizon right now, although it is still cold as heck out there...not quite freezing but four degrees of two darned close.
.

We went out yesterday, the boss to fence, me to keep him company and look for warblers. He is well on the way through the last line, with some brush to cut, wires to put up, and things to patch and putter on. A couple trees here and there that fell in the winter's high winds and landed, naturally, on the fence.

I saw plenty of warblers...flocks....but all but one Yellow Warbler were on the back side of trees, fluttering behind leaves. Oh, well. 

Big Day is Saturday with all-day drenching rain predicted. Last year Becky, Alan, and I got 42 species right here on the farm, including a Cerulean Warbler, never seen before and only heard thereafter. I don't think we will be that lucky this year....I will prolly be doing it alone anyhow. But, hey, you never know.

Duck, Duck, GOOSE!

I was standing at the bottom of the steps at Weaver Lake counting birds when all heck broke loose.

Sometimes it's Fun

This is fancy doo dah McDonald rhubarb. It is red and pretty and tough and stringy.
It is expensive too or I would not bother with it.

It usually takes me at least two early morning sessions to write the Farm Side....sometimes three. I must research farm topics, many of which I know nothing about. I hate to get things wrong, so sometimes I read five or six articles on some subject, which might only figure in one sentence, and not a particularly important one at that.

This is my grandpa's rhubarb, handed down over who knows how many generations...
It is tender and juicy and delicious. I have moved my plants, lo these many times....

At least I almost always have some idea, each week after Wednesday noon deadline, of what I will write about the next week. I usually start on Monday morning....been doing it for over 19 years, but I guess I must be opinionated or something....

This week I had nuttin. Not a clue or a glimmer. I considered writing about the recent disastrous blizzard, which laid low the winter wheat crop and killed thousands of cows on the Great Plains. I have seen so many heart breaking photos of that nightmare.

However, I didn't want to write about misery. There is so darned much of it around these days.

So I sat down to a sinful breakfast of rhubarb crisp I made this weekend and stared at a blank Google Doc.

Aha. Rhubarb crisp as health food. I was off. Finished in under an hour.

Sometimes it's fun. Try Googling the Rhubarb Triangle. I was imagining vanishing desserts, disappearing like ships in the one in Bermuda, but the actual story is much different. Let's just say I picked mine in the rain, but not by candle light.

Go Fly a Kite