All of a sudden, we had our first calf of the year born. She’s a beautiful red heifer we named Sassy. We used to have our calves earlier in the year so by fall they would be nice and big. The only trouble is sometimes we’d have a cow have a calf during a late spring blizzard or when the temperature dove down to the below zero mark unexpectedly. Now, we plan to have our calves when the weather’s settled and they can go out onto nice green grass right away. We do like them to give birth in the cow yard where they are protected by our horses and mule. So far, we haven’t had a single wolf attack on our cattle that we know of in more than 18 years. We hear the wolves singing very often, and up close to the buildings too. But taking care not to make our stock too tempting seems to be working.
I’ve been busy getting all of the frost hardy plants I bought at Byrns Greenhouse and those Bill and my sister, Deb sent up planted in the new part of the front yard. It’s going to rain tomorrow so I wanted to get them right in the ground beforehand. The fish are now “swimming” in the front flower bed after spending the winter in the greenhouse safe from the snowplow. The daffodils they are swimming in are blooming like mad and I think it looks so pretty.
Another sign of spring around here is when the mama Killdeers are having their nests. I’d noticed one Killdeer down by the barn acting like she had a nest. She’d fly up then run around, close, doing her wounded bird imitation. Today, I took a good look around and found her nest with four eggs in it. Now we know where it is, we’ll be very careful not to bother or step on it. The chicks are so cute when they hatch, looking like tiny versions of adults. I can’t wait!
— Jackie
Your flowers look so pretty! I love the fish swimming too:) I have planted my annuals now and they are looking good so far. My Iris and Peonys are blooming and smell so good! Spring is the reward for enduring winter, lol. The new calf is sure pretty. My Dad has a robin who built a nest in his lilac bush which is just outside a window of his house. He has been enjoying watching them. Sending prayers for a blessed week.
Isn’t spring great? We love the colors, flowers and birds returning. Each first is a blessing! Such a great time of the year.
Sassy looks like you are interrupting her lol – kinda close to a calf stink-eye. Always nice to get plants in before it rains. Yeah, you can water but nothing beats rain. Thunder and lightening are beneficial IMHO (as long as the rain isn’t coming down in buckets, with or without strong winds and hail).
We’re in for another series of rains so we’re doing as much as we can to get ready for it. Yea, spring!
What a pretty cinnamon color that calf is! Ah, the beauty of the youthful!
I have a black capped chickadee nesting stealthily in a nest box in the back yard. Very noisy sparrows chicks also. Spring has sprung! It is such a joy to see flowers and hear birds sing and know that every day is a gift
Yes it is! We’re tickled that our Orioles are back. We waited a few years to get them and finally, it seems, they’re here to stay. They have such a wonderful song.
Arnt killdeers the most! I remember as a youngster, them running down the garden rows with irrigation water(no sprinklers or drips) flowing around the plants. yep! spring IS busy! beans, corn are already up! We had a good rainy week, then a nice dry spell to get them in followed by a shower. thank you mother nature. alas my flowers are all fading, including peonies. as we are entering the dry windy conditions so normal for the area. such gorgeous blooms you are enjoying now. every location has its perks; You wolves! late snow showers versus long dry summers here. bet neither of us want to be anywhere else. dont over work those knees getting those beautiful onion sets in!
We won’t be planting our crops for another week or two, depending on the temperature. I’m still thinking another freeze is lurking out there for us. But we love where we are!!
We have a momma Kildare that makes a nest every year in our church parking lot. We always put a road cone close to it so others coming into the parking lot know not to come close. I’ve never seen the babies until this year. YES they are so cute and fast. Your flowers are just beautiful. Spring has sprung.
Yes, it is. We keep watching Mama Killdeer from a distance, watching for those eggs to hatch. I hope I can get a picture of the babies, but it’s really hard. They run so fast!!
Knowing where those bird nests are is vital. We have Guineas. I know where one nest is (in my bee yard! sigh). She watches us and we watch her. If the Guinea parents get startled off their nest they often abandon them. Great you found that nest. Now you can respect it (and also watch it!).
Yep, now we know where it is, we won’t disturb Mama. We just watch her from afar. It’s nice to have bird families raising their young where we can watch. Our mother goose hatched out her five goslings and we see them with binoculars from the house. Cute little things!!
Wow- neat that you found the Killdeer nest. We too changed calving until April. Earlier birthing was hard with the cold and snow and hard on the calves. I have 2 Sandhill cranes and found their nest with 2 eggs. Now I’m putting in my transplants. Your flowers look great.
Wow, we have a Sandhill Crane pair that nests on our creek. We’ve seen the chicks but I’ve never found their nests. That’s really cool!
We won’t be setting plants out for another couple of weeks, still fearing that sneaky last frost we always get. Soon though….
No wolf troubles around here yet but we know it’s coming. I really wish they had turned them loose in Denver and Boulder county. The folks there are the ones that wanted them. A few running around their back yard and they might change their mind!
Sorry but we love our wolves. As much negative press as they get, we’ve lived with them for a lot of years, in two different states, and have never had trouble with them. We keep our dogs and cats inside at night, mostly to protect the dogs from coyotes and cats from owls and foxes, and lock our poultry in at night for all predators. Never had them in our yard yet though.
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