The Farm Report

It's finally starting to smell like Spring, which means that here at the farm, we're gearing up for warm weather.

The girls and Fido have been spending more time outside,which has been good for all involved. I've got less fur all over the house and everyone's been really tired at night, eliminating nighttime schenannigans. The dogs guard the driveway through closed eyelids, opening them only when the bobbing of their own sleeping head wakes them up. Somewhere amid the mountains of melting snow Fido has found the few patches of dirt in which to roll. He's been screaming at me through the garage door less often now that it's not so cold out there.

The turkeys have been out in in full force. As I raced down the road my progress was significantly slowed by the leisurely crossing of a flock of at least eighteen turkeys. I keep waiting for the day the Hens leave the farm and join the turkey flock; I'll see them only fleetingly as they trail the turkey pack.

The Hens are enjoying the warm weather and the smattering of bugs that come along with it. With less snow to pad their tread, I'm once again awakened by the pitter patter of Hen feet atop my roof. They still spend the majority of the day on the neighbor's deck. Honking and pooping all over and scaring away the birds Margee beckons with her many feeders. I've been wondering how they make their way all the way out there. It's a distance of probably 350 feet and I've never seen chicken tracks making their way across the field; I know they can fly, kind of, but that's a long way to go. My curiosity was satisfied the other day when I watched them fly home. Hen 1 powerfully left the deck, flapping furiously, until she found a good draft by which she glided gracefully to the roof. From there she hopped to The Tree and settled in for the evening. Following this was a good three minutes of persistent honking as Hen 1 shouted to Hen 2 to "Hey! Hey Hen 2! C'mon over, The Bachelor's almost starting!" And Hen 2 would yell back, "Is it a new episode? I don't know, it's kinda nice here..." And they honked back and forth until Hen 2 reluctantly left the comfort of the deck. She didn't fly as well, she doesn't know when she should flap and when she should glide, making her remarkably awkward in the air. But she made it. And then they honked at one another for a few moments until The Bachelor finally started.

As the temperature rises I'm losing my extra fridge space. It's almost too warm to keep leaving the extra gallon of milk out there. I'm going to have to come up with a game plan because there's no way that the Costco sized juice I buy is going to fit in my tiny fridge.

And I'm pretty sure the goldfish are expecting any day now.

Ah, yes, Spring is in the air and the farm is blossoming.