Yesterday morning I headed down the laneway to the entrance of the farm with shovel in hand. I've been working diligently on removing stones from the grass for the past month but have avoided this area for good reason. I mean, really, this is ridiculous. I am seriously thinking of just leaving it there. I'm not really one of those people who care so much about appearances. I don't have to keep up with Jones' because the only neighbours I have are the wildlife across the road. But there are some lovely gardens out front and when the trees grow in, it will look just too pretty to leave as is. Can you see the heep in the photo above, to the left? That's not the driveway, that's the driveway on my lawn. And because of, looks like this. We have a bag of flyers thrown at the end of our laneway which 9 out of 10 times they end up in recycling without ever being looked at because the newspaper guy hits one of these puddles every single time. Even though the grass is within a foot away. I swear I think he does it on purpose.
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Over a week ago we put the horses to pasture permanently. The weather has been warm enough and since we have about four acres of pasture and with only the one horse, pony and mini, trampling the grass wasn't an issue. Then I got overwhelmed with yardwork, chores, cleaning, cooking, teaching, chauffeuring, and my son's soccer league, I never got a chance to go down and visit the horses. My daughter has been putting in twelve hour school days trying to get all last minute assignments completed by school's end on May 18, so she too hasn't had any time for riding let alone visiting the horses. Then yesterday while mowing the grass near the horse's pasture, I spotted one of our dogs wander over to the gate. The horses usually ignore the dogs but they perked up and trotted over to visit him. I think they know when they see one of those yellow dogs, the girl is usually right behind. Of course, she wasn't. She was in the house making her mama proud by getting three assignments done in one day. Very proud of her dedication and hardwork. So I stopped the lawnmower instead and went over to the fence. Little Duke was the first to come up to me, always so happy to see me. And as he approached, I couldn't believe what I saw. He had grown. My little yearling was growing into a handsome little colt. And he had gotten fat! Off pasture! Who knew! And all that hair loss problem he was having? Well, his summer coat filled all those bald spots. He is still shedding and he still has his yearling coat (not sure when he looses that) but he's looking fine now. Look at my handsome young man. Always willing to give kisses. Or maybe he's looking to see if I brought him any treats. He invited me into the pasture for a longer visit and of course I just couldn't say no. And while I was down there, guess who couldn't help but step away from her schoolwork to join us? Guess she missed him. And then look who else decided to come down for a visit. (And, yes, he is wearing a hockey helmut...the boy lives and breathes hockey.) He was surpised but pleased when Duke ran excitedly up to greet him. Love this photo, it looks as if Duke is asking my boy to follow him to go play. Which of course he did. Duke also loves to play with Emma, who doesn't like Duke's idea of fun of nipping her in the butt, so she would rather stay close to us instead. But made the mistake of wandering off when she thought Duke wasn't looking. Haha, run Emma, run! Poor girl. Back to her mama's side and safety. Duke didn't mind though, cause he got an itch relieved instead. And then like any other child, he took off running to play once again. And like any other child, they grow way too fast and in the blink of an eye, they have grown. So I'm going to enjoy my little Duke now while I can and will ensure I squeeze more frequent visits to the pasture.
We've now had the chicks a week and they are growing like little weeds. Except the Silkie and the Barnevelder. I think they are bantams. If you noticed that there are only 7 chicks in this photo that's because Mary Ellen, one of our Rhode Island Reds, can either be found here... Or here... You see, she went and gone and done something naughty. She grew feathers. Lots of feathers. Now, I know what you are thinking. She's a chicken, she's suppose to grow feathers. But I've done my research. Here's the problem. Next to her sister, she has grown more feathers and darker feathers. And, oh my, look at those tails. Is it possible our lovely Miss Ellen might be a Mister?? I truly hope not. Mary Ellen has quickly moved up the ranks as our favourite chicken. If our sweet little hen turns out to be a rooster, I can say goodbye to time spent with her like this. Linking up to the Homestead Barn Hop http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/ over at The Prairie Homestead.
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