Thirteen

It was thirteen years ago that we were pulling in our first harvests from Eden, our first high tunnel. A couple weeks ago, I wrote a blog remembering the construction of Eden at the Genuine Faux Farm and I've been reflecting on that as a major turning point for us and our farm.

I decided to pull out an image from November 20, 2010 that shows the inside of Eden on that date.  There was a whole host of green crops ready to harvest at that time.  We were well-positioned to sell fresh produce right up until Christmas that year - a year where we had come within a whisker of calling the Genuine Faux Farm a failed experiment.

This year is, of course, very different from 2010.  We opted not to plant a high tunnel full of greens for the cold season sales.  And, oddly enough, it wasn't so much because we didn't think we could grow them.  It was more the fact that we knew we would not have the time available to harvest, clean and find homes for it all.

Okay.  We probably didn't have the time to plant and care for them either.  Things have been that busy for the two of us in the off-farm professions.  Still, I find myself looking a bit wistfully at this image.

And speaking of wistful... if that even comes close to accurately describing the feeling.  There are a total of four digital images for my November 2010 folder.  Two show Eden in its full-glory of late Fall, early Winter crops.  The other two show something else that was new to us at the time.  Actually, there were two someone elses that were new to us, starting that October.

I have no idea how we got Bree and Hobnob to strike a similar pose on the same chair... at different moments, no less.  Hobnob never was one to pose for the camera.  Yet, there she is.   

As many who read the blog know, we lost the "Zoom Meeting Cat," Bree, this past year.  Hobnob preceded her sister a year before.  So, while 2010 was a year of big transitions at the Genuine Faux Farm, so too is 2023.  We both still find ourselves responding to dark piles of clothing on the bed because our brains initially supply us with the identifier "sleepy kitty" and it takes a moment to remind ourselves that their sleep is a bit deeper than a cat nap now.

A quick glance into the northwest pastures in September of 2010 shows us some turkeys.  They are kept in one section of the pasture by some fencing we would have to take down in 2012 after a spray plane applied pesticides in this area.

But, that's not quite what is getting my attention.  What's getting my attention is what's NOT in the picture.

The biggest missing item is... Crazy Maurice, the farm's Weeping Willow!  And, of course, there are other tree friends, like Blaze, the Maple and Loki, the Locust.  There's even a new permanent fence with gates and everything for the hen pasture.  

What would our 2010 selves say if they could transport into 2023 and see what things look like now?  Would they be pleased, shocked or dismayed?  Perhaps there would be parts of all three.  Of course, we'll never know for certain.  But it's interesting to even consider it.

I can say that we had some visions for this future.  That's why we have made some of the decisions and taken some of the actions that led us to this present reality.  But we can't honestly say that things turned out exactly as we expected.  After all, life is too complicated to be able to predict how thirteen years are going to treat you and the land you steward.

Soup's On

I have to admit it, Soup has never gotten much credit for her role at the Genuine Faux Farm.  And that might be because Soup typically doesn't do all that much.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I fully recognize that a cat has their own priorities for what is important and what isn't.  It's never entirely fair to place our human priorities on a feline, even if it is perfectly normal for a cat to place their own priorities on a human.  Still, Soup doesn't explore the farm much, doesn't seem to hunt, and she rarely picks up the pace much more than a stroll.

Her biggest contribution to the farm is probably the Inspector.  Yes, that big lug was Soup's kitten.

Soup was likely an indoor cat that someone dumped at the farm several winters ago.  We're guessing she was evicted because she apparently doesn't quite understand that the litter box is the ONLY place to go if you're an indoor cat.  Otherwise, she likes skritches and has always indicated she prefers to be inside buildings rather than outside of them.  She even enjoys a lap if the farmers sit down - a rare thing when they're outside.

In general, she's pretty mellow.  Sometimes Soup's a bit skittish if people are new to her or are moving quickly.  She doesn't like it if you bend down over her to pet her.  Instead, she'll approach if you kneel or squat down to her level.  And she sticks around the main part of the farm, closer to the house and buildings - apparently unwilling to push the boundaries unless the humans are around.

In general, she let's Murphy be the dominant cat between the two of them.  But, there is a sneaky streak hidden deep in this cat.  Murphy was playing with a rodent she had killed earlier and Soup noticed.  Murphy, being a bit of a brat as only a young cat can be, insisted on moving the show towards Soup, probably expecting the older can to do what she normally does - get out of the way.

Instead, Soup surprised everyone by snatching the dead mouse from Murphy, trotting several steps away, and then eating it.

No wasted motions.  No extra theatrics.  It was just, "Give me that, kid." and then it was gone after a few quick bites.

I guess we need to remember that even cats on the farm don't always fit in the boxes we put them in.

Allies and Adversaries

The world of the Genuine Faux Farm has a wide range of  organisms that interact with each other and with the farm on a regular basis.  Some of these critters are invited.  Others interpret some of our actions as invitations.  But most are simply going about living their lives and probably try to ignore the fact that Tammy and I are here and we are still trying to do some farming on the land we steward.

Murphy, the kitten, now catten, was not invited to the farm.  And yet, we consider Murphy to be pretty much one of our welcomed allies.  She keeps us company when we walk the rounds to do the chores.  She knows how to be cute and will play with us every so often.  She will hunt and catch some unwanted rodents.  She helps with tray seeding....

Ok.  Maybe not that last one.  

But then, she also catches and kills young songbirds that have not yet learned to be wary of felines on the farm.  She annoys the other cats (the Inspector and Soup). She likes to try and run past us to get into the house and she isn't always to get out of the way when she is in the way.

An ally, yes.  But one that can sometimes be adversarial to our preferences by her very nature.

We count Barn Swallows among our allies on the farm.  They keep down some of the flying insects that can make being outside difficult for us.  They put on amazing shows of flight gymnastics and they often sit on the power line and chatter to us about their days, the eggs in their nests and anything else that comes to mind.

On the other hand, they love to put their nests in our buildings so that they are over something we don't want them to be over.  For those who do not understand, let me just remind you that when birds poop, they just poop.  And it seems they really like to let it go most often as they land or take off from the nest.

Most of the time we just deal with it if the nest is in the granary or the Poultry Pavilion.  But we find ourselves keeping the doors to certain buildings closed during the week or so that Barn Swallows are scouting for new nests.  It can be very inconvenient for us - but not as convenient as finding a swallow nest over an area where your cleaned harvest containers are stored or your garlic is curing.

We do have a fair amount of milkweed (a few different types) on the farm.  But the Common Milkweed is the most... um... common of them.  We don't mind having milkweed on the farm because we know they support some of the invertebrates we have decided we care about - especially the Monarch butterfly.  And when milkweed is in certain areas, they add an interesting texture and diversity to the plant life that we appreciate.

But, of course, Common Milkweed loves to invade cultivated spaces and they keep popping up where they aren't wanted by using their runners that spread out underground.  They can certainly stress out the crops we hope to grow and reduce their productivity.  While I don't find them all that hard to remove with our farming systems, I do get annoyed by the sticky, milky sap if it gets on my skin and clothing.

And so it goes.  Most of the plants and critters on our farm that we say we like have some sort of downside from our perspective.  And, I guess that's just the way it is.  None of them are entirely on our side, just as we are not entirely on theirs.  There will be moments where we clash and our interests fail to align.  Sometimes, we are adversaries more than we are allies.

Take deer, for example.

No.  Really.  Take the deer.  Take them very far from here.

As we have promoted a bit more "wildspace" on our farm and as we've scaled back production, we have set out the welcome mat for creatures like the Northern Bobwhite and encouraged a visit from a Wood Thrush.  We have also encouraged a healthy population of rabbits - and now some deer think this is a great place to raise their young.

Let's say we are less than pleased.  All you have to do is look at the lettuce and see how they like to eat the hearts out those plants when they are about half-grown.  Or you can look at our cauliflower crop.

Ok, you can't look at the cauliflower crop.  Because it's gone.  I think you can guess why that might be.

It's all part of the dance between the Genuine Faux Farm and the natural world.  If we say we want to work with nature, it means we have to accept that nature is not going to agree with us during every moment of our stewardship of this land.

Is this frustrating?  Yes.  But it makes you think harder about finding balances and reconsidering priorities.  I find myself admiring the grace of a fawn once it grows out of the early awkward phase - and I still consider them, raccoons, buffalo gnats and rabbits to be GFF adversaries in the first degree.  Each of these can rapidly reduce our goodwill and challenge our ideas like few things can.

What makes it worse is that many of our "allies" often seem to show little interest in supporting our interests.  I mean - if our interest happens to align with theirs - that's great and we're all going to work together just fine.  But the cats are still going to yowl at that moment you are about to fall asleep.  The Black Swallowtail larvae will eat some of your parsley.  And, the oak tree will drop a branch in your drive when it wants to.

In the end, we're the ones that have to exhibit the flexibility in our agreements.  The cat is going to be a cat.  The Barn Swallows will be Barn Swallows and the milkweed was only ever milkweed.  None of them professed to be anything else.  We do most of the choosing of our allies by working on our own attitudes and actions.

Over time, I've learned to find more allies than adversaries on our farm...  or at least I've accorded more of the things "neutral status."  But there's still a "dirty dozen" I fear will remain adversaries.  At least until I can get the deer to sign a contract that they'll eat things in areas we designate and the rabbits and woodchucks leave the seedlings alone so they can grow the food we can eat - and might be willing to share with them later on.

Sadly, none of them appear to be interested in learning to read or write and the idea of a contract might not get much traction.

A Bobwhite's Greeting

One of the beautiful things that comes from paying attention to the world around you is that you gain a sense of what is normally there.  Once you have that sense of the typical, or the normal, or the most common, you gain the power of recognizing new things.  Or, if you are lucky, even slightly different things.

Or the call of a Northern Bobwhite, a bird that we have never heard or seen on the farm before.

I first noticed their call while I was working in the office on Friday (with the windows open of course).  I was concentrating on what I was doing, not just sitting around wishing I was doing something else and letting anything and everything distract me.  Somehow, part of my brain recognized that something different was making its voice known and realized, fairly quickly, that this was a new bird call for me at the Genuine Faux Farm.

It is possible I've heard this bird before - but that was probably a time years ago when my birdsong recognition was much less than it is now.  Happily, I also have access to the Merlin app that showed me, much to my delight, that this was, indeed, a Bobwhite.

It is not uncommon for a new bird to stop by our farm and then be gone the next day.  In fact, we had a Wood Thrush sing happily at our farm for exactly ONE day.  So, we were delighted to hear the Bobwhites again on Saturday.  Then we saw them running around the northern portion of our farm.  On my way out to bring the chickens some food, I noticed one bird foraging near our compost piles and I snapped a quick (and blurry) picture with my phone.  I figured that was going to be my prize shot to prove to myself that we actually were seeing a Northern Bobwhite.

Eventually, I went to get the camera in the off chance that I would have a better opportunity.  Then this happened.

A little call and response between two different Northern Bobwhite on the farm.  That was pretty cool.  Then I slowly eased my way around the tree and bush at the right of the video until I could see the bird that was singing - and I took a photo that I could blow up so you could see our new little friend.

This bird stopped it's signature "bob? bob WHITE!" call once it understood it was seen.  About all it managed for a while was a quiet "bob?" and then silence.

It did not leave and simply went about preening.  In fact, a few of these birds walked into Valhalla (our larger high tunnel) while Tammy was in there picking beans.  She actually had to escort them out of the building and was only a few feet from them as she did so.

While these are neat little birds, we are really pleased by their presence because their numbers have been in sharp decline, despite the fact that they can have two or three broods a year of young.  The main cause of their decline is the removal of habitat.

Well, I guess our farm has become friendlier for Northern Bobwhite.  

I can live with that.

Merry-go-round

Since it is Thursday, we are offering this Throwback post from July 9, 2020.  It illustrates how our farming day went at that time.  Of course, things are a bit different this year - and yet, I am surprised how similar it is at the same time.  It's true, we do not have turkeys this year, but we will have broiler (meat bird) chicks next week.  We're mostly done with the seed trays, though there will be a few still for short season greens.

So, if you want a peak into the daily chore list at a farm like ours, read on!

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In early July, the daily chore list can get pretty long.  It's a good thing we have more hours of sunlight to do them in!  We had someone ask us to write a post about what it meant to "do the chores" at our farm.  As with every farm, the chore list has a great deal to do with the time of year and the way the farm goes about business.  For our purposes, we decided a chore was something we absolutely have to do every day or every other day, without fail.  That means things like, weeding, harvesting, planting, mowing, mulching... well, you get the picture... these things don't qualify.  We may do them most days, but it is rarely the same place or the same crop.  We also eliminated things like laundry and cleaning harvest containers.  These are done regularly as well, but I'm not sure we'll impress anyone by including them here.

And, you know us, we're ALL about impressing people.  Yep.

Step 1: Care for the Farm Supervisory Staff
You know what they say - if management ain't happy...

The Inspector will make sure that Step 1 is completed prior to any other task.

The cats (both indoor and out) need to have the ritual of food, water and some nice skritches for the day to start off right.  We have learned, much to our chagrin, that it is not a good thing at all if we skip step 1.

The Inspector will lead you to the location for food and water if you appear lost.

Step 2: Open It All Up
Most of the tools are in buildings.  There are plants in buildings.  If you want to do any work on the farm, you have to start.. er...   Ok, you start by caring for the felines.  But, if you want to start doing work, you have to open some things up.

We'll need some food for the poultry, I suspect it is in here.

Typically, we'll open a series of doors and leave them open for most of the day unless the weather is inclement or there is something we are hiding from the farm supervisors.

We'd better get Eden and Valhalla opened up too!

While we are at it, we have to make sure the plants in the high tunnels don't get to warm.  That usually means we open up doors and roll up the sides.  There are two high tunnels to open.  On a regular basis we run irrigation in the high tunnels (every 3 days).

Casa Verde needs to be opened up as well if there are plants inside!

Sometimes, we actually do a quick run around and let the various flocks of poultry out even before we provide them with fresh food and water.  This is especially true on very warm days/nights.

Interlude 1: Say Hello to the Workers
The bee hives are on the way to some of our next tasks, so we often stop for a moment and say hello.  And sometimes we put water into a shallow bowl or container by their hives. 

The bees usually are too busy humming a tune to return the greeting.

Step 3: Feed and Water Birds
This can often be the largest part of our chores, especially in early June when we have two flocks of broilers, two hen flocks, turkeys and a new batch of broiler chicks.

There be new broiler chicks on the farm!

Each flock is going to need food and water each day.  Well, ok, most days.  Sometimes, new chicks don't go through all of their water in a day and sometimes if there are lots of puddles, the other flocks may not drink the waterers down.

My, the turklets have grown into Turkles!

The birds currently in the brooder room are the turkeys and the broiler chicks.  The room is kept warm and we work to cut breezes until true feathers are forming.  As they grow we might start to ventilate the room more until we move them out.  We check how spread out the flocks are listen for problems - making adjustments as needed.

The henlets are next door.

The henlets (our new egg laying flock) are getting closer to full hen size.  At present, they stay inside the hen room in the Poultry Pavilion as part of the process of getting them to identify this room as their 'Home Base.'  In a couple of days, they will be allowed out into their pasture area.  As with all the other flocks, they need food and they need water.  Once we start letting them onto pasture, we will be opening and closing their room door so they are protected at night and have access to the outdoors during the day.

ah, the Summer Cottage is near Crazy Maurice right now

The hens are out in the Northwest Territories of the farm and are closed up in the Summer Cottage until we go open the door and put up their access ramp.  Obviously, we give them food and water - usually before we let them out so we don't have to dodge birds as we do it.  We normally make a first check for eggs at this time too.

Then, there are the Boyus!

We have two flocks of "Boyus" in the Eastfarthing and they both need to be let out, fed and watered.  On an every other day basis (unless it is way too wet to do so) we move the buildings using Rosie, the tractor so they rest over a new patch of pasture.  Every couple of weeks, we have to reset the solar-powered poultry netting, which includes mowing the greenery down so it doesn't short the fence out.

Step 4: Wet Our Plants
Hey, the plant nurseries of the world get to use that pun all the time, but we also water plants, so we should get to use it if we want!

We have houseplants and flowers on the front and back porches

The potted plants usually need water every other day, unless it is particularly hot and windy, they we'll water each day.  They have enough soil to be somewhat forgiving.

There are fewer trays right now, but they still need water.

The plants in seedling trays need watering in the morning as well.  Earlier in the season, we have them in Casa Verde, in the trailer you see above, on a hayrack and on heatmats in the garage and basement.  These all need watering.  Since they have less soil, they are prone to drying out - so we need to pay attention here!

Interlude 2: Admire a Flower
We have flowers here and there, just so we can take a moment and view them as we go about our daily business.  This daylily opened its first flower for us at the Genuine Faux Farm. 

Ain't it purdy?

At this point, we are done with what we might term the 'morning chores.'  There are numerous other things that might happen during the morning chore set depending on how things stand, but they tend to have something to do with these tasks.

In other words, we can start doing "real work" now.
That might be Rob working for PAN or Tammy working for Wartburg.  Or we might plant, weed, harvest, mulch, turn a compost pile or clean out a poultry room.  Perhaps we'll prepare for a delivery?  The possibilities for the day abound!

Until...

Mid to Late Morning Chores
Well, whatever we decide to do, at some point we need to do a few things that are classified as 'chores.'

Like collect eggs from the hens.

Sadly, we have yet to figure out how to train the hen flocks in collecting, cleaning and packaging eggs.  We get to do that particular chore.  And, if we don't want them to break a bunch of those eggs, we need to visit them more than once in a day.

While we're at it, we'll check the babies.

And, if you have baby birds, you need to check them fairly often as well to make sure temperatures are what they need.  It doesn't take long, but it is just one more thing...

Oh, and about that irrigation you started this morning.  You probably should turn that off.

Oh, and don't forget to water the seed trays in Valhalla too!

Mid-Afternoon Chores
There are common themes here.  Collect eggs, check baby birds and other similar things.

Haven't we seen this picture before?

But, we also have to add - wash the eggs to this list.  It's a chore - that's for sure!

And yes, you should check all of the flocks on a warm day to make sure they've got water and see that there aren't other things going on that need your attention.  And, remember those seedlings in trays?  They might need more water by now!

Baby plants need water, that's a fact.

Early Evening Pre-Chore
So, about those broiler chickens....

Yeah.  These guys.

It turns out that they LIKE to be where their food is.  We take their feeders out of the building every morning and fill them and we put them BACK into the building every evening to encourage them to find their way into the building by the time the sun goes down.  A waterer usually goes in as well.

Why?  Well, we've found that most of the birds will go in without our doing this.  But, when we do put this step in, all but one or two will go into the building without our herding them later in the evening.  Believe me, it's a worthwhile chore to move those feeders now!

End of the Day - Put It Away

Barty and Rosie at the end of a busy day.

We admit that there have been days when we are really tired and there is absolutely no rain in the forecast that we might forego putting some things away.  This is especially true when Barty (the tiller) is on the other side of the farm.  But, most days, all the tools go back under shelter.  Sadly, we are not always so good as to put everything back into its place.  That is another story.

End of the Day - Close it Up
All of those opened doors need to be closed. 

Remember all of the doors you opened in the morning?

  And the high tunnels need to be closed as well.

Time to roll down the sides and close the doors.

We've considered leaving the high tunnels open on very warm nights, but we don't particularly care for dashing out to close them at 2 AM when a thunderstorm with strong winds pops up.  Others can worry about that.  Us, on the other hand?  We'll close them up every night.

Oh!  Better remember that too!

 

End of the Day - Shut It Down

We have learned the hard way that we need to check that all water sources are turned off.  Irrigation that runs for twelve to fourteen hours is not a good thing.

Ah, good the hydrant at the left is off.

 

We have two hydrants by Valhalla, one by Casa Verde and the faucet on the north side of the house.  It may not sound like much, but by the time we are doing our final chores, it is 9:30PM in June and July.  We're usually pretty tired and find ourselves reminding each other to do things like "check truck windows" and "make sure the door is closed" and "did I turn off the water?"  It is far better than climbing into bed and remembering one of these was not done.... and then going out to do it.

 

The henlets are fine.

 

While we are at it, we need to turn off lights for the henlets and give them one last check in.

And turn off lights and check the brooder room too!

 

And, while you're at it.  You should probably put the cat food bowls away so the raccoons don't wreak havoc because they've found them!

 

The Inspector will expect to see you again in the morning.

 

End of the Day - Close Up the Poultry

Oh yes, now we need to close the door on the broilers and the hen flock.  

Most of the broilers are in their building by 9:25PM

 

Broilers are a bit of a pain to herd, so if you can get them to go in on their own, that is best.  Even then, there is usually one or two that will make you walk them around the building a few times before they go in.  With two flocks of broilers, this chore is a times 2.  Just like it was in the morning.

Good night Ladies (and Maurice)

 

The hens are usually in by 9:30pm (or so).  There are often a couple that meander around a bit while you wait for them to go in so you can close the door.  

There is usually a moment of 'reviewing it all' in hopes that we don't forget anything and we aren't forced to get up in the middle of the night to correct something.  We realize some of these things don't sound like much.  But, if you forget them, you can have a fairly big problem later on.  

Good Night Everyone!

If the farmers have the energy - and sometimes even when they don't - they say "Good night" to all of their friends and acquaintances as they see them during the evening walkabout to do chores.

Even the Barn Swallows are mellowing out.

The Barn Swallows are not chittering or performing their aerial acrobatics, but they are preening before finding their roosts.  A Great Horned Owl reminds us he's in the area with his call.  Richard, the Dickcissel gets one more series of songs in before calling it a day.  The monarchs float around the understory of the larger trees until they find their spots.  Meanwhile, the lightning bugs come out and light our way back from closing up the hens.

And the Inspector drops by for one more skritch and offers up a friendly purr.

 We hope everyone has (or has had) a fine day.

Swallowed!

Most years about this time at the Genuine Faux Farm, the Barn Swallow chicks fledge and begin trying their hand at flying.  In another week or so, the parents will probably start looking to lay eggs again so the next batch can fledge and get their wings working before their migration south.*  It's important that we know this because we will need to get out of the habit of leaving certain doors on our outbuildings open - unless we want to host Barn Swallow nests in places we would rather not.

This year, we have a particularly large group of swallows - numbers we have not seen since the old barn fell down and stopped providing prime Barn Swallow nesting real estate.  Perhaps they've figured out safe places to be in the rubble?  I don't know, but I sure do like seeing all of the birds - especially when they wheel around and do their sky ballet.

*edit July 15 - the adults were swooping in and out of the granary this morning and the flock was no where to be seen.  Perhaps I should have written "in the next day or so."

Turn up the volume if you want to the hear the birds.  Be patient, I do zoom in about halfway so you can see them a bit better.

With the help of the Merlin app, we were encouraged to look more closely at the various swallows in these larger flocks.  Certainly, the Barn Swallows we have grown familiar with that have been swooping around the granary and the Poultry Pavilion are there with their v-shaped tails.  But they weren't the only swallows.  There were also significant numbers of Cliff Swallows too.

No, I don't know where the cliffs are that these swallows used for their nests.  

Actually, Cliff Swallows have adapted to use overpasses, bridges and culverts, according the the All About Birds site.  Anyway, we're pleased that the Merlin app identified a different call that our ears were not picking up.  After we took some time to read about Cliff Swallows, we were able to verify the presence of these birds.

Last night, Merlin let us know that there were also Northern Rough-winged Swallows in the flock.  Sure enough, after a little more exploring and observing, we could confirm that one as well.

I wonder who else we'll be able to find in this flock over the next couple of days?

A Glimpse of Mr. Wren's Day

 

 

Tammy and I have been paying increasing attention to the different birdsong we can hear on our farm as Spring progresses into Summer.  The Baltimore and Orchard Orioles are singing a bit less now that it is mid-June.  When we do hear them, they often have a bit of a tired tone - probably because the kids are keeping the adults up all night.  We hear more from the Dickcissel than we do the Red-winged Blackbird now and the Indigo Bunting is a pleasure to hear, even if the Warbling Vireo sings a bit less often now.

Mid-June is often the time when Mr. Wren is also in full voice.  This tiny little bird belts out his song throughout much of a typical day.  So, we thought we would let you have a glimpse of Mr. Wren's schedule.

Mr. Wren's Day Planner schedule

4:45 AM - Get up

4:46 AM - Sing about the upcoming day. Remind the lazy/sleepy humans that they should get moving soon.

5:03 AM - eat a tasty gnat or two

5:04 AM - Sing about how gullible gnats can be

5:36 AM - Gather food for the kids or material to repair the nest, making sure to sing about each acquisition after delivery

5:57 AM - My, that was a tasty...what was that thing? It had six legs - whatever.

5:59 AM - sing about the tasty six-legged thing

6:13 AM - be amused by the sleepy looking human

6:14 AM - sing about morning, in an effort to wake the human further

6:15 AM - look industrious in an effort to provide a positive role model for the human

6:16 AM - sing about my good deed for the day

continued singing/eating/food delivery/nest repair

7:24 AM - Scold the cat

7:26 AM - sing about my bravery while flitting wildly from branch to branch in an effort to impress Mrs Wren

7:32 AM - take a break - Mrs Wren isn't buying it

7:44 AM - tell the farmer to write a blog about my day - then go about my business for the remainder.  What is my business, you ask?  Well, of course, eating, feeding the kids, fixing the nest and singing.  

Why?  Does there need to be something else?

Comfort

It has been almost nine months since Hobnob, one of our Indoor Supervisors, made her exit.  Bree remains as our lone Indoor Supervisor, keeping the humans in check when they are inside the farm house at the Genuine Faux Farm.

We thought, for a very brief period of time, that we might change the night-time rituals and let Bree have the "run of the house," be we backed off of that idea after experimenting.  It turns out that going to the kitchen for the night still offers comfort to our little black and white cat.  To break it is to sew concern and discord in the household.

Sometimes Bree will require "taxi service" from her human, and other times she will trot down the stairs and directly into the kitchen.  Every so often, she doesn't cooperate, but rarely enough to get us to consider changing things around.

To understand why this ritual is comforting, it might be useful to explain some of their transition to our home.

The farmhouse is large and we knew from past experience that it helps to introduce new cats to a smaller portion of the house so they can get used to that first.  The kitchen had doors we could close, access to food and water, a location for the litter box, and places we could sit to be with our new friends as they transitioned to a new world.

Hobnob and Bree were typical kittens in that they had tons of energy - bouncing around everywhere - until they didn't have energy anymore.  But, unlike some kittens we've dealt with in the past, these two wouldn't just go to sleep when they were tired.  We've watched some baby animals go from full-tilt to asleep in seconds.  Not these two.  

These tired kittens cried and would only calm down when we would pick them up and sit with them for a while.  My technique was to hold a sleepy kitten in one hand and gently and very slowly rub her back until she stopped crying.  Tammy and I tried very hard to take turns with who got which kitten in an effort to let them know that we were both "safe humans."

After a little while the bags under their eyes (just look at the picture) would become blinking, sleepy eyes.  Once they were quiet and showing signs of being moments from sleep, we would set them on the shelf that they had claimed as their spot.

Sometimes, they would be fully asleep and we would have to find a way to set them down as their heads rolled to the side.  But, usually, they were just very drowsy, soon to close their eyes the rest of the way.  There was something comforting to us when we saw them finally relaxing and being willing to trust that the world was "right enough" for them to catch a few zzzzs.

As I recalled this memory I wondered:  Is it better to be comforted or to offer comfort?

Perhaps the answer is that this is the wrong question.  There is no reason for us to worry about whether giving or receiving comfort is more valuable to us.  The real question is why we don't offer and accept comfort more often. 

Now you must excuse me, the Bree cat wants me to escort her to the kitchen for the night.  Oddly enough, I find that comforting.

Coot Parade

 

Tammy and I try to take a quick trip to various parts of Sweet Marsh near Tripoli on a fairly regular basis.  We don't often get out and walk when we're there partly because that's not always the point of the visit.  Sometimes it's a time to just decompress away from work (remember, Rob works at home / at the farm).  Sometimes, we just want to sit and talk through some things while observing nature.  Sometimes the wind is howling and we really don't feel like standing in it but we still want to look at the water, the birds and the trees.  And almost all of the time, it is a very quick break - not long enough to dedicate ourselves to a "walk there again."

So, we decided we could use just such a break this past Friday.  And, of course, we didn't bring the camera.

This brings me to an admission.  It is ok to have cameras on our phones for just such an occasion.  I still reside in the camp that a phone is supposed to be a phone, so this is a grudging admission from me.  I guess there are times when a very select set of additional tools might be ok on these things.

Of course, the phone camera is no match for the camera we have when it comes to quality images.  But, it served to capture the process of a flock of American Coots running/flying on the water.

Yes, you heard me right.  American Coots run on water, using their wings to assist in that motion by lifting themselves up just enough to accomplish this odd task.  If you look at the pictures, you see the splashes where the feet were hitting the water.

Coots do not have webbed feet, but they do have skin flaps on each toe that serve a similar purpose, helping them to be propel themselves on the water.  When it comes to flying, however, they often require a bit of a "running start" to get into the air.  So we were witnessing their take-off ritual.  In this case, they didn't bother to take full flight because they just wanted to get to another bit of water more quickly than swimming was going to take them.  I observed a few of them gliding just over the water for a while before landing on the water's surface.  But many of them just simply ran on the water a ways and settled back down to float away at a more leisurely pace.

We were able to catch some of them on video while in the act of moving from swimming to running/flying on the water.  Feel free to watch the video above if you want to see it.

The Coots were, apparently, not fond of our observing them.  Though we were able to watch for a while until they decided they needed to move past us.  These birds will do shallow dives to get food (plants).  And, like our chickens and turkeys, if one particular bird should surface with something good, other nearby birds will often attempt to encourage the successful forager to "share."  

I don't why it still surprises me a little to observe some of the flock behavior in our poultry being exhibited by wild birds.  Perhaps "surprise" is the wrong word here because I have witnessed such things many times.  Maybe it is simply the fact that we interact with our poultry on a daily basis, so it may seem strange to see similar behaviors in birds that we don't see often.  After all, it was "special" to see a larger flock of a different bird. So, maybe it was jarring to then see something that was so familiar at the same time?

We estimated this flock at a few hundred birds, though it is possible we underestimated their numbers a fair bit.  After all, they didn't really let us get a great view of them before they started exiting stage left.  We tried to tell them we were just walking by, but they wanted to hear nothing of it.

Kip Ladage has a nice photo of a single American Coot (how'd he get ONE to pose for him?) in his April 5, 2023 comments if you want to see a nice image.

I suspect we'll try to go back to the marsh for another chance at the Coots with the better camera.  Except, we know how this will go.  There will be no Coots there because there is an early warning system.

*** warning, Rob and Tammy remembered the camera!  Everyone hide! ***

Have a good day everyone!