It may have felt like spring in March this year but now I know it’s truly here.  We had a whiz bang all night storm that left us with 2 inches of rain.  And when I opened the barn door this morning the barn swallows were back, chirping as they swooped around.   At the bird feeder today I saw the first hummingbird.  And of course there are new baby chicks in the brooder in the barn.

It was a misty, grey, and humid morning, the kind frogs love and they are again singing their heads off.  The turkeys were extra noisy too, gobbling, fighting and mating.  And then there was the Guineas- the silly things have sort of paired off and one pair would be here yelling and another there and still another there.  Add that to birds singing lustily and roosters crowing, horses neighing and it was a concert.

It is much quieter here in mid-afternoon.  Even the dogs are sleeping. My canaries are singing and a robin somewhere outside is calling, but the barnyard is quiet.  The sun is trying to come out.  From my office window I can see the rumps of Lily and Lucky, one big blond tail swishing and one little fuzzy black one.  The horse flies are out too. 

Chance, the stallion, is back with the two of them but Lily really makes him toe the line.  He is not allowed too close, although I was glad she allowed him to stand at the edge of the run in shelter this morning out of the rain.  She takes any treats I give him away unless I stand there and keep her from doing it.  He tries to keep me away from Lily most of the time, as stallions tend to do, but that’s hard because when she wants something  from me she’s right there and he better not be.  I just have to be wary of flying hooves.

I sponsored a chick sale at work and had over 400 chicks in my office at Extension waiting for people to pick them up.  Talk about noise!  Those poor unhappy babies can really peep.  As each person picked theirs up it got quieter and quieter, finally I shared a ride home with 6 little leftovers.  They joined the 18 I had put in my brooder that morning.    I have some Black Jersey Giant pullets, first time I have raised that breed, some new Ameraucanas, some Rhode Island Reds and of course some of my favorite breed, Isa Browns.

I also ordered 8 assorted bantams to round out an order someone else had placed.  It’s always fun to watch these assortments grow and find out what they are.  I was hoping for silkies but none really look like it.  I am guessing most are Old English Games of various colors.  They will probably be sold as they get older.  One of these days I will have time to sit and watch them for a while and decide what they are.

I was looking around the place this morning and thinking about all the things that still had to be done, spring housecleaning, barn cleaning, mowing, kennel cleaning, flower bed weeding, vegetable planting, chopping down dead trees, the list goes on.  Sometimes the work seems unending, but I wouldn’t want to live in the city again.  Anytime I get to sit around and watch the chickens peck or horses graze makes it all worthwhile.