Lucy Goose is setting a nest - the next couple of days will be hatch days, hopefully. Won't she be surprised when she hatches a baby chicken!



Beware of getting within striking range of her! She's very protective of her "little" eggs.

She was sitting on an empty nest since I take all her eggs for crafts. Plus with no Mr. Goose she wouldn't have much luck anyways. She was so faithful to that empty nest that I gave her 4 chicken eggs and she hasn't broken one!

That is a first MK, I've heard of people using broody chickens to sit and hatch duck eggs, but never a goose hatching chickens, hope she doesn't take them for a swim.

Terry, just the opening I need for this picture . . .



This fellow was in a rooster fight in all the melting snow yesterday. He's actually the winner - although there was no real harm done, just lots of wet feathers and injured pride.

That poor misguided rooster! He proves it once again,,,that even in rain, sleet or snow, nothin stops a male's ego
Can't wait to see those baby chicks!

Your barn scenes are such a treat for me MK. What lucky animals they are to have such a cozy refuge. You know how I feel about your farm. Well, lookie!!! I finally found a space for a whole barn full of farm animals in the garden.

I can see you are getting desperate for more livestock Maggie, I'll see what the restrictions are on exporting Guinea pigs.

What cute farm Maggie The animals would look good on a bed of moss too - would look like green pasture to graze. But then I guess you don't want moss growing in the garden.

I have a couple of roosters I could send you. They crow really good!

Are you overstocked on g pigs again Terry?! ;-) and I'll pass on those noisy roosters Mk!

But you know, I actually LOVE moss MK - esp since its so rare around here! and your mossy pasture idea tells me that you too have an affection for miniatures :-) A mossy ground would be sooo perfect wouldn't it! The paved patio around the knot garden grows moss in our rainy seasons, which goes dormant-brown in summer when the bricks become so hot that it is impossible to walk on them barefoot. Then it greens up again in fall and spring. That is only inches away from this pic and yet the moss has never made its way into knot bed's ground. Might be due to the pavers having been set on imported red dirt/sand and the moss prefers it more than that white caliche under the boxwoods.

Terry has a beautiful mossy path along his snowdrop stream. I've read where folks work hard to eradicate it from their gardens too - maybe it causes more problems in soggy lands where it continues to spread too much instead of go dormant. It is so woodsy-natural to me. I've seen some gorgeous 'moss gardens' where its spread is actually cultivated. Do you like having the moss in your garden Terry, or does it cause problems?

Guinea pigs are under control Maggie, I sold the last four youngsters yesterday, so that means George our male gets to have some fun again ;-)
I never minded the moss until last year, it grew in the winter generally and all year around the edges of the ponds, but last year with all the rain it spread rapidly into the rock garden overwelming most of the plants on there. It will be better once I get it all sorted with additional drainage material incorporated into the soil. It used to be free draining but over 20+ years the ground has compacted, and most of the rocks have disappeared. In the back garden where the plants are somewhat larger I love the natural aged look you get from the moss on the rocks.

I love the pictures Terry and Maggie post of their birds. I had a nest of barn swallows - in the barn of course They were so cute overflowing the nest, and I decided to bring the camera down at feed time the next evening. Well guess where I found the litte fellows:



But it was fun watching mama fly in and feed them here. The one on the left got most of the food, as mama usually flew around the barn several times and then came in from that direction.

The picture is grainy since this was another shot taken as it was getting dark. We did find the correct setting on the camera since, so maybe the next night shot will be better. Sure helps when you read the manual.

Yesterday morning was so foggy we could hardly see the barn. I was hoping this would mean cool air was coming in for the day. But no such luck.




There's an upper field and a mountain behind that fog.

Look at all the green in MK's garden and pastures! I'd forgotten what that color actually looks like.

You did it again MK. Makes my jaw drop to see such beauty, captured so well.
Lar walked in and said similiar, while gasping "breath taking!"
oxoxo