While I’m out doing chores in the morning, I generally leave the door to the feed room open. I make several trips back and forth to various pens with peafowl and roosters and filling the wild bird feeders. . . so why open and shut it a bunch of times?

Well, I guess I’m going to have to inspect the premises a little closer before I shut the door when chores are done. Yesterday evening when I opened the door to get stuff for evening feeding time, this is what I saw:

Why is that chicken in the feedroom?

That chicken is NOT supposed to be in there!

Now, I’ll admit I don’t check in every nook and cranny before I close the door.  Obviously.  But I’d like to know just where that chicken WAS when I shut the door, because I sure didn’t see her.

And the thing is, this isn’t the first time.  See that overturned green bin?  Well, last week I opened the door and it looked a lot like that.  I wondered how it got there, and thought the rats must be getting awfully pushy (and BIG), if they could overturn that bin.

But when I turned it back over, a chicken popped out!  Talk about Chicken Surprise!

They must be going behind the metal cans so I don’t notice them when I shut the door.  Guess I’ll have to inspect the room in a more detailed fashion after this. 

Cause I really don’t like the can lids fertilized with chicken poop.

Post from: Rural Ramblings

Where was that chicken?

I’ve talked about the wild birds and peacocks looking for a mate and nesting. But there are also signs of spring from the amphibian and reptile sectors.

In the reptile kingdom, I saw a couple of turtles out sunning on the log in the pond yesterday for the first time this year.

In the amphibian sector, the frogs are out too.  But getting a picture of one of them continues to elude me.  I’ve even tried walking along the edge of the pond with the video going, and though you can see a splash in the water or hear a little cheep from time to time, you can’t actually see the frogs.

However, when it comes to the audio, well, for a couple of weeks now I’ve been hearing the “spring peepers.”  I stood down in the bottom pasture beside the bog yesterday and took this little video. It’s not much for looks; it’s the sound that matters.

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Here again, being able to SEE the little critters just doesn’t happen. They hide down in all that vegetation – you can see what I mean from where I zoomed in on it near the end of the video.  I have never been able to spot even one little frog, much less get a picture of it.

For one thing, the minute they hear or feel the vibration of me getting close, they shut up.  For another, I really don’t want to crawl around in that marshy area peering under clumps of weeds, trying to see a frog.  With my luck, I’d come on some kind of water snake!

That in itself might be a little unsettling, but we have a plethora of water moccasins around here, and I really am not keen on a poisonous snake bite.

So I fear the shy little frogs will continue to elude the paparazzi.

Post from: Rural Ramblings

More Signs Of Spring

The wild birds aren’t the only ones looking for a mate. Our peacocks are also strutting their stuff, trying to catch the lady peahens attention.

Proud as a Peacock

What a lot of people don’t realize is that this pretty boy doesn’t just show off his plumage.  Nope, he also shakes and rattles his feathers, so they sound a lot like maracas.

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The junior peacock also tries to strut around and impress the ladies, but I’m afraid he just hasn’t got enough plumage yet to really “wow” them.

"Darn! I guess size DOES matter."

He’s only a couple of years old, so his feathers don’t match the old dudes.  I’d guess his feathers are only about half as long as the older peacocks.

He’s a cheeky little devil for all that, but the girls still aren’t paying much attention to him.

That’s all right.  His time will come!

Post from: Rural Ramblings

Even More Fowl Spring