Welcome to the farm!

It is spring time on the farm.  The pheasants cackle in the windbreak day and night.  The morning chorus (of birds) has had their early morning practice and are in full symphony now.  Who needs to listen to car noises and neighborhood dogs barking and sirens and kids screaming and all that city noise?  Not me, I love to just take my coffee out on the deck and listen to my surroundings - sounds of nature - the turkeys gobble in the distance, meadowlarks sing their song so distinct.  The only arguments I hear are when one bird doesn't like what another bird says or does or won't share the dogs water bowl for the morning shower and cleaning of the feathers.

Our mockingbird has once again returned to the farm after a very quiet winter.  It is always fun to sit out on the deck and listen for him singing through his songs, wondering if he has learned any new tunes or if his repertoire is the tried and true calls he has done for so many years.  The real challenge lies in listening so carefully so you can pinpoint which tree he is in and then trying to find him.  Usually he is easy to spot once you narrow the location down, because he is always at the very top as if he is demanding all the other birds pay attention to his solos!

Spring storms have been rolling by in the sky. The picture in the background looks out over dad's field to the south of the homestead.  We have no-till wheat there this year, although with the drought it doesn't look like the green velvety carpet that it should at this point.  So many people have already turned their cows out into their wheat field or sprayed it so it could be disked under and maybe replanted in the fall.  Dad is hoping his wheat produces enough to have seed wheat for the fall planting of the northern side of the section.

The wind continues to blow, as it always does out here on the prairie.  The direction decides what the day will bring - South wind is usually accompanied with hot, dry air.  North wind cools things down a bit.  Winds out of the East generally mean we might get lucky and get a little moisture very soon.  West wind is a mystery, not sure what it means but it is generally short lived and maybe more transitional as the direction shifts from south to north and back again.

The cats love to go outside for the day, lay in the sunshine, roll in the dirt and buffalo grass.  They play hide and seek among the pampas grass and iris leaves and sometimes the cheat grass if I have not mowed recently -- which reminds me, it is time to do that activity once again.

Garden planting is on the agenda.  Rains on the weekend when I am home to plant make it difficult to finish tilling the garden plots and getting the seeds in.  Pumpkin patches have been chosen and those patches will be planted in the early part of June so pumpkins are ready for Halloween season.

                            ** Nancy