Self-taught farmers confidently raising chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs. Our focus is on practices that are environmentally harmonious and respectful to our livestock. We appreciate the beauty around us, clean eating, fermenting, and responsibly utilizing the bounty of the land. If you like thinking for yourself, continuous learning, and connecting with the homesteader lifestyle, check us out.
Perhaps the most beautiful and friendly mantis I’ve had the privilege of meeting to date was this one. She (just a guess, but my gut feel) made me view these amazing creatures differently, question my previous notions about them, and left me completely in awe of them. She was magical.
Continue reading “Haiku: First Contact (Mantid Series #3)”
The sun hasn’t looked normal here for the past couple of days. While the forecast is for sunny skies, it appears overcast and the sun has glowed a pinkish-orange hue – like daylight harvest moon. It’s clear that the smoke from raging wildfires in the West has drifted here, 2,000+ miles away.
Continue reading “Haiku: Drifting Smoke”
There seem to be morning glories everywhere I look: on fences, climbing up rock faces, intertwined with other greenery. They possess the kind of beauty that is both ordinary and extraordinary at the same time – if you didn’t take the time to look at the blooms and see that they’re all different, you might just dismiss them as blue vining weeds. You might not see that some contain small insects, others are dusted with pollen, and still others have been sprinkled with raindrops. Fortunately, you and I know to see what crosses our visual paths. I hope you soak in the beauty…and there are many more to yet to be discovered!
Life can be hard if you’re a very tiny frog. I found this diminutive one near a puddle on the edge of the driveway. It jumped away from me as I walked near it, through a grassy area turned into marsh by recent rainfall. I think I may have seen it the other day – something leapt in the grass in the same area – but concluded that it was probably a large grasshopper. I wasn’t convinced, though.
This tiny frog could jump astonishingly high, flinging itself away so violently in its efforts to escape that it flipped itself over more than once. Fortunately, it landed in thick, wet, grass and I was able to very gently capture it for a very quick photo (I am an experienced frog catcher, having spent a good portion of my youth practicing the skill – lol!).
Interestingly, this frog seems to have a cleft in its upper “lip” area that looks (at least externally) similar to a human cleft palate. Whether the deformity was congenital or due to injury, the little creature seemed otherwise healthy. I returned it to the grassy edge and wished it luck…because with all of the obstacles to living its life – even in the country – it needs it.
Did you figure out the “two lives” reference in the title? From Vocabulary.com: “the word amphibian comes from the Greek word amphibios, which means ‘to live a double life'”, referring to the fact that amphibians live their early lives in water, then, later, on land.
Read more about why frogs are important: https://phys.org/news/2017-05-frogs.html
Are you wondering why you haven’t seen many posts here lately about what’s going on at the farm? Have we packed it in, rehomed the animals, started a new chapter? Short answer: no.
Continue reading “Musings: Semblance Of Sameness”
This verse was inspired by a real event: it began with a “pants wetter” thunderclap that felt like it slammed down to earth, and was followed by a brief, but violent, storm that lashed at the trees and sent unsecured items sailing. I like to think it was a reminder from Nature of who’s really in charge (and it’s not us). Message received.