Happy 4th of July

We don't know how to take a break around here. 

A holiday from work means we have more time to work around the farm. Yeah!

This weekend we spent alot of time outside. 

Not at the beach, but in the fields.

 

Trees grow like weeds here - it's hard to keep them down. Many trees grow that really aren't that valuable trees, and they kill off more valuable trees. By pruning and cutting back trees we don't want to take over, we are able to make more room for growth of good trees.

Randy cut back trees and I mowed the fields with the riding mower.  I love to mow with the riding mower - it's relaxing to me.  And I get to listen to my iPod and have some "quiet time".  These photos were taken before I mowed.



  Recently 2 pregnant whitetail deer have been living in our backyard near the old barn.  They know it's a safe place, and have been waiting for their babies to be born.  There's plenty of grass and trees to to eat, and we don't disturb them there.

The other day last week I was baking carrot cake cupcakes for a co-worker, and I looked out the kitchen window and saw one of the deer had twin fawns with her!!!

One of the deer had her babies!  They were staying very close to their mama. They had long gangly legs and plenty of white spots all over them.   As I was appreciating them, before I got the camera, I heard a loud screaming noise. It sounded like a bird was being killed. I thought maybe that Bobby, the outside cat, caught a bird in the backyard. It was very close to the house. I looked out the window as close as I could to the house, but didn't see any cat or bird or anything.

Then suddenly, the oven timer went off. I rushed to get the cupcakes out of the oven and get them out of the muffin tins. I was really distracted by all the screaming outside, which was growing louder.  As soon as I could I rushed to the back door, threw it open, and started to run outside and around to the kitchen area where the noise was still coming from.

Then, to my absolute surprise, I looked down and saw a mama raccoon and one infant raccoon standing by my feet eating from the cat food bowl.  The baby coon was all head and feet.  It was beautiful.  I looked around and realized the screaming was coming from the edge of the woods where another infant raccoon couldn't climb over the fence and enter the backyard.  He was screaming because his mama and sister left him.  I stood there for a minute, just looking at the baby, realizing how amazing it was to see the deer and coon babies all in the same few minutes.  At that moment I loved where I live.

Then, suddenly, I remember how just the day before I chased a large red fox out of the backyard right near where the baby coon was stuck outside the fence.  An infant coon would be a great snack for that fox.  The coon was making such noise, I would have been surprised if any wild animals in the woods didn't come to investigate.  And it had been alone for a while now, for at least 10 minutes.  I worried for the little baby, and so I chased the mama coon off to her lost child.  She quickly scampered away and disappeared over the fence and into the woods, and she left her other baby with me on the back porch!!! 

The coon baby stood up on her hind legs, looked at me in terror, looked around to where mama used to be, and then she started screaming!  Her screams where just as loud as her brother's screams used to be.  Coons make such a unique noise.  I could have reached down and picked up the baby, she was so close.  I pointed to where mama coon went.  The baby coon looked, and timidly started off.  She got confused a few times, but finally heard her mama in the woods.  She climbed over the fence with a little trouble, falling on her butt a few times, but eventually made it, and disappeared into the woods.  That is the last time the mama coon brought her babies to my door.

Jack the cat made the most of the holiday.  He got lots of sleep.  Oh, wait, he always gets lots of sleep...
I love to see his pink toes and nose and ears in the photo below.  He's so cute I just want to hug him.  Jack loves hugs and snuggles - I've never known a cat who loved to be held like Jack.  And to think, he was once a wild stray.  Now he's spoiled.

Jack has the biggest smile that I've ever seen on a cat.

It wouldn't be a holiday without something from the oven, so I made blueberry muffins to celebrate. Yeah!

Happy 4th of July!!