Finally, after weeks of being penned, the geese and their goslings have earned a few hours of limited yard duty.  They didn’t exactly go running out when the barn door swung open though.  Nope, Queen Ingrid  stretched out her neck, looked all around and checked for hazards.

Once Ingrid decided the sunlit barnyard contained no imminent threats, the [...]

The nesting turkey hens occasionally fluff nesting materials over the eggs so they can slip out into the barnyard for a few minutes to stretch their legs, get a drink of water, maybe snack on some corn.

One pretty young turkey hen, walking alone, attracts a lot of attention from the the gang of guys loitering in [...]

After spending five months together in the womb, the twins are accustomed to togetherness.

They stand together, move in tandem, and are rarely more than a foot or two apart when they’re out in the big, wide world.

They’re a bit more independent in the comfortable safety of the barn.  Out in grazing pen in the orchard, the [...]

The mamas here at the farm have been busily adding to the livestock numbers.   Nona, a very shy ewe, presented us with twin lambs.  She’s a first-time mother, but managed the birth and cleanup duties quite well.  The trouble came later as her udder filled with milk.
At the end of the first day, she had much more milk than [...]

The three goslings escaped through the gap under the barn stall door.  That shouldn’t have been a surprise.  They are, essentially, toddlers.  I’ve yet to meet a toddler that doesn’t delight in slipping free of the grownups, giggling and racing away as fast as their little legs will carry them.  Why should goslings be any different?

The frantic honking of their [...]

Everywhere I turn, there’s a nesting bird.  One of my favorite ducks chose a corner of the duck pen. She gathered hay from the sheep pen next door, added some downy soft feathers, and piled it all high near the spot where the other ducks lay their daily eggs.  I suppose she appreciates having company [...]

This beautiful broad breasted bronze tom turkey lives at a friend’s farm.  Once upon a time, I had beautiful toms like this.  That was when I only had a couple toms.

Now I have a larger flock.   The toms have beautiful full fans of tail feathers to display for a couple of weeks a year, right [...]

After a couple days in the nest, the adult geese finally decided that the three goslings were strong for a short stroll in the sunshine.   It apparently was a momentous occasion.  The entire flock participated, except for the two geese still setting other nests.  Each grown goose paid close attention to the little ones, guiding [...]

I stepped onto the front porch late Tuesday morning and was greeted by five very hopeful doggy faces.  Four of the dogs stared at me, then looked pointedly at the empty food dishes scattered around the porch and front sidewalk.  The fifth dog . . . well, Blue’s old and so near-sighted that I can’t [...]

Boot Biter Goose and her nesting partner announce the hatching of three goslings.

They’re hiding under the parent geese right now.  We actually don’t know which goose is the mama.  These two have nested together for weeks, and they’re sharing parenting duties equally.
The humans on the farm risked life and limb to assess the condition of [...]