Mother Nature has a sense of humor, doesn’t she? All winter, she delivered lovely stretches of unseasonably warm weather. Then, the first weekend of spring, she dropped a load of winter upon us. The snow didn’t fall as deeply here at the farm as where I’d intended to spend this past weekend . . . and didn’t due to the forecast and certain events here at the farm which forced a change of plans.
I walked out into the hush after the end of the storm, hoping for a break in the clouds, for a few thin rays of sunshine to reflect glitter in the snow and to provide an effective backlight for a few photos of the wet snow piled thickly on branches and twigs. The clouds didn’t cooperate, and the hush didn’t last. The geese spotted me and demanded treats, and so did the cattle, ducks, and yard chickens. Then the wind picked up, and the trees shrugged off their white coats, and still the sun hid behind the clouds.
The yard chickens were not amused. They’d found delight in recent days in the occasional spring bug and sprouting bits of grass. And now — no grass, no bugs, no green bits to snack upon. The necessity of dodging falling blobs of snow added insult to injury.
The ducks . . . well, their special power is the ability to find the silver lining . . . or more precisely, the only bare patch of mud in the yard. Buried beneath sticks and leaves, it was still mud, and those busy beaks found it and went to work in search of whatever wonderful duck treats might be hiding in the mud. Because you never know . . . .
Meanwhile, in the shelter of the barn, a few of these appeared. Despite all that white stuff, it really is spring on the farm.
Nice looking grand ‘kids’ …