I've Gone Country A blog about a city girl learning a whole new world

Bright sunny skies, warm air and longer daylight hours make me smile.  I keep a mental list a mile long of things I would like to accomplish once the weather permits.  However, while I am in the midst of chores I find so many things that are picture worthy.

Things that make me stop, admire and take a picture…or two.

So, without further ado I bring some of them for you to see as well.

These mushrooms were among others I found while shoveling mulch behind the chicken coop.

These beauties were along the path as I carried items from the cabin to the Lodge.

This little guy was hanging out with me while I pressure washed the porch at the bunk house.

Ahhhh…another gem waiting for me to spot her near the woods as I moved along the back road.

Working the flower beds I found this precious piece of art from a bird that has apparently moved to another home.

I parked right beside this tree at the grocery store.  I couldn’t have picked a prettier place to park if I had tried.

While dog sitting our grand dog Penny, I noticed she enjoyed the sunshine too.

More beauties along the beaten path.

Because of Roo….this is an ongoing chore, keeping the water container clean.  But, I have to admit he sure does look cute when he hops on top and gives a loud “cock a doodle doo”!

The phlox greeted me the other day when I went by to spruce up the cabin.

Billy and I keep handing off cleaning the garage to one another.  I ALMOST started it the other day but got side tracked by this bird’s nest I found in a bucket.

Pretty amazing. Surely this took a lot of trips back and forth for whomever built this nest.

Pretty violets are always one of the first flowers that turn my head in the woods.

This plum tree demanded my attention when almost overnight it bloomed these beautiful pink blossoms.  No work for me here, just admiration.

While walking with friends we came up on this little guy.  Not my favorite critter…..but at least he was small.  Ewwww….wait that must mean there is a mama and lots of brothers and sisters around….YIKES.  Glad I didn’t think about all that then.

Sometimes I even stop the car just to take a picture, this was one of those times.  It almost looks like its face is looking right at you and it’s reaching out its little arms excitedly saying HELLO!

Well, that’s how it works, before I know it the time has slipped away.  The chores aren’t finished and have to be rolled over to the next day.

I head to the house.

Meanwhile, I smile at the sight before me savoring the closing of another perfect day, and take another picture.

Spring fighting with Winter.

That is how Billy describes the weather we are having.  Each day is different from bitterly cold to warm and sunny.  There has been a lot of rain in the midst of it all.  The girls are just about tired of it, I’ll have to say I am siding with them.  I sure am looking forward to long sunny days.

Saturday Billy and I went to the pasture to set more hay out for the girls.  Clementine and the rest of the herd love to see Billy coming, especially this time of year.  They stand and patiently wait for him to retrieve the roll of hay from the barn.

What a muddy mess!  It was so bad that even with the tractor we weren’t able to do much.   Normally we use another piece of equipment to move the hay, but today the tractor was going the have to do the trick.

The girls were trying to wait, but they sure did moo a lot.

I like to think they were just cheering him on instead of complaining about it taking so long.

Margaret was one of the first ones to get right in there and start eating.  Perhaps you remember she is our little one that we bottle fed all summer and who almost froze to death this winter.  She keeps holding her own even with having so many odds against her, I am proud of her.

They were glad to get the hay, even if it meant they were going to have to battle the mud.  This is just as far as the hay could go for this day.  But it sure didn’t seem to bother them.

Shirley looks like me when I dig into a bag of chips!

Margaret is on the left and Darling is on the right.  They were both born around the same time last Spring.  It is easy to see here how very small Margaret is.  It isn’t a good thing, but it is what it is.  Darling’s mother is the biggest heifer we have so she is…shall we say… “big boned”.   She does stand taller than most of the girls born last Spring.  Still, Margaret should be much bigger than she is.  I hope that she will do some catching up when the grass comes in.  Milk replacer is not the same as a Mama’s milk. She has received plenty of sweet feed, mixed grains and hay.  We have showered her with love too, BUT she needed her Mama.  I honestly think a mother’s love would have made a HUGE difference.  She has made it this far and I hope she has a bright future.

Billy works to make the best of the muddy mess, rolling the ring to the new hay bale. 

Helping to keep the hay in one spot and from being spread out in the mud and ruined.

They are such sweet girls.   They know he is taking care of them and they love him for it….and so do I. 🙂

Although it is a bit depressing to have gloomy skies, wet days, brown grass and mud holes, the rain is an important part of the beauty to come.  Spring will bring us beautiful pasture, the girls will be laying in cool green grass, chewing their cud in no time.

It is amazing how quick things dry up when the sun shines and the rain ceases for a day or two. Things are much nicer in the pasture today since the sun came to visit yesterday.  We are scheduled to have a few dry days in a row, that makes for happier cows and happier owners.

I was headed for a walk and noticed that the weeping willow budded.

A few of the goldfish have even emerged from their hibernation.

The day lilies reminded me they were still there, ready to stand tall and show all their glory in just a few short weeks.

I’m as ready as they are!

Always a reminder, beautiful things are happening even when we can’t see it at the time.

Genesis 1:11

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.