Critters

I saw a coyote the other day, which was kind of unusual. We hear them all the time at night, but I seldom see them. And I almost never see them out in the open during the day. This one was on the edge of the big field, just standing there. I don't think she/he saw me, so I just stood there too. Eventually, she/he turned and went back into the woods. I guess after a long winter food is hard to come by, and the animals start moving about more and more in seach of something to eat.

Which reminds me -- I was working on our small greenhouse down by the barn, and I noticed mouse tunnels in the crusty snow. The mice and voles are usually kept in check by the foxes that live in the woods near the barn, but these guys figured out how to use the structure of the greenhouse to make a safer home. I am afraid all our stomping around will force them out soon. We have seedlings we have started in the house that will need to go out into the greenhouse soon.

And as I was working on the greenhouse, Maryellen and Waverly came out for a bit. Maryellen and I discussed what we need to do with the bees, which currently live on the second floor of the barn, which is a little too close to the farmstand for my comfort. Plus, bees give me the willies. We are thinking of moving the hive up into the field, but that would be quite a project because the hive is so heavy, so alive, and so potentially volatile. So we need to mull that one over a bit.

Our neighbor is also selling lambs this spring. I am generally against getting animals as pets, but I have to admit I am tempted to get two sheep just to have them around the farm. Maryellen was a bit surprised when I suggested we get some. Who knows if we will? At this time of year, when the spring holds so much promise, it is easy to get carried away.