Redtail Hawks and Flower of the Week

While walking the horses out of the barn this morning I noticed the pair of redtail hawks had returned. This time they were sharing one wooden fence post in my North pasture. They were making their usual screeches. Kinda neat to hear, but their vocal chorus strikes fear into my hens. They start to cackle and head for the chicken house or underneath the horse trailers.

When when one of the red tail hawks took flight, so did my horses. Sultan, the grey horse in front is 27 years old - he's still the king of the pasture! The fog this morning was really pretty and left little droplets on cobwebs making them look like delicate lace.

A new feature to my blog until the first freeze will be flower of the week. This week's flower is a peach colored canna. These are really pretty and I will definately dig these up in the fall and plant again next year.

Birds of Prey in La Cygne, KS

No, I didn't see a Kling-On ship, however I did see the most beautiful bird of prey in America and most surprising was I saw it in a La Cygne, KS pasture.

Last Friday Greg noticed a "Big" bird sitting in a dead tree in the pasture next to ours. That "Big" bird was a majestic bald eagle. I was in awe! I had never seen a bald eagle so close in the wild. Sure, I've seen them in the zoo, but not in it's natural habit. We have seen gold eagles at Hillsdale in a far off distance. However, I have never experienced an eagle this close!

He sat in the tree for awile and then took off in a graceful swoop letting the wind current glide him over the fields. The shadow he cast on the ground was enormous... a good 6 foot wing span.

A few days later a red tail hawk pair roosted on a corner post. By the time I got my camera the other one flew off. But this one has been coming back daily screeching from several of our corner posts. I just hope he/she is not planning on having chicken dinner.


My collie was shaved this past Spring and her coat is starting to come back in. She is the furriest collie I have ever had. Lots of dense under coat for winter warmth; not so good in a hot, humid Kansas summers. Kinda like sheep. :)

We also had some beautiful thunderstorms this past week that produced rainbows and a movie style sunset. One of the reasons I love Kansas is the sunsets on the wide open horizon. And the view from my pasture can sometimes be awe inspiring. Mother nature at her finest. Moments like this make up for the harshness of winter.

Speaking of winter and those crying for cooler weather, I found these pics from January 2010. It was 2 degrees with minus something wind chill for what seemed like forever all winter long. I went through pounds and pounds of seed. The only real enjoyment I get out of winter are the birds that visit our farm.

Well, I've done enough rambling for one evening. Let me know if you like winter or summer better. I'll take summer any day!

She is a HE

Well, I've been duped, bezwaggled, bamboozled, and mislead. Those cute little Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks are not she's, but HE's. That's right.... more roosters! Arggg!!! Only one out of the six is a hen. I already have 5 roosters that I can't sell because I'm attached to the little fellas! But these big roosters have got to go. They are beating up on my bantam roosters and my favorite rooster - Rock Star. That is a no-no!!

Luckily, a guy Greg works with wants them. So off to a new home they go next week. Next spring, I'll get 6 pullet chicks from the farm store. Hopefully I'll have better luck in getting girls. :)

In other news, I'm soooo excited. I contacted Red Brick Road Icelandic Sheep about some ewes. After much deliberation, spreadsheet galore, and looking at the webpage a zillion times I picked 4 ewes and a ram. My friend Marie, picked up some sheep from this farm in July and I fell in love with them. Beautiful wool and I like the fact that they have horns which resembles a goat. As most of you know, I have been sooo lonely the past several years without my pygmies.

I've contacted a gal in the KC Weavers Guild about taking a Triangle loom class. Probably going to sign up for the November class as October is crazy busy for me. In the mean time, Greg and I are redoing fencing and preparing several acres for the new gals. So I am hoping for cooler weather the next few weeks. Gotta go and pick up our square bales of hay next week... hope we get a cool front soon!! I said I wouldn't complain about summer last winter when it was so dreadful out, but I can complain about the humidity right? Afterall, it's the not heat, but the humidity or so I hear.