Water, Wildlife and Wire

Its hot out, and humidity is making it seem worse. The cattle are drinking huge amounts of water and we spend quite a lot of time filling the troughs. We do not have a big trough, 40 gallon ones and muck tubs seem to be working. We prefer to refill with fresh water instead of having a big tank get full of brackish, algae filled water. The climate is perfect for the growth of 'stuff' in water tanks.

The new fences are working well, allowing us to use the grass in better ways. However there are some interesting developments from the water and the wire.

The new fences cross land that was open, no trees or bush, the birds have found the high tensile and posts to be perfect for perching on. The meadowlarks have moved into the back of the farm.

 This was what  I watched this morning as I filled Muck tubs with water. He was singing to all the world, the joy of the day!

Swallows, both barn and tree, gossip as they perch on the top wire of the lane-way.

 

We have  never seen so many Brown Headed Cowbirds or Red Winged Blackbirds. These birds come to the edge of the water troughs moments after I fill them to drink. Its quite interesting to see how bold they are.

Google Image

They are also very hard to photograph so I have to admit I cheated and used Google!

The cows graze early in the morning and then amble out again at dusk. Days are spent in the breezeway, lounging and ruminating and trying to con us into feeding them snacks!

Katie and the Boys......doing some grazing this morning. They are on our weed dilemma. They love this stuff but it grows faster than I have ever seen anything grow. The growth they are on now was cut a week ago and we have had them grazing in this small paddock for three days now.

The changes to the farm made with the investment in 'Wire' has made some marvelous changes in all aspects of the farm. There is a wild turkey, shy and impossible to photograph, who comes up the lane almost every morning to drink. He loves the cow patties and just one turkey spreads the manure like 45 hens!

 

Our older chicks are out on their own now and wander the farm out back. They have grown up with cow patties and determinedly attack them. They are growing like weeds and there is some of the new wire they used to be able to zip through the gaps in...that they no longer fit through like they did when they were tiny. We chuckle at them as the march along the fence, then get side tracked by a bug or tasty bite of grass.

We were given a patio table and chairs...we love it and have taken two chairs up to the deck, in the evening a breeze blows around the west corner of the house and we sit and watch the birds and critters. It is a delight. Hummingbirds come to the petunias and deck garden.

Summer is speeding along and we are pleased with most of what is going on. Weeds will always be the bug bear here, but the addition of wire has blessed us with more wildlife to enjoy and entertain. The new locations for water have helped the wildlife as well so that adds to our own little ecosystem.

In closing I would like to post a thought for the day, I think it hits the nail on the head.

God Bless all of you and enjoy your world.