First Blog

We have been in our new house for five months now, and we decided that each day brings so much wonder that we needed to write down our experiences. It would be difficult to detail everything that we have seen and experienced, but off the top of my head...

-When we first moved in, there was a robin that built a nest right in the fork of the large maple tree in our backyard. She and her babies were about 4 feet off of the ground! We were so worried about the feral cat getting her babies. Sadly, while the cat did not get them, all of the eggs fell out in a windstorm. It's so hard to sit back and watch nature at work. Especially for us control freaks... She did not rebuild her nest, and we removed it from the tree to discourage her from returning. Too much stress!

-There were barn swallows right inside the barn this year. They are such attentive parents! Daddy Barn Swallow took care of Momma when she sat on her eggs. They took turns getting food and relieving each other. Same things when the babies were born. And are they protective! They will dive bomb anyone or anything that makes them feel threatened! I was glad when those four babies were grown and gone. I then encouraged the feral cat to eat in the barn (to try not to encourage the raccoons or other rodents to eat her food). Little did I know that Momma and Daddy would raise another family of babies in the same summer! They had flying lessons last week, and I was privileged to witness that amazing feat. How do they know?

-One of the first things we saw was a fox snake sunning himself on our driveway. The kids noticed it when they were riding bikes. "Foxy" was HUGE-- I bet he was over 3' long. He was amazing to see; his markings are reminiscent of a rattlesnake, but after looking him up we found out that he was not to be feared. He is actually a help, as he eats rodents.

-Yesterday B saw a milk snake sunning himself on the driveway. He said it was a reddish/coral color, and amazing to see. Of course we had no idea what he was, but we looked him up on the internet, and they said that they are rarely seen by people because they are so timid. What luck!

-After seeing "Foxy" in the driveway, we saw more fox snakes around the rafters in the garage/machine shed. Keep eating those rodents!

-Every night when we finish feeding the horses, we stand outside for a few minutes to soak up the amazing view of the stars. On a really crisp, clear night, it is absolutely breathtaking. They are so vivid, and there are so many of them! You instantly feel insignificant and like a small blip in time. Thinking about them being there for billions of years, our lifespan seems like seconds in comparison.

-Yesterday I was scratching Cosmo in his "crazy spot." We say he gets Elvis lips because he curls them back around in ecstasy when you scratch him! Anyway, he decided that he would reciprocate by "grooming" me. He was tearing at my shoulder and even pulled my hair! I felt bad when I screamed in pain-- he was just trying to return the favor!!

-B made friends with the "far away" neighbor today, Ken B. Ken is 80 years old, and lives on a farm 2 miles from the road. Hard to imagine plowing a driveway that long. Ken doesn't have indoor plumbing or heat. The things we take for granted!