Beautiful Spring Morning

I picked up the Sunday paper from the mailbox this morning and walked back thinking what a beautiful place I have to live in. After almost 6 weeks of unusually wet weather, this morning is all blue skies, sunshine, and mild temperature. The animals were quiet (after already being fed) and bees were starting to visit the creeping thyme flowers in my new front lawn. If only I didn't have to spend the morning dealing with two broody, moody, mean hens who need to be booted our of their nest boxes.

I've been arguing with these two girls for about a week now, and with one of them for almost two weeks. I've got a wire cage to put them into, to cool their tail feathers off, but it's been so rainy, I hated to take them out of their usual cozy coop. But today's the day. It might take two of us.

Charles will probably spend most of the day on the tractor, mowing the fields that will make our next paddocks. The only good thing about the wet, mild weather is that the grass is definitely growing. But it's too wet to cut and cure hay, so we just have to wait to do anything about it.

Our last goat kid of the year, Lily, has already had a hard life. She got bitten on one ear by our miniature donkey, Shrek, when she was only 10 days old, and now more than three-quarters of that ear has fallen off. Then I noticed she received another nip from him on her back. I'm sure he doesn't mean to hury her, but he plays too rough. I've just ordered a muzzle for Shrek that will allow him to eat and graze, but will stop the biting. We're picking up Shrek's son on Tuesday to bring him home, and hopefully that will give Shrek someone close to his own size to play with.