Thursday, February 7, 2013

Longing for Spring


I don’t know about you, but I am done with winter. I am done with snow. I am soooo done with days on end of temperatures hovering around zero and the wind-chill dipping well below it. I am done with chipping out water buckets and frozen manure from stall floors in the hopes of keeping them anywhere near usable. And, I am not alone. Our animals are done with it, too. Though we open the doors to their stalls each morning to allow them free access to their fields to stretch their legs, none do. The poor goats spend their days chewing hay from their mangers looking wistfully at fields covered over. Their eyes cast suspicion at me that I, supplier of food, bringer of petting and comfort, have somehow bestowed these horrible conditions they suffer through. The Vietnamese pot-bellies reluctantly unearth themselves out of their mound of hay just long enough to gobble down their food and then, dig themselves back under. The chickens cluck-cluck-cluck in a tizzy when I check the nest boxes as if to say, “You still have not fixed this! We are lodging a complaint!” The geese follow me around like the coop-yard-police they are, honking for warm water to swim in. Only the ducks and Fenn-dog (our husky) seem not to notice; whether they are truly impervious to the cold or are merely too good natured to complain is debatable.

I was recently reminded that the days are growing longer (we have gained over an hour at last count!) and promised that spring will return to the frozen north in its due time. This should offer me some solace as I, once more, thaw my fingers by the wood stove, but it doesn’t. What did help was an accident. In the course of cleaning out the bazillion images clogging my computer, I found myself mentally transported to last spring and all the new babies born to us at Lally Broch. Their sweet, baby cuteness conjured memories of little peeps, chirps and meeeehs, soft, downy bodies and my lap full of sleepy, warm goat-kid goodness.  

It didn’t seem right to keep them all to myself. So, here are a few of my favorites. If this does nothing to thaw your hearts, you might need to get yourself checked! 
 
Abigail newly born April 2012

Ellie and Abigail
Asher and Abigail April 2012
 



Mallard and Black Swedish Duckings
Basket of Chicks 2012

Caitlin Gosling is always friendly.


I love this picture because it looks like Broody hen and chick are talking to each other.

Thanks for visiting with us tonight. We really appreciate your company!

Sean and Sonja
 
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This blog shared with The Home Acre Hop #6

6 comments:

  1. Meredith/GreenCircleGroveFebruary 7, 2013 at 4:53 PM

    Awwww...babies! Thanks for the reminder that spring can't be far away....can it?

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  2. Awwww how cute! That is just what I needed. I can't wait til spring. Although I can't complain because our weather is nowhere near as cold as yours!

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  3. I hope to be up there and visit with some new babies this summer!

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  4. Love the photos! Thanks for sharing this on The HomeAcre Hop!
    http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/02/the-homeacre-hop.html

    Pinning some of your babies :)

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  5. Awwwh too cute! Thanks for the pick me up.

    ~Ann

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  6. Love those pictures!! It's a nice, snowy for reminiscing.

    Becky

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