American Bald Eagles at the Farm

If you look closely you will see an American Bald Eagle in this photo that I took at our farm over the weekend.  Isn't he magnificent?  If only I would have had a zoom lens on my camera...  Eagles have made a nest at our neighbor's pond high in an oak tree overlooking the surrounding prairie, but we have never seen them before this weekend, just the empty nest.  

When I am at the farm I see the most amazing things - like this beautiful Eagle, Meadowlarks on the fence rows, red squirrels in the feeders, and Spring calves in the fields.   I hear the call of the coyote and the hoot - hoot of the owl in the massive oak trees that creak in the breeze at night.  In the city, I hear train whistles, sirens, traffic noise and jets flying overheard.  So wildly different from one another...

 

 The Eagle's mate is on the branch in the second tree from the right, again a zoom lens would have been useful...  Look at the great color of the fields covered in golden prairie grasses,  dark silhouettes of the trees and gray skies of the Winter sky that are so beautiful this time of year in the country.

 

Inside the house it is Springtime with lovely fuschia tulips on my kitchen island.  It is one of my New Year's resolutions to always have fresh flowers when we are at the farm.  I pick them up at the grocery when we stop for weekend supplies as we make our way to the farm.   They are now sitting in my kitchen back in the city.

A little treat just for me - during the cold gloomy days of Winter.   Until Spring flowers arrive from my gardens...I will bring flowers with me to the farm to enjoy because they just make me happy.  Having green things around takes the sting out of the gloomy days of Winter... a sure fire cure for the Winter blues in my opinion.

I also purchased two varieties of onion bulbs, three varieties of seed potatoes and white peonies to plant this Spring.  The onions will go in as soon as the garden dries out a bit, it's too muddy right now.  The potatoes and peonies will go in the ground in mid to late March.

 

 The surrounding pastures are filled with the girls munching away on sweet hay.  They keep me company as I walk around the farm.  Ever curious about my ongoings... Such sweet and gentle creatures.  I grew up with cattle, so they are like old friends to me.

Cows are very social creatures and calf-sit for one another while the little calves' mothers go to graze.  This cow is calf-sitting three babies in white, gray and red while their mothers feed about 30 feet away.  I have seen the cows come charging back across the pasture whenever a dog would get too close to the calves.  Cows can move quickly when necessary and have no difficulty fending off predator's weighing in at 1000 pounds or more.  They gather around the calves maneuvering them behind in a protective semi circle.  

Predator's are not really a concern, even though coyote are plentiful, mountain lions and bobcats are also close by... but, smaller,  easier game is plentiful so the calves are safe.  Lots of open prairie surround the farm so Mother Nature is in balance here in the country.

 

Here are my new kicks, purchased at our local Orscheln's Farm store perfect for stomping through the mud on rainy days.  Yes, I have rubber boots and a white Chevy pickup - staples of farmgirls everywhere...perfect for sloshing through the muddy dirt roads this time of year.

What is soothing your soul during the Winter months?

Blessings - Julie