Thank you, Janisse, for sharing a slice of your life with us. You have such interesting happenings that we can share vicariously. I miss a photo of little Fawn, who is always adorable. Those snakes would have sent me running. Kudos to Raven for the capture and transfer! I hope they don’t get to your chickens. Enjoy the holiday weekend. Hope you get some “me time”.
I walked out to put some things in our compost pile the other day to find a medium sized rat snake chilling on top of the leaf litter! Not nearly as large or as interesting of an encounter as you had, though! I did have a massive one crawl through our garden maybe six years ago!
Thank you for sharing a moment at the farm. I never tire of reading your stories.
This afternoon, I visited Amnicola Marsh and sat for a while. A Double-crested Cormorant swam in the large pond with a fish wriggling in its beak. I walked the loop trail to the other side, where a family of Geese with five goslings stopped grazing and entered the pond. On my return trip, Red-winged Blackbirds sang and flitted into view. I got to my sitting spot about the same time as the geese, but I was far back, and they began grazing. A Green Heron flew to a nearby stump overlooking the water and assumed a hunting pose. The geese herded the young further back from the pond's edge.
I love these slice-of-life stories. It's one of the things you do best. For those of us who don't live on a farm, you welcome us in to live beside you for a time. Thank you!
on the up river path my dog and i take daily (which is actually south, and that still seems so wrong) there's a pair of fledgling baby eagles. I've not been able to locate the nest, but the parents fly between a copse of trees and the river, and so right across our path. and the babies circle between then, so low i can see individual feathers. This has been going on 4 days now, and even the dog recognizes the eagle cries and is resigned to at least a 10 minute pause in her walk.
Yes, there have been many rat snakes around our farm so far this year too! Hubby says they’re HUGE and scare him when he comes across them while feeding up. They hang around the areas where the royal palm turkeys lay their eggs. One afternoon, one of the hens was pecking & dragging a smaller rat snake away from her nest.
My reaction to rattlesnakes is what changed in me after the grandboys started hanging around with us on the farm. I don’t like to kill them. I prefer to relocate them or let them go their way, but not all the folks who live on the farm feel that way and I understand.
Your orchard is beautiful & abundant! What a blessing!
Quite a remarkable story, from rat snakes to mockingbirds! Wonderful to read about. And also remarkable to feel the contrast of your sub-tropical Georgia farm, complete with a fruit I'd never hear of (goumi? what's that, I thought, and was surprised to find it an Eleagnus species). And peaches almost ready to harvest; how wonderful!
The contrast comes in arriving a couple of days ago to our Quebec cottage and admiring the barely budding apple, pear, cherry, and plum trees, along with robust foliage of raspberries and black currants. The serviceberries are barely in flower. Even the cold-hardiest peaches and nectarines are no match for the deep cold and strong winds that this part of Eastern Quebec experiences in winter.
The rhubarb here is up already, stalks a foot tall, thriving in this cool-summer climate. I've been busily using rhubarb and strawberries from last season's harvest, stored in the freezer over winter, preparing for the season to come.
Thank you, Janisse, for sharing a slice of your life with us. You have such interesting happenings that we can share vicariously. I miss a photo of little Fawn, who is always adorable. Those snakes would have sent me running. Kudos to Raven for the capture and transfer! I hope they don’t get to your chickens. Enjoy the holiday weekend. Hope you get some “me time”.
I walked out to put some things in our compost pile the other day to find a medium sized rat snake chilling on top of the leaf litter! Not nearly as large or as interesting of an encounter as you had, though! I did have a massive one crawl through our garden maybe six years ago!
I wish one would visit my compost. I'm always looking for them!
Thank you for sharing a moment at the farm. I never tire of reading your stories.
This afternoon, I visited Amnicola Marsh and sat for a while. A Double-crested Cormorant swam in the large pond with a fish wriggling in its beak. I walked the loop trail to the other side, where a family of Geese with five goslings stopped grazing and entered the pond. On my return trip, Red-winged Blackbirds sang and flitted into view. I got to my sitting spot about the same time as the geese, but I was far back, and they began grazing. A Green Heron flew to a nearby stump overlooking the water and assumed a hunting pose. The geese herded the young further back from the pond's edge.
Thank you for this inspiring & heartwarming report from Amnicola Marsh.
What a menagerie! I love hearing about your fruits, flora, and fauna — even the snakes!
I love these slice-of-life stories. It's one of the things you do best. For those of us who don't live on a farm, you welcome us in to live beside you for a time. Thank you!
on the up river path my dog and i take daily (which is actually south, and that still seems so wrong) there's a pair of fledgling baby eagles. I've not been able to locate the nest, but the parents fly between a copse of trees and the river, and so right across our path. and the babies circle between then, so low i can see individual feathers. This has been going on 4 days now, and even the dog recognizes the eagle cries and is resigned to at least a 10 minute pause in her walk.
Enjoyed reading this!
THANK YOU!! Love you.
Yes, there have been many rat snakes around our farm so far this year too! Hubby says they’re HUGE and scare him when he comes across them while feeding up. They hang around the areas where the royal palm turkeys lay their eggs. One afternoon, one of the hens was pecking & dragging a smaller rat snake away from her nest.
My reaction to rattlesnakes is what changed in me after the grandboys started hanging around with us on the farm. I don’t like to kill them. I prefer to relocate them or let them go their way, but not all the folks who live on the farm feel that way and I understand.
Your orchard is beautiful & abundant! What a blessing!
Really wonderful story
Quite a remarkable story, from rat snakes to mockingbirds! Wonderful to read about. And also remarkable to feel the contrast of your sub-tropical Georgia farm, complete with a fruit I'd never hear of (goumi? what's that, I thought, and was surprised to find it an Eleagnus species). And peaches almost ready to harvest; how wonderful!
The contrast comes in arriving a couple of days ago to our Quebec cottage and admiring the barely budding apple, pear, cherry, and plum trees, along with robust foliage of raspberries and black currants. The serviceberries are barely in flower. Even the cold-hardiest peaches and nectarines are no match for the deep cold and strong winds that this part of Eastern Quebec experiences in winter.
The rhubarb here is up already, stalks a foot tall, thriving in this cool-summer climate. I've been busily using rhubarb and strawberries from last season's harvest, stored in the freezer over winter, preparing for the season to come.
What a wonderful story!!! But I must say that I miss seeing a picture of Little Fawn.