(Wild)Life on the Farm

I live in a beautiful part of the country - and in a beautiful old house (over 100 years old). It's got some cracked plaster walls, great old hardwood floors which tell stories of living, some dated wallpaper, doors that don't fit in their frames...and I love it! If you look out the windows by the chimney, you can see the Red Bank Creek and the abandoned railroad trestle.

Here's a picture of my garden, with an eight-foot fence around it to keep out the deer. Unfortunately, the fence doesn't touch the ground everywhere, so the rabbits have found some nourishment in the garden.

Here's the barn and the red garden shed. No more animals live permanently in the barn (like cows and horses), but we do have evidence of a raccoon visiting (trash cans overturned, bags ripped open). Better a raccoon than a bear which was our first thought. It now houses multiple tractors - pick your favorite color - red, green, or orange?

The railroad trestle - one of two on the property. At least this one has sides and a walkway on it - the other one is pretty scary to cross. DON'T LOOK DOWN!!!

It's a little hard to see them in this picture, but there are about 20 geese in this picture. We have four families of geese, some of them with 6 babies. They were all "grazing" in the field until they heard me approach them on our Ranger. They took off running - the babies can't fly yet but they do have cute little wings!

Okay, I tried to take pictures of some of the wildlife on the farm but they weren't very cooperative or maybe they were just camera shy. This is where a deer ran away into the woods in front of me. (Use your imagination.)

Eagle's nest high up in a pine tree - two babies this year but I didn't see any today. I don't think they're flying yet so maybe they're napping in their nest.

A little chipmunk was on the tree trunk but once again, camera shy!

There actually is an animal in this picture - a little rabbit right in the center. He too didn't stay around long enough to get a better shot.

A woodchuck took off running when he heard me approach. I asked him to stop but he ignored me. Luckily for him, the hunter wasn't with me....

Finally, some animals that didn't get scared off. These "friends" sit on my porch steps and greet any and all guests. Don't they have cute expressions?

Maybe next time I'll be able to find some more cooperative animals, but it was fun chasing them down. The weather today was sunny and cool - perfect!!