Mossy stump on a damp morning
The idea and the title for the snapshot post comes from Joan at For the Love of a House, a beautiful blog that chronicles an inspirational and exceptionally thoughtful renovation of an antique farmhouse in New Hampshire.
Joan also has an affection for tree fungi, or, as she calls them, “conks.”
The other night after work, I walked down to the pond. The sun was low in the sky, the shadows were long.
I saw a mallard, a fish (an honest to goodness fish, 6-8 inches long) and a red winged blackbird.
And then I saw this, and I was so excited I nearly fell into the pond.
Do you see what I see?
I managed to recover my balance and only ended up with a wet boot, which was fortunate because 1) I’m pretty sure me falling into the pond would have spooked this guy and caused him to move to another watershed, and 2) the camera would have gotten wet and then I wouldn’t have been able to take the dozen other pictures I shot.
Hello there!
My new friend was a little suspicious of the statue (once I found my stability, I wasn’t moving!) that had turned up on the shore of his pond, and he swam big ‘S’ patterns across the water as he eyed me. Eventually he decided I wasn’t that interesting and he went back to paddling and diving. I was able to track him swimming under the water by following his bubbles. At one point he climbed out of the water onto the opposite shore and I got a better look at him.
He’s a big guy! Almost 3 feet long, nice and round and very, very sleek.
I’m not sure exactly what species he is. My best guess is some kind of muskrat, although I guess beaver or otter could be a possibility. I never saw his tail clearly, so that doesn’t give me a clue.
Over the course of our farm search, the pond came on and off the must-have list. I really, really wanted a pond, but at times I was ready to sacrifice it in order to just get a farm. Now, I’m so glad we have the pond. It’s one of my favourite spots on the property. I love walking down to the water and just watching the sun glisten over the ripples, the reeds waft in the breeze and the bugs dance across the surface. Seeing this guy enjoying the pond was a complete bonus–a really special moment for me.
For the weekend, I leave you with this video of our new pond paddler.
All of you naturalists out there let me know in the comments what you think he is.
Deer in the back field. Can you see them? I promise they are actually there.
One of the nice things about a holiday weekend is that you’re around to see things you wouldn’t normally see.
Last Friday morning, eagle eyes Matt spotted two deer in the back field. We walked back to get a closer look and we were actually able to get near enough to see it was a small doe and yearling.
We’ve been waiting to see deer on the property. Up to now, all we’ve seen is tracks.
I didn’t have the camera with me, so I wasn’t able to get a picture of them.
However, a trio of deer showed up in the same field on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, this group was a lot more skittish and as soon as we started to walk towards the field they took off. The photo above shows their white tails as they bounded away. If you squint really hard at the circled areas and use your imagination, you might be able to envision them there.
We’ll keep an eye out this weekend and try to get actual photo proof that deer pass through our property. What’s on your weekend wish list?
Wishing everyone a great one.
Sunday morning, this arrived at the farm.
And with it came these.
Soon, there was lots of this.
And a whole bunch of this.
By Monday evening (yes, that means this exercise in lumberjacking went on for a full two days), we had this.
Hello, crackling fires on cold winter nights
A huge thanks to Matt’s Dad for all of his work, time, equipment and expertise. He took down the tree on our first weekend and then came back to help us finish the job–and do battle with two huge stumps. End result is three rows of wood, each about 16 feet long, 5 feet high, and all of it cut, split and stacked.
I love my father-in-law’s wood splitter. You might say we cheated and didn’t do it the way a real farmer would. I say it’s magic. The best invention ever.
Forsythia bushes at the side of the drive shed.
One thing about buying a property in January is that you don’t know exactly what you bought until the property reveals itself in the spring.
It’s been fun watching the new shoots poke up out of the ground and the buds sprout on the bare branches as the plants come back to life.
These forsythia bushes revealed themselves at the side of the drive shed. There is some old lattice tangled in them that needs some attention, but they’re a pretty addition to the property, and the cheerful blooms are a sure sign of spring.
Forsythia always reminds me of my youngest sister. She has gorgeous blond hair that’s bright like the yellow flowers, and her name is Cynthia.
Cynthia lives far away now, so this blog is a way that she can be part of the farm, even though she can’t be here in person. Seeing the forsythia come into bloom this spring has been a nice reminder of her.
I always think of forsythia as “for-Cynthia.”
Morning mist across the back fields
I love the look of misty mornings in the country, and this past weekend we had a great one.
And across the front field
So nice to see a misty morning across my own fields.
We’ll see what this weekend brings. Wishing everyone a great one.
