65 In Homesteading

Monthly Musings On The Farm-February

This month has brought sub-zero temperatures along with daytime temperatures as high as 60°F.  Everyone hunkered down and braved the cold.  Once that passed, the snow and ice began to melt to reveal green grass and muddy paths along the farm.  

The geese and ducks have been enjoying daily adventures to the stream again. They then waddle their way back up to the homestead, filthy after all the fun.  During the hard freeze, they were determined to get some bath time in.  They chose the exceptionally small bucket full of drinking water, and proceeded to create a giant mess in the newly cleaned barn.  It is rather cute to watch them create a mini monsoon while trying to fit their large bodies in a tiny red bucket.  

Phoebe is in her mother goose phase, so she has started laying eggs again. She stays close to the farm creating nests in the manure piles as well as the hay trailer.  The goats don't enjoy the cold, so they stay curled up forming a yin yang shape in the pen.  The horses have been shedding like mad and require constant brushing.  Even then, a few minutes later it looks like they haven't been touched in weeks.  We need to hang a sign that says beware of horsehair!  It is a surefire way to know that spring is right around the corner, so I couldn't be happier!  Come follow along with the daily adventures here on our New England farm.

Waterfowl Gang

Finn acting as guard to the ducks while they forage in the stream

Little Wing Swimming
Finn The Toulouse Goose

Finn wading his way across the stream with the ducks close in tow

Finn and Little Wing

Finn and Little Wing dunking their heads underwater

Swimming In February

Leader of the pack

The Gang
Rooster

Burt waking up the whole neighborhood, no alarm clock needed

Cockadoodledoo

COCKADOODLEDOO!

Chicken

Roo

Finn

Munching on some cracked corn

Little Wing

One dirty duck

Fluffy Butt February

Some fowl fluffy butts

Finn Portrait

Portrait of Finn my feathered friend

Sassy

Sassy hoping to play fetch with the dirtiest tennis ball she could possibly find

Goat

Goateeos exploring the newly cleaned barn

Goats Munching

Scout and Jem munching

Watermelon time

Phoebe joining the goats for a watermelon snack

Wild geese

Canadian geese making their way through the field

Indica

Indica enjoying the warmer weather

Khalilia

Khalila

The Girls

The girls enjoying some mints

Please enjoy this video of Phoebe, Finn and Little Wing attempting to take a bath in a tiny red bucket full of drinking water. They make a mess, then proceed to groom. They are too cute to get mad at!

THROWBACK PICTURE

Throwback Duckies

Duckies only a few months old in 2011

Is it starting to feel like spring where you live?  I'm hoping to enter the warmer months with ease.  I'm over the freezing weather and ready for some milder days.  Right now, I'm growing some wheat grass for the chickens so they can have some fresh greens!  I'm excited to give it to them as a treat soon.  What are you looking forward to this spring?   Tell me in the comments section below, I'd love to hear.  I always look forward to seeing pictures of animals and nature on Twitter, so tweet them to me @thefreckledrose.  See you next month for another edition of Monthly Musings On The Farm!

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65 Comments

  • Reply
    candy
    February 28, 2016 at 9:51 pm

    Beautiful pictures of your farm animals. I only have chickens they keep us entertained.

  • Reply
    malena penney
    February 28, 2016 at 5:18 pm

    These pictures are just so beautiful, I can tell you love the animals so much 🙂 We have backyard chickens and I’m much more fond of them than I was expecting to be!

    • Reply
      Thefreckledrose
      March 22, 2016 at 1:02 pm

      Thank you Malena! Yes, I have a huge soft spot for all animals 🙂 Chickens make amazing pets! They are very entertaining!

  • Reply
    Alina
    February 28, 2016 at 4:27 pm

    Beautiful pictures!

    If Sassy goes missing, I may have him/her. 😉 What an adorable furbaby!!

    • Reply
      Thefreckledrose
      March 22, 2016 at 12:59 pm

      Aww thank you Alina! She is such a cutie 🙂

  • Reply
    Hatty Uwanogho
    February 28, 2016 at 11:45 am

    Beautiful photos! You might know what type of ducks or geese we spotted in South East London? I am trying to identify them! #mysundayphoto

    • Reply
      Thefreckledrose
      March 22, 2016 at 12:58 pm

      Thank you Hatty. I’ll take a look! I bet whatever kind of waterfowl, it was fun to spot them! 🙂

  • Reply
    Shobha
    February 28, 2016 at 5:14 am

    Beautiful photos! Your dog is absolutely adorable with the pitch black ball. What you don’t want to throw it, mommy?? why not? LOL. My brother is in Pennsylvania and they have got issues with Canadian geese all year – just don’t want to go home – way too comfortable and well-fed in the suburbs of Philly.

    • Reply
      Thefreckledrose
      March 22, 2016 at 12:55 pm

      Thank you Shobha! It seriously never fails, she has so many clean toys and she picks that one 🙂

  • Reply
    Coombe Mill - Fiona
    February 28, 2016 at 3:52 am

    All such lovely photos, I really must say farm life is wonderful and there is always a cute moment to capture. I do love the watermelon moment

  • Reply
    ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®©
    February 27, 2016 at 10:14 pm

    Your birdies are very handsome!
    ~

  • Reply
    bettyl-NZ
    February 27, 2016 at 5:31 pm

    That watermelon shot is just too adorable!

  • Reply
    Eileen
    February 27, 2016 at 5:53 am

    Hello Angie Rose, your Finn is handsome. I also love Burt, Roo and the cute Sassy. The goats are cute too. And I love the beautiful horses, what a great critter post. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Have a happy weekend!

    • Reply
      Thefreckledrose
      March 22, 2016 at 12:53 pm

      Thank you Eileen! Always happy to link up 🙂

  • Reply
    Prunella Pepperpot
    February 27, 2016 at 4:27 am

    Thoroughly enjoyed reading this post. Loved all of your pictures and the video was soo cute. What a wonderful way to spend your days. Have a lovely weekend 🙂

  • Reply
    chloe | boxwood avenue
    February 26, 2016 at 9:31 pm

    Looks much colder than it is here on the ranch!!! We’ve had 70 degree days, thankfully we are just starting to calve, and the boys are very happy about that!

    • Reply
      Thefreckledrose
      March 22, 2016 at 12:03 pm

      Yes, February was such a cold month. Happy to say it is finally warming up around here! So happy it is springtime on the farm 🙂

  • Reply
    Tony McGurk
    February 26, 2016 at 6:29 pm

    I had a laugh about the Beware Horse Hair sign. Your Geese’s colouring & patterns in their feathers are beautiful. Here in Tasmania I’ve only ever seen the plain white Geese that look a lot bigger & more intimidating that yours. I remember I went to a house in the country once that had a couple of those big white Geese & while they didn’t overly bother me they did have me feeling quite nervous the whole time I was there.

    • Reply
      Thefreckledrose
      March 22, 2016 at 11:59 am

      Thanks Tony, yes hair everywhere! Geese can be very good guard birds. If they are weary of you, they will let you know! They are sweet tempered geese though, and I really enjoy how loving they are <3

  • Reply
    rusty duck
    February 26, 2016 at 4:20 pm

    Fabulous pics Angie and I just love the video!

  • Reply
    Jordan Charbonneau
    February 26, 2016 at 9:16 am

    Your photos and animals are gorgeous!

  • Reply
    June
    February 25, 2016 at 7:36 pm

    What a wonderful menagerie, Angie! Finn is quite a handsome fellow!

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