Critters and Country Scenes.....

The rains are gone and the mud has dried up for the most part, although as I write this journal entry for Thursday and Friday, Louis Dean's big white truck is stuck over across and behind this scene of the mud tank. He was over at the barn and corral getting some gates for his garden fence and got stuck. He is mortified and said, "I will never live this down!" Dean and Sherry are in town doing errands today so I sent her a text that she will need to pull him out with the tractor when they get home.

It was a gorgeous day here in the country yesterday.

I wnt to bed around midnight on Wednesday and it was 11:58 when I woke up Thursday!

And last night was about the same except I managed to wake up an hour earlier than yesterday.

Best sleep I've had in weeks and weeks!

Love all the sounds and scents of the country!

Here's Louis Dean hauling one of the gates back to the camper area.

He fetched it on foot yesterday and, since he got the truck stuck this morning, he brought the second gate home in the same manner!

Love the frogs - I guess that's what they are!

We have one up by the front deck and Louis Dean found him today when he was weeding.

He sounded like he would be huge but, in fact, he was only about 2 inches! Glad Louis Dean didn't weed whack him!

The Great Pyrenees aka MOPS have grown up since we were here last!

Sherry's down to 13 ducks now and that geese in front nearly didn't make it!

See the dark slash across the lower neck? Sherry said last week it was purple.

One of the mops got ahold of it and Dean rescued him and doctored his neck.

For whatever reason, the geese aren't as agressive toward me as they had been. 

Notice there are only three of them now instead of four.

Putting the ducks up at night is my favorite Critter Chore!

I walked on down to check out the other animals and found both peacocks strutting around with their feathers out.

There's the male inside the peacock pen and there's also a female in there as well as a few other chickens.

This is the peacock on the outside of the pen. 

The female is probably the cause of this male strutting. 

And she may also be the reason the outsider stays around. I think it's been a year now.

Sherry has some new chickens!

These are Silkies and they have hair instead of feathers.

The skin is black and you can see the hair is really hair!

Dean and Sherry also have a rather unique black and white spotted one but I couldn't get a clear pic of him.

There are two mama cats down here and they both had litters just 3 weeks apart.

Now they have 9 babies between them.

We hope they range up here to the camper when they get older.

I would love to keep this one......

or that sweet speckled face one back there.

But I think we may just have to be content in having Grand Cats!

Sherry protects her trees and tender flowers with a circle of fencing.

It also doubles as a clothesline!

I'm going to ask Louis Dean to make one for us!

This downed tree was from the tornado that came through there Easter Sunday morning while Dean and Sherry slept right through it!

Not one critter was injured!

Three Billy Goats!!

Dean and Sherry actuall bought two more yesterday and they will get them in the next few days.

Dean's an outstanding gardener!!

This is my very favorite photo from today's journal entry!

We are so very grateful for Dean and Sherry's hospitality!!

Now the reason I am posting so early is that at dusk Sherry and I will be picking up our two new hives. Pick up time is after the bees return to the hives from the days foraging. We will drive to Eddy to get them and once they are loaded, we are to drive straight home and unload them where they will live. Do not stop for gas or to eat or anything.

It will be dark by the time we get them located so that whole experience will be news for tomorrow.

This will be my first time to go get them. 

Last April I couldn't be here and Dean went with her.

It's going to be excited to suit up and do beekeeping things again!!