Oh, those muddy blues

Recent rains made mud

In driveway, pastures, yard and

then mud came inside.

It came down from the

Sky, traveled down the driveway.

Puddles everywhere!

It has been a very muddy start to Spring 2015.  In the past month, we were inundated with monsoon-like rainstorms and, in no time at all, there was no where for any more water to go in many places around HeartSong Farm.  We sit atop part of the Carrizo Creek aquifer which is less than a foot below the surface in quite a few places. For two weeks, the pastures and yard were completely saturated with the rains and the runoff, above and below the surface.  I am not a fan of mud and muck!  I tend to get my vehicle and/or my shoes stuck in it.  Ben tends to tromp it through the house.

 

Yucky! 

Way too close to the back door!

For awhile there, I was beginning to think the sun had completely deserted us!  I love hearing the sound of the rain on my metal roof, but enough is ENOUGH!  You can't do much in or with mud, after all, unless you are particularly fond of mud pies!  I guess you could use the red clay that it is the pastures for making pottery.  Hmmm, maybe I need a pottery wheel in retirement?!

Fortunately, I did not get stuck in it with my car ....  or shoes.  Neither did my son.  We are grateful for that.  We are also grateful that the sun has finally decided to stick around for more than a day or two.  Even when it wasn't raining, the sun was being shy.

We are planning to rework this area from right to left so that water will
flow across the driveway at this point and into the bog area where
Gloria, the bald cypress, stands.  This will keep a lot of it from heading
towards the house!

In between rainstorms, we were able to identify additional places where we can redirect the torrents of water that run down the driveway heading towards the parking pad and the back door.  We will also be working on a solution to the water coming from the neighbors' yard, especially when they drain the stagnant water from their in-ground swimming pool.  Yuck.

Hopefully, we can use the water flow to our advantage in the veggie gardens of the future!

The seasonal creek runs to the far right in this photo where you can see
that the  land slopes downward somewhat.

Way out in the back pasture where Armando, Moonshadow and Texanna currently reside, water drains from the road and lots to the west of HeartSong Farm, and flows into the seasonal creek that begins on my property and eventually ends up in Carrizo Creek to the southeast.  Further along, it flows into the Angelina River and eventually makes it to the Gulf of Mexico.  Recently, I have seen a great blue heron stalking the swollen creek bed back there, hunting for bugs and worms.  I was unable to get a photo in the rain, unfortunately.  You will just have to take my word for it.

I would love to have a pond back in that area to catch some of that rain and runoff.  I could have ducks and geese again like I did in Missouri and Illinois.  I loved watching them waddle around my property, quacking and honking, and playing in the ponds.  Great entertainment on a summer day, viewed from the back porch swing.  I hope that some day I will have that pond .....

There is also an area back there that is lower than the rest of the pasture and stays quite wet for most of the spring.  I have noticed crawfish "castles" quite often most years, and have seen crawfish a few times, too.  In fact, one of my favorite memories of life with llamas here on HeartSong Farm includes a poor little crawfish being surrounded by the female herd and several crias, curious as to what this tiny armored creature was.

When I went out to see what had gotten the lady llamas excited and concerned, there it was right in the middle of a circle of huge beasts.  It was standing upright and had its claws extended like it was just daring one of them to pick it up!  While I stood there, a cria named Cisco got close and tried to sniff it.  The next thing we all knew, the crawfish grabbed Cisco's nose and wouldn't let go, until he was finally able to sling it off and into the pasture somewhere!  I can still see the ferocious look in that crustacean's eyes!

Bluebonnets in a yard in town where I pass by on my way to work. 

Bluebonnets begin

To bloom along the roadsides.

Dogwoods, redbuds, too.

Redbuds blooming in the front of my home.

Wisteria at the back of the parking lot at my workplace.

All of the rain was perfect for the blackberry vines, and I hope to have

a nice batch of berries to pick later in May!

Lots of recent rain

Makes  yards and pastures glow in

Technicolor greens!

Meanwhile, absolutely nothing has been happening in my little greenhouse on the back porch. We have had very little sunshine until this past week.  Even when it wasn't raining, the sun stayed behind clouds and kept the world looking quite gloomy.  The greenhouse needs sun to warm it up, of course, and I am remembering that last year at this time my two little greenhouses were overflowing with plants grown from seeds planted in March.  We had an abundance of sunshine then, even when the temps were cold.

Another curious thing about this Spring is that we have had no robins or starlings.  I missed the robins, but definitely NOT the starlings!  They usually invade and stay way too long in my estimation, covering the trees and yard and fighting the hometown birds over the seeds in the feeders.  Starlings don't play nice at all!

The pair of Eastern phoebes have been back on the front porch defending their nest for several weeks. Their first brood is almost ready to hatch.  My hawk, Token, finally found its mate in the sky above my home.  I suppose they have flown off on a honeymoon of some sort. I rather miss the "scree, scree, scree" sound as they call out for one another.  But, they will be back soon.  Meanwhile, the white wing doves that perch on the chimney continue to call and coo as they do for most of the year, and the notes echo into the den as I knit or read to keep me company along with the cats.

Speaking of cats ....

Godfrey claimed the box first.

Oh, there is nothing like a new box!

Last week I received the charkha that I had ordered from The Woolery (photos coming soon!) and, as usual I put the empty box down on the den floor for the cats.  It turned out to be just about the most perfect box ever!  Godfrey claimed it first, stretching and curling up and fitting quite nicely into it. He did NOT like it when he saw Axl trying his best to fit his huge body into that same box!  A fight ensued, but Axl was determined he was going to get in it and take a nap.  Which he did a few times, but then he handed it back over to Godfrey.

After much maneuvering, Axl finally got most of himself into the charkha box.

Meanwhile, Jessy has not been feeling very well, and seems to have good days and bad days.

Jessy is usually found on the window sill in the breakfast room.

Even so, eventually she had to try out this charkha box for herself!  

And she, too, pronounced it a nice fit.

 

Must be The Perfect Box!

Even with all that mud, life is still good here at HeartSong Farm!

Tour de Farm 2014

Spring continues to try to break into full swing, with a day and/or night here and there where it seems like Winter is having a hard time letting go.  My Bradford pears have all bloomed fully and the red buds are now taking their turn.  The ones on the east side of my house bloom several days ahead of the ones facing north, with the one on the northeast corner right in the middle.  I find this interesting, a micro climate easily seen, literally in my own front yard!

This is one of my Bradford pear trees in full bloom one day this week. 

Look how the pastures are greening up! This one is directly in front of 
my house, and was Smokin's pasture until last fall when he passed away.  

In a  week or so, I will move his son, Jagger, out of the backyard and
 into this pasture for the spring and summer.  The highway is in the distance.

This past week I was thinking that it is about time I show you around HeartSong Farm.  So, let the tour begin.......!

This is not the front door, but it is the door everyone uses for one!  It is on the west side, by the driveway. Many years ago, Ben built an arbor over this door for me and I planted a yellow Lady Banks rose on each side with the idea of keeping some of the sun and heat off that side of the house.  The roses evidently liked the job that they were assigned and now we have to prune them several times during the summer months just so we can go in and out the house and get in and out of our vehicles!  The difference they have made in my electric bill is very much appreciated, as are the beautiful yellow bunches of blossoms each spring. Speaking of which, they would normally have bloomed by early March......hmmmmm......but not this crazy year!

This is Max Steed, our guard feline who lives outside and doubles as our barn cat.
He is great at catching mice and snakes, but steers clear of the raccoon and possum!

Here we have Ben's "man cave" to the left, and to the right is where we
keep the hay bales and some of the outdoor tools and equipment.

This is the gate to the backyard from the driveway side of the house. 
As you can see, Jagger has been pastured here for the winter and has

done a really nice job of keeping down the grass and weeds for me.  

He will soon be moved out front to his own pasture so that I can use

part of the backyard for growing my vegetables.

This is the back pasture where Texanna resides.  At one time I had ten female llamas and their crias in this pasture, but all except Texanna are now gone and it is quite empty to look at sometimes.  I used to really enjoy sitting in my back porch swing and watch them graze and interact within the female herd.  The fox family lives way back up there in the back past the fence line, and I suspect that some wild hogs live up in that woods as well.  

Here we have my ramshackle barn...not nearly as old as it looks!  I trusted someone that I shouldn't have and paid them good money to build it for me.  The roof leaks terribly.  Nevertheless, it has worked well enough up til now, and maybe it will last until I don't need it any longer.  It is located to the east of the house, half in Texanna's pasture, and half in the front pasture where Armando and Moonshadow reside.

My llama weather vane on top of the questionable barn roof.
 I just absolutely LOVE it!  (The weather vane, not the roof.)

This is the front of my log home taken from Armando and Moonshadow's

pasture out front and to the east.  The house itself faces due north.

Okay, this is the Real Front Door!  There is a small porch and this is where the Eastern phoebe pair make their nests each year on the ceiling light fixture.  Ben built a pergola of sorts for me extending out from the porch, and now jasmine and a climbing white rose grow up and onto it.  That red bud to the right got mowed over by the same Ben at least four times before he finally remembered to mow around it!  It is a true testament to the power and determination of Nature....

This is the back of the house, taken from Texanna's pasture.  There is a nice long porch along most of it and a porch swing for sipping tea and relaxing.  I would really like to enlarge and screen it in one day.  It is the perfect place to catch a spring or summer breeze coming around the corner of the house from the northeast.  Couldn't live without my porch!

  

Sir Prize is now 15 years old.  He was my first baby llama (cria), and he is still 

an intact male and is pastured away from the other males as he would fight 

with them over Texanna, whether they could breed with her or not.

Texanna is also 15 years old and was the first cria I got to 

see being born!  She is the only female I have left on the farm.  

These two guys are my geldings.  They are half-siblings born in December 1999, so they 

are 14 years old now.  They have lovely, soft and dense fleece which is a joy to spin!

And this is my baby, two year old Jaguar Moon, or Jagger for short.  Texanna is his mama and Smokin' Jaguar was his sire. Smokin' passed away last October, 2 weeks shy of his 19th birthday.  Jagger is the spitting image of his papa except that Smokin' was a silver gray with spots and Jagger is a cream with spots.  He is the only male that Smokin' ever put spots on, although I had numerous females born spotted. Knowing that I would not be breeding much longer with Smokin', I bred him to Texanna, who always had spotted females despite being a bay, and then for the next 11-1/2 months I prayed for a spotted male.  My prayers were answered with this sweet fella!  And his fiber is AWESOME!

From Sir Prize's front pasture, you can see the highway to the north.  Once the tree line fills out in May, the traffic noise is much less noticeable, for which I am grateful.  You can see the red clay that makes up most of my property in that reddish orange spot to the right in the photo.   That is part of a dust bowl where the llamas enjoy rolling around in during the spring and summer, fluffing up their fiber to help them stay cool and to keep the bugs from bothering them too much.  

This is The Brier Patch between the house and the highway.  I prefer to put downed limbs and cut branches, etc., in this pile or "snag" so that it can be a home to rabbits, mice, birds, insects, or whatever, rather than doing what has been suggested by some and simply burning it.  Brush and grass fires are just way too common around these parts.  And, I like to think I am providing a home and cover for those creatures who need it.

This is my trailer for transporting llamas.  It is made from a 4 x 8 utility trailer, a 4' gate and two 8' gates, all "welded" together with duct tape that gets re-furbished once a year.  I added some cattle panel a few years ago when I discovered I had a llama that thought jumping out would be a good idea!  This simple inexpensive trailer will hold four llamas for short distances, and I have trailered 2 adult and 2 young llamas nine hours from here to Arkansas twice!  I made it in 1999 and it still keeps working!

This is the Big Pile of Topsoil for making more veggie and flower beds this Spring. 

Looks like a lot work, doesn't it?  It will be well worth it come harvest time!  That
is the highway out front in the distance.

And look what I found in the front yard while I was walking around this week!
They are some kind of wild hyacinth.  They come back every year about a week 
after the johnny-jump-ups, and bring a smile to my face every time!

Just now, as I was typing here at my computer, a downy woodpecker landed in the Japanese magnolia tree outside the window! When I lived in Connecticut in the 90's, we had downy and hairy woodpeckers everywhere, but this is the first one I have seen since moving here!  Wow!!!

And, for me and Ben, the REALLY BIG news here this past week was that we witnessed "my" red-shouldered hawk, Token, reunite with his/her mate!  Last year was the first time we heard and saw them find each other in the sky above the farm.  This year, first we heard one cry and then the other as they called for each other high aloft. And then.....one landed in the clump of trees near Ben's man cave.....and the other landed in the clump of trees about 20 feet away!  We were watching from the parking pad by the side door, holding our breath and grinning from ear to ear!  What an event to be privileged to witness!  After about 5 minutes, they left, one after the other.....reunited for the spring and summer to raise their young and continue the cycle of life!  Love it!

Everything is as it should be.....

And I am very much ready for Spring here on HeartSong Farm!