The Elk are back

The other day I decided to take the Kabota and feed the cows. These beautiful animals were grazing up on the hill so I turned off the Kabota and just watched them for a while. The day was warm and the meadowlarks were singing. Total heaven. When they finally noticed me, they jumped the fence and ran off. If you will notice, the elk on the left only has one antler. They lose their antlers each fall/winter and grow new ones.

From Wikipedia:
The elk is a large animal of the artiodactyle ungulate order, possessing an even number of toes on each foot, similar to those of camels, goats and cattle. It is a ruminant species, with a four-chambered stomach, and feeds on grasses, plants, leaves and bark. During the summer, elk eat almost constantly, consuming between 8.8 and 15 lb daily. In North America, males are called bulls, and females are called cows. In Asia, stag and hind, respectively, are sometimes used instead.

Elk are more than twice as heavy as mule deer and have a more reddish hue to their hair coloring, as well as large, buff colored rump patches and smaller tails. Elk gather in herds. Elk cows average 500 lb, stand 4.3 ft at the shoulder, and are 6.6 ft from nose to tail. Bulls are some 40% larger than cows at maturity, weighing an average of 710 lb, standing 4.9 ft at the shoulder and averaging 8.2 ft in length. The largest of the subspecies is the Roosevelt elk, found west of the Cascade Range in the U.S. states of California, Oregon and Washington, and in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Only the males have antlers, which start growing in the spring and are shed each winter. The largest antlers may be 3.9 ft long and weigh 40 lb. Antlers are made of bone which can grow at a rate of almost an inch per day. While actively growing, the antlers are covered with and protected by a soft layer of highly vascularised skin known as velvet. The velvet is shed in the summer when the antlers have fully developed. Bull elk may have eight or more tines on each antler; however, the number of tines has little to do with the age or maturity of a particular animal. The formation and retention of antlers is testosterone-driven. After the breeding season in late fall, the level of pheromones released during estrus declines in the environment and the testosterone levels of males drop as a consequence. This drop in testosterone leads to the shedding of antlers, usually in the early winter.

During the fall, elk grow a thicker coat of hair, which helps to insulate them during the winter. Males, females and calves all grow thin neck manes. By early summer, the heavy winter coat has been shed, and elk are known to rub against trees and other objects to help remove hair from their bodies. All elk have small and clearly defined rump patches with short tails. They have different coloration based on the seasons and types of habitats, with gray or lighter coloration prevalent in the winter and a more reddish, darker coat in the summer. Subspecies living in arid climates tend to have lighter colored coats than do those living in forests. Most have lighter yellow-brown to orange-brown coats in contrast to dark brown hair on the head, neck, and legs during the summer.


"Be able to be alone. Lose not the advantage of solitude, and the society of thyself."
Thomas Browne

Update on our new goat family

I wanted to update you on our goat triplets. As you can see, they are doing just great. The dark brown goat is "daddy". His name is Jethro and boy does he smell! The three little ones are so cute when they run around- now I really know what "frolicking" means.

I was wondering why the male goats are so stinky so I looked it up at my favorite site - Wikipedia:

Bucks (intact males) of Swiss and northern breeds come into rut in the fall as with the doe's heat cycles. Bucks of equatorial breeds may show seasonal reduced fertility but, as with the does, are capable of breeding at all times. Rut is characterized by a decrease in appetite and obsessive interest in the does. A buck in rut will display flehmen lip curling and will urinate on his forelegs and face. Sebaceous scent glands at the base of the horns add to the male goat's odor, which is important to make him attractive to the female. Some does will not mate with a buck which has been de-scented.

Still waiting for rain - we sure need it for the crops!

If there is magic on the planet, it is contained in the water.
- Loren Eisley

Some people are making such thorough plans
for rainy days that they aren't enjoying today's sunshine.
- William Feather

Who Who

This beautiful barn owl is living in our palm tree right out the back door. I took pictures of him sleeping yesterday and wanted to share them with you. I was curious so I Googled "Barn Owls" and found out this interesting information on Wikipedia:

The Barn Owl is a pale, long-winged, long-legged owl with a short squarish tail. Depending on subspecies, it measures about 9.8–18 inches in overall length, with a wingspan of some 30–43 inches. Tail shape is a way of distinguishing the Barn Owl from true owls when seen in flight, as are the wavering motions and the open dangling feathered legs. The light face with its heart shape and the black eyes give the flying bird an odd and startling appearance, like a flat mask with oversized oblique black eyeslits, the ridge of feathers above the bill somewhat resembling a nose.

Its head and upper body typically vary between a light brown and a light colored and dark grey (especially on the forehead and back) feathers in most subspecies. Some are purer, richer brown instead, and all have fine black-and-white speckles except on the remiges and rectrices, which are light brown with darker bands. The heart-shaped face is usually bright white, but in some subspecies it is browner. The underparts (including the tarsometatarsus feathers) vary from white to reddish buff among the subspecies, and are either mostly unpatterned or bear a varying amount of tiny blackish-brown speckles. It was found that at least in the continental European populations, females with more spotting are healthier on average. This does not hold true for European males by contrast, where the spotting varies according to subspecies. The bill varies from pale horn to dark buff, corresponding to the general plumage hue. The iris is blackish brown. The toes, as the bill, vary in color; their color ranges from pinkish to dark pinkish-grey. The talons are black.

On average, within any one population males tend to be less spotted on the underside than females. The latter are also larger, as is common for owls. A strong female T. alba of a large subspecies may weigh over 19.4 oz, while males are typically about 10% lighter. Nestlings are covered in white down all over, but the heart-shaped facial disk is visible soon after hatching.

Contrary to popular belief, it does not hoot (such calls are made by typical owls, like the Tawny Owl or other Strix). It instead produces the characteristic shree scream, ear-shattering at close range. Males in courtship give a shrill twitter. It can hiss like a snake to scare away intruders, and when captured or cornered, it throws itself on its back and flails with sharp-taloned feet, making for an effective defense. Also given in such situations is a rasp and a clicking snap, produced by the bill or possibly the tongue. It is most recognizable by its "mask-like" face.


“A wise old owl sat on an oak; The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard; Why aren't we like that wise old bird?”

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It has been so cold here the past few mornings! No water until noon and the small pond is frozen completely over.

I took this picture this morning at the reservoir and wanted to share it with you. Let me know if you know what type of bird it is: hzharvest12@yahoo.com.

I would also like to share this special day and hope that you have time to spend with friends and family to celebrate the birth of Christ.

I couldn't decide on one quote today, so you get a bonus - 2 for 1

Bless us Lord,
this Christmas,
with quietness of mind;
Teach us to be patient and always to be kind.
~ Helen Steiner Rice


Wouldn't life be worth the living
Wouldn't dreams be coming true
If we kept the Christmas spirit
All the whole year through?
~Author Unknown

Farm Visitors

We have had a very busy week. The other morning, this cute zebra stopped in for a vist. We are really not sure where he came from. I know that there are some near Hearst Castle, but that is about 20 miles as the crow flies. I suppose he could have wandered over here, but who knows.

Here is what I found out about zebras:
Zebras are several species of African equids horse family) united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems or large herds. Unlike their closest relatives, horses and asses, zebras have never been truly domesticated.

It was previously believed that zebras were white animals with black stripes, since some zebras have white underbellies. Embryological evidence, however, shows that the animal's background color is black and the white stripes and bellies are additions.[
Like horses, zebras walk, trot, canter and gallop. They are generally slower than horses, but their great stamina helps them outpace predators. When chased, a zebra will zig-zag from side to side, making it more difficult for the predator. When cornered, the zebra will rear up and kick or bite its attacker.
Zebras have excellent eyesight. It is believed that they can see in color. Like most ungulates, the zebra has its eyes on the sides of its head, giving it a wide field of view. Zebras also have night vision, although not as advanced as that of most of their predators.
Zebras have excellent hearing, and tend to have larger, rounder ears than horses. Like horses and other ungulates, zebra can turn their ears in almost any direction. In addition to eyesight and hearing, zebras have an acute sense of smell and taste

That same day, we were up on the hill and saw this beautiful falcon. It is really a treat to see one. I found this information about them:

A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America.

Adult falcons have thin tapered wings, which enable them to fly at high speed and to change direction rapidly. Fledgling falcons, in their first year of flying, have longer flight feathers which makes their configuration more like that of a general-purpose bird such as a broadwing. This makes it easier to fly while learning the exceptional skills required to be effective hunters as adults.

Peregrine Falcons have been recorded diving at speeds of 200 miles per hour (320 km/h), making them the fastest-moving creatures on Earth.[1] Other falcons include the Gyrfalcon, Lanner Falcon, and the Merlin. Some small falcons with long narrow wings are called hobbies, and some which hover while hunting are called kestrels. The falcons are part of the family Falconidae, which also includes the caracaras, Laughing Falcon, forest falcons, and falconets.

The traditional term for a male falcon is tercel (British spelling) or tiercel (American spelling), from Latin tertius = third because of the belief that only one in three eggs hatched a male bird.[2][3] Some sources give the etymology as deriving from the fact that a male falcon is approximately one third smaller than the female[4] (Old French tiercelet).

A falcon chick, especially one reared for falconry, that is still in its downy stage is known as an eyas [5][6] (sometimes spelt eyass). The word arose by mistaken division of Old French un niais, from Latin presumed nidiscus ("nestling", from nidus = nest). The technique of hunting with trained captive birds of prey is known as falconry.

As is the case with many birds of prey, falcons have exceptional powers of vision; the visual acuity of one species has been measured at 2.6 times that of a normal human.[7]

In February 2005, the Canadian ornithologist Louis Lefebvre announced a method of measuring avian intelligence in terms of a bird's innovation in feeding habits. The falcon and corvids scored highest on this scale.

Zebra Question

I asked the zebra,
Are you black with white strips?
Or white with black strips?
And the zebra asked me,
Are you good with bad habits?
Or are you bad with good habits?
Are you noisy with quiet times?
Or are you quiet with noisy times?
Are you happy with sad days?
Or are you sad with happy days?
Are you neat with some sloppy ways?
Or are you sloppy with some neat ways?
And on and on and on and on
And on and on he went.
I'll never ask a zebra
About stripes
Again.

Shel Silverstein A Light in the Attic

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Lilly is here!

Only on the farm do we get excited about machinery. We ordered a machine called a Lilliston Rolling Cultivator. It is used to get rid of the weeds in the crop beds. Right now, we are running it down the rows to turn the young weeds. When they begin to grow again in a couple of weeks, we will till them again. The idea is that they will eventually stop growing the huge amount of weeds and we can plant seeds on those rows without "losing" them in the weeds. Later in the year, we can run it down the rows between the crops to clear weeds and break up the soil to give the roots more oxygen and water.

It's still really cold in the mornings - 18 degrees this morning along with fog. Brrrrrr. This cold is really important for the fruit trees as they have to have so many "frost hours" to produce. The days have been nice - up to the 60's. If we can't have rain, at least we have nice afternoons.

I have some great pictures to show you in the next couple of days. We had a "suprise visitor" to the neighborhood. Keep in touch and don't shop till you drop.

If men liked shopping, they'd call it research. ~Cynthia Nelms

Triplets!

We went to town today to buy supplies and noticed that one of our goats was all by herself. As this is not normal, I was concerned but she was eating well so we left her there. When we came back, she was in the same place but she now had 3 cute little kids under the tree!

We took her a little extra sweet feed and I took these pictures (being careful not to get to close). They are just the cutest thing you have ever seen. They were just getting up and trying out their "sea legs". We will have to keep a close eye on them to make sure she is able to feed all three. If not, we may have to bottle feed one (not really what we want to do).

It has been really cold at night - 24 degrees this morning, but I think she will curl up with them and all should be well.

I'll let you know how things go. Have a great Christmas week!

The domestic goat (Capra hircus) was the first animal to train humans into protecting them full-time. The species is believed to have been first domesticated around 10,000-12,000 years ago in both the Zagros Mountains of modern-day Iran and in Anatolia along the Euphrates River.