Last leaves hanging

Surrounded by nakedness, one modest cherry still clings to clothing.

"Black Friday" was a grey, wet, windy day here. If it had been 30 degrees colder, we would have been battling a blizzard. Fortunately, the temperatures dived after the rain moved out; by yesterday, it was crunchy-crisp and clear.

Some years the weather is typical, staying at or close to "average" temperatures, rainfall, etc. Some years – like this one – veer wildly from one extreme to another. In the end it may all "average" out, but in the meantime, I'm getting whiplash.  :-/

Okay; enough of the weather-whining. On to interesting avian observations. Remember these two? When Brian saw Goldilocks (the Easter Egger, one of his favorites) crowded in with the Buff, he put her out in the chicken yard. He said "all" the other hens attacked her viciously, driving her squawking back into the henhouse where she dove back into the nest box with the Buff. So he took his reading assignment down to the chicken quarters to supervise them for awhile, and observed the Buff protecting Goldilocks. I wasn't sure how much stock to put into his testimony, but have since watched the flock dynamics more closely. Yesterday morning I observed Goldilocks taking a dust bath while the Buff appeared to stand guard next to her; when next I looked in, they were sitting together on a roost. Interesting.

I don't like the color of the Buff's comb and wattles at all

Perch hasn't been allowed to free range for awhile now. Some weeks back, Brian saw a bird of prey hit the roof of the chicken yard, scaring the girls half to death. A few days later, I pointed out the window to a red-tailed hawk in the big fir in the middle pasture (very close to the chickens), and Brian said, "That's the bird that landed on the roof of the run!" When I was riding my horse on Thanksgiving day, I saw a red-tailed hawk land in the same pasture the sheep were in two different times. It would have made an entertaining video; when the hawk took off, the sheep spooked, then watched in unison as the bird flew over. I did grab my camera and captured the hawk perched near the arena.

Well, I'm woofed, and should head to bed. Adjusting to the new demands on my time is going to take some getting used to – for all of us.

That's it for now from . . .