Spring Walk At Peaceful Forest Homestead - Wordless Wednesday

Copyright © 2014 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2014 Kathleen G. Lupole

Winter Time Blues

One of our daily visitors to our deck!

Winter is pretty bleak around here and it is easy to get depressed or sad. Maybe because the amount of sun we get is so limited right now. I know I kinda miss those long days. It is staying light longer. Here it is 5:10 PM and it is still light out. It kind of sneaks up on you, I guess.

Callie and Patches under the stove!

Even our animals are dragging themselves around. Our cats are not very energetic right now and have put on a bit of that winter weight. Hobo, who is one to stay outside for hours, now goes out in the morning to go potty, then is back in to sleep. Every now and then, she will go out but come back in. Not spending much time outside at all. Patches does not even waste the time getting her feet wet or cold. She uses the litter box during the winter. Callie, well, she went outside twice today! That is a record for her, even in the summer. She sharpened her claws on the deck and came right back in. I think the chickadees visiting the deck got her interest.

Looking forward to their return this spring!

I hate to wish my life away, but I am definitely looking forward to spring. How about you?

Copyright © 2013 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2012  Kathleen G. Lupole

Wild Birds Provide Entertainment

Blue Jay

Every morning our deck is a playground for the Chickadees, Nuthatches and one big healthy Woodpecker. And sometimes, if I am lucky a couple of Blue Jays.Our dog, Nikita takes her bones out there and chews while my husband is out there doing morning chores. So when she is not there the birds like to eat off those bones too. I started putting scraps out there for them instead of where I kept the bird feeder. I did that because I had to walk in deep snow to get to that spot. But the real reason I feed them on the deck in winter, is because it is my favorite form of entertainment. If I buy a big amount of suet at the grocery store it will be gone by nightfall.

A Nuthatch who does not like to share at all!

Our cat, Callie sits in front of the sliding glass door to the deck and just watches the birds. Sometimes she ducks like she thinks they are going to swoop down on her. Other times she makes her chirping sounds, as she doesn't growl or make the usual sounds a cat does when it wants to kill. She is the most friendly cat and chirps to everyone......even her victims. But having the birds feeding on our deck has given our cats a way to break the boredom that winter brings. Only Hobo goes outside regularly. She is the one I have to keep an eye on as far as the birds go. She is a good hunter but seems to understand that she is in trouble if she messes with the birds.

A Chickadee eating out of the cat food can!

Last year, we had a Crow attack one of our Blue Jays. My son and I ran out of the house and chased him away. I had never seen them do that before. I always chase the Crows away when they land on our property. They will take all the food that I put out for the other birds. They don't usually land in the forested areas. But we have open spaces around our house, paddock and garden areas.

I put grease from meats out there in the cat food can. They love it! I put all kinds of scraps out there for them besides the bird seed. The birds all prefer our food first, then sunflower seeds. If I buy the cheap bird food, many times they refuse to eat it. Just like my cats and dog will not eat cheap cat and dog food. What is in the cheap stuff anyway? I guess it is like buying the cheap processed foods for us. No difference.

Do you have wild birds come to your house? Mine swoop down to my husband and me when we are outside all the time. They will land right next to me when I am putting food out there for them. I like to watch them fight and bicker over the food. Just like the horses do. They are just so cute!

Copyright © 2011  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2011  Kathleen G. Lupole

Hungering For Spring

My little girl Nutmeg

My cat, Nutmeg is 16 years old. She has been with me longer than my husband. She went with us when my husband was a driving a over the road truck. We went all over the country, and she went too. Her favorite spot was on the bottom bunk, where the heat vent blew out. She loves to be as hot as possible. Her favorite spot now is on the pedestal of our big wood heating stove in the living room. Sometimes, she gets so hot, she just flops down on the floor like she was drugged. Every year, I try to get myself ready to lose her, but she makes it another year. I hope she does that again this year. This is her picture that I have posted for you to see. She was younger in this picture though.

Today was a pretty busy day for me. I have been so busy working on my eBay store that I haven't had much time for anything else. I joined a group there, called The Seller Resouce Group and they really get you motivated! So, I end up working all the time trying to improve it and make more sales. After all, I have to have sales to make money, and I have to have money to be able to live the homesteading lifestyle, now don't I?

This is the time of year that makes me just hunger for Spring. I am lucky, in that I have many birds that come to my bird feeders. I just love the Chickadees and the Blue Jays. But I am anxiously awaiting the first Robin!!! Last summer, we sat in our back yard watching a family of Robins in the tree in our yard. They were teaching the little ones how to eat and fly. We worried about our cats getting the babies. Then, one day we noticed the nest was gone and so were they. And so were all the Robins. Then it was fall...

But tonight when I was feeding our horses, I heard something squeeking. I thought the cat, Hobo had a mouse and I was yelling to her to kill it. She likes to play with them first, torture them awhile and sometimes they manage to get away. But when I got closer, I saw it was one of the birds. Not a Chickadee, but one of their friends, who hangs out with them. So I grabbed Hobo and put her in the truck till I got done with the horses. Then took her in the house for the night. She can't understand why I get mad at her for killing birds. And praise her for killing mice! How do I get through to her? Kill the mice, Save the birds!!!

I am beginning to look through my seed catalogs. I have those raised beds that I told you about in the Spring. They were great. I love them and plan on having my husband build me more of them. I need at least one, maybe two for strawberries. And I need about three for potatoes alone, and who knows how many for tomatoes. I will also have vegetables growing in pots and bare spots all over our property. And bit of ground is good for a edible plant. I have many wild fruits that grow here. But I still plan on adding some domestic ones too. I love the wild blueberries, but they are so tiny. So I plan on getting a pretty good supply of bushes. And grapes. We have wild grapes all over the state forest land where we live. But I want a variety. I try to grow as much as I can, and can or dry it for the winter.

Copyright © 2005  Kathleen G. Lupole