Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

 

It's not just people that watch the birds!

 

You can find this pair of Egyptian geese under the shade trees in the yard or in the pasture by the house every afternoon just after the grain is fed to the pregnant cows.

 

 

I'm thankful for the wildlife that live on the farm with us and for the habitat that farms and ranches provide for all of God's creatures.

Friend in Drought

During this drought and triple digit weather, I'm watering the plants on the porch and around the house to keep a little color and enjoyment in the yard.   A couple of weeks ago when I found my beautiful caladium plants  shredded and the impatien plants riddled, I thought a terrible disease had struck. I sprayed for bugs, put snail bait around the pots and went to the garden center for advice about what I should do to save my plants if all those methods didn't work. The pot looked so bad that I decided to add a couple of drought tolerant  vinca plants to fill in the holes. In two days after being planted, the plants were mutiliated and one was pulled out of the pot.

Last week when I looked out the window in the heat of the afternoon, this is the "disease" I found resting in the pot with his paws hanging over the edge.  He was so hot, I could see him panting. When I realized that he was just preparing a nice cool place for himself, I felt guilty for all my bad thoughts about what or who had destroyed my pretty flowers. 

 

  Every afternoon around three o'clock in the heat of the afternoon, you can find my friend lying in his pot.  Just seeing him stretched out in the cool dirt and enjoying his spot brings a smile.   I wonder if he realizes that I keep watering the  pot  everyday  just for him !!

Bull's Eye View of Egyptian Geese

Last week as we were feeding baby calves, one of our employees asked me if I had seen the baby ducks on our pond that is located just down the road from the dairy. This is also the pasture that is home to several Holstein bulls. It's not unusual to see ducks on the ponds, but the description given for these sounded very unique. After we finished calf feeding, I picked up my camera and headed for the pond. To my sheer delight, I found what I now know are a pair of Egyptian geese with their eight goslings enjoying what appeared to be swimming instruction time.

After observing the family for a short time, I returned home to send a picture to my birding friend to find out more about these interesting birds. I'm not sure why they have chosen Northwest Arkansas as their home, but I did find out that a pair of them have been around our farm for the last ten years. This is the first time we have seen any Egyptian goslings.

Here are a few interesting facts about Egyptian Geese:

-originally from Africa

-considered sacred by ancient Egyptians, appearing in much of their artwork

-they pair for life

-the male and female are identical in plumage,the male is usually slightly larger

-they eat seeds,leaves,grass,plant stems; occasionally may eat locusts,worms or small animals

-they are very territorial in protecting their babies

I suppose it was a blessing that the pasture around the pond is full of bulls right now. There was no worry of me being attacked by the geese because I stayed on the outside of the fence with a bull's eye view!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Farms and ranches provide habitat for many different kinds of wildlife. These Canadian Geese were enjoying time alone in the pasture while the dairy cows were being milked this morning. After all the stormy weather and tremendous amount of rain this week, I am thankful for the sunshine and the opportunity to enjoy the gifts of nature on our farm.

September Transitions

The fact that seventy five percent of the nation's wildlife food and habitat is provided by farms and ranches came to mind as I was feeding baby calves this week. Informing us of their departure with their loud honking chorus, large groups of ducks flew above us headed in a southeast direction. I wondered if they were flying to the rice fields in eastern Arkansas. The ducks probably know this fact, but I love to tell people that Arkansas ranks first in production of rice for the entire United States. More than twenty billion pounds of rice is grown in the United States each year by farmers in Arkansas,California,Louisiana, Mississippi,Texas and Missouri. Rice farmers provide a great product as well as wetland habitat for many species of birds,mammals,amphibians and reptiles. Winter flooded rice fields provide resting and foraging habitat for migratory and wintering waterfowl. September is celebrated as National Rice Month. You can find more information about rice and great recipes at http://www.usarice.com/. You might try transitioning into fall with this easy breakfast recipe:

PEACHY BREAKFAST RICE

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 16-ounce can peach slices,in juice

3 cups hot cooked rice

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

Drain peaches,reserve juice. Cut peaches into chunks;set aside.

Combine rice in medium-size saucepan with reserved juice from peaches,

heat over medium heat until liquid is absorbed. Add 3/4 cup milk,continue cooking until thick and creamy. Add brown sugar and cinnamon; stir until combined. Fold in peaches. Serve hot.