Almost perfect day
Jun. 12th, 2011 09:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altivoSunny, with a few little fluffy clouds, light breeze, and temperatures in the 60s to low 70s. Humidity down, and except for a few stubborn mosquitoes, not too many pests. Because they'd engaged in such a frenzy of lawnmowing over the past ten days, I guess, the neighbors were not polluting the spectrum or the air with their infernal machines. The only problem was that we were both so worn out from yesterday that we kept napping and drowsing for much of the day.
Oh well. I made pizza for dinner, with salad left from yesterday, and baked a rhubarb and peach pie. Pizza and salad were good, we haven't sampled the pie yet but will do so shortly.
Bed soon after that, as we're still both sleepy.
Oh, and this morning at breakfast time we saw mother fox and her kit (apparently only one) sitting together in the middle of the horse yard. The youngster is growing fast, but still sticks close to mom who sniffs and licks at him/her constantly. They both look healthy and reasonably well fed, so I guess they're managing all right.
Barn swallows have babies in a nest in the boys' barn. This is normal, but it's clearly a different pair than the ones we've had the past several years. The previous parents were quite bold and did not flee when one of us entered the barn. This mother leaves the nest immediately if we come in, and will not return until we have left the building.
Oh well. I made pizza for dinner, with salad left from yesterday, and baked a rhubarb and peach pie. Pizza and salad were good, we haven't sampled the pie yet but will do so shortly.
Bed soon after that, as we're still both sleepy.
Oh, and this morning at breakfast time we saw mother fox and her kit (apparently only one) sitting together in the middle of the horse yard. The youngster is growing fast, but still sticks close to mom who sniffs and licks at him/her constantly. They both look healthy and reasonably well fed, so I guess they're managing all right.
Barn swallows have babies in a nest in the boys' barn. This is normal, but it's clearly a different pair than the ones we've had the past several years. The previous parents were quite bold and did not flee when one of us entered the barn. This mother leaves the nest immediately if we come in, and will not return until we have left the building.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-13 02:45 pm (UTC)The stable here has lots of swallows. The stall area has at least four nests, I know of three more in the open area, and the loft over the stalls likely has a few as well. It's very nice to enter the stable and not encounter a single fly.
These swallows are almost as tame as my cockatiels - not to the point of being touched, but I can come very close to them before they fly away. The sparrows are another matter. We have reached a compromise, I whistle for the horses to come eat while I am walking to the stable, and the sparrows rush out the open door before I get there.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-13 03:20 pm (UTC)It's quite possible that one or both of the adult swallows this year are from a previous brood. We've had swallows in the same nest location for many years now, usually two or three broods each summer.
They do keep the mosquitoes and flies down in the immediate area, for sure.
In the past, the adult birds have been pretty tolerant, as you say. You could walk up to within a meter or so of them before they got nervous, and they would often sit on a windowsill or a rafter and watch us working in the barn. This year's adults, though they have babies in the nest right now, seem to be afraid to stay anywhere near us.