On the Wings of the Wind

On the wings of the wind comes the rain.
So happy to be here, it leaps from the sky
Twirling, diving, plummeting to the ground
Splashing high, each drop joyously greets its friends
Running together to find the others
Joining in streams and rivulets
Pouring down hills, cars, necks
Slurping over the sides of gutters
Finding low spots to gather in
Making puddles and mud.

Once the world is sufficiently soaked
And the clouds are mostly empty
The rain slows its downward dance
Droplets caught in trees, on roofs
Make their way to the ground
And the puddles grow.

Then another cloud arrives
Bearing more drops
Eager to fly.

A Hint of Spring

The last few days have been lovely, warm and sunny; this has encouraged flora and fauna to show themselves, and to bask in the sun.

Resting in the Sun

My peahen is grateful that perches have been added to the top of her favorite place.

Territorial Dispute

This lovely little song sparrow took exception to an intruder in his territory. As hard as he fought, he could not discourage his rival. Perhaps it really is Spring.

Dawn Surprise

Yesterday was an interesting weather day. The winds howled all night and half of the day, and then it poured rain for the rest of it. Somewhere last night it began to snow. Again.

By morning we had a few inches, and the trees are still heavily laden. As much of the country celebrates warm spring weather we are again treated to the beauty of white.

Wet snow is so very pretty since it clings to everything it touches. It seems that this year every snowfall is prettier than the last.

And there is a sun, it made it's presence known briefly before the skies closed and dropped more beautiful, white flakes.

Moments of Beauty

Everyone loves hay. I left a load sitting on the quad while I went inside, and came back to find it had acquired a beautiful adornment.

This adorable little guy was hiding between a couple boxes waiting for recycling. I love this kind of surprise.

Moving Round Bales

In a continuing effort to provide food to my horses without breaking down all the fences, I've been unwrapping round bales and transporting the layers around. Once the bale is small enough I load the core onto the quad and move it into a horse field. Tonight I got a bit carried away with the core size. Not only was it a struggle to get the thing on the quad, it was then quite the challenge to find the handlebar and seat. I did get it all secured, found enough room to sit, and got the load up the hill. I feel like I've been living inside a round bale, with hay in my hair and clothes and nose. My allergies are on alert.

Perhaps I should be a bit more conservative in my efforts; but the horses are happy.

UPDATE: Hay Fail

Before unloading the hay they were delivering, I had the guys load up the core of the bale I'd been unwrapping. It was much bigger than the ones I'd loaded - and no way I could have moved it myself - but with two men and a ramp we got it up on the rack. I was very pleased.

Well, I was pleased until I got half way up the steep hill to my house, when gravity exerted its force and the bale rolled off the back (it was strapped on; the strap broke). Now I had a huge bale of hay in the middle of the lane in the dark. I pulled off as much as I could and delivered that to the horses, brought down a tarp and covered the rest for the night. The next morning I was able to force the reduced-size roll back onto the quad and got it up the hill.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

A Day In March

March - from winter to spring in a day.

Overnight cold and snow made for a beautiful, frosty morning.

In the afternoon I saw this Moscovy family - ducklings!

And on the way home Mt Rainier floated into view, in a mostly clear blue sky.