Araucana Chickens

Pictures From Spring Valley

Araucana Chickens

While we're on the topic of chickens, here is another picture of our backyard flock. These two beautiful Araucana hens are unique because they have tufts of feathers around their beaks instead of waddles. They also lay blue and green eggs. They seem to be enjoying pecking in the grass on this beautiful fall day. The white one's name is Birchie and the brown one is Pinecone.

Chicken Truck

Mud Valley Memories

Chicken Truck

Can you guess what this truck is carrying? You probably wouldn't expect that it's packed with hundreds of live chickens. Holmes County is famous for raising cage-free chickens. One of our neighbors had a huge poultry barn. The chicks would be brought in and kept under heat lamps for several weeks. We got to see them once and even hold the chicks. There were only 35,000 of them in each chicken house. The chickens run free in the house and have access to fresh air. After they are grown, they are packed in a truck and sent to the processor. Although we have moved away from Holmes County, we still buy these delicious chickens which are processed and sold by Gerber's Poultry.

Cattle Crossing

Mud Valley Memories

Cattle Crossing

I really like this panoramic shot of the hills of Holmes County. I was there at just the right moment to see the cows crossing. Once we saw some calves loose, up on a hill where they weren't supposed to be. We drove down the long lane in this picture to tell the farmers their calves were loose. One of the farmers took off on a horse. We drove the other farmer back out to the road. The horse got there first. Pretty fast horse.

Corn Row

Mud Valley Memories

Corn Row

Have you ever wanted to run into the middle of a corn field? Maybe that's what I was thinking when I took this picture. This pathway looks like an invitation to somewhere, anyway. The light was just right to bring out the yellows and golds in the corn. Corn mazes are very popular at this time of year. I heard about some people who got lost in a corn maze and had to call 9-1-1.

Autumn Morning

Mud Valley Memories

Autumn Morning

Imagine walking down this country road on a crisp fall morning. You can smell the musty leaves as they crunch under your feet, and hear the clackety-clack of horse hooves from passing buggies. Horses and cows graze in nearby pastures and dry cornstalks rustle in the fields. You enjoy the warm sunshine after feeling the chilly autumn air against your skin. This is truly the way to experience fall!

Horse Through Fence

Mud Valley Memories

Horse Through Fence

This curious-looking horse lived just down the road from the last picture. It used to like to come over to the fence when we walked by. In this picture, it looks like it wants a treat, or maybe it's just curious about the camera.

Autumn Pastorale

Mud Valley Memories

Autumn Pastorale

Fall is such a beautiful season in northeastern Ohio. The rolling hills and many trees accent the reds, yellows, and oranges. In Holmes County there are many open fields because of pastures needed for horses and cows to graze. This beautiful black horse stepped into the perfect frame for this picture.

The Tiger Returns

Mud Valley Memories

The Tiger Returns

This is the same tiger cat I posted a picture of earlier. It was the biggest of all the cats and always acted like it was in charge. Most of the cats would sleep during the day, and at night they liked to play on the roof of our storage shed. Some of them would walk along the peak of the roof, making interesting silhouettes in front of the security light. This is the cat I liked best.

Cat Walking

Mud Valley Memories

Cat Walking

Cats sleep fat and walk thin.
Cats, when they sleep, slump;
When they wake, pull in -
And where the plump's been
There's skin.
Cats walk thin.
Cats wait in a lump,
Jump in a streak.
Cats, when they jump, are sleek
As a grape slipping its skin -
They have technique.
Oh, cats don't creak.
They sneak.
Cats sleep fat.
They spread out comfort underneath them
Like a good mat,
As if they picked the place
And then sat.
You walk around one
As if he were the City Hall
After that.

If male,
A cat is apt to sing on a major scale;
This concert is for everybody, this
Is wholesale.
For a baton, he wields a tail.
(He is also found,
When happy, to resound
With an inclosed and private sound.)
A cat condenses.
He pulls in his tail to go under bridges,
And himself to go under fences.
Cats fit
In any size box or kit;
And if a large pumpkin grew under one,
He could arch over it.
When everyone else is just ready to go out,
The cat is just ready to come in.
He's not where he's been.
Cats sleep fat and walk thin.
               —Rosalie Moore

Barn Cat

Mud Valley Memories

Barn Cat

I always wanted to pet these barn cats, but I was never fast enough to catch one. These cats used to stalk our bird feeders. There was a white one that even came up on our porch to get a better shot at the feeder. When we complained to our landlord, he said we should adopt the cat, take it inside, and name it Snowball. This cute little cat looks like it wouldn't even hurt a flea, but looks are deceiving.

Hanging Out

Around Ohio

Hanging Out

Here's my last picture of a bonobo. Bonobos build nests for themselves in trees every evening. By sleeping in the same area, they can help each other look out for predators like leopards. There are few bonobos left in the wild, and also not very many in zoos. These bonobos seem to be doing very well.

Tree House

Around Ohio

Tree House

Can you imagine hanging way up there? The  bonobos seem to be having a great time at the top of their tree house. They only weigh between 60 and 130 pounds and are excellent climbers. Bonobos have been known to live for 50 years in zoos.

Bonobos In Tree House

Around Ohio

Bonobos In Tree House

Bonobos are members of the great ape family, along with gorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees. They are found only in a small part of Zaire, now called the Democratic Republic of Congo. Bonobos will spend hours hunting for earthworms. They also like fruits, vegetables, and popcorn.

Bonobos Swinging

Around Ohio

Bonobos Swinging

This picture takes us back to the zoo. I really enjoyed watching these bonobos. They are great acrobats. A little girl standing next to me said, "It looks like they're playing on the monkey bars!"

Red and Orange Zinnia

Pictures From Spring Valley

Red and Orange Zinnia

This is another variety of zinnia from the same seed packet as the other ones. It is an interesting variation of the red striped zinnia I posted earlier and reminds us of the autumn colors appearing around the garden. This zinnia is truly a magnificent flower.

Yellow Marigold

Pictures From Spring Valley

Yellow Marigold

Marigolds are the subject of quite a few poems. Here is part of one, by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester:

THE MARIGOLD

When with a serious musing I behold
The grateful and obsequious marigold,
How duly, ev'ry morning, she displays
Her open breast, when Titan spreads his rays;
How she observes him in his daily walk,
Still bending towards him her tender stalk;
How, when he down declines, she droops and mourns,
Bedew'd, as 'twere, with tears, till he returns;
And how she veils her flow'rs when he is gone,
As if she scorned to be looked on
By an inferior eye, or did contemn
To wait upon a meaner light than him;
When this I meditate, methinks the flowers
Have spirits far more generous than ours,
And give us fair examples to despise
The servile fawnings and idolatries
Wherewith we court these earthly things below,
Which merit not the service we bestow.

Pink Zinnia

Pictures From Spring Valley

Pink Zinnia

Here is another beautiful zinnia specimen. These plants are almost three feet tall with different colors of flowers. It's hard to believe a packet of Wal-Mart seeds could grow like this! It's sure a nice bright spot in the garden. The yellow petals in my last photo are on a sunflower growing in a window box. It was also quite a wonder from a little seed.

Sunflower

Pictures From Spring Valley

Sunflower

Now it's your turn to guess what kind of plant this is. I'll give you some clues. It came from Germany. My sister's pen pal sent it to her. Actually, it was just a seed, but she put it in a pot and it grew into this plant. The directions said it should grow from 25 to 30 centimeters tall, but this one grew 120 centimeters. What do you think?

Striped Zennia

Pictures From Spring Valley

Striped Zinnia

The zinnias in our garden are coming to the end of their season. This one came from a package called Candy Cane Mix. I took this picture in late August, when the zinnias were at the height of their colors. Can you imagine trying to paint a design like this on a flower? I don't even know if I could draw a flower like this. But I think my picture came out pretty well.

Sunup

 Pictures From Spring Valley

Sunup

Now the sun has cleared the horizon and is peeking through the tree branches. Pure white glimmers on the clouds and in the snow below. The sun will soon rise above the bare branches to begin another clear winter day.I'd say this sunrise was as thrilling to watch as the one described in my last post's poem by (did you guess?) William Carlos Williams.

Shades Of Pink

Pictures From Spring Valley

Shades Of Pink

Ecstatic bird songs pound

the hollow vastness of the sky

with metallic clinkings—

beating color up into it

at a far edge,—beating it, beating it

with rising, triumphant ardor,—

stirring it into warmth,

quickening in it a spreading change,—

bursting wildly against it as

dividing the horizon, a heavy sun

lifts himself—is lifted—

bit by bit above the edge

of things,—runs free at last

out into the open—!lumbering

glorified in full release upward—

                                songs cease.

(Can you guess who wrote this?)

Morning Breaks

Pictures From Spring Valley

Morning Breaks

Now we move over to other side of the sky for a sunrise. This winter shot accents the dark branches against the brilliant orange sky. All the little tiny branch fingers are visible. I think it's an interesting view of a tree.

Sunburst

Pictures From Spring Valley

Sunburst

I didn't expect to see a nice sunset on this overcast day, but at the last minute the sun peeked out from the cloud cover. It looks like it's about to burst from behind the clouds, as the light streams across the sky and fields. This tree in my backyard frames sunsets perfectly when the sun is at its southernmost point. It's hard to believe it's winter with a sun explosion like that!

Morning Glory

Pictures From Spring Valley

Morning Glory

I don't know what is as pretty as a morning glory. We have some growing wild along our garden fence. I think we planted them there a couple years ago, and now they keep coming up every year. They will also grow along city fences, or just about anywhere. This is my last garden picture for now.