The Value of Good Neighbors...

If you've ever had the experience of bad neighbors, the you know the value of good ones. We've had both. Thankfully our neighbors at Larrapin Garden are wonderful. Sometimes they stare at me over the fence while I'm gardening. Other times they tend to let the food hang out of their mouths a little while eating. There is the rare session of bawling at night once the calves are moved away from Moms...but all in all, these kinds of neighbors are the ones to have.

I'd like to say they are mine, but these fine neighbors belong to another fine neighbor down the road. I have the pleasure of sharing their company while gardening. These pics were taken a week or so ago, when it was chilly enough to have plumes of cow breath in the morning sunshine.

What a difference a few days makes

Just a week ago, this was the feel of the day:



Now, this is the feel of the day:




There's a strong southwind blowing, which usually means rain is coming. I saw bluebirds in the yard this morning, but no activity around the bluebird house yet. (See previous post) I have strawberry starts wrapped carefully in the fridge, waiting for the ground to get dry enough to plant...

The Roadrunner in Winter

Back last week when it had been cloudy and icy cold for many days, one afternoon the sun came out suddenly. I looked out under the big pine tree outside the kitchen window and there sat one of the roadrunners. We have two that live nearby and hang out in the yard a lot. Our big dog just ignores them now. I'm pretty sure she thinks they are errant chickens who have flown the coop...

So the roadrunner -- I think this one is the female -- stood under the pine, all puffed out in the sun and I got this picture. In the top pic she is her unpuffed self.

There is nothing so lovely as being surrounded by creatures and indeed we are. Besides the ones we feed everyday (two dogs, two goats, five hens and about 10 banties, and the birds at the feeder...) there are the wild ones, the roadrunners, coyotes, deer, possum, armadillo, squirrels, rabbits, hawks and owls and so on. I can't imagine living in the city again just surrounded by humans. Even though we're barely out of the city now by our standards, it's far enough to have the company of the creatures.

And here is the first Bluebird house at Larrapin Garden, waiting for a resident.

Blogs begin somewhere...

I've wanted to start this blog since I moved to Fayetteville, AR in 2005. Now it's February 2007, but here goes. This was the scene last week, a light snow and nighttime temps of ten degrees. As I write this now, a week later, a warm spell had the peepers in the cow  pond next door singing for the first time last night. The gardening year is about to begin.