Tag Archives: NaBloPoMo

Jim in Iowa is Entirely to Blame…

Posted on January 12, 2014 | 5 comments

… for this post. Jim answered yesterday’s question about photo editing software with an innocent enough, “we like picmonkey.com.”

DCF BATS 02Some time later I had pressed an awful lot of buttons and played with way too many filters and experimented with banners and textures and overlays and who knows what else… Even the freebie version is lots of fun and the premium version isn’t that expensive, so if I find myself spending lots more time over there, I’ll subscribe…

So, you can thank Jim at JAR blog for today’s batty post, though it did start out legitimately enough as the view from my new desk location (I managed to reorganize myself enough to get the desk out of the bedroom). This version of the photo is obviously tweaked beyond recognition, but funnily enough, picmonkey doesn’t offer a herd of flying turkeys in their standard overlays.

I confess I’m quite looking forward to tweaking a few family photos with the zombie options…

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Dog Carries off Cow – and other Aggie Disasters…

Posted on January 10, 2014 | 1 comment

DCF Aggie and dogOf the two whippet X standard poodles, Tuulen is the one with stronger retrieving instincts. He likes to carry things around – the other day he did a good part of the morning rounds lugging around a potato. He has a very soft mouth and rarely does any damage, something Aggie was pleased to discover.

DCF Aggie and PigBeing snuffled by a Large Black Hog piglet was even more unnerving. Working in Aggie’s favour was the fact the hog didn’t like how she tasted. One exploratory lick and the pig moved on in search of a tastier breakfast. The lick, however, knocked her over and she suffered a bit of bruising and a mud smear when the hog stomped on her. I had no idea hogs engaged in cow tipping…

DCF Aggie and Turkeys

Even though she had had a rough morning by this point, Aggie insisted on having a front row seat at turkey feeding time. When the Ridley Bronze turkeys surrounded her, their massive beaks pecking away, Aggie got a little panicky. I tried to rescue her, but wasn’t quick enough.

DCFThe photo quality is terrible, I know – but my houseguest was in peril and all I could think about was wrenching her away from the talons of doom…

DCF Spunky AggieI was so impressed when, after I had brushed her off, Aggie insisted on returning to the turkey pen for a other photo. Wow. I know grown men who are very nervous around the turkeys, especially at feeding time when they show little restraint. [They even had to make a Public Service Announcement video

to warn farmers about how dangerous turkeys can be…]

Aggie asked if she could stay close to the house today so she could rest up. Her ribs are sore and she twisted her ankle when she was running away from the barn cat…

 

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Cow Dwarfed by Chickens!

Posted on January 9, 2014 | 6 comments
DCF Aggie with Black Orpington Hen

Aggie the flat cow was impressed with the size of the Black Orpington hens…

Aggie had a rough first day on the farm. I slipped her into my purse and promptly forgot both purse and Aggie in the cab of the truck. There she stayed all alone in the cold and dark until I retrieved her this morning in time for the early morning feed rounds.

She perked up pretty quickly, helping to sort through veggies destined for hogs, chickens, turkeys, and ducks…

DCF Aggie and Veggies

Her favourite part of the day was testing the hay. She had a good snack and approved the bale…

DCF Aggie Testing HayAggie had a couple of scary moments – when one of the dogs stole her… when a pig stood on her and when the turkeys knocked her over and pinned her down in their mad fight for pumpkin innards… I am trying to convince her that posting photos of her less glorious moments is ok, that people are interested in some of the minor disasters that happen on the farm, but so far, she has refused to give me permission to post those photos.

Stay tuned… Maybe by tomorrow she will lighten up and change her mind.

Curious about what else Aggie gets up to? Visit her facebook page…

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A Cow Arrived in the Mail Today

Posted on January 8, 2014 | 5 comments

Well, this should be a fun week!

Aggie the CowAggie the [flat] cow usually hangs out in Tulare, California at the International Agri-Center, a non-profit corporation that promotes California’s agriculture industry and hosts World Ag Expo [wait a second, what is a non-profit corporation? Shouldn’t that be a non-profit organization? Or a corporation? I though non-profit corporation was an oxymoron?]. Anyway, this organization also has an educational component and an AgVentures! Learning Center and this year they are sending [flat] Aggie the Cows out into the world to visit various farms, dairies, and agriculturalists.

Aggie’s visit here at Dark Creek Farm will last a week. I’ll photograph her meeting the animals and helping with the chores and then write up her ag-ventures in a journal, which gets sent back to the International Agri-Center. There, it will join various other journals and photos featuring Aggie on location in other places around the world.

What fun!

Best of the Season to Aggie

Aggie arrived as we were getting ready to put away the Christmas decorations. She told me she would much rather be outside with the rest of the farm animals but I told her she needed a good night’s sleep before she could start exploring the farm. She has travelled a long way to get here and looks quite worn out!

 

 

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Hogs and Horses

Posted on January 7, 2014 | 6 comments

DCF Horses and Hogs

I’ve been backing up photos through google+ (an option now available if you happen to use Picasa) and it struck me how many of the farm photos show groups of animals hanging out and getting along. Ducks and chickens, turkeys and Bantams, ducks and sheep, turkeys and hogs… The cat, Iago, and anybody who will stand still long enough for her to snuggle.

I’ve had horses for many years and one of the things I heard people say with an air of total authority was that horses and pigs do not get along.

DCF Ringo and PhilipI beg to differ! Ringo in particular is happy to befriend creatures of all stripes – he loves the cat, follows chickens around, and chats through the fence with the hogs (this is our old boar, Philip). When a particularly adventurous group of piglets got out, where did they head? Straight for Ringo! They tugged on his tail and chased each other through and around his feet and he just stood there, head down, curious and gentle.

The oddest bond he has ever formed was with a wild rabbit. The rabbit regularly sought him out and would sprawl in a sunny spot in the horse paddock. Ringo would amble over and proceed to give the rabbit a massage, which the rabbit appeared to thoroughly enjoy. How on earth this peculiar relationship ever began is beyond me. Why would a wild rabbit sit still long enough to allow a HUGE animal like a horse to walk over and give it a back rub that first time? Mysterious, but kind of cool.

Unfortunately, hawk, owl, or eagle likely got the rabbit because after several months of the rabbit hanging out with Ringo it suddenly disappeared.

Perhaps in the course of the Great Photo Sort Project I’ll come across a photo of the bunny and post it…

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