I'll show you!
This appeared down the road the other day! The first baby of the year. They usually have 3 or 4 little colts each spring, but it is quite early. This little one is SO tiny! The women folk around here all squeal with delight when we see them, driving the guys crazy. It's becoming a sport :-).
The lemon thyme is putting out fresh leaves. We always seem to have some fresh thyme, but I noticed how lush this looks. Of course those leaves are way smaller than they appear in the picture, measuring no more than 1/4" each in length.
I've talked about the mountain mint that grows here. It was a little slip that came home from Baton Rouge with me, and now it is quite a large, healthy patch. It is spreading vigorously with underground runners. I am becoming a bit alarmed. May need to move the berries.
The beautiful gray sage is a marvel to me in the winter. As harsh as the weather is, the plant continues to push small leathery leaves. Really a stunning plant! When it warms up a bit I will trim it way back to get rid of the "legs".
Finally, what we laughingly call the "terrorist cell" of roving chickens. There are about 6 of them, and that rooster is the ringleader. He's a beauty, by the way, with a big ruffly buff colored neck, and tail feathers that shine in every different color of the rainbow, depending on the light. The rest are mostly hens, with one other rooster who thinks if he hangs around...well.. you know. They come up each day and scratch around in the mulch. When they hear a door, they take off for the trees. When a hawk flies overhead, they are in the trees faster than I'd have thought possible. They react very quickly.
So at any given time, there are roosters crowing from all different directions on the farm. A lovely cacophony.
The following blogs are also participating, so stop over to enter with them for additional chances to win AND the chance to explore some cool blogs. If you are already a subscriber, we"ll just add the free year on the end. Be sure to leave an email addy in your response so that we can reach you if you win!
Rescue Remedy and I go way back. My sister and I started using it (I think this was the beginning) when we gave our first public talk. That would be Super Sunday 1995 I believe... Borders... discussing teas. We continued using it for public talks, and then the following summer when faire management - in their infinite kindness - nestled a competing booth right next door to us, we starting drinking it straight from the bottle. In fairness, Scotch whiskey in large quantities wouldn't have helped calm us in that situation. But I digress...
Oh. MY.. GOSH... that is some wicked stuff. I think the first time I tried it straight. Don't. Ok? Just don't do that. Next, I tried using a shot glass. One T vinegar, topping it off with water. Only slightly better, but possible at least.
We tried a lot of things - both gentle and not so gentle... some downright diabolical... but still the groundhogs remained. Some of the shrubs in the area died (note: shrubs do not do well when doused with peppermint oil), but the groundhogs continued eating my perennials and digging away under the steps. Eventually someone told me that they don't like noisy surroundings. AHA! I stuck up some windchimes near the hole. They either began hibernation early OR they've moved on. I am quite certain that they are out there procreating as I write, as they are mutants and indestructable.
Until last night. I've gotten used to living on a windy hill. It took a couple of springs, but I'm ok with it now. The sound of wind trying to rip off siding and shingles is no biggie. The gusts that shake the house and rattle the windows are no longer frightening. However, last night the wind chimes sounded like perhaps Zeus was pounding out some armor. Every so often the wind would die down for 30 seconds or so - long enough for me to doze off - only to rise again with a resounding clanging and banging. It was an astoundingly loud night. I can hear the groundhogs laughing, off in the distance.
Brilliant blue skies, and fresh air were just impossible to resist. We had mountains of work to do, and most of it got done (or will in time). The magazine will be shipped tomorrow. We weighed 19 batches of soap, and the fats were darned near frozen! We need to find a way to store the pallets in a warm place. It is amazing how hard frozen fat can be.... We pulled and started wrapping a couple of wholesale orders, and I even put some work into the word puzzle book while unwinding during the evenings.
The path winds along beside the creek. There is a wee bit of ice clinging to the edges of the creekbed, and almost nothing is green save for the chickweed and garlic mustard. Occasionally there are some emerald ovals of honeysuckle or a random rosehip. There are many, many deer in the area, so they've picked the briars clean. We will be planting more food this spring in the form of native shrubs. 
This log (and ONLY this log) was covered with these little puffball/galls or something. I assume they were a fungus of some sort. This was across the creek from me and there wasn't a good access nearby to cross without getting soaked. 
At this time of the year, the textures of the trees are really striking. There is a good bit of diversity in the woods, and at least 10 varieties are represented. Probably more, but I haven't really thought to count them in the summer. Hmmm... there's a project. It isn't as noticeable in the spring and summer when we are busier looking at the lush greenery. Now, in the starkness of winter, the beauty of the barks is clearer.
I leaned up against a tree and looked up. The wind had all of the trees swaying and it was hypnotic. After a while, I realized that many of the trunks in the thinner trees were also swaying - and the ground is very soggy. That was a bit unnerving!
This prehistoric looking, shield-shaped creature is a stinkbug. They are one of the most prevalent (ok - aside from the flies!) bugs around, and they just want IN my house. A live one plopped onto my stove the other night from heaven knows where. I've never seen one in this color stage before. They are typically the color of the dry leaves surrounding this one. Grayish brown. They really look un-real to me when they are older... like transformers or armored tanks with legs. At least this one looks like a bug.
Upon my return, these chickens were somewhat indignant to be disturbed. They gave me a good talking to as I entered the shop to continue with the weighing of the fats. They like to dig shallow indentations right up against the foundation to stay warm, and the sun hits that side of the shop all day long.
Later, the moon rose as I was finishing up dinner on the grill. This shot is deceptively dark. It was still very light out, and directly behind me on a level with the moon, was the sun. It was a beautiful end to a spectacular day.
