I don’t really have a farm. But I do have animals. I live on 15 acres surrounded by woods and in the woods hides all kinds of little critters.
I found these little guys in my garden. Their mom found a safe place to make a nest for them right under my living room window.
When they were really tiny I was able to pick them up. They fit right into the palm of my hand. But wild bunnies grow fast and before long they were strong and fast and I wasn’t able to catch them. And that’s a good thing; they have to learn at a very young age to be fast in order to be safe.
These deer came right up onto the lawn in front of my living room windows last spring.
Aren’t they cute? They are fawns, or baby deer. They love to jump and run around and play when they are young. You can’t see their moms, they are called does. The does are hiding in the trees and watching their babies eat and play. If there is any sign of danger the does will alert the fawns and they run into the trees where they can hide.
There are so many birds; too many for me to put into this letter. When I’m sitting in my sunroom in the summertime with all the doors opened wide I feel like I’m in a jungle from all the different noises they make!
Every spring a drake, the male duck, and a duck, the female, nest on our island. I’m not sure if it is the same 2 ducks every year because I don’t know much about ducks and their nesting habits, but I’d like to think it’s the same 2 that return each year. Grandpa Marty built a wonderful nest for the mom to lay her eggs. When the eggs are close to hatching, I quietly approach the nest every day to sneak a peak and check to see if they are hatching. Last year there were 6 ducklings. They go into the water shortly after they hatch. They are so cute as they get in line behind their mother and try to swim their hardest in order to keep up with each other.
I wonder how many eggs she will lay next year?
Here are a couple of other birds. The bird in the house is a swallow. Their babies are so noisy! They squeak and squeak all day long while waiting for their mom and dad to catch mosquitos for them. I’m not quite sure what the other bird is. I found him in my garden and he was kind enough to hang around while I took pictures of him. Isn’t he a pretty blue colour?
And let’s not forget our pond critters. We have bass in our ponds. It’s fun to sit on the bridge and dangle my feet over the edge and watch the fish swim by. There is quite a large number of them in my pond, ranging in sizes from a couple of inches long to some being over a foot. They like the fish food I purchased at the feed store, so every so often I feed them. When I walk around the the island along the water’s edge, the fish follow me. When I stop, they do too! And when I turn to go in the opposite direction, they follow! So much fun!
And finally, here’s a turtle that returns briefly every spring. I know it’s the same turtle, because she has a damaged shell, so I recognize her. Boy, is she ever grumpy!! I don’t like to get too close to her, because I don’t know much about turtles and I’m not sure if she will bite me. I don’t want to take that chance! So I keep my distance and take pictures. I think she comes to lay turtle eggs near the pond because there are some small turtles swimming around with the fish. They like to eat fish food too!
I saved the best for last! This is Miss Lucy. She is my yellow labrador. She just turned 7 years old in July. I named her Lucy after a famous comedian Lucille Ball because Miss Lucy is always doing funny things to make us laugh. I think the funniest thing is the somersaults she does. I’ve never seen a dog do somersaults before, have you? Miss Lucy likes to play tricks on people, she’ll sneak away with their bottle of water when they aren’t looking. She loves to swim in the pond and if she could play catch all day, I think she would.
What do you think of grandma’s farm? Everyday is a new adventure on my property. I never know what little animal is going to pop in to say hello.
Grandma loves you,
always…
Letters To My Granddaughter 