Yesterday the snow fell on and off for the whole day. But it did not have any kind of real resolve, It was just there. A half hearted affair. Showers, flurries nothing much.
So I cycled through my list.
Getting the collars on the Dutchies so they could learn Phase Two of the milking routine: being tethered to the feeding station for some munching. Elsie is still the more apprehensive of the two. Lady A is very calm. But both of them came in one door, paused for the feed, received their milking collars without too much fuss then walked out the other door. They are doing well. 
I am checking for any signs that Poppy is going to come into heat though she is not due for another week or so. 
She will be bred on her next heat. That will be interesting. I have never AIed a pig before but I have a mentor. She will teach me. 
I am working on clearing out the North pen in the barn – also known as the Black Hole of Calcutta, (though it is draft free) this is the pen I like to keep clean in case some silly cow decided to give birth before the fields clean up.
I will clean it out and close it up just in case. Though it is frozen solid which makes for a decent work out!
As an aside my bedroom as a teenager was called the Black Hole Of Calcutta too (for obvious reasons!)
Yesterday evening as the Cadet and I were doing the chores she gasped and pointed upwards. There hovering above us in the evening light was a brilliant Godot-like pure white Owl. He was huge. Right there between these two trees. High up. Caught in a shaft of evening light like an angel. His wings were outstretched as he flew into these trees but seeing us he must have turned. So he looked straight at us and we were right underneath him. I know I saw it. The Cadet saw it too. But all my reading tells me that they should not be down this way. They are Arctic owls. 
His belly and under his wings were pure white and he definitely was an owl. In my memory he hung there watching us for long enough for my eyes to swoop over him taking in every detail. Yet it must have been parts of a second. Then he was in the trees. These trees are old Dutch Elms, they are hollow. The White Owl is migratory he may have a resting place in there.
I stepped backwards into the barn to grab the camera but of course he was gone when I turned back.
But you know how I am with owls. They have strong magic in my life. My hands were clasped like a Madonna’s prayer in front of my face.
I went here and reported seeing him. Just in case this is something someone should know. But you know how your mind takes photos too? I can still see him. Large as life. Pure white and terrible.
I adore these little piggies.
And this big one – all snuggled up. 
Looking at me out of the corner of her eye.
Last night the eggs in the incubator were turned for the last time. They are due to start hatching on Sunday. We cannot count the chicks yet of course. These eggs were laid in the freezing cold with juvenile roosters. It is a long shot. But I have chick starter feed and today I will prepare the brooder. Nothing like a little bit of optimism.
Winter is hanging on. Not budging yet. 
There is work to be done. Best I get out there and do it!
Have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farmy
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
68 responses to “Turns”
I saw an owl fly into our barn yesterday, too! Just a screech (I think), but still, magic! I’m thinking they are hungry with all this lingering snow cover :-/.
Hmm, was this in the evening? I wonder what mine was doing out in the daylight, though it was deeply overcast, snowing and darkening.. still. One in the barn wow.. love that!.. c
A Snowy Owl…lucky you! I have Big Horned Owls here…I adore them. We have smaller owls also, but the BIg Horned Owls come every year and hatch their chicks in our big trees. I think they are magic also! 🙂
Linda ♪♫❤
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
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Seeing that white Owl just has to be a good omen 🙂 Be great if you manage to capture him (digitally). How long before the calves are born do the cows udders fill up? Laura
Your softly softly approach to the Dutches will pay off a hundredfold when it comes to milking time.
Bu
Your owl – if you only saw it from directly beneath, it could have been something as common as a barn owl. I am always astonished how much white there is on the underside of a barn owl. But the snowy owl is a formidable long-distance flier, and often migrates far south from the arctic in winter..
Was that the cadet I spied outside the North pen dor?
Enjoy your day,
love, Viv whose laundry is drying in wintry windy sunshine.
It had a pure white head too.. amazing bird.. . Washing on the line! YAY
we had a Snowy Owl all the way down here in North Florida last winter. So it could have been.
I love seeing Ton Ton in your photos – he always seems to be around. Like your shadow. He’s sweet. Joy
Me too!!! I just love Ton Ton too! He is the absolute best! He is always there making sure everything is right and that all the farmy animals are in their proper places doing what they should be doing! So wonderful!!!
I bet the owl got word of your pigeon farm.
Good luck with the chicks – I hope they all hatch 😉
Could it have been a Snowy Owl?
They have been moving south in the winter months and this year there have been about 50 spotted close to where I live. I am in Canada, further north, but maybe? Maybe it is a barn owl living in one of your barns. That is very exciting.
I think it was a snowy owl, Mr Google told me that they migrate quite a bit in the winter. Quite a sight. c
Wow! What a gift, your owl visit!
How wonderful to see an Angel White Owl…that is a good omen for you…loved the post and all the gorgeous animals..don’t count chickens before they hatch..but its exciting waiting
I had not seen any posts from you so searched you out and somehow I got bumped off. After all these years. Have signed up again and hopefully you did not lose anyone else. How weird!
This happens to me with monotonous regularity… Hope you are well!. c
Doing well Miss C and thrilled to be back in the fold.
most excellent.. c
Your owl moment sounds magical!
We have Great Horned Owls here. Despite their ability to carry off my cat, were he out at night, I adore them. I watched our mated pair teach their fledglings to eat emerging cicadas last summer. I wonder why humans are often afraid of the dark, but so thrilled by seeing nighttime predators?
Good luck with Poppy and her AI!
I agree – there is really something magical about owls. What a treat to have seen that gorgeous HUGE white one!! I love reading all your news, although it does make me miss our farm in Quebec. But I’m living vicariously through you – with none of the work !!
That Kune Kune shot is definitely a calendar candidate! I love owls and can only imagine how striking a white Arctic owl must be. We have Barred owls nesting in our neighborhood. We hear them every night in late Fall, Winter and early Spring, and have seen mated pairs resting on the trees in our back yard. I miss them in the late Spring and Summer when the hawks take over. We saw a Ferruginous Light Morph Hawk migrating a month ago…way out of his habitat and migration path, and my mom just saw a white robin migrating through Alabama. Interesting times.
Sometimes I hear owls at night behind the house in the trees. It’s wonderful. http://benhewitt.net/2015/02/27/then-he-flew/ This blogger saw an owl too, in Vermont. More magic. Have a good day, C.