This holiday season, I am especially thankful for Winslow Farm. (I am, of course, thankful for my friends, family, cats and my wonderful husband as well!) But spending time with the wonderful animals each week centers me and fills me with peace. I simply can’t imagine my life without these friends.
Liam is thankful for Winslow Farm, too.
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I’d like to introduce you to my sweet friend.
Mrs. Turtle lost her leg after being hit by a car (before she came to Winslow). She gets along just fine without it and is a super loud purrer and extremely affectionate. I make sure to visit with her every week and most of the time she finds me before I can seek her out. Ah, friendship.
What a pretty lady!
Filed under cats, photography, winslow farm
Who knew that weddings are so time consuming (and FUN!!)? I guess everyone. But I didn’t realize how exhausted I’d be. Plus, by the time our wedding had arrived (this past Saturday), I’d started going to Connecticut for half of each week. So sitting in front of my computer and going through the photos from the farm became a daunting task, especially considering the fact that the computer had eighty other tasks that needed to be addressed at that moment! Rest assured that I only missed a few visits and one of them was while I was on our honeymoon (that’s acceptable, right?).
Over the last month Gulliver has been acting very strange. Whereas he once would put his head in my lap, he’d started leaning away from my pets and a few times he even ran away from me. I’m pretty sure that I don’t have to say that this was heartbreaking, but I will anyway because of how devastating it felt. My once affectionate friend was acting as though he didn’t even like me anymore. Although I’d have wonderful moments with other animals on the farm each trip, I’d leave with a deep sense of longing coursing through me. I hoped more than anything that he would return to me.
A few weeks ago, I was talking to one of the great kids who volunteers there and she mentioned that Gulliver had been bullied a lot by a newer goat name Timateao. As we were talking about him, the bully beat on a few goats nearby. He was pretty brutal and it was clear that the goats were scared of him. Due to the tight spaces on the farm, there was no way to separate him though so the goal was to monitor and correct his behavior whenever possible.
After our conversation, I went back to Gully and changed my tactics. Instead of forcing pets on him (a problem we all know I have), I sat nearby instead and didn’t attempt to touch him at all. I spoke softly and let him know how much I loved him. He ate his food, accepted treats and didn’t make any other contact with me. Hard to take, but it’s about his recovery, not my feelings.
On my most recent visit, I used the same approach and he surprised me by leaning into me. I reached out to pet him and he tilted his head to receive it. Although he wouldn’t put his head in my lap, he stayed nearby and it started feeling like my Gully might be on the mend. I don’t know how he’ll be when I go back on Monday, but I’m looking forward to giving him hugs again at some point. And I’ll patiently wait until it happens.
And I promise to get back on posting regularly!!!
Filed under goats, gulliver, winslow farm
Look who I found hanging out in Lunar’s stall!
Don’t worry, Lunar wasn’t there yet.
The little guy didn’t even try to hop away from me! I almost put him in my pocket and brought him home. I think that our cats would have had a differing opinion than mine to love him forever, though…
Filed under photography, winslow farm
My dear little bunny friend, known to some as Curtis and others as Kyle, passed away from heat stroke last week. I will miss his tiny bunny kisses.
Filed under bunnies, winslow farm
Dragonflies are all over the farm right now. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to have significant experiences with a couple of them. While many have been flying very close to me, none were bold enough to let me get up close until a curious one landed on the fence last week and wasn’t scared when I walked up to it. I noticed that it had one back wing that was slightly crumpled. It didn’t seem to affect its flight though. It sat on the fence and stared at me and even let me put my face right up to it, so I got a great look at its old man mouth and huge eyes. It didn’t fly off until after I was distracted by and returned to Gully.
See how the wing is bent?
Look at its little open mouth!
Yesterday, however, I made even more progress with the local dragonfly population! This particular one had a very bright green head and a blue body. It happily danced and flitted about, landing on the fence and flinging itself away again. I’d try to approach and off it would go, only to land a few feet away. I patiently danced with it until, at last, it stayed and peered at me. I slowly reached out my hand and got it close enough so that my extended index finger was right in front of its face. Expecting the big launch, I was super excited when it stayed instead. I moved my finger a tiny bit closer and the dragonfly reached its two front legs out and grasped the tip of my finger! I stayed like that for a few seconds and then very cautiously, I gave it a tiny nudge. And if it hadn’t happened to me, I wouldn’t have believed it: it climbed up onto my finger!! I stood like that for as long as I could stand it and then slowly turned my finger around and brought my hand so that it was about a foot from my face. I stared into that dragonfly’s shiny reflective eyes (different than those of the ones on the one from the week before), perfectly content. I milked it for as long as possible and then the dragonfly resumed its flight. I went to get my camera in the hopes that I’d be able to capture it on my hand again but all I could get were a few shots from a few feet away.
At least you can see the special dragonfly that became my friend!
Filed under dragonflies, photography, winslow farm
What 90 degree weather?
Athena Beans! And she’s letting me pet her back and her fuzzy head. She’s SO soft!!!
Filed under athena, photography, sheep, winslow farm
Not the smartest…
But she’s definitely cute!
Filed under goats, photography, winslow farm
I am in some serious love with the bunny who lives in the cat house. Over the past month, he’s gone from fleeing in terror when I get near to running over to see me when I arrive. He absolutely loves to be pet, too. I’ve never had a bunny and never knew any growing up so I’m not all that sure how to interact with them. Befriending goats was no big thing since they are big. But rabbits have little tiny frames and I’ve heard all sorts of sad stories about how fragile they are, so I’ve gone as slowly as I can with this little guy. We all know that’s means not very slowly at all but I’m trying really hard for me! And I always pet him very gently.
My favorite thing to do is stroke one finger down his nose. He sits there, blissfully, eyes closed, loving every second. I started putting my face near his to see what he’d do. With most animals, a looming face is not something they really want. My cats, for instance, get pretty nervous when I do this. Milo will freak out and start growling and the rest of my cats will at least turn their heads. I read a really awesome book called On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas that’s (obviously) aimed at interacting with dogs, but I’ve have noticed the behavior with many species. It’s a really quick read and I highly recommend it. One of the signals happens when a dog approches another head on. The other dog will turn his head to let the staring dog know that they are uncomfortable. The staring dog is acting in an aggressive way and the turning of the head helps to calm her down. (Watch your own animals when they greet each other. It’s fascinating!) So my big face coming directly at the face of an animal (big or small!) makes them feel unsure. Since I’m human and interact differently, it’s hard for me to break this habit. So most animals are greeted, in their heads, somewhat aggressively by me. And most of them respond by turning their heads. This little bunny, however, did not.
I put my face on his level and he hopped right up to it and sniffed my nose. And then he decided that wasn’t enough so he pressed his nose against mine! And then, he started licking my nose!!! His tiny face, whiskers twitching away, was shoved against mine. So awesome!
Levi loves the bunny as much as I do!
!!!
Such a sweetie!
Filed under bunnies, photography, winslow farm
Last Sunday, I spent quite a lot of my time at the big barn since I never really get to it. Two goats in particular made an impression. The first was a sweet boy named Liam who met me while I was taking pictures of his friends inside the barn. He rounded the corner and came to a halt in the goat in front of him so as not to run into me. I reached out a welcoming hand and he backed up. When I turned away, he tried to walk past me but there wasn’t enough room to get by without making contact, so he stopped. He stood frozen, hoping that he was invisible, I’m sure. The rest of his friends ambled around, sniffing me, disregarding me, going about their business. But Liam stayed stock still and stared at me.
Much later, I went back to the barn and sat outside. All of the animals had been fed and many were coming back out. One goat started to dance with me the way that Gulliver did when our friendship began. The butt bump sort of a “hey, there buddy, just checking you out, no big deal” kind of a welcome. I started patting his head and we became quick friends. The difference in petting him verses other goats was that he had giant horns. He liked to dig them into my back (in a friendly way! A goat massage, if you will). Somewhat awkward but certainly worth putting up with in exchange for everything else. His name is Jackson.
And these are his beautiful horns.
While we were hanging out, Liam quietly walked over and set up camp a few feet away from us, just watching the scene. No contact was made but I’m hoping for some in the future. As my circle of friends grows at the farm, my heart swells to include them.
Filed under goats, photography, winslow farm
Minding the Minis 