This Is Udderly Cooling

This bull 🐂 is keeping a close eye 👁️ on his ladies as they wade in their pond and take a dip to cool off from this crazy hot and humid weather -

Luv that moo-dy water…

One Of A Kind

Vitiligo is a condition that causes some area of the skin, fur or feathers to lose their pigment.

I have vitiligo, primarily on my hands but in other areas too but hidden. It becomes more pronounced in the summer from the sun. Here is a pic of my left hand -

Clearly, this condition is much more stunning in the animal world, as shown in these dogs and cats -

@love_animalsgram

A Mole In A Hole

We found, and rescued, this Eastern Mole yesterday in one of the post hole holes we dug last week -

There's no mistaken this dude with it's velvety gray fur, tiny, tiny eyes, pointed snout and almost invisible ears.

They spend almost their entire lives underground, tunneling and feeding on insects and earthworms, so us seeing this one was pretty unusual.

Kinda cute for a rodent.

Oh, Snap, Literally!

Have a look at who paid us a visit yesterday afternoon, a gorgeous snapping turtle!

It was underneath the lone tree we having close to the back of our house, which is a good 400+ feet from our pond.  We were standing nearby the tree talking when this dude decided to lumber out and make a run (I use the term run loosely) in the direction of the pond -

The timing was perfect, as my second cousin once removed (thank you Google for clarifying), Ms. Emma, was with us.  She wasn't as impressed as I, and a bit scared of this prehistoric looking creature - 

It behaved as snapping turtles typically do once they feel threatened and began acting tough with it's mouth open, while lunging and snapping.  However, I know the act and wasn't swayed in the slightest -

Against my better judgement I put her back under the tree and left her alone.  Really should have relocated her far away from our pond.  As much as I adore turtle, these snapping turtles are really an environmental hazard!  They can disrupt small ornamental ponds by eating fish and vegetation.

We'll meet again I'm sure, at which time we'll address her living arrangements.

How Precious

 And a 1 maybe, and a 2, and a 3...

This is udderly adorable 😂

They were all looking at me like, moooove along...

What The Flock Are They Doing?!

There was a "wake" of turkey vulture positioning themselves to dine on a, unfortunate but delicious looking (not to me), beat up and ripe looking opossum roadkill.

We kinda ruined their gathering as we approached but here's an adult and a juvenile perched just above the carrion they're after -

Now here is where my camera skills, if you can call them that, come into play trying to capture these dudes taking flight.

There goes the adult -

There goes the juvenile -

Oops, but a good looking and health feather pattern -

Um... -

The back end of the juvenile -

Seems I need to work on my camera skills.

As a stuttering Porky Pig would say, "Th-th-th-that's all, folks!"...

Speed Check

Certainly NO speedsters here!

MOOOOOve along 😂 but please be mindful of the posted speed limit -

Even monsieur bull was partaking in un somme -

The entire herd was lying down, which is so odd to me. I've seen it more and more since moving down here, oodles and oodles of cows lying down farm after farm.  Do you think they plan it or discuss it, so they're all on the same page.  Like this is their allotted break time, then up and at 'em time to get back at it - grazing, eating, pooping?!

A very good looking herd, White Angus, I'm guessing.

Outta Brumation They Come!

An Eastern Box Turtle!

Still dirty from it's brumation too!

How symbolic that it was rescued while crossing the road on Easter morning, a resurrection of sorts -

This dude was sealed up nice and tight. Box turtles close up in their shell as a primary defense mechanism, utilizing a unique hinged plastron (bottom shell) to seal themselves tightly against predators like raccoons and foxes. This "door" allows them to seal their limbs and head away from danger, acting as a near-impenetrable armor. They use if as a defense mechanism when they feel threatened or in fear.

I really wanted to keep this dude. Clean it up and wait to see it emerge and start crawling about.  Was curious what color eye it had and weather it was a boy or a girl.  But alas, we set it down on the other side of the abutting chain link, to keep the dogs away from it, and it has since skedaddled off, alas. Hoping we come across another one or two as we make our drives from Johnson City to Limestone.

In case you were wondering - "Brumation is a state of dormancy and metabolic slowdown in reptiles, amphibians, and other ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) during cold winter months, usually from November to February. Similar to hibernation, it is a survival mechanism to conserve energy when temperatures drop and food is scarce."

The Best Seat In The House

Bella made it home just in time to watch Nickelodeon -

Um, yeah, don't just stand there, can you grab me a snaky?!

An Unfortunate Incident

Straw seed blankets were put down after grass seed was spread at our farm.  These blankets are used to cover newly planted grass seed to protect it from harsh sunlight, birds, and erosion while retaining moisture needed for germination. It acts as a protective mulch, insulating the ground and keeping seeds in place during rain.

We needed these at our place for sure due to some of the grading, there's zero shade and often times very windy. It's working and doing it's intended job in most spots, as grass is growing and popping up through it all.

However, seems the good intentions of putting down these straw seed blankets, also have some negative effects too.  I find myself often getting my boots caught up in the nylon nettings and almost falling but it now also would appear it's dangerous to some wildlife, alas.

Like this beautiful Black Rat Snake -

It was SO tangled and caught up that I was unable to remove it without cutting the nylon.  I'm sure it would have been much more difficult had the snake been alive and flailing about.

Black rat snakes are extremely beneficial since they eat large amounts of rats, mice, and other pest animals.  I'm guessing it was headed towards and under our house, as the like and seek out dark, cool, and protected areas to hide, breed, and regulate their body temperature.

Hopefully there are plenty more of these beauties around and that no more critters will get caught up in it the nylon...

About 1 In Every 100,000 Birds

Driving down to the far end of our property the other afternoon we spotted a rarity trying to hide in the tall grass.  However, due to it being all white, it stuck out like a sore thumb, so there was no hiding.

She was allusive and stayed low and hidden well. That's her circled in red below -

Eventually she popped out of the tall grass along the fence line, which allowed for the perfect photo opportunity below -

Certainly seems like a rarity to me, an albino wild turkey. I even asked the Google machine if a white turkey was rare and here is the response - "White wild turkeys are extremely rare, with estimates suggesting they occur in about 1 in every 100,000 birds", so there's that...

Perhaps, there's something in the Limestone water, as the Bright's Zoo, just 4-miles up the road, had a female giraffe give birth to a rare pattern-less baby giraffe back in late 2023.

Hoping this is a good omen and that we'll see more of the her once we get moved in.

Shush!

Cat on a hot tin roof -

Seems like an odd spot for a "cat" nap.

Udderly, Today's Best!

Who doesn't luv youngster Holstein cows?!

I realize this is a typical everyday sighting in some parts, e.g. Tennessee, however, around these parts, NOT so much.

These two were a bit skittish when I first approached the fence -

But it didn't take them long to work up the courage to come closer, with some coaching on my part of course, but still outside of arms reach -

One of the perks to being outside delivering mail.

Horses, NAY

I had several horse encounters yesterday while out delivering mail.

As I pulled down Forest Road in Millis, which is a dirt road about quarter mile long and all wooded, and where I spotted the twin fawns last week, I saw a different kind of animal appear out of the woods - a girl on a horse -

There are 4 mailboxes at the end of this road - you can see them in the picture above, and typically where I deliver the mail to.  However, one day last week and again yesterday, I had a large package.  So I took the opportunity to do another LLV adventure drive to see beyond the mailboxes and I was NOT disappointed.

Turns out there is a horse farm back there known as Apple Knoll Farm, which is a 250+ acre boarding, training, and show facility!  What a beautiful and peaceful place.  I delivered their packages to the main barn both times and yesterday snapped the below pic -

The Apple Knoll Farm image adorned on the barn doors.  Very cool -

This dude keeping an eye on me -

Another rider appeared on my way out of the facility -

And of course there was this horse item -

Although, the below pic was taken a couple miles down the road from the above farm, there were more horses out, so I got their attention and took the below photo -

With all the building taking place in my area, seeing fenced in grass fields and wooded land with horses and other farm animals is becoming rarer and rarer but SO wonderful to see.

Giddy up, as I have MORE mail to deliver...

Our Old-timer Jack

Jack 2.0 enjoying his stay in the garage.

Much warmer than outside AND he gets spoiled with all kinds of treats.  His favorite treat is fortune cookies (with the fortune removed) - I kid you not.

Homemade Greenhouse!

Spent yesterday in Marshfield helping out my farmer friend.

A project that should had been started months ago instead of waiting for the cold weather to arrive.

The plan is for this to be his new temporary greenhouse.  This will allow him to winter his many, many plants, of which is has a great assortment.  Several more posts need to be set, then the support joists but most of the manual labor aspects of the project are done.  We simply ran out of daylight.

That's a woodstove under the brown tarp and his anticipated source of heat once covered.

Another trip will be in order once the 100' roll of plastic arrives, which promises to be quite a challenge to open, fold in half and put in place.

What's Up Doc

Jack 2.0

Our Holland Lop buck.

Stretched out and relaxing after a hot humid day.

A Pig's Life

Let's wallow in this mud puddle!

AAHHHHHH!

Whatcha Got There?!

How You Doin'?

Marshfield Fair Petting Zoo

Aw "nuts", this little guy was tired...