Planting Time

It doesn't matter what day it is to a farmer.  If work needs done, a field plowed or a crop planted that's the priority.  So on Mother's Day this field that sits not 600 feet from us had several tractors come through it.  The first tractor came through with a harrow on it then another tractor came in with a disc harrow behind it.  The first was to break the ground and weeds that had started and the next was to pulverize the soil and weeds to a more fine texture.  These two rigs were followed by a tractor pulling the planters.  They carry the seed and fertilizer.  In this picture he's pulling the disc harrow through the field.

Here he is planting corn for this year.  Last year was soybeans.

You can't really tell here but the guy in the black shirt is old enough to drive on the road, i.e.. the pickup truck and the other two individuals are very young, maybe his brothers.  They drove the rigs here, did the work and I assume the older brother brought them something to eat.  He runs along in-front of them as they traverse the roads in the area.  The planter rig was over the hill in another field at this point. They were done so they ate and moved on to the next field.  All this on Mother's Day.  It rained right after they left giving their seed a starting chance.

The New Generation Is Arriving

Do we call these newbies Millennials since they were born after the year 2000 and they will reach adulthood within a few months?  Naw, we'll just call them ducks. They started out with 10 but are now down to 4.  Not sure if the local hawk is getting them or a turtle that makes the pond its home.  I only say that because someone told me that a snapping turtle was found in the road and placed in the pond and I've heard that they will pull small ducks or geese under.  I've never looked into that story.  At any rate, here they are and I'm pretty sure the last 4 will make it as they have tripled in size.

New Family Moved In

Well, it's spring and we officially have a new family that has moved in.  With mother there are 11 but that soon changes.  Maybe it's the hawk that is visiting on a regular basis or maybe it's the turtle.  I believe the turtle is a box turtle but a neighbor told me she found a snapping turtle so she put it in the pond.  At any rate, as of today we only have 4 ducklings.