Hangin' on the Farm

Brooke's parents bought a house recently in the foothills between Auburn and Grass Valley. It's situated in lovely oak woodland, with 10 acres of land. They have 13 chickens and 5 llamas! I also sighted wild turkeys, jackrabbits, squirrels, lizards, and abundant small birds on the property. It's peaceful and beautiful, especially at this time of year when the countryside is emerald green. Here are the chooks foraging outside their coop.

The chooks earn their keep...they produce fresh eggs almost every day. The chooks themselves are a variety of colors...black, white, beige, speckled...and so are the eggs. Guido frequently informed the chooks that they needed to keep laying eggs...to avoid being dinner! They did look rather tasty, I admit. Visions of Colonel Sanders...

Here are some of the llamas. They're pretty self sufficient; they graze on the property, and drink from the irrigation canal...which also provides electricity for the home much of the time. Easy living, off the grid!

Most of these flowers began blooming during the three days I was up at the ranch.

At sunset, it's especially peaceful. The drone of the insects complements the soft coo of a mourning dove; I heard a turkey, cows, our chooks. I didn't hear leaf blowers, car alarms, planes in a landing pattern, or any loud sounds for that matter.