Heat

You become aware of all your senses on the farm, the smell of the plants will let you know how they are doing, the appearance of the ground will tell you how much humidity there is and on days like today you can hear how hot it is. We do not have an outside thermometer but it is so hot the animals do even want to make a sound, the chickens and the turkeys sit in the shade and pant, the goats don't even call out to my approach. The ducks and geese are too hot to even acknowlage my presence, let alone run to a "safe" distance. It is so hot the daily routines of our animals are on hold until the sun dips down below the horizon and the mercury drops at least a little. This evening I expect a flurry of activity as every one tries to catch up with the days "chores" but for now it is seiesta time (a nap threw the hottest part of the day as practiced in Spain and Mexico) on the Depew Farm. But not for me, I have work to do. Gotta make sure that all the animals have enough water to get threw the heat, I add a little apple cider vinegar to every ones water (helps fight parasites and adds electrolytes) and make sure that the geese and ducks have a good spot to swim and clear their beaks out. Rainbow (a chicken) has left her chicks under the coop while she sits on some eggs, so the baby chicks get their own water, make sure there is water for her in the coop, fill up the goat troughs, make sure the adolescent chicks have more water, put out a bowl for the turkeys and adult chicks and fill up the little pond for the ducks and geese. Days like today I am very glad we have a good well.