I woke up early this morning ~ the sun was so bright streaming into my little bedroom, that it nudged my eyelids open and coaxed my sleeping brain into alertness.... I headed down to the kitchen to get my (fisrt) dose of green tea, then headed out to the barn where I knew, if I were up and ready for the day, that surely our hens & roosters would be too... and that they were. so I let them out and they headed directly to where they could take their morning bath. in the dirt. now , what looks suspiciously like a chicken-fight (which also occurs daily, depending on moods and such) this is actually a friendly, community-style grooming ritual...  sometimes I can't tell where one chicken starts and the other ends.... Brother-roosters scritching in the dirt together....not my idea of a relaxing bath, but hey, I don't have feathers and they seem to be happy "< after the dirt bath subsided, I headed into Henry's coop... (Henry is my Senior Citizen duck, who is reaching his 14th year this yr) henry is now blind, but can hear just fine. He knows my voice and can navigate his coop by memory & touch...I was feeling badly that he was alone in his coop, but then one day realized he wasn't... Henry has a friend that resides in his coop with him... please meet Mr. Toad: Mr. Toad & Henry get along swimmingly (pun intended) ~ since Henry can no longer see to dig or eat worms, I dig them up for him and hand-feed him... and, every morning, sitting on the sideline, is Mr. Toad ~ waiting for a morsel of Worm that I toss over to him and he hungrily slurps them up...yes, Mr. Toad may need a visit from Jenny Craig, but he is fat & happy...just look at that smile:  After making sure that all was well in the barnyard, I headed back to the farmhouse and found this gift on the lawn at my feet: we've had a few windy days, and this tiny abode must have been blown out of one of our many black walnut trees...  just look at how artfully woven it is... I spotted sheeps' wool, donkey hair & chicken feathers among the sticks & brambles used to create it. how clever and a true make-do!!  Hoping you can all find beauty in your surroundings today!!! Blessings from the Farm, Lori