They’ve got a little duck house and more room to make a mess! They seem very comfortable already.

The chickens were initially a little scared of these little puff balls. But they are friendly neighbors now.

This is a temporary home for our ducklings. They will be living in the garden enclosure where we will be creating a little pond for them. But because the ducklings don’t have a mama duck to help them with preening oil, they’ll have to wait to take dip until they have their own feathers. You can be sure there will be video of the first time they take a swim!

We made a big improvement to our brooder set up this year. It is much easier to clean and it doesn’t take up all that floor space anymore. Only problem is, I can’t get in there and sit with them

Here are the chicks: Specked Sussex, Araucana/Americana, and Red Ranger Broiler.

And the ducklings: Khaki Campbell, Rouen, and Blue Swedish.

Without further adieu, I present to you… the people’s choice:

Choice #1 ended up being option #1

Choice #2 was option… well, #2

Choice #3 was, you guessed it… #3

I wonder if these results would have been different if we rearranged the pics. And I am in no way calling our voters lazy. Of course, this is if we count just the first 3 votes people made. If we include the surplus votes, #6 ends up in a tie with #3.  So #6 at least gets an honorable mention.

Atta boy, #6

Here are the vote totals:

Although… there are 9 days left until she HAS to submit an entry, and she’s been taking shots like these in the past few days…

I’m a big fan.

The hummingbirds are back. Here’s a male calliope in flight:

A male black-chinned:

And the warblers are back too. I’ve been hearing yellow, orange-crowned and yellow-rumped (pictured below).

This was a first on the game camera: a red-tailed hawk:

The northern flying squirrels show up on the camera surprisingly frequently. We still haven’t seen one  in person yet, though.

Most of our neighbors don’t share the same love for Wiley Coyote as we do.

I take the love of canis latrans to a whole other level. Much to Scott’s dismay, when I here them singing I pop out of bed at any hour and open the bedroom door wide (regardless of the temperature outdoors).

Pollinators are out in full force, taking advantage of blooms and blossoms:

The chickens are loving the outside time that spring allows:

Synchronized chickening in action:

We just love watching the hummingbirds buzz around.

Here’s a calliope from a unique angle:

And every once in a while, they stop moving for a few seconds.

Black-chinned:

Calliope:

Gordon enjoys bird watching too.

I take tons of photos of pine siskins because they allow me to get so close:

Really close!

Much like my human neighbors dislike the coyote, my small feathered friends have some serious disdain for this guy: the Cooper’s hawk:

Every day it seems that a new springtime migrator arrives. Today both the black-headed and evening grosbeaks (pictured) returned.

Arriving soon: baby ducks and chickens! Stay tuned!

The trench was dug to bring water and electric to the garden, orchard, chicken coop and future goat enclosure. It had to be 4 feet deep to be below the frost line.

Mike was down in the trenches bedding down the uneven floor. And just about everyone did their time on the excavator.

In addition to telling Scott, “That’s dangerous! Stop that right now or I’m calling your mother…”

…I also spent some time in the trenches myself. I go to great lengths depths to get a photo:

Meanwhile, Geneva and Amanda thinned trees.

And Remi took a time out to tell us some hard knocks stories about Norway.

Don’t forget about Ryan…

How do I explain how awesome Ryan was with that hole??

When moral gets low, put a carrot on a stick…or a beer on the ground:

The good news about breaking your back  to dig hundreds of feet of trench? You don’t have to break your back lugging water down to the chickens ever again.

Thanks for all the help, everyone!

Write in your top 3 in the comment section at the bottom of the page. Thanks for your help!

1. Bald Eagle

2. Calliope Hummingbird

3. Common Redpoll

4. Mountain Chickadee

5. Red Crossbill

6. Evening Grosbeak

7. Yellow-headed Blackbird

8. Osprey

9. Pine Siskin

10. Red-tailed Hawk

11. Common Redpoll Flock

12. Immature Bald Eagles

Feel free to write in one that I haven’t posted here. I post my photos on two Flickr accounts: http://www.flickr.com/photos/moosicorn/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/aspanagotacos/

Deadline is May 30th. Thanks for voting!

Here’s Sadie looking especially regal:

Mom’s dog, Peggy Sue, was a trooper:

And both mom and the dogs were patient with me and my weakness for bird distraction:

Red-tailed Hawk giving me the eye:

Eurasian Collared Doves:

And this was a new sighting for me! A couple of American Avocets:

Here’s some of what I’ve seen on my way to and from work lately:

Bald eagle:

Red-winged Blackbirds:

Mallards:

Northern Shrike:

Red-tailed Hawk:

Swans (not sure if they are trumpeter or tundra):

This one was taken this winter, but I forgot to post it until now:

Tree Swallow:

Rough-legged Hawk:

Moon rising over Arden:

Pintails (and a few mallards)

Northern Pintail pair:

Red-winged Blackbird pair:

White-tail deer on train tracks in Valley:

American Kestrel:

Immature Bald Eagles:

Not only is my commute beautiful and entertaining, but at each end I find a loving home and a fulfilling career, respectively. I feel so very lucky and grateful to have all of this in my life.

To see photos taken here at Moosicorn Ranch: http://www.flickr.com/photos/moosicorn/

And for all the photos I take while out and about: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aspanagotacos/

I’ve been going back and forth about using a dog as a protection animal for our forthcoming goats. After much research and deliberation, we’ve decided to forgo the protective pooch and, instead, construct a poultry wire lid as we did for the chicken and orchard enclosures. The goat enclosure will have a lid similar to the one pictured below:

I felt the urge to bring some springtime inside, so a created a terrarium:

…and a couple make-shift terrariums too:

A week later, the tomato plant has already grown out the top.

Sometimes the pine siskins are downright cuddly

More signs of spring…ladybug explosion!

Here is the latest from the game cameras.

A perfectly lit deer:

And the first sighting of a squirrel! Well, we get photos of nocturnal, Northern Flying Squirrels often, but this is a first here at Moosicorn:

Here is a pretty pair of Mourning Doves:

I’ll end with a majestic, red-tailed hawk:

Congratulations, Brian and Mike! You guys make an awesome couple, it was a pleasure to meet you and we had a great time being a part of your special day.

Here are pics from the occasion.

We adjusted our chalkboard doors to welcome our guests…

We spent a leisurely afternoon with the anxious couple, hanging around the house, getting ready, having lunch, taking a hike…

Along our hike Brian and Mike picked a perfect location for the ceremony.

Erick was the officiant for the proceedings and did a great job.

The kiss!

What a wonderful pair.

We “marked” the occasion…

Then we got the LEGAL paperwork out of the way…

And got it in the mail (at the coolest little post office in Tum Tum, Washington)…

We were all so happy to share your special day, Brian and Mike. Thanks for the visit!

And then, there was cake! (Awesome lobsters, Sarah Doxey!)

Again, congrats you two! You deserve a spectacular life together.