• Animal Tracks •

definitely more often the case that there is a dry spell and the brook bed is entirely dry. That was more so before the upstream neighbor built a 14' tall dam in 1975. From that time on the brook has dried out entirely much less often.

The bird life has shifted and we are seeing more transient birds both singly and in flocks. The night hawks have made three appearances which is entirely unique in my experience. Couple that with the fact that this year they have been flying east and west rather than north and south and this is absolutely unique in my recollection.

The Stephens farm laying flock of hens that had been providing us our certified organic eggs has now been moved here to our farm. Ted is working towards a more agressive change over to dairy. Along with some predator issues and other impacts he was happy to sell his flock. It will probably take a bit of time before they settle down to lay here and I'll keep you posted.

The cows have been moved up into the meadows now that the growth rate of grass in the lower pastures has slowed down. Adding the upper meadows in the late summer early fall extends the rest period for the other pasture and ensures that we can graze into the early winter which is of course better for the cows.

I've been seeing some bugs lately that I haven't seen before although the types are familiar. A really wicked looking long horned beetle with a

Often misnamed giant mosquito a Cranespotted dorsal ridge and large pincer with which it bit me was one. Many brilliant beetles as well and unfortunately harlequin bugs have shown up. We are squashing these as we see them and due to the light population I am hopeful that this will be enough control. We must wait and see.

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