Bunny-The Peace That Surpasses Understanding

Our Wayward Rabbit "Bunny" on Little Utah Farm

When a new face comes to Little Utah Farm, I and my husband have a special practice to instill peace among our animals . For example, when we bring home a few new hens, we place the hens in a large safe kennel and place it in the shade under the apple tree, and sit around it with the resident hens and ducks and the dogs. There is a lot of sniffing and gawking, and then everyone relaxes and begins to enjoy the space together. This practice has worked for us.

Bunny on the other hand has not had the benefit of the family get together in the safety of the kennel. He is getting to know the family in his natural way. One day I saw him in the backyard munching on sweet green grass blades and chomping down chicken scratch. I was concerned what would happen if the dogs rushed out of the back door into the yard. Would they chase him ?

Maven and May go to investigate what Bunny is eating.

Yesterday I let the dogs out and then noticed Bunny in the middle of the yard. Over the next few seconds my mind raced with worry and then I took a breath and regained my peace remembering that peace begins with me. I walked away from the door and allowed things "out there" to unfold.

The Peace that surpasses understanding.
Walker and Bunny are getting along very nicely.

I returned in a few minutes to empty the trash and I saw Bunny communing with the hens, ducks, and the dogs. It was a beautiful pastoral scene with wild birds and warm sun. The dry brown grass had begun to flourish like spring from the recent rains. All looked so peaceful and content.  I was filled with gratitude and a sense of relief. So explains my title for this post, "The Peace That Surpasses Understanding"

Thank you so much for visiting Little Utah Farm,
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Until next time,
I wish us all peace and contentment.

Deborah Moen of
Little Utah Farm 

Are you on Facebook ? We have a Facebook page called Little Utah Farm. Join us daily for more farm life pictures and videos.

And did you hear ? Little Utah Farm has a store on Zazzle. We put our photographs and art on coffee mugs, pillows, blankets, t-shirts, ornaments, greeting cards and more. Here is one of our Collections of Holiday Season Farm Animals. We have goats, llamas, hens, ducks on greeting cards, wrapping paper, ornaments, gifts, and more. We also have a Holiday Season Horse Collection, Vintage Tractors Collection.

Holiday Season Farm Animals
by Deborah Moen

Holiday Season Horses
by Deborah Moen

Vintage Tractors
by Deborah Moen

A Field Of Rainbow Sparkles

A field of Rainbow Sparkles. Notice behind the fence in the long
golden wheat stalks are covered with rainbow sparkles. 

It was a bit below freezing this morning. As I went out to feed the animals, I noticed the field of golden wheat out back was white with frost and sparkled like diamonds.

I took Venus, my hen, out of her indoor kennel set her down in the sun room with water, lot's of scratch and feed, a bit of meal worms, and oatmeal. I give her a head start on breakfast then let out the the rest of the hens and ducks.

I was drawn to the sparkles on the long golden wheat stalks and how the whole field was dotted with rainbow colored sparkles of frost.  The field was entirely lit up like the fairy realm was greeting me. I ran to get my camera to capture it.

See the rainbow sparkles? Looks like jewels.

The screen on my camera is dark and I was unable to see the sparkles but I focused in that area, kept my finger holding the focus while I shifted to the right then back again. Click* I once read that would pick up the sparkles better and I have had some luck with that.

I held my camera and pressed the shutter half way to hold the focus, shifted to the right then back again
 to pick up the sparkle. 

I stood there taking in the scenery so magical and so pretty ! I had seen rainbow drops hanging from the corral bars in the morning sun, and in patches of the pasture like glitter, but today, I was looking at a whole field of rainbow sparkly jewels.  As the world turns, moments like these are short lived. So I snap a photo, for a long lasting memento,  Photographs also provide me with testimony. Would you believe me if I told you I saw a field of rainbow sparkles ?

These look like tiny Christmas lights.

Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm !
( 18.6 k page views)

Until next time,

Deborah Moen
of Little Utah Farm 

Little Utah Farm Store has a special Holiday Collection of Holiday Farm Animals with blankets, wrapping paper, cards, t-shirts, pillows and if you like the design you can transfer to other products.

Holiday Season Farm Animals
by Deborah Moen

We also have a beautiful Collection of Gnomes, Fairies, Angels, Unicorns and more for gift giving to yourself or your dear ones.

Christmas Gnomes Faeries & Angels
by Deborah Moen

The Zen Of Winter On Little Utah Farm

Winter on Little Utah Farm photo by Deborah Moen

WHOOSH!

 It was the second week of December. As the door opens a blast of vaporous swirls came licking into the kitchen. Paul, my husband, was leaving for work. the temperature was -20 degree temperatures. He hunched his shoulders ducking his head deeper into his jacket then reached back to close the door.

There was a moment of silence that followed. His truck lights hit the front windows then disappeared. I could hear the crunching of ice fade as he rounded the corner and drove towards the main road.

I remembered back when we were first dating. I used to watch his tail lights going down the road when he left. That memory always uplifts me.



My thoughts turned to baking cookies. It was baking day ! Paul and my grandson love my homemade chocolate chip cookies and the oven would keep the kitchen nice and warm. I began getting out the flour and the brown sugar, the 3 Pyrex measuring cups, the wooden spoons and mixing bowls. I turned on the oven.

Soon I would be going out into the freezing winter temps and onto the icy paths to feed the llamas and the hens. How they handle these conditions was not for me to know. I laid awake at nights before falling asleep feeling guilty for my nice warm bed. But I got to thinking, Nature has that figured out. For all I know they enjoy it rather than the heat of summer.


We have built the llamas a 3 sided shelter and provided heaters in the water trough and infrared heating lamps for the ducks and hens in the coop. The llama corral is filled with gravel and sand to keep it dry.

I made Arapaho's winter blanket.

In our first year here, Arapaho, our Suri coat llama, (shown above) shivered in the cold. His fiber was thinner than the others and hung down in loose twisted ropes or twine like Rasta braids. Shivering warms a body they tell me but I ended up making him a blanket anyway.

I also made Little Luna a coat for winter. 

The llamas have adjusted to the weather. Not a one of them shivers.. Even Luna Llena (pronouned yena) our surprise Harvest Moon baby ( 1 year and 5 months of age) does fine in the cold. Her first winter we made her a coat also.

In my day dreams I imagine an adjoining barn where I could peek through the kitchen window and see the llamas all lazing about inside earthing ( soaking up the goodness of the earth) on the dirt floor or munching in a big standing bin of premium hay. My hens are roosting on tops of the stalls or pecking though fresh straw for some scratch I laid the night before like the tooth fairy.


B-E-E-P ! The oven was preheated at 375 degrees. It was time to mix the brown and white sugar, crack the eggs and put in the vanilla. I love mushing that all that together. I take down the flour add some baking soda and salt. Mixing in those dry ingredients is not as easy and then comes the chocolate chips. The heavy wooden spoon does the job real good. I scrape it all into a container and snap down the lid for chilling in the fridge while I go out to feed the llamas and hens.


I put the mixing bowl into the sink and turn on the hot water to soak. I promised to only lick the zucchini bread batter and leave all the others alone, well, maybe sometimes I lick the brownie batter bowl also. It is fun for me and tastes so good.



On goes my shirt, my sweater, my coat, my shoes, my scarf  to cover my face. Thank goodness for gloves, the warm insulated kind. Once I am out the door and begin walking towards the shed, I am acclimated. I keep a swift gate and a happy face and smile at my loved ones who live outdoors. They really seem well and good in this cold. I feel satisfied watching them eat. Early in winter, after the first snows, I shovel a snowy labyrinth ( linking paths) in the pasture. I shovel and scrape open connecting feed stations and lay the hay in each one. It is still thrilling for me to open the gate and see them run through the white glistening snow along all the connecting paths and find their hay.

I figured out the best thing to say as I leave the freezing cold and go back into my warm home is... I live in the country, my dream has come true.



I realize, winter is a time to chill out, I mean, to slow down, relax, get more rest, organize recipes and photographs, bake cookies and breads, watch some funny movies, write more stories and letters, meditate and hibernate, like the roots of the grasses and trees.


 Winter may seem like a never ending cycle but really it is the perfect length of time. Winter is just long enough to miss and appreciate the green grass and the balmy breezes and the sounds of crickets in the night.


Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm ( 18,516 page views)

Deborah Moen
of Little Utah Farm

Read my story about my gloves : A Farmgirl's Gloves

Here is our Vintage Tractor Collection which comes on mugs, pillows, cards, magnets, throw blankets, and more.We have Farmall, John Deere, Allis Chalmers, Ferguson, Ford Vintage Tractors.

Vintage Tractor Collection from Little Utah Farm Store