Fun morning at the farm.

I hadn’t been to Horsepower For Kids (sanctuary/farm) in a long time so I stopped by for a visit at the end of December. All of the baby geese that had grown up in early 2020 were still there making the duck pond a busy place.

They had 2 new canadian geese at the pond. They swam close to the dock and I noticed they both had angel wings. Angel wings is a nutritional deficiency caused by improper diet. It means someone was feeding these geese too much bread when they were young and their wings didn’t grow properly. It can keep them from flying well and that’s probably why they are living here now. At least they have a great home to live in now. That’s why it’s so important not to feed the wildlife bread.

It’s fun seeing all of the different crazy “fowl” running around here.

Some of the other residents.

I was admiring this salad. These guys eat better than I do.

Butterflies are seen all year long here.

Summer crowing

In early August I decided to make my annual summer early walk around Ybor City in Tampa to look for baby chicks. Chickens and roosters roam wild in the area and you can usually find a few cute babies in the summer. I like to go early before the tourists and lunch crowds descend on the little neighborhood just outside of downtown Tampa.

Centennial Park, across from the Ybor City Museum, is where most of the chickens hang out. Although, you can find them hanging around houses and front porches all around the area.

The roosters were crowing even though it wasn’t that early in the morning. They were busy running around, looking for bugs in the dirt or bathing in the dirt.

I converted one of my pictures of the rooster into a cartoon since they do look like cartoon characters.

The trolley was just starting to do it’s test run for the day. It was nice being out before 9am here, especially in the summer. Just me, a few joggers and the street cleaners (cleaning the areas around the bars and restaurants). And the chickens of course. I did find some baby chicks but I’ll save them for a later post.

My Corner of the World

Hanging out with some funny faces

I found some new friends at Horsepower for Kids Sanctuary in late November. The toucan is a fairly new resident and was very friendly (he was surrendered by his owner).

You don’t often see white turkeys.

The ducks were being their usual cute selves in the big pond.

Roosters have a run of the sanctuary. Some are skittish and stay in the bushes and some will walk right up to you.

The big shells were enjoying their breakfast.

This guy was showing off.

image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup

Our World Tuesday Graphic

“Farm living is the life for me”

I’m having fun hanging out with the farm animals. Having not grown up around them, I find them interesting. With that said, it’s fun to watch them for a while and then go home to my house near the city in Tampa. I’m not sure if I would love them if I had to do the chores that go with keeping them.   These were all from my trip to Sweetfields Farm north of Tampa one Sunday morning in late May.

Linking to Wednesday Around The World

Crazy chickens at the farm

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It’s amazing how the chickens and roosters all have their  own personalities. I didn’t grow up around them. I grew up thinking chickens came from a grocery store!!! It’s funny to watch them walk around the farm like they own the place.

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The eagle’s nest is close by so I stopped to see if there was any babies yet. I saw one adult sitting on the nest but after a few minutes, the adult on the nest flew over to another tree where the mate was sitting.

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I didn’t think they would leave the nest empty like that if there were eggs or babies but on a more recent trip two babies were there so I’ll post those as soon as I edit them.

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Pretty flowers at Horsepower For Kids Animal Sanctuary.

Funny Faces at the petting zoo

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What is it about having chickens and roosters running around that make me want to go live on a farm? Maybe it’s a case of wanting what you don’t have (or didn’t grow up with).

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Faces only a mother could love. The first turkey looks like she has a crocheted scarf over her head.

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None of the animals were really paying attention to me which is fine.

I spent a recent morning at my favorite neighborhood petting zoo/horse farm. Not much has changed since I was there last spring. No early spring babies there yet.  HorsePower for Kids, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization who provides a farm and petting zoo for people who would benefit from interaction with animals and horses. They are a wildlife/rehabilitation farm and most of the animals were rescued.

Critters roaming the streets

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Chickens and roosters were everywhere. Roaming the streets and making noise. We happened to be there during baby chick season. I counted 6 different baby chick families along the streets. They were in empty lots, parking lots, walking down Duval Street. I’ve read several different stories about why they are running amuck around Key West. I was expecting to see more cats. We only saw a few. The dogs in the above were hanging out in a hat store. A lot of stores had pets.I guess that’s part of the charm of this little town.

Last day on the farm for a while

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Horses playing and taking mud baths.

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Strutting around.

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A green heron hanging around the pond.

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“Don’t land on me” said the turtle to the great blue heron.

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Floating around the pond.

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Love is in the air.

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Showing off for the ladies.

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I think this one needs some sunscreen.

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This pond has its own “cotton ball” head duck.

This is probably my last trip to the “funny” farm this year, or least until very late fall. It’s already too hot here. It was a perfect morning in early March. All of the animals were very active.  In the summer they’ll be sleeping all day and the farm will be filled with “summer camp” kids. Although, it’s tempting to go back in the summer to see if there were any spring baby animals.

Weekly Top Shot #172