I heard the chatter from outside the barn and knew they were back.
I quietly walked up to the open doorway, but they were barely paying attention to me. Round and round they circled like Fate around the sheep. Their orange and white bellies bringing fleeting color to the dark interior of the barn.
A few flew past me and out the doorway but most of them began to settle on the wire and hooks above the old horse stalls. I looked at last years nests still stuck on the sides of the rafters most in need of repair.
I’m thinking of the arrival of the tiny flying insects yesterday and the barn swallows today. As if they knew.
This year I’m going to watch them build and rebuild their nests. They are as much a part of the farm as any of us.
The nice thing about this is that with all of the stories of the virus the cycle of life still returns. The swallows marking the arrival of spring and the hatching of their little ones is a story of optimism.
Thank you for sharing.
Definitely Jane!
Your Garden is looking great, as per Jons picture. My Dahlias are coming up, except for two. Can’t wait to see yours.
It’s a spring garden Uta. I’m so glad your dahlia’s are growing. I’ll wait to plant mine till the end of May But I have one coming up in a pot inside the house from last year. I wonder if it will flower. I hope the other two dahila’s grow. Let me know I’d be happy to send you more.
How old is your farm/barn? My great niece lived in her husband’s family farm that was built during the Civil War, it was so cool!
Our farmhouse is from around 1840. But there as another barn on the property that had fallen down and there’s a foundation of another barn too. So I’m not sure that this barn is as old as the house. But it’s probably from the Mid to late 1800’s