A Fish In The Pasture

Robin in the barnyard.  That’s a small pokeweed growing to his right.

Yesterday’s rain made the farm a little greener.

This morning I pulled up the Pokeweed that seemed to grow up overnight along the edges of the black tarp.  I put it down in the spring to keep the Pokeweed from taking over the barnyard and so far it’s working.

As I plucked one plant a big gray toad hopped from under it, then hid between two rocks.  With another, a baby milkshake wiggled her way under the tarp.

When I had gotten them all, I took a wheelbarrow full of manure to the back pasture to spread it around.  As I passed through the gate I saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye.  Yesterday when I looked down I found a baby barn swallow.

Today it was a fish.

Thin and spotted, about 8″ long, it had a slash of blood on its head but was still moving.  I picked the fish up by the tail and put it in the pond.

There is turned over and over then settled nose up its mouth and gills working hard.  I watched it for a while wishing it well, then left.

I have no idea what kind of fish it was.  I’ve never seen one that big in our pond but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.

I’m assuming a bird dropped the fish after taking it from our pond or some other water nearby.  I saw a Heron land in the trees on the edge of the pasture yesterday.  It could also be a hawk or one of the ospreys that nest every summer on an electrical pole a few miles from the farm.

It must have been pretty recent since the fish was still alive.  I don’t know if the fish will live.  And unfortunate for the animal that lost its breakfast if it doesn’t.

A fish was certainly not what I expected to find in the pasture this morning.

Back in the barn, the baby barn swallows seem to be doing well.  Their funny little heads and wide mouths were poking over the edge of their nest as if they were royalty safe in their perch looking down on their world.

3 thoughts on “A Fish In The Pasture

  1. Greetings Maria. When I got done reading this post, the thought immediately popped into my head that you and Jon are doing your readers a great service by posting these little vignettes of your life on the farm, because they are like therapy, helping us to connect with the natural world that many of us don’t have the privilege to be exposed to on such a regular basis. In my opinion, your natural, unfussy writing style is absolutely perfect for this. Thank you for continuing to share these precious moments with us.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Full Moon Fiber Art