Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Thpring Thaw

The Bag Lady had a busy day yesterday. She had to go to town to run some errands and do some shopping. She got a coupon book from Costco, and there were several coupons for things she uses, so she picked up a few things that she didn't need right this minute, but will, eventually.

One of those things that she didn't really need at all but will use, eventually was a pack of Febreze. There are three different cans in three different scents. Of course, she had to open it and smell each one to find out which one she liked best. They are all nice, but she thinks the Febreze people are wrong about one thing. Spring does not smell like that at all, at least, not around here! Spring around here carries the unmistakable and admittedly unpleasant odour of poop.

Yup, all that manure that the cows have been dropping all winter is starting to thaw, and starting to smell. It is not nice. The Bag Lady has become accustomed to it over the years, and barely notices it any more. There are worse smells - thawing horse poop smells even worse; at least, as far as the Bag Lady is concerned! But it is a fact of life on a ranch. Spring doesn't smell like flowers, it smells like shit!

But notwithstanding, spring is still the Bag Lady's favourite time of year. She loves the warming of the earth, the melting of the snow, even the thawing of the poop!


But enough about poop....

Here are some pictures the Bag Lady took this morning (and one from yesterday morning) to share with you spring's progress!

This was the sunrise yesterday morning:



And guess what? It came up again this morning!!



This is out in the pasture - a sign of how much it melted yesterday (this puddle was not there the day before!! And yes, there is poop in this picture!):



Still lots of snow on the lawn, though:


But the driveway is peeking through, and muddy!


The best news of all? The Bag Lady saw a couple of flocks of Canada Geese when she was driving home from town yesterday - a sure sign that spring is here! Yippee!!

28 comments:

Geosomin said...

If the geese are coming, it's gonna thaw :)
That's what I keep telling myself. Once I see pelicans here I know spring is here to stay...I'm hoping the giant birds will be flying in very soon...

I could never get the hang of Febreeze...it smells like "something"...I prefer to smell nothing at all. I blame it on my asthma - most scents aggrivate it, so I prefer unscented things, other than essential oils or flowers.
I could see it being prefereable to Eu De Cow though. :)

the Bag Lady said...

I confess - I have a weakness for perfumes and pretty smells. (Drives my sister crazy because of her allergies....)

Let me know when the pelicans arrive, 'kay? (we don't have them here) We have geese, swans and sandhill cranes, though!

Rupal said...

WOOHOO!! Great news BL!

Smell of horse sh*t all over this city bc the someone (not sure who I'm guessing the guards) ride their horses around the city early morning, leaving little parcels around everywhere.. which for some reason the dog loves to eat...GROSS!

Happy Spring, friend!
~rupal

Sagan said...

Pretty! (Sunrise. Not poop)

Love it when the Canadian geese all start coming back. I think- I THINK- spring might really be coming to Canada (dare we dream?)

Leah J. Utas said...

Love the sunrise through the clematis. Actually, I like all your pics and, as an old farm girl, I even like the textured pasture shot.

Two geese flew over the house this morning as I collected the newspaper off the front porch. Spring indeed!

Lucas said...

We are starting to feel some encouragement here in MN too BL. Snow is melted, tiny greens are sprouting and the sun has made a few appearences. Still cold but warming a bit. Not as much poop to smell here but I would put up with poop if it meant I could run around in shorts and flippers again! :)

the Bag Lady said...

Rupal - I don't know what it is about poop, but I've never met a dog yet who could resist tasting it! Especially calf poop - must be the milk content. And yes, it is disgusting....:)

Sagan - yes, I think we can start to dream of spring (but quietly, so we don't scare it away!)

dfLeah - Thanks! I just can't stop taking pictures of sunrises.... it's a compulsion!
I heard geese honking this morning when I was out checking cows, but didn't see them.

Lucas - you have green?! I'm jealous! The Rancher cleared some snow off the high spot out in the pasture so the cows will have a dry place (it is getting very wet in a lot of the areas they have spent the winter)and the cows have been happily grazing there! Silly cows - there's perhaps a quarter inch of grass, but they are so tired of hay, they don't seem to care that they are not actually getting much to eat!

JavaChick said...

Ah, spring in the country! I grew up with a cow pasture across the road from my house, so I know it well...

the Bag Lady said...

JavaChick - right about the time the smell becomes almost unbearable, things dry up and the smell (almost) goes away! :)

Levi said...

I love poop blogs. They are my favorite. But I doubt I'd buy a 3 pack of poop scented Febreeze or any scent of Febreeze for fear it might cause cancer.

Loved a couple of those pics! Beautiful.

the Bag Lady said...

POD - Febreze causes cancer?! Crap.

Glad you liked the poop post - there's definitely no shortage of shit around here.... :)

Missicat said...

Have to admit we don't have to worry about horse and/or cow poop around here....though the geese by the river tend to leave little "presents" all along the bike trail. Yuck!
It was FINALLY warm (sort of) and sunny this past weekend! :-)
No pelicans though...

Levi said...

BL, it will be YEARS before we find out if Febreeze causes cancer.
People will actually say, "OMG, you have cancer? I bet it was from that 3 pack of Febreeze you bought that time at Costco."

Tom Rooney said...

It takes a lot of manure to make some really good roses. Helps with the food too. The greatest recycling is to grow hay for the cows, they poop it out and it gets sprinkled back in to grow hay again.

Here’s hoping you're walking in the dry spots BL.

Reb said...

Wow, how did we both manage to blog about poop on the same day? lol

Lovely sunrises Sis.

JavaChick said...

At our place, it was only bad for a short period of time - probably because we didn't actually live on a farm, there was just one close by. I think in our case what happened was: in the spring, the farmer would spread "fertilizer" on the cow pasture. The "fertilizer" was produced by pigs. For about a week you'd hate to go outside, but after that it would be fine. Unless you were actually driving by the pig farm. That just never got better.

Hilary said...

What is it with you and your sister that compels you to post photos of poop? :) Lovely sunrises, Baggie. You always capture the best.. when you're not photographing poop. ;)

the Bag Lady said...

Missicat - goose droppings are not very pleasant, either - especially when there are a lot of them! Slippery damned stuff...

POD - you're probably right! LOL

Tom - that's the circle thing going on, isn't it? Too bad dog poop isn't as good for the lawn as the cow manure is for the hayfield! (Because now that the snow is melting off the lawn, I realize where the dog has been doing her business...sigh.)

Reb - must just be a shitty day all around! LOL

JavaChick - oh, yes, I forgot about pig manure - it smells SO bad - beats out cow and horse hands down!!

Hilary - I'm not sure what brought on the simultaneous poop posts! And I do try not to photograph much poop, which isn't always easy! Dang pasture is full of it! :)

solarity said...

Feel free to ship some manure down my way. I'm trying to grow a garden in what seems to be pure clay. There is better soil around, but it's too far from the house to be safe from deer.

Mary Anne in Kentucky

the Bag Lady said...

Mary Anne in Kentucky - it sounds as though you need to add some sand, too! Our soil here has a high clay content, too. I add manure, ashes from the woodstove and sand. Seems to help.

Crabby McSlacker said...

Beautiful photos.

But I am still giggling over "on a ranch, spring doesn't smell like flowers, it smells like shit!"

You really should make needlepoint pillows with that quotation embroidered on them.

the Bag Lady said...

Crabby - I already do.... :)

David Cranmer said...

Gorgeous sunrise pics!

the Bag Lady said...

Thanks, David!

Redbush said...

I had the same reaction to the geese that you did, Bag Lady! It was so nice to see them in their v-shape honking way up there. Yes, we see the mud coming as well. Oh, well, that will pass! Bring on spring weather!

the Bag Lady said...

Yay for geese!! There is a lot of mud right now, but it's thawing slowly enough that I think a lot of the moisture is going to soak into the ground.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

WOWSA! I love that 2nd picture of the sunrise!! It's actually quite wonderful that it rises again and again each day. :)

Whenever we drive past a farm, I repeat what my husband learned from his farming ancestors: "Smells like money!" I've learned to appreciate that smell. (Farm smell, not actual money...because who wants to be sticking coins up her nose?)

the Bag Lady said...

kcinnova - that's what the Rancher's family says, too!
Although the money part is less and less, so it really smells more like shit all the time.... :)