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   Saturday, global warming set in. It only lasted for one day, but we enjoyed it while we had the opportunity. The temperature rose to over eighty degrees, which was a record for this time of year. 

   My wife and I set out on the side-by-side with no real plans in mind. We drove along several fence lines looking for antlers that have been shed by the deer in the last month or so. From the number of deer we see anytime we cross the farm and capture pictures on the trail cameras, a person expects to see an antler every ten feet or so. Unfortunately, this is not the case. We drove around in several likely locations and did not find any. The best we could do was find a nice stick that looked just like an antler as well as several weeds that from a distance were able to make us check them out. We had no luck but did have a good time looking. We were not too disappointed at not finding any antlers as we have yet to find a good use for the large number we already have from previous years’ antler hunts. 

   We continued our journey over to Damon’s place. When we got there, he was bringing his beagle puppies out to introduce them to grass for the first time. At first, they were quite apprehensive about the strange texture of the ground. They huddled in a pile and whimpered, wanting the comfort of their cozy kennel. Shortly, they started exploring as they found the warm grass and bright sunshine was rather nice. In no time, they were bouncing around and wrestling with each other. They played for several minutes, going as hard as their little short legs would carry them. Before long, they began to wear down and started to look for anyone who would hold and cuddle them while they took a nap. We each had two or three little soft puppies curled up and sound asleep in the warm sunshine. We each took our puppies back to their anxious mother and started our journey toward home. 

   In the pasture below the dam, we saw three gobblers and a hen turkey. The gobblers were all in full strut and beautiful with the sunshine reflecting off their feathers. We were more impressed with them than the hen was. She ignored them as she went about scratching and pecking like they were not there.

   When we got to the beehive, we stopped to watch the bees come and go. They were out in large numbers bringing in the pollen from the very early spring sources. As we sat there, a mouse peeked out from behind the insulation I have protecting the hive. I have a metal guard on the opening where the bees go in so I know he cannot get in the hive itself, but I do not want him to try. We went to the house to get a couple of mouse traps and

a bucket with a few inches of water in it. My wife spread some peanut butter a few inches from the top and I baited the spring traps. We went back to the hive and set up our trap line. A narrow board was propped against the bucket to serve as a ramp so the mice can go up, reach for the peanut butter and fall in the water. The other traps were set near the opening in the insulation. 

   Our round of global warming did not last long as the low temperature on Sunday was back down to thirty degrees. A person must enjoy it while they can.

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