Barn Swallows and Bats

In and out of the barn they go, one during the day the other at night.  Both feed on the wing, one is a bird the other a mammal.  They occupy some of the same beams in the barn, one builds a nest of mud and grass, the other roosts in crevices.  They share the same world in such close proximity yet their worlds are vastly different.  This is my hope for the Casey Farm, that it become a place where beings from different pasts and different worlds can, in their comings and goings, discover a place to call home.  I also want Casey Farm to stay much as it is, a place that attracts life and affirms it.  How do we strike this balance of becoming and staying the same.  This is the challenge of bringing new life to an old barn.

Nests seem to be everywhere today.  We have an owl nest high in the black cherry where fruit trees once grew, and a blue jay nest on a scrubby low branch of a box elder. The nuthatch occupies a whole in the old oak and the phoebe has once again built its nest above the back door on top of the floodlights. We have witnessed Turkey Vultures that seem very interested in a small platform at the top of the silo.  Bird life is everywhere, filling every niche.