Sunday Morning in the Pasture

I switched lenses this morning to get a different view of What's In The Pasture. The sheep followed me to the horse pasture gate but I didn't let them out there. 

Instead I climbed on the gate to get a photo of the neighbor's alfalfa being cut.

This hawk was flying over the field hopeful that breakfast would be flushed out from the alfalfa harvest.

Western Kingbird on the powerline at the south end of the pasture.

Swainson's hawk over our pasture.

Buckeye butterfly. I read that adults live for a little over a week and that plantain is one of the plants where they lay eggs. There is plenty of that in the pasture right now. I'll have to go inspect those for eggs and caterpillars.

This might be a Forage Looper Moth--that is the closest ID I got from browsing the internet for look-alike moths and butterflies.

Johnson grass. This grass is taller than me and is growing at the south end of the pasture. We try to get rid of it when we find it because it is very competitive and the sheep won't eat the coarse leaves and stems. From the internet: "Under certain conditions, the leaves of johnsongrass (and sorghum) can produce toxic amounts of hydrocyanic acid, which can poison livestock when ingested." 

The medusahead is drying out. 

I moved the fence and the sheep were ready to go out for breakfast.