The Year at Maple Hill Farm

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THE YEAR AT MAPLE HILL FARM

Alice and Martini Proveoseim

A JONATHAN CAPE BOOK

ATHENEUM

1978

NEW YORK

For Dinah

A

Children's Choice

Book Club

Copyright© 1978 by Alice and Marl All rights reserved

Printed in the United Statesol Vmi ISBN: 0-590-75784-9

i

Edition

THE YE This

book about farm animals,

a

is

And what happens during one The The The The

year

is

year on a farm.

divided into twelve months,

months are divided weeks into days,

into weeks,

days into minutes, a farm something

And on

is

happening every minute.

Animals don't know there is such a thing as a year, But they do know about seasons. Animals know when the cold will come, And they grow heavy overcoats.

They know when

And

When And

it is

summer,

they shed them. it is

hot, they look for shade,

in winter,

they look for shelter.

People have names for what they

call

the months of the year.

We

could start with any month as far as the animals are concerned,

But

it is

usual to begin with January.

January

Cows

is

a winter

stay in the barnyard

many

month. The ground

when

the ground

is

is

frozen. So

covered with snow,

do the chickens,

eggs are laid in January. The days are too short and dark. The horses don't mind the cold. Neither do the sheep with their heavy winter coats.

but not

us

a

All the farm animals stay close to the barn where they are fed. There is hay and grain to eat. Even the wild deer come nearer the farm, hoping to find a little salt or a windfall apple under the snow.

February follows Janoary The forest pood

The children

are having a skating party.

the fire and toast their toes and noses. all

winter. You'd think their bare feet

When

is

they are cold, they

frozen

sit

The geese play in the icy water would freeze but they never do.

by

SO.IK

soy place

The noisy rooks

are having a circus.

They

toss

of bare branches. Rooks like winter. Under the frozen ground, the water rat

is

napping.

and tumble on the trapezes ice, in a

tunnel in the

He won't be up

until spring.

spring

is

comiog. There are signs of s

The pony has given birth to a foal. She loves him and looks after him.

The milk cow has a new calf. She loves him and gives him her

The good grey barn

The nanny goat has

litter

cat has her

of kittens in the hay rack.

The mother ewe has two new lambs.

a

new

milk.

kid, too.

mothers are proud and protective and full of love. All the animal

windy amid rainy but when the §00 does shine, brightly and the s are longer. There are signs of si March

is

A

The robins

are back and are busy building their nests.

The geese are cranky. They must have laid an

The

ice

wild duck

is

The

in

the marsh marigolds.

The meadow mice

are

out looking around.

egg.

rooster

it

s

wakes everyone

earlier in the

morning.

The mad March hare hurrying

on the pond has melted and there are pussy willows. The horses have found

grass under the last patches of snow. see that often

if

the ground

is

frozen.

They

lie

down

is

in all directions.

in the pale sunshine.

You don't

a little

5s

a spool

The good old brown hen has been busy sitting on eggs for twenty-one days. Now her baby chicks are hatching. It must be hard to pick your way out of an egg, but the chicks are pretty and fluffy in no time.

:ggs do the

The robins

bam,

am

the

fields, in

are already hatching

eggs in their business-like way.

This big bird

is

laying her egg in a

little

bird's nest.

Here

is

She must be cuckoo.

a basket of

coloured eggs

among the flowers. No one has found it

yet.

the trees, moder the eaves, everywhere.

This

silly

goose has

laid

an egg

in

the middle of nowhere. She must be crazy.

This

little

bird

is

She must wonder

feeding her babies.

why

one baby

Dogs steal eggs when they can them and carry them away. Perhaps dogs make

nests, too.

is

find

so bi£

ay days are

warm. The aonmals are oocomfortable with their heavy

veryone gets a haircut one way or another. The woolly sheep are shorn.

The black sheep-dog She

is

shorn

at the

will scarcely be recognizable

grow back

in time for

same time -not

without her long

a

very fancy clip. but they will

curls,

winter and she will look herself again.

The rooster won't be himself until he can parade

his fine tail feathers again.

Even though it's cool and comfortable, it must be embarrassing to lose all your clothes all at once. Cats don't need clipping. They shed their coats on other people's clothes and furniture.

Jyoe

is

the

ifirst

month of suiminnier. The fanm pood

Is

Horses eat grass. Geese eat grass. Cows and sheep and goats eat grass. Chickens eat grass, but that's not the reason the chickens are out in the pasture — they are chasing insects. The horses stir up insects with their big feet. Chickens love insects. too,

The pasture

The mother duck

is gmeeini.

is out on the pond. She is teaching her ducklings to swim. Someone else out today, too. The good grey cat is teaching her kittens to hunt. That bird is safe on his branch, but those squirrels had better watch out — cats don't eat grass or insects. is

In

June there are enough insects to go around. fields are hopping with insects -grasshoppers and leaf-hoppers and tree-hoppers.

The

»&i/.

"<•

m% There are plenty of flies around in JuneDragon-flies and mayflies and blue flies and

In

June there are enough horse-flies

to

butterflies.

go around and around.

In

summer

the fields are full of flowers.

Goats and sheep like flowers. Bees like flowers. Everyone likes flowers.

'Ax The flowers

't-J'i

are buzzing with bees

!\/^#// {'/J^WjlT^JA

— bumble-bees

and honey-bees and busy bees.

Flowers like bees. They need them.

In

summer

the grass

is

hopping with

fleas.

No one

likes fleas.

They

bite.

one. Its

There are so many sounds

to listen to.

Frogs croak. Crickets chirp.

The old people on the porch

A cow

lows

now and

then.

An owl

is

hooting to another owl.

are chatting in

low voices about old times.

You can hear loft in

the steady clank of the conveyor carrying the sweet-scented hay to the

the barn.

You can hear

You can hear

a

Sometimes,

everything

if

is

men as they work. warning strangers from her nest in the shed. moment, you can hear the horses eating grass.

the quiet laughter of the

mother goose hissing

softly,

silent for a

Aygost

is

the

last

summer

month,, The sky

3s

Woe. The son shines.

The sun shines and shines. The cows doze away the noonday.

The sheep graze and graze all day. The lambs are growing by the minute.

The flowers

The vegetables need

are growing, too. Flowers

need hours of attention

in

August

heat.

is

stealing lettuce.

Someone watchdog

attention, too.

What good

is

a

Almost asleep will

still

wag

in a

puddle of dust, a dog you walk by.

his tail as

The geese

are quieter in August. All

the noisy nesting

is

over for

a while.

•'^^^^^,"^''» •"•"T//

'Mi

'

wmmmm The pig has tipped over her she has a cool

mud puddle

pail.

Now

to sleep in.

You know it is hot when that old comes out for a breath of air.

cat

,

a

s

and the summer

as

over.

The days

lhnesll

are shorter

Everyone begins to wake up after the heat of summer. The evenings are pleasant in September and the horses

September

are lively.

They are brought in from the field to be shod. The horses aren't afraid of the blacksmith. They are used to him. They don't mind having their shoes nailed on. It doesn't hurt.

5s

here

Now the

days are cooler and a sense of change is the first month of ay twnron,

September

Autumn

is

a fine time for riding,

even

if it's

don't mind raindrops but the big bay horse

want

to leave his stall.

raining. is

Most animals and doesn't

ticklish

Animals can be very temperamental.

is

in

the

Animals, just as people do, sometimes have to take medicine.

They have

to take

worm

medicine and they don't

Some dogs will eat their pill wrapped up in cheese

what they

and they can't smell

matter

if it's

it.

Sheep will stand quietly to take their medicine — if you get a good grip on them and hold their noses.

like

Some dogs don't eat,

how

Most

it

it

much.

Geese never need worming They even eat worms. Thev are lucky.

care

no smells.

cats will eat their

dinner, but there

is

medicine mixed up

be wrapped in a towel to

in their

one who mus have her pill pushed dowi

always

a scratchy

While most animals

will take their

an argument, there are some

who

medicine without too

Some horses never make

Some horses

a fuss about pills.

if pills

They don't

It's

It's

taste so bad.

much

of

won't.

are suspicious

are put in their grain.

not the taste,

it's

the smell that worries them.

not easy to hold a temperamental horse's nose — and you can't

a towel.

The vet has

Frightening as

it is,

it

to

be called, and he needs

will all

a

wrap up

a horse in

helper to get the medicine down.

be forgotten in a minute. Animals don't hold grudges.

October

Am

is

a splendid

month. The harvest

is in.

early frost

is in the barn. The corn is in the crib. There's not much left to eat in the and the animals stay closer to the barnyard. The chickens go to roost earlier

The hay fields

and not so many eggs are

laid.

October

clays are

dry aod bright but

stall

the wild birds are restless

The children gather pumpkins. The squirrels are gathering nuts, filling their own storehouses with food. Soon the leaves will all be gone. At any moment the migrant will rise

and

start their

journey south.

birds

November! There is a frost pearly every might of snow and winter The first thin ice

mow The

air

smells

5

The woods around the farm echo the huntsman's horn. The hunting hounds bay.

In

November, before winter comes finally, a few of the animals leave the farm. are sold, the finest are borrowed by the neighbours for breeding.

Some

1

The oorth wind blows= The bare branches

rattle The foi

winter

I

The wild geese honk

A

as they pass by.

1 1

,,,

j\\,lhif

The saw and the woodsmen

si

>\

are noisy too.

few ganders are sent along as gifts. Everyone likes ganders. can't have too many ganders — except in the barn through the winter.

You

IS

IS

is the time to be in the barn. There is hay and grain to eat. There are places to play or hide or dream. There are warm straw beds.

Now

soow The days

are

December is the last month of the year. Now is the time on sleep. Everyone goes to bed earlier in wintertime.

Is

e

to catch

up

An

is the only one awake January of another year.

old barn owl

to greet the

No, here are the deer, come silently to the barnyard for a bit of salt

And

and

a little left-over hay.

the quiet fox

is

making

the chickens are safe in bed this

certain

New

Year's Eve.

Please turn the page.

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