I love the small and surprising moments that happen on a farm almost every day. This morning, Maria went to pick up the manure rake and there was a baby barn swallow, just near the nest, sitting comfortably on the rake handle. Maria didn’t see it at first, and when she picked up the rake, the sparrow ended up on her hands. He seemed at ease there.

She put the sparrow back near the next just as the angry mother arrived to swoop. He is back in the nest now.