A post on my Phil’s From the Farm Facebook fan page about the still abundant population of sandhill cranes hanging around our farm and throughout the area attracted reader attention last week. Reader Patricia Fitzsimons of Travelers Rest, South Carolina, and originally from Highland, where she graduated from Highland High School in 1967, said she recalls many flocks of sandhill cranes when she “lived up North” but also remembers them departing on their migration journey and leaving the Midwest by the end of September. “I loved seeing them flying over the house and the sounds they made talking to each other,” Fitzsimons said. Reader Richard Liedtky of Plymouth said when growing up in the North Judson area, sandhill cranes were a favorite fixture of fall but didn’t stay around through the winter months. “I remember when the fields by my Uncle Joe Dolezal’s farm, where they were so thick with flocks of sandhill cranes, you could barely see the ground,” Liedtky said. “Those darn solar farms have driven most away.” While development and urban span around Jasper County and tiny Wheatfield are likely two reasons for today’s crowds of cranes to continue to move further east into our farmland of Starke County, neither reason explains why these big birds are lingering around while temperatures for the start of the new year now hover in the January teens. I’m sure the climate change of recent years and the move to milder winters with less cold and snow in the Midwest has kept some sandhill cranes content to “weather out” any extreme weather. According to the National Park Service, sandhill cranes are one of the migratory birds spending most of the year in the upper parts of North America and northeastern Siberia. In the spring, they make their way north across North America for breeding, stopping in states like Nebraska, Idaho, Oregon and Alaska to raise their young, and then by fall, winter to the south to Florida, Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. Sandhill cranes also rank as one of “the world’s oldest bird species,” with fossils having been discovered dating back at least two million years. Along our farm road, our farm neighbors the Wappels have ducks and geese who happily weather through the winter, basking along the water’s edge of their large pond adjacent to the main driveway of their home. The pond is 12 feet deep at its east section, and it features a 20-foot-high center focal point fountain which keeps the water moving to prevent stagnation in the summer and freezing in the winter. The pond is naturally fed by an underground spring. A pair of Muscovy ducks were purchased and arrived in September 2024 at the Wappel farm in San Pierre to reside as ornamental waterfowl around Larry and Debbie Wappel’s large pond landscape, which includes a focal point fountain. (Philip Potempa/for Post-Tribune) Farm wife friend Deb Wappel said her husband Larry’s most recent addition to their feathered family living at their pond is a pair of Muscovy ducks, characterized by brilliant and colorful plumage and native to Argentina and Uruguay, as well as found in New Zealand, Australia and Eastern Europe. They arrived in September. While all of the Wappel’s waterfowl have the advantage of a small house waterside for shelter and mounds of cracked corn for dining, they still must avoid their animal enemies from the countryside including river otters, raccoons (which love to steal eggs), coyotes and foxes. Last month, in honor of Larry’s 70th birthday, Deb hosted a farm breakfast brunch and served delicious, easy vegetarian quiches as the main course and happily shared the recipe for my column. If desired, canned or shredded meat can also be included as an ingredient addition. Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at [email protected] or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374. Deb Wappel’s Mini Vegetable Breakfast Quiche Makes one dozen mini-quiches 8 eggs 1 1/2 cans evaporated milk 1 tablespoon onion salt 1/2 pound egg noodles 10 ounces frozen mixed vegetables 10 ounces shredded cheddar cheese 1 1/2 cups shredded chicken or drained tuna (optional) Directions: 1. Beat together eggs and evaporated milk. 2. Add salt, egg noodles, mixed vegetables, shredded cheese and shredded chicken or tuna to mixture. 3. Spoon mixture into cupcake pans and sprinkle shredded cheese on top. 4. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.