Autumn Mischief

Fall is my favorite time of the year. It lets me know I've survived another Texas summer. You truly don't know what the weather will be, even in the same day. And while all of nature typically "dies", there's a certain level of mischief in the air. This last day of August, I got to witness a peek of how fall will be on the farm. 

With the rains finishing mid afternoon, the animals all took turns being wild and crazy. In a funny and cute way, of course. The donkeys ran in literal circles in the pen. Fancy runs regally with her head proudly up and her hooves dancing on the ground. Patches likes to bend her ears down, her head down, and tries to break the speed force. The goats like to dance and jump around like they are at some weird dance party. The cows, they absolutely love to feel the wind blow through their hair. Trust me, it's like watching a shampoo commercial. 

Let's not forget about the domesticated animals. The pups were right there running along the pen with the donkeys. The cats are literally climbing the walls in the RV. And the chickens, they are in hog heaven with all the bugs that have appeared from the rains. I can't wait until the outside perimeter is finished, then all the animals will have so much more room to roam!

We Got Hitched!

Yeah, we're already married, but now we're married with a livestock trailer! For a steal of a deal, our farrier located, picked up and delivered an awesome trailer for us. Let's put it this way, he drove about twelve hours total just to get this deal done and we couldn't be more thankful. We're very fortunate to be finding so many great people helping us with our farm life. 

We've also had a blissful rainy day. Rob and I cancelled any errands to run and we all just relaxed on the farm. Rob got to witness Nutty making himself alluring to the females. In case y'all don't know, male goats urinate on their beards to attract their suitors. I guess it's the Axe body spray for goats. Nutty also showed he's the only male for the goats by also urinating on Rob's leg. Rob is not so nutty for Nutty right now. 

All is well and we're settling in for a lazy evening. We're going to enjoy it because we've got lots to do tomorrow!

Not Soon Enough

Gator is working away on the fence, but it's not soon enough. Haha. We've loaded so many animals in there now, they need more room to roam. Let's be honest, other areas of the ground need to be trampled on anyway. 

We're supposedly going to get rain tomorrow which will be good. While everything turns to mud and all the animals smell atrocious wet, we need the rain. We need a gully washer, not quite a toad strangler though. Just getting country, don't mind me. 

Anyway, we should have a special delivery tomorrow. I'll announce it in tomorrow's blog, however I'll assure you it's not a new animal. Yet. 

We're All Nutty

The weekend went by very quickly, but boy did we make some headway. David fixed our pavilion up with water and electricity! The new fence perimeter for the animals have been cemented by Gator. Lastly, we brought Nutty home. 

Meet the father to be for our eldest girls. He was born last Halloween, has already proven himself as a father to a different doe at his old home, and is the sweetest guy. I didn't take that pic or the next pic, but the other pics I did. You can see he fits right in here. We already love him greatly! Patches hazed him a little with play and all the girl goats loved him. You'll see Scotchie doing her customary welcome dance. 

Weekend Ready

Want to hear something insane? We contacted a moving company to get Senior's furniture out of assisted living. They asked for pictures, which we supplied. To move one king sized bed, one desk, one loveseat, one recliner, one dresser, one nightstand and one TV, they wanted to charge us $3500! Keep in mind, there are no boxes, nothing special about any of the furniture, and other than our being old and not wanting to move it ourselves, this is the price given. Nope. We're renting a trailer and asking Gator to help us!

But other than that, I'm ready for the weekend. Rob and I are going to clear out stuff of ours we had put in the barn which most of is destroyed now thanks to the animals. I've got a bottle of champagne I've sat on for over the summer waiting to drink with anyone who wanted to visit, but now I'm going to drink it all myself. I've earned it. 

Lastly, I'm ready to sit in my pavilion and watch my animals live their best life. I found that all the animals love a molasses cracker treat I picked up at tractor supply, so now they get to start doing tricks for treats!

S'mores trick: finding an empty treat bag that blew into the pen and getting it stuck on her head

Six Months

We've been here a little over six months now and Senior has been with us one week. In some ways, we've accomplished a lot. In others, let's just say Pluto may finally orbit the sun by the time everything's done. 

On the farm side, we're doing great. We've got all our girls and one stud. Soon, we'll be researching whether to do artificial insemination for our older goats, or get a male goat. The perimeter fence is going up now to give them more room and soon we'll be buying a cattle shoot to work with our Highlands better. Our previous deal with a livestock trailer fell through, so we'll also be looking for one elsewhere. 

On the human side of things, we're not getting anywhere fast. We're still waiting for finance to finish their work so our builder can start his draws for all the backordered stuff. There's a delay in metal, pouring concrete, windows, and that's all we know thus far. Who knows what other delays we'll come across. It'll happen one day, hopefully sooner than Pluto!

Bull Senior

As Senior seemed peppier today, I decided to have him walk from the outside gate to the barn gate and be introduced to Fergus. Once Fergus realized Senior had the treats, he was his best friend! 

We also found out that all our chicks are laying! Half of them have decided to roost at the top of an armoire we have out there storing the treats. It's seven feet tall, but they used a nearby step ladder to make it up there. They just continue to amaze me!

Tomorrow, Senior finally gets his stitches out and then have more mobility. He's been doing well though and only getting stronger!

Slinging Mud

We got glorious rain today! Lots of it, too. Luckily, not as much as Dallas. What does rain do to a farm though? It creates mud. Slick, boot sucking mud. I had to deliver hay to the barn and did a whole lot of mud slinging in the four wheel drive. That was fun!

The goats do not like rain at all, so they stayed inside the barn all day. That was by their choice, not ours. The donkeys went in during the rain, but immediately came out to frolic in the mud afterwards. The cows, they stood outside in the rain and took a nature's bath. Fiona was so happy with the cooler and wetter weather, she even played with Fergus some. Flora just stood there letting the rain wash over her ass she slowly sank her hooves deeper in the growing mud. We're in for more rain tomorrow, can't wait to see them enjoy it again. 

We still haven't gotten our trailer yet, but we're going to have to do something about stocking up with hay. It's becoming more scarce and the prices have gone up, so it's time. 

Working the Kinks Out

Well, we've overall done pretty well with Senior's arrival. I let him unpack himself mostly so he'd have the best idea of where to find things. He's learning that we don't go to the store daily, which is unheard of for him. I truly don't know if he still doesn't trust refrigeration from his youth or if he just really likes going to the grocery store. 

Each day, I've made sure he's gotten some exercise and he's already begun one of his chores. Every day, he has to take the trash out to the bin. Even if we just have a grocery sack of trash for him, we want him to do it daily. As he builds up strength, we'll add to his list of chores. He talked about wanting to grow tomatoes, that might be the next thing. We'll see. 

The only thing we're all having to work on is meals. Rob and I are used to one meal a day, he's used to three. We're managing two for him and so far that's working. He has snacks, so don't think I'm starving him. He's yet to go to the farm animals though. Hopefully this week he will. 

A New Arrival

Well, it's begun. Senior has now officially moved to the farm. We wore him out with running errands today, so the first day was easy. If anyone wants to know what it's like to get to 88, I'll break it down for you. Everything hurts. Your brain thinks your body can do things it can't. Also, your attention span is as quick as a toddler's. But if you're fortunate to live this long, you should be fortunate enough to have someone take good care of you and give you a life worth living. We hope to do this for him. 

Alas, we didn't get any rain today. Everyone else around us did, so good for them. It was probably for the best, we didn't need mud getting in the way of things. 

Everyone have a great weekend and next week we'll share all our new adventures!

Maybe Weatherman

Earlier this week, the weatherman predicted today would be the last day of the year for triple digits. I think all of Texas will wholeheartedly support him, but we know we're not guaranteed anything. It looks fortunate though, as tonight we witnessed a rainbow with a hint of a secondary rainbow. No rain for us today, that's supposedly tomorrow, and everyone is looking forward to wet and cooler weather. 

In fact, Fergus has gotten to the point where he dips his hooves in the baby pool. Next year we hope to have more of a pond for him, but at least he's getting somewhat cooler. He looks a hot mess and I might just come out with shampoo tomorrow for him if it does rain. Really, the boy is disgusting as boys are. 

Regardless of the weather, Senior is adamant about moving in tomorrow. It's not like he has to do anything anyway, so what's it to him? I just hope I find enough solace with my animals in the more trying times!

Fabulous Donkeys

There are those jokes about being stubborn, but my donkeys are truly a daily delight for me. They love to play with each other. Sometimes, they even let the goats play with them. Whenever I come up to the fence, they're the first ones to greet me and love to give me as much attention as I can handle. Patches is a little bit overzealous with wanting treats, but she tells Fancy it's just because she's bigger and hungrier. 

Those two make me believe I can handle horses. I could be completely wrong, but my heart is telling me our farm needs a couple of horses. Maybe a mare with her filly. Thoughts?

In the meantime, I'm loving the beauty and spirit of my donkeys. The only thing they're not great at is hee-hawing, but they try! 

Getting Things Done

Monday is about to end, but we've accomplished a bit for the day. We got the container delivered, packed up a portion of Senior's place, handled the three youngest goats. My favorite part was holding my goats. 

It looks like Senior will be moving in with us on Thursday. In the meantime, we've got to finish packing up his stuff, get the extra groceries he'll require (we don't eat near as much as he does), and get odds and ends taken care of for his arrival. 

It is my hope that Senior will relax when he moves out here. I've enjoyed the laid back attitude of the farm and I don't want that to change!

Cocoa and Scotchie being the queens they are

Nice Surprises

We've had a run of good luck lately. We meet with our builder on Friday, signed the contract, and then took it to the bank. He told us he put an earlier deadline for the appraisal and we might close a week or earlier than originally slated!

Fiona had her first heat cycle this past weekend and showed me a lot of the signs to look for. Her only male counterpart, Fergus, is not ready yet, much to her disappointment. Maybe let it get cooler first, ok Fiona? You already don't like the heat!

Senior had an early emergency room visit resulting in ten stitches to his toe. He doesn't know how it happened and he doesn't want this to delay his plans of moving to the farm this week. 

Lots happening this week. Senior moving in with a container being delivered, his furniture moving, and his septic holding tank being delivered. Our pavilion is getting electricity and water. Our farrier is coming out to look at our old mule (Kawasaki not animal). Lastly, our livestock trailer will be delivered! All while I start deciding on doors, windows, and the steel color for the barndo. 

Last thing before I go, one of our quails has decided to stay with us in a free range capacity. It was great seeing him/her tonight!

I'm not the bull you're looking for Fiona

Go Free

We've had such bad luck with quail, that today we decided to give it a rest. After a bird passed away Monday, Rob and I discussed it and decided today to let the remaining two go. They probably won't make it in the wild, but they weren't making it with us and the heat either. 

Once we get the barndo built, we will try again. This next time though, I'll be buying the birds just hatched and raise them from there. We've had such great success with our chickens, we feel this is the way to go. But not with this heat, and not with us being in an RV. 

I'm a little sad as they were great birds. But I got them too old and couldn't control the horrible heat. Even Fiona has felt the heat today, or she could just possibly be in heat!

Rain Dance

We finally got some rain! It wasn't a lot, but we'll take it. It dropped the temps down by 20 degrees as it came through this afternoon and Rob and I have been much happier since then. 

After the rains, we sat in our pavilion and watched the animals enjoy the cooler weather. Patches and Fancy ran loops. Fergus and Flora took turns playing with Kenzie through the fence. Fiona took great pleasure in just letting the wind blow through her hair. 

The goats have become spoiled and decided wet ground is yucky. They frolicked inside the barn with their goat games. I'm going to have to put a camera in there to watch. 

Before the rain

After the rain

All About Flora

I wanted to gush on Flora today. Fiona and Fergus are so pushy for attention, but Flora is just barely accepting pettings now. She trusts us and will follow us everywhere, but she doesn't get what all the fuss is about with treats. While she allows brushing no problem, she's still shy with petting and being told how pretty she is. I'll keep telling her until she believes me. 

I do notice her blonde is turning more red. That's completely ok as red is the pre-dominate color for Highlands. I happen to love red haired animals. Newbies don't know this, but Rob was a fiery redhead in his day. 

Anyhow, she wears as much hay as she eats as she's so small. She trusts Fergus completely, even though he routinely gets both himself and her stuck in the goat stall. She looks up to Fiona and tries to take her lead on what's edible and what isn't. But I think she loves the goats most of all. She watches them and their antics like they are her own personal comedy show. We all love Flora!

The Missing Pouch

For the animals, I usually wear a fanny pack to hold a mixture of treats in. Granted, the pack is not that large to hold but a few cattle cubes and a handful of donkey treats, but it helps when I need to quickly praise God behavior. 

Well, it's disappeared! I believe I left it on the pavilion table completely zipped up. None of my animals, other than the pups, can get to the pavilion, but the pups haven't shown that they've taken it. I believe there is a wild creature that has discovered a treasure chest full of treats just for him. While I don't try to feed the wildlife, it's my own fault and now I know that future treat pouches just remain with me at all times!

Pavilion Charm

Thanks to Gator, we were able to enjoy the pavilion this weekend! Rob got all the furniture assembled and we now have a place to watch the animals, get some shade, and sit and relax. In time, we'll be adding a dining table with chairs and a little kitchen area also to this spot. Then, we can eat, drink and relax somewhere other than the RV. 

As for the barndo, the countdown for finance of 45 days started this past Friday. So much for a quick turnaround! Oh well, September 19th or earlier we'll finally break ground. 

In the meantime, we're going to be spending this week getting Senior ready to move to the farm (date of move unknown yet), and chart out some new fencing for Gator to do. The animals are ready to venture more, but I want to make sure they do it safely. 

It's A Mule

One of the conditions for Senior moving out to our land, was he had to have a working mule. At 88 years old, he doesn't need to have to navigate thirty acres without assistance. So on Tuesday, we got him a mule. Yesterday, it was delivered. Today, he got to drive it. 

This man drove around the whole acreage with no one but Reggie with him. Even Reggie didn't trust his driving and decided to go on paw. I watched the whole time, but even I was impressed he went the full distance. That wore him out though, so now we know his limits. 

He did threaten to drive his truck back to the nursing home. I said he could of he answered one question correctly. I asked him the name of the town we were living in. He couldn't remember and that's why I do the driving!

Land Leasing

So Gator asked if he could lease some of our back thirty for his own goats. Sure, no problem! Ok, he asks, what are your terms? Um, can you get back to me on that?

I've never leased land before, so I'm going to do a little research about what's my responsibility and what's his. It's not a problem for me to research usually, but my brain doesn't want to work on the 54th day of triple digit heat. If anyone has pointers, shoot them my way. 

As for my animals, they're doing well. The goats were in rare spunky form tonight. They're always playful, but they were downright clownish tonight. It gave us a good laugh to watch Caramel weave through the legs of Fergus and between his fur and her tiny size, I don't think he truly ever knew what happened. 

Pic of S'mores in the cow's trough. Have no idea why she's there

Water For Everyone

We all can't get over this heat. Everyone's drinking as much water as they can and it's still not enough. I'm seriously considering buying a commercial ice machine to put in all the animals water dishes and take an ice bath with the rest. 

What really concerns us about the heat, is the dryness. If anyone follows the Texas news, wildfires are cropping up everywhere. There's a big one in Fredericksburg right now (about 90 minutes from us) and we're getting their smoke in the skies. One fire got started from a glass bottle magnifying the sun's rays on the dry grass. We need rain!

I even left the animals alone today other than a quick pet for each of them. We're all too hot to have fun, and that's really just a shame. Here's hoping this month goes by extremely quickly!

Those are smoke clouds

Sweetness

On a hectic Monday, the start of the hottest month of the year, my furbabies are truly heaven sent. They seemed to know at bedtime today that I was just done with the heat and the responsibilities of adulthood, that they each gave me love in their own special way. 

The donkeys have gotten extremely good at hugging. They lean their heads on me and allow me to squeeze them in a hug. 

The cows (I'm just going to call them that for ease) each took a turn for under the chin scratches, pets on the head and the girls even allowed me to give them a pseudo hug. My arm was draped over them and I patted them that way. Fergus was probably willing if I'd just allow him to eat first. He was starving, I left him alone. 

The goats, now they're the biggest sweethearts now. Caramel, Sugar and Spice didn't scamper off when I fed them (this was a first) and the rest of the goats allowed me to pet them as much as I wanted. 

My pups and kitties always give me the love and every animal I've got just makes everyday special. 

Hard to tell, but Sundae is giving Fiona a backrub here