Happy Halloween!

We were blessed by the cutest vampire tonight trick or treating. Yes, it was Gator's soon and I finally got to see his wife and their new baby to boot! Definitely a treat for me. 

The animals enjoyed some pumpkins today as a special treat for them. A friend of mine mentioned a place in Leander was giving them away and hopefully next year, we can take them up on it. It was too far of a drive for us today with work and Senior. 

Our builder stopped by and assessed what the plumbers did last week. They have to adjust three spots and then we should be ready to pour! While the pouring is exciting, I really want to see those walls come up. Can't wait!

Great Weekend!

Wow, the weather was awesome this weekend! We tried to enjoy it as much as we could. Friday, Gator burned our largest burn pile for us, but we've got lots left to do. A little at a time with the piles though, don't want to deal with too much smoke at a time. 

The rest of the weekend, Gator worked on the fence while we acted like lords and a lady of leisure haha. We took care of our normal farm chores and enjoyed watching our animals play. Whoever said black was slimming didn't take in account pregnant goats. Cocoa is showing her pregnancy the most!

And exciting news, I've started selling eggs! One woman in town, a baker, is going to be a regular customer as she bought five dozen of our eggs today. I also immediately took that money and bought a dozen homemade tamales from another woman in town we'll be eating for dinner tomorrow. I can't begin to tell y'all how much I'm loving living out here. Should have done this years ago!

Happy Dance

Today was a great day. First thing this morning, the electricity company came out and our builder came moments after and the electrical plan is in action. We'll be getting the quote soon (this is separate from our barndo loan intentionally) and then we'll be underway with that. 

As they were leaving, the plumbers showed up! They got the whole house plumbed today and once we get electrical in, we're able to get going on steel. 

Gator worked the whole day on the fence as we're supposed to get rain tomorrow. Hopefully he'll continue his great progress this weekend and the pups will be free again. 

Lastly, this gringa tried her hand at chorizo and eggs tonight for dinner and it was a hit! Yes, any new way I can use these eggs the better. Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the spectacular sunset we had tonight. 

Horse Play

All my animals are loving the cooler weather! The pups hung out with me in the pavilion for a good portion of the afternoon while we watched all the livestock frolic. The donkeys ran one way, the goats danced another way, and other than a little trot, the cows laid underneath the tree and let the wind blow through their hair. 

I didn't have my camera at the time, yes I know that's unexcusable, but Flora looked like a shampoo/conditioner model with her face up and the wind blowing her locks beautifully. Brogan doesn't have much hair yet, but even he had as little tickle of wind on his ears. 

That meditation time did wonders for Fiona though. Tonight, she let Brogan eat (take his bottle) before she got fed. She even gave my hand a little lick and bowed her head for me to pet her. We're wearing her down to be a softy yet!

Biggest surprise though, Caramel, our tiniest goat, finally ate from my hand! I just love all my animals. 

Gator Sighting

We had a Gator sighting today! Between helping his wife with a newborn, a sick toddler, and farm chores, he was able to come by for a little bit to work on the fencing. You don't know how relieved I'll be to get the fence up! Never again will I get one fence taken down without another new one immediately coming up behind it. 

I was also told by my builder that the plumber is coming Thursday now instead of tomorrow. I'm trying to be patient, but really, let's get this barndo going already. With all the winds and rains lately, I just hope the trenches are still open. 

What else? Oh, we managed to combine three days worth of chores into one day. We normally like to take Senior on an outing once a day, but this week doesn't leave much wiggle room, so he got a big burst today. I'll just have him do some farm chores for the next couple of days to get fresh air! 😉

This was last night, the moon trying to peek through the immense thunderous clouds. I thought it was cool. 

Cats & Dogs

We finally got rain, and cooler temps are on the way! It rained really good this morning. The afternoon was nice and sunny where all the animals got to run and play. Then back to raining big time tonight. We're under both a thunderstorm and tornado watch, which we can handle thunder. Absolutely no to tornados please. 

Someone this week, Gator says he'll be working on the fence. Justin will be back this weekend for the shed. The plumbers are supposed to come on Wednesday. Should be a productive week!

Senior made a beef stew for us tonight and I was proud of how much he could do himself. He finally learned what I've been complaining about all this time, it's so difficult to cook in an RV! Let's hope he remembers that valuable lesson. 

Farm Break

This weekend, stove only our shed got worked on, we decided to take a break ourselves and go to a night under the stars wine party at a winery nearby. It was great to sit and relax, enjoy the sunset, the wine and the food, but alas we had to come home. Because when you have a farm, there really isn't a break. 

I don't mind, I love everything about it except for the RV living. Truly, I'm so over living in an RV. Watching how much water you use and how many times you use the bathroom because you have to empty the tanks. Done with it. Watching how much fuel you use to cook with because then you'll have to go get your propane tank refilled. Over it. Being 5’9" and having to go outside to stretch. Also over it. Having to go to the laundromat ever week to wash clothes with others who you never seem to see around town. Like ever. Could do away with that. And lastly, having to really concentrate on your weekly meals that you don't get too many refrigerator items because RV fridges are tiny. So sick of that. Let's get this barndo built already!

News on the barndo, the plumber is scheduled to begin work on Wednesday. Thank goodness! Them things will start happening again. I hope!

Lil Bugger Brogan

The last couple of days, Brogan has been testing his independence. When everyone dutifully comes into the barn for their feed and bedtime, Brogan decides to see how much longer he can stay out. 

Last night, I had to chase him halfway across the pasture to get him in the barn. Tonight though, he made me chase him completely around the outside of the barn! Yes I'm getting my exercise, but this is not the way I want my exercise to occur. 

If he keeps this up, I'm going to have to find the tiniest halter to start training him. I don't think either of us wants that!

Fur Coats

As y'all know, we currently live in an RV. It gets cramped at times, especially like last night. We knew it was going to get cool last night, but we're Texans, we sleep with the fan on. Well, come the middle of the night, I woke up freezing because each of my four indoor animals took a little bit of my comforter to warm themselves. We got in the low forties, which with the RV conditions means about freezing, and all the dogs and cats were creating their own warmth. With my comforter! They've got fur Coats, c'mon!

Needless to say, it was a long night, but it warmed back up to shorts weather by this afternoon. And before y'all suggest I get dog beds and cat beds and blankets for them, let me assure you they already have that. Trust me, I considered getting into Reggie's dog bed last night. He would have just followed me anyway though. 

Don't worry though, nothing happened again today on the farm. According to our builder, the plumber is "making his list of supplies". So, I guess any day now?

Small Town Living

A little history on our farm. Before we bought it, there used to be a small farmhouse on it. The only story everyone can collectively agree on is it burned down. The reason why is murky, but at least no one was in it at the time. 

Anyway, today I stopped by the volunteer fire department to buy tickets for their annual BBQ fundraiser. When I was filling out the raffle tickets (everyone does raffles here btw), the lady saw my name and knew instantly where I lived. Yes, we're the people who bought the burned down firehouse. No, we didn't know anyone associated with the property before us. And it's great meeting you, but let's keep visitation where I'm coming to your fundraisers and not y'all visit us to hose something down, ok?

That's small town living for you, and we love it. These people know all about each other from generation to generation, but we're there new mysterious people. Soon they'll learn, we're normal except for my big love for animals!

Hot Fudge Sundae, she's the best dog goat I've we're had lol

Nothing Monday

We got rain last night and wonderful cooler temps! I guess because of this and probably other reasons, absolutely nothing got done around the farm. We didn't throw out anymore trash from the barn, our fence and shed and barndo weren't worked on, and no animals were trained today. However, we all had a great day. 

Brogan scarfed down his food tonight. Fiona and Flora were extra affectionate with me. The goats were the most well behaved I think they've ever been. And the donkeys, well, they had fun running around when it was time to go to bed!

Maybe tomorrow some progress will be done. Either that, or I'll get a nap in. I'm good either way!

See-Saw Weekend

Pretty much everything that was planned for this weekend didn't happen. Instead of Gator building the front fence, his wife had their baby over a week early! Mom and baby are doing great, but now it looks like our front fence will be delayed for awhile. 

Our farrier was supposed to come up today to work on the shed for our water tank, but he didn't. I would have appreciated a text, but really I did tell him it wasn't a rush since freezing temperatures aren't anywhere near our forecast yet. 

Now, Rob and I did work on clearing out the trash in the barn. It appears though that we underestimated how much trash we had. We'll finish filling it tomorrow or Tuesday, and then have them dump it so we can fill it again. 

The great news is that now as I type this, at 7:30pm, we are finally starting to get the first drops of rain! Bring on the moisture, we need it!

Weekly Wrap Up

A little progress has been made on the barndo. The animals are all doing well. Our front fence is slowly being built. Hopefully this weekend, we'll have a lot more accomplished. 

Rob and I rented one of those dumpster haul away things, so we're taking this weekend to clear out our barn. Whoever lived here before us, left a ton of old doors, moulding and paint cans, among other things. While we can't throw away the paint cans, everything else is going. No, the doors aren't salvageable. No, the moulding isn't repurpose worthy. If we ever had enough rain, we could have a nice bonfire, but that's all that stuff is worth. 

Speaking of rain, we're supposed to have a good chance both Saturday and Sunday. While awesome because we desperately need the rain, I'm fearful this will delay the fence for even longer. The dogs are getting restless and I don't blame them!

Not the most flattering pic of Flora, but she had so much hay in her hair!

Perhaps

Perhaps the animals were acting up last night because they knew today was going to be hotter than the middle of October has any right to be. Mid 90s with no clouds to dispel the heat. I get it, that makes me cranky, too. 

Tonight, they were much better behaved. In fact, the cows all came in first calmly and orderly. Fiona allowed Brogan to be fed first and then she wanted brushing before her meal instead of during. I talk about her the most only because she's the most challenging, but I love all my animals. 

Nutty and Rob are still butting heads, but I'm not getting involved. Rob's a big boy, he can handle Nutty. I laugh because only I seem to be able to keep him from going full rut mode at night. If you've never seen full rut mode, I'll try to come up with a way to explain it another time. Let's just say all the brain cells disappear!

Lost Their Minds

Even though the full moon and then the harvest moon just passed, my animals decided tonight was the night to lose their minds. Patches and Fancy (the donkeys) charged the outer gate with Rob and made him put up a chase. Fiona was charging me before realizing that no, she actually wanted my help to corral Brogan in. Nutty full on head butted Rob in the stomach while the other goats scrambled in various directions. Enough!

I don't always use my "mom" voice, but tonight I did. I got all the animals, except for Nutty, in with only my voice and stem look. Flora got extra cuddles from me because she was the only one who didn't act like a fool. The treats are going away for awhile and this mama is going to start carrying a rope. Do I know how to use a rope? Nope, but they don't know that!

Foundation perimeter and trenches dug today!

Calming of the Fiona

Two things have happened recently that has helped calm my fiery Fiona down. The first, is most notable Brogan. He has taught her gentleness. The second, Justin my farrier sprayed her with a different fly spray and those flies aren't as troublesome anymore. They still bother her eyes and snout, but that's better than her body where she's about chewed her fur off. 

The calmer Fiona is more relaxed and actually enjoyed being brushed and petted tonight. So much so that she didn't want anyone else to be brushed, only her. You know, I'll allow it for tonight. Anything to make her happy. She really is a sweet girl when she wants to be. 

In other news, I spoke with our builder today and he apologized the batter boards aren't up yet. He's going to raise a ruckus with his guys and get them out here tomorrow. I wasn't too worried as we're still waiting on plumbing anyway. I'm just glad he's as fired up to get this done as we are!

Sometimes I'm S'mores

While people don't always believe it, goats have a wide range of personalities. S'mores is my most expressive, the actress if you will. Everything is dramatic or comedic with her, there's no in-between. If she gets stuck in something, it's the end of the world and everyone can hear her anguish. If she's found a new way or place to play, everyone can hear her glee. If I'm trying to sneak in quietly, she's the first to see me and then loudly announce I'm there. 

I will admit, sometimes I'm like S'mores. We've got all these unfinished projects that I'm simultaneously excited about and anguishing over the time I've got to wait. There's the front fence so I can finally let the dogs run out and play again. There's the shed to hide my hideous water tanks. Most importantly, there's the barndo that hasn't been touched in a week. I might one up S'mores and get a fainting couch, one of those feather trimmed housecoats, and wail dramatically in the middle of my field with my hands vaguely pointing to all the unfinished projects. Knowing me though, I'll just find another project I can do and avoid everything else. Oh Fiona, want to get fake snow a Christmas tree and pose for pictures? 

The Zoomaster

I thought my dogs and cats had zoomies, but Brogan knocks it out of the park! His absolute favorite thing to do right now is have a zoomie. He's even bucked his backed legs a bit like Fiona has. Wonder who he learned that from? As a baby, have all the zoomies you want. Once you get as big as Fiona though, please slow down some. Or give us a headstart!

All the other animals are enjoying Brogan. When he starts a zoomie, the goats start their happy dancing. The donkeys nod their heads like they're keeping the beat, and our two girl cows brace their legs. They have to, Brogan only knows how to stop by bonking himself into their hind legs. They don't seem to even flinch when he does that either. I flinch when he does that to me! Luckily, it's only happened once. I guess he realized my legs aren't the same. 

Nothing else to report. Nothing new on the house, nothing new with Gator projects, and nothing new about our chores. 

Mama Fiona

I'm telling you, Brogan can be chewing on her tail, ramming into her legs and stepping on her hooves, and Fiona will just gaze upon him. If Rob or I come anywhere around him, we just state our business and gain her approval before proceeding. She has decided to mother him and that's both scary and beautiful. 

Fiona is a fiery red. She could probably make the angriest bull weep in fear if she stared him down. She's not aggressive, but she is protective. Plus, she thinks he gets special milk so she should get extra treats because that's only fair.  Fiona is something else. We respect her, she fascinates me, but I do tread lightly when she's in her protective mode. She was like that with Fergus at the end, so Brogan being here is perfect I think. Yes, she nodded, Fiona says he's perfect being here. 

Tonight, we've decided to let the donkeys go back to their stall and for all three cows to stay in the cow stall. He slept in there with them this afternoon, so I figure they be good overnight. The donkeys are thankful. They do like to stretch out to sleep without worrying about a cow paddy! 

Our three shades of red

Babies

Feeding Brogan his bottle is so much fun! He wags his tail throughout eating, bounces around while eating, and just has this look of utter (udder) bliss. Truly recommend feeding a bottle calf at least once in your life!

Fiona has also taken him under her wing. She has decided she is in charge of Brogan and no one will come between her and him. It is truly sweet to watch. Scary if you're Rob and make too quick a movement, but it only took him once to figure that out. 

Brogan spent half the day running in zoomies around Fiona before we locked him out and let Fiona out to pasture. She was ravenous by dinner time. It appears Brogan has more energy than she expected!

Farm Fatigue

Ok, sometimes on the farm, you have so much to do and truly do little time to do it all. Add to that with building a barndo and taking care of an old man, and you're lucky if you get dressed that day. I barely did. 

Aside from the busyness, I took moments to enjoy the fall day. The ninety degree fall day, but whatever. I introduced Brogan to Fiona and Flora and they all got along great! Brogan was so happy meeting them without a stall in between them, that he had a zoomie! It was great fun to watch. Tomorrow, we'll let him around the girls and actually leave them alone for a bit. I have no doubt he's going to do well and the girls will watch out for him. Fiona is excellent at telling anyone no. 

I also got to brush the feisty Mango. He's our cat with the softest, longest and most cotton candy sticking fur. He hates to be brushed, but is so happy when all the tangles are out. See? Simple moments, but makes up for everything else. 

Our Bobby Sue has a shredder now. Thanks Jim, Rob will get to shredding here soon!

Hello Brogan

Many know by now, but Saturday morning, Rob and I went and picked up a beautiful bottle bull calf to bring home. We had high hopes for Fergus to not only impregnate our girls, but to create straws for others to benefit from his beauty. Unfortunately, we couldn't do that so we had to regroup. 

Cows are herd animals and Fiona and Flora definitely needed a third. While we're not going to worry for anytime soon about procreation, we decided our third should be a male and one who was a yearling. By good fortune, we found Brogan who's mom had abandoned him and was exactly a month old on October first. That's a weanling! He looked nothing like Fergus and just a rowdy boy. 

For this weekend, we just loved on him and only let the other animals admire him from the slats of the stall. Tomorrow, we'll do a monitored introduction to see how everyone gets along and then separate as needed. But I already think Fiona and Flora think he's cute!