Fancy Girl

Everyone knows my mini donkey Patches loves attention, but Fancy has always been skittish. Until today that is. This evening, she decided she wanted my loving and adoration. Of course, I have her tons. She was happy and I hope this becomes a regular thing. 

Even Patches was amazed and actually allowed the love fest without getting her big snout in there. Once Fancy was done though, I made sure to give Patches her normal amount. Neck scratches are the best they say!

In fact, all of my animals love the neck scratches. From cats to dogs, goats to cows, that throat and neck rub are the perfect spot!

Breathalyzer

I think I got away with it tonight. Rob and I had steaks for dinner and while the goats were very curious about my breath, the cows fortunately paid no attention. Whew! I always feel especially guilty when we have steaks for dinner, which is rare. Any other cut of meat, not so much, but steaks are different for me for some inane reason. 

Progress continues to be made with the barndo. The beams were put in today making us vertical! Tomorrow, the plan is to get the sky track out to put on the rafters! So exciting. 

Lately, Rob's been on vacation this week and yet we haven't done anything. Tomorrow is a full day of errands, but maybe Friday we'll do something a little different. At least we've caught up on all our napping!

Fluffy Dance

Brogan is still being fed by bottle twice a day just to make sure he gets all his nutrients. He's such a character when he's gobbled down his bottle and wants more. He'll rub all up on you, do this little fluffy dance, try to suck the shirt off your back, etc. I use that time to really give him about to tail scratches. Just like Reggie, he loves the bum rubs. He'll just keep dancing for you if you do that. 

The workers managed to weld different bits of metal together today and we could see the front pitch and the back pitch all laid out. I think tomorrow the beams go up! I'm not sure, I've been trying to stay out of their way. They always smile and wave when they see me, so that's a good sign. They even allow the pups to hang around which is great. 

We also picked up all the animal feed for the week. I'm not joking when I say our animals eat better than we do. But just seeing their fluffy dance makes it all worthwhile!

Christmas Miracles

Thank goodness we have water again! Our builder put us in touch with a well service and they came out this morning. They replaced the pump, replaced a few pipes, and we were back in business! Truly, that was a big weight off my shoulders. You try telling Fiona to conserve water, I dare you. 

We also had some guys here working on the beams for the barndo. What?! It really is a Christmas miracle. Progress, I like it!

Other than that, we spent the day driving all over creation to find a heat lamp to cover our pump for the last night in awhile it's supposed to freeze. This farming thing ain't for the weak y'all!

To All A Goodnight

Merry Christmas everyone! Every day is an adventure for us and some adventures are better than others. As I mentioned in the last blog, we lost water almost immediately when the cold front came in. Well, it fractured the pump and who knows when we'll get water again. This is why I tried to have the well house built in time. Nothing we can do about it now. 

Fortunately, we have a Gator in our lives. He came today and delivered water to our animals. We had been doing our best with gallon jugs, but Fiona alone drinks a bunch. All the animals are doing well now and for that, I'm eternally grateful. 

I missed so much about Christmas and the traditions I hold dear, but there's always next year. For this year, I'm content with the friendships I have, the family I love, and of course, all my beautiful animals. 

Merry Christmas

From our little family at Fur Real Farms, we wish y'all a happy and safe Christmas. We've already lost water from the cold front and the fun is just getting started. I'll write again Christmas evening if we survive. 

What Do We Do?

It's the eve before the polar vortex, or whatever it's called, hits us and we don't know what to expect. We live in RVs for crying out loud! I'm getting over the flu, we've got an almost 89 year old, and all we could do was wrap pipes and fill up everything we could. What else can we do?

Texans are weird about weather phenomena. If we flood, we hoard water. If a tornado is coming, we get out our shotguns to blast it away. What about wind chills in the single digits?! Do we open the freezer door or something? I joke because truly, what else can I do?

The animals have all their pine shavings, food and water. Well the livestock animals that is. We're hoping the domesticated animals don't have to resort to pine shavings, but you never really know. Stay warm, stay silly and let's have fun!

Next Year

Next year, I'm going to try sooner to get Christmas pics of the animals. With the frisky weather, the animals are friskier than ever. 

This evening, Nutty tried to head butt Flora, which made Fiona mad and she tried to charge me. I screeched for her to stop, which she did immediately, but my high pitched alarm sent Brogan and the donkeys off on a wild goose chase. 

Fiona decided because of Nutty's behavior, the cows should be given their oats before the goats are even corralled to their stall. She wouldn't take no for an answer, y'all know how she can be, so they got their oats. 

Order finally resumed and everyone calmly went into their respective stalls where Brogan then slammed down his milk like it was a party keg. He gave me tons of cuddles though, so I'm not complaining. 

So no pictures of them in Christmas gear, but they're a gift to me daily anyway. 

Fog

I've seen fog plenty in my lifetime, but the fog on the farm is more dense than I've ever seen tonight. I'm not even sure Rudolph's red nose could blast through it. The pups went out just a few moments ago and heard, possibly even smelled, something nearby, but none of us could see it. Once the pups ran off ten feet from me, I couldn't see them either. 

Luckily, we don't actually have to see anything tonight. We're nice and snug in our RV with fully replenished propane to keep us warm. Soon, we'll have a Christmas movie on to enjoy before getting a long winter's nap. 

In the meantime, take a gander at the only other Christmas animal pic I've gotten so far. Sundae always aims to please and she rather enjoyed her bandana. 

First Kiss

As we're preparing for an Arctic blast, my animals are doing anything but giving me the cold shoulder. Tonight, all the animals got some fresh pine shavings, which was a first for Brogan. All the other animals knew about the stuff helping them keep warm, but he was highly confused as to why it suddenly smelled like a pine forest in the barn. The goats frolicked like it was fresh snow. Meanwhile, Patches and Fancy got spooked when Rob tore open the plastic bag of the shavings near them. I had to stay behind and calm them, but that's what a mama does. 

The biggest shock of the night though was Flora giving me her first kiss! Granted I tricked her with a treat, but she enjoyed how happy I was from the affection. She even let me give her extra cuddling tonight and to pick out a burr matted in her fur I've been working on for a couple of days. I might not be the best farmer or rancher, but by golly I'm really good with animals! 

Also, I'm trying to take Christmas pics of my animals. I've only gotten two so far, so enjoy the first one of Flora. 

Better Late Than Never

We've trained the animals to come in at sunset. They get their food and locked in their stalls like clockwork. Well, until tonight they did. 

Tonight, we were a little late (an hour) as we got delayed shopping. They've seen Senior, they know he doesn't move quickly, but some of my animals did not care about our excuses for being tardy. No surprise, Fiona was moody. Nutty have a little head bump to show his displeasure. Fancy, Patches and Brogan bucked around like broncos. Flora refused to give me cuddles and the girl goats while not upset, were less warm with their welcome. Lesson learned guys. 

It's ok, they'll cool off tonight. Literally. I don't know how low it is going to get, but the air is already frigidly crisp since the sun went down. At least we eliminated the wet spot in the cow stall. You're welcome Fiona!

Ten Months

We've lived here on our farm and in our RV for ten months now. I don't recommend this style of living for anyone and who knows when the end is for us? Here's some things I won't miss:

1. The smells. Just so many smells and none of them pleasant. 

2. The inability to stretch. Rob and I are tall and I can't sit up in bed without bumping my head, we can't stretch inside without hitting walls and ceilings, etc. 

3. No bathtub and one very tiny shower. There are parts of me I'm not sure have been adequately cleaned in ten months!

4. Not really a kitchen. Forget baking, making an entree with a hot side, or anything like that. Not going to happen. 

5. No closets. We have something that is called a closet, but only toddler clothing could fit in there. 

6. The elements. You feel every temperature change, you get to rocking with the winds, good times. 

7. No privacy. I learned I mutter rude things under my breath to Rob which used to go unnoticed. Oops. 

8. No comfortable furniture. This goes with us being tall people, but geez the furniture in these things are reminiscent of school bus seats. 

9. No ceiling fans. Fifth wheels have these. Should have gotten a fifth wheel. 

10. ........

You know what, I should stop now. This is just getting me more depressed. I could also go on forever. Bring on the barndo, I'm more than ready!

That's New

Warning, this blog talks about cow urination. If you're squeamish, stop reading today's blog and come back tomorrow. 

Ok, the last couple of weeks we've been more wet than dry with our weather. Coupled with that, we have clay soil which doesn't allow water to drain quickly. Then, we have a small hole in the roof of the barn over the cow stall. So, we have a little pond in one small part of their stall. What we didn't realize is that our cows have been keeping it moistened by urinating on it. Ugh. 

I researched ways to allow a more sanitary flooring for our cows and because Google can read my mind, it showed me articles about how you can train your cows to urinate in one spot. Huh, didn't know that was possible and furthermore, it looks like I've inadvertently taught them already. Good to know. Now, I'll get that spot sorted and see if they'll keep using that area. It will actually help if we only have to treat one area. Oh and side note, they don't defecate in their stall. Everywhere else, and I mean everywhere else, they do, but not in their stall. They're fascinating creatures!

No, I wasn't going to share a pic of the cow potty lol

Jackpot Show

This past weekend, we watched our first stock show. It was called a jackpot show which meant several entries of animals could be in each class, first place won money, and no animals were auctioned. Animals shown were swine, boer goats, and cows by future farmers of America. 

It was a great learning experience for us. We saw new panel ideas for stalls, saw some very well behaved animals, and that even as small a town as ours, people run in different circles. Meaning, we had never seen most of these people before! Where have they been hiding?

And no, we're not going to show any of our animals. We'll be milking the goats and selling some of their kids. I hope to get a few more highland heifers for breeding down the line to sell their offspring. And, if by some miracle I figure out how, I'll also do some sort of petting zoo or animal therapy visits for any animals I can fully train. Sundae and Patches are the closest to being somewhat trained, but that's not saying too much!

Back to Schedule

Ok, last week I got off kilter on the blogging, but back to the regular schedule. Let's update about the farm. 

The barndo now has electricity and the steel beams have been delivered. Hopefully this week those beams will be erected. 

All the animals are doing great. We're going to have to overhaul the stalls and make them ready for winter here soon, but we haven't figured out when we can yet with our schedule. 

The humans are still alive, but we're not thriving as we once were. Rob turned a year older and already now he's tweaked his back. I had a wrought iron table fall squarely on my foot with the help of some goats, but I'm hoping it's just bruised. Senior has his good days and bad. We're determined to make it through the barndo build though! 

This week, we've got chores to do and errands to run, but we'll see if we can get some fun in there, too. 

Rob's birthday cake. So good!

Humpty Dumpty

I'm back! You know the nursery rhyme about Humpty Dumpty? It never explicitly says Humpty was an egg. I actually think it was a forewarning about cell phones. Yep, I broke mine and had to wait for a replacement. 

What did y'all miss on the farm? Unfortunately, not much. No work has been done on the barndo. In fact, nothing has been done around here. It took everything I had to stay sane while Rob was working and I not having a phone. I read a lot. I played with my animals a lot. And I slept a lot. 

That's all done now. I've got a phone and I'm lighting fires. But Christmas, the barndo shell better be put up with the windows installed or the new year is going to bring about a less friendly Jen. I used to do warehouse builds many years ago and I've never seen things move so slow as I'm seeing now. I'm going to think positively though. I've got my phone and good things are going to start happening!