He's Dandy!

You remember in an earlier blog I was saying what I should fill the isolation cage with? One smart aleck friend suggested an elephant. Yeah, no. However, we did already have someone in mind. Meet Dandy, our red male micro donkey! Also known as Fancy's boy toy. 

The past four or five months, Fancy has exhibited signs of, well, pretty much her namesake from the Reba song. Except for one small problem, we didn't have a male of her kind to be nice to. That problem is now solved. 

Dandy is non-dominant, which is perfect. Simply put, he'll just say yes dear to anything Fancy tells him to do. Whether it's "time to go to bed, get in the stall" to "move so I can get that piece of hay" he does it. No complaint, no push back. This week, I'll let them be free with each other, but next week I'm going to start inserting myself again as the alpha. Fancy knows I am as I'm the one who tells her to go to bed, but Dandy will also need to know she's not in charge, I am. 

First animal he met was Nutty. Absolutely no problems there, thank goodness!

He wore the lead for about twenty minutes just so he and I could get acquainted. 

Fancy was the second to introduce herself, it went supremely well. 

All three took to each other very quickly. Patches loves being the tallest!

My Dandy 

The Wee One

All of our visit cows started with our wee one, Fiona. Out of all of our cows, she has the most personality and if you gain her approval, then you've gained everyone's. Meaning, you earn her trust in you, it's not freely given. 

Now, many would say that's not a very cuddly cow. Oh, but you'd be so wrong. She loves the attention and if you pet her behind the horns, she's in pure bliss. She dances to the beat of her own drum, but, and this is the funny part, she makes everyone else then dance to that tune. I don't talk about her enough, but she and I have a special bond that for me hooked on Highlands. One day, I hope she'll come around to allowing everyone to see her playful nature. 

In the meantime, Gator was here this evening and she waited until he was facing her direction to then unleash Niagara Falls. Classy cow she is and I absolutely love her!

Immeasurable Value

When having a farm, the things that matter most are immeasurable. The silence of the land. The warmth of the animals. The beauty of the landscape. The friendships you make. 

Rob and I know we can't do everything. Well, at least not all at once. However, we have been blessed to meet a dynamic couple who not only have the coolest toys, but are absolutely the best and kind hearted people. Y'all, they mowed for us today! I'm talking about taking our overgrowth down to where it looks like we have grass! I hope I don't embarrass them by saying this, but they enjoyed it. No, I'm not getting their heads examined, I like them just the way they are. 

Y'all might wonder, what do Rob and I bring to the table? Um, we're funny and funny looking? Eventually I'm going to cook a meal for them, but we're getting the better end of the deal right now on the friendship. Although, I do have really cute animals the Mrs enjoys! 😊

Need A List

If anyone wants to help me with this project, please feel free. I'm trying to figure out what fruits and vegetables my barnyard crew can eat. I've got goats, chickens, miniature donkeys, and the cows. The mini donkeys love carrots as treats, but the goats and cows don't. I'd like to give them fresh alternatives once we have the barndo, but for that, I need a list. It can either be a do not feed or a can feed list, I'm not picky. So anyone that has time and wants a project, I'd greatly appreciate it!

See, even though I don't always eat the healthiest, I do want my animals healthy. I also want to give them variety in order to train them. The goats are incredibly simple to treat, I mean they'll eat cardboard y'all, but I don't think that's healthy. But the real struggle is the cows. Flora would let me put flowers in her fur more often if she had a tasty treat. Y'all would like to see her with pretty flowers, wouldn't you? I can make this happen, if I could just find the treat. 

In the meantime, I'm continuing to brush her daily so she always looks picture perfect. She seems to really enjoy it!

Onyx

Until we determine the sex, the newest kid is getting called Onyx. I'm thinking Onyx is a female from the briefest glimpse she allowed me. While she loves to be held, is a Houdini when getting out of the stall, she is adamant no one looks at her privates. She's able to smack that tail down and squirm until I give up. 

Granted, I'm a softy and it doesn't matter immediately if Onyx is male or female. All that matters is she lets me cuddle her better than any other kid we've ever had. It's probably a good thing we don't have a barndo yet, because Onyx has all the makings of being an awesome pet. 

The ducks are also a mainstay on our farm now for most of the time. In fact, the only time they leave to go home is to lay their eggs. How rude! I might just pick up some ducks myself, the rest of the animals seem to enjoy their company. 

Last But Not Least

Well, she was a few days overdue, but Sugar finally had her baby! A gorgeous black beauty that is hale and hearty! She delivered sometime Sunday late afternoon and mom and kid are doing great. 

All the other animals have enjoyed a very unseasonal cold front today while Rob and I are trying to recover from the worst cold in history. I truly believe the RV is now making us sick. 

This week though, more progress should be made on the barndo and hopefully soon, I'll enjoy a nice hot bath and snuggle in my true king sized bed once again. 

27 & Almost Heaven

On a more personal note, Rob and I are celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary today! Everything is going well for us and luckily the end is in sight for the barndo, so we will have no troubles adding many more years together. If we were destined to be in this RV much longer, I'm not so sure if he or I'd make it! Luckily, we don't have to worry about that. 

While I was hoping Sugar, our only doe who ran from Nutty longer than anyone else, would finally deliver today, it looks like she doesn't want to intrude on our special day. There's still time, but she can take whatever time she needs. 

We do have at least two new birds that I have no clue what they are. In our mule's wheel cover, a mama bird used her tiny size to get advantage to protect her nest and she is the only one who can get in there. I've included a pic of her getting ready to feed her young. She waits patiently nearby when we use the mule and then goes and checks on her babies. I think it's awesome!

The nest is inside this black cover

We got rain and I gave Rob a rainbow for his anniversary present

Barndo Bonanza

Yesterday the interior doors were put up and today, well today so much got done! All while I slept off a steroid blitz to boot!

Baseboards and trim are going up which will also be stained to match the interior doors. Our tankless continuous circulating hot water was installed. And for the most dramatic reveal, our cabinets were installed!

The couple behind D&D Custom Cabinetry are wickedly intuitive and innovative. While I knew the cabinet look I wanted, and where I wanted cabinets, I gave them a challenge. I told them that while I'll have few cabinets in the kitchen, I wanted them incredibly usable as I've got every kitchen contraption that's been manufactured. I didn't ever want my counters to be cluttered, but I also didn't want to have to dig through stuff to get to things. They pulled it off big time!

I've got soft close drawers with inserts for spatulas and whisks. I've got a pull out raisable mixer stand. I've got drawers with different gadgets in mind and even a cookbook bookshelf installed on my island. The tops of the cabinets will be glass filled lighted wonders for some of the more interesting kitchenware items I've got. Quite literally, they have given me my own kitchen paradise. Only a few of the pics to enjoy.

New Parameters

We made changes today. Nutty got to rejoin the herd and he was so very happy! Then when I went to get everyone in for feeding time, I saw three of the orps had already fled their coop and were calmly hanging with the grown hens. So, I let them free from their coop as well. Everyone got along, so we're rolling with it. 

Now, the isolation cage is ready once again for a new animal. What should we fill it with next? Any guesses? 

Oh, people have said they have trouble commenting on this blog and I'm trying to work on that. Keep trying and maybe one day it'll work!

All The Feels

You know how the donkeys were being just a tad too playful with me yesterday? Well today, they both decided to be on cuteness overload for me. Really, Fancy knew her audience well in particular. 

Patches knows I enjoy brushing, and she was all about it today. She'd lift her front hooves up for me because I asked (one hoof at a time) and she nuzzled me. 

Fancy though, upon seeing how extra Patches was being, rested her cute little head on Patches back and just gazed at me while allowing me to get my camera. Do we teach animals, or do they teach us? I mean seriously, these donkeys know what they're doing with me!

Oh, not going to share how messed up the healthcare system is, but I will say that I did get seen and am now being treated for bronchitis. And in case anyone was curious, I had to be tested and was negative for COVID. This is our brave new world. 

Original pic

Zoomed in for extra aww factor

In Sickness & In Stall

Well, I've been sick all weekend. Actually, I think I started feeling sick last Wednesday, but that's neither here nor there. It's either bad allergies, a cold, or some sort of mucus building ailment that's got me coughing my lungs out. I'll be going to the doctor tomorrow. 

However, even in Sickness, your animals always need you. I'm fortunate that Rob was able to handle the majority of the nighttime routine, but I still did some. Animals like routine and I'm part of that routine. And yes, I love that. 

Patches and Fancy though were too much for me. They're always playful, but I did not have the energy tonight. Once I got them in the barn, Rob got them in the rest of the way. You can see the side eye Patches gave me for that maneuver!

Say My Name

Just for fun, I decided to see if the two newest coos really knew their name. Meaning, they already have their food, would they still respond to the funny sounds I give them in human language? Turns out it's yes!

Now of course, I just took the pics quickly when they raised their head up so I could properly give them a pet for listening. Imagine my surprise when two of the pics I caught were of mother and daughter in mid chew. They technically didn't sign a release form for these images, but I won't tell them if you won't. Have a great weekend everyone!

Oh Nutty

The more we've separated Nutty from his herd, the nuttier he's become. The dude stinks to high heaven, is annoying all the other animals, and even tried to pick a fight with me tonight. Technically, we're supposed to wait two more weeks to reintroduce him to the herd, but I think instead it'll be tomorrow. 

We were originally going to just have him with the wethered males for company while we continued to milk, but as we had family issues to deal with, we missed this milking window. Two girls are still able to be milked, so tonight I'm going to decide if we'll keep those two separated and milk them or let them all be in the herd and only milk them out for soap and lotion type products. Either way, Nutty needs his herd or he'll have to find a new home. I would hate to re-home him though, if he can just behave!

Quick update about the barndo, we've got textured walls now!

Wind-sicly

Today we didn't have much wind for once and my allergies became full blown. I always thought wind would spike all my allergies, but turns out once it's shoved all up my nostrils and stops blowing, then my body can fully appreciate every single thing I'm allergic to, which is pretty much everything spring related. 

I'm allergic to mold which Reggie decided to bathe in today (our stock pond). Then there's dust everywhere. Grass and various blooming plant pollens which were ramped up from today's mowing. Remnants of cedar pollen kicked up from somewhere. There's more, but you get the idea. So my eyes are itchy and watery, my nose is stuffy, and my throat has all that fun drainage. Aren't you jealous?

Despite all of that, I absolutely love all green and alive everything is this year. We will have plenty of goodness for our animals to eat this year and possibly us as well if we ever get to gardening!

Ducks In A Row

You know that saying about getting your ducks in a row? Well, I don't have ducks, and the ducks I see are not in a row. However, I really don't care!

Our neighbor is more of the fowl while I'm more of the fur. Somehow though, her birds come to visit us and the latest has been ducks. They're cute and the rest of my animals don't seem to mind them. Honestly, my animals have probably learned already that I love all animals and if you want the treats, you mind your manners around here. Anyhow, we've become their afternoon/early evening destination spot and have seemed a little perplexed why they haven't been given their own feed trough yet. Haha. 

Anyway, they're not my ducks, they're not in a row, but like the rest of life, they're going with our flow. 

Back In Action

Happy Easter everyone! Rob and I took the holiday to renew ourselves and now we're looking forward to the days ahead. In absolutely no particular order, we're going to start making some spectacular changes on the farm. 

We're going to wipe out the front foliage...

We're going to finish the barndo

We're going to have the well house correctly done

And we're talking about adding another stock pond and planting some trees. We're going to do away with some old stuff, knowing me I'll be buying new stuff, and we're going to keep getting to know our new community. By the summer, I want to have dramatic changes like moving in and selling the RV. We'll get there together, shall we?

Bonnet On The Lass

Out of all of my animals, domesticated ones included, Flora my heifer is by far the most agreeable to my whims. Today, since I couldn't bring her to the bluebonnets, I brought some to her. She allowed me to take a couple of pics before she was ready to get them off. If she wasn't shedding so much, she might would have given me a little more time. I mean the girl constantly wears hay, but two bluebonnets were too much for her. Sigh. 

I think I might try this experiment again with Patches. The goats will immediately try to eat them, so Patches is the last available. We'll see. 

Eviction Days

It took us a couple of days, but all the Orpington chicks have been evicted from the greenhouse and moved to the barn. Also, the last of the two doelings who were already purchased, but were boarded here for a vacation, are now home with their new parents. Everyone's been evicted from the areas they needed to be!

Now some may ask why we have the Orpington chicks in a oversized kennel. Well, they're not completely mature yet, almost, and also they needed a protection barrier from our established hens. When I'm assured neither new or old fowl will destroy the other, then everyone will be free range. Until that time, the kennel it is. 

What's hilarious is all the other animals know about the isolation cage that the Orpington chicks are in. Anyone who has first come to our farm gets put in one for at least 24 hours. Ciarán and Coorie just got the pen since they were slightly larger, but the principle was there. Soon though, I'll have the isolation cage empty again, what should I do it with next?

Storm Season

It's spring, and in Texas, that means it's storm season. We heat up quickly in the afternoons to where it ignites spontaneous storms, some not so fun. 

I'm glad that we get the storms. Rain is awesome and we need it, but hail we don't need, tornados we don't need, and heavy winds that are like tornados we don't need. We had hail today, but luckily didn't do any damage. If the storms could be gentler until we get into the barndo, I'd greatly appreciate it. 

At least the animals gave no trouble getting into the barn this time! Now we get a relaxing evening to be thankful for another day. 

Quality Banding

Well, we finally did it. We got the bucklings banded and soon will officially be termed as wethers. I have only formally named one as he was the first born on the farm. He's Nutella and he does not enjoy his band. 

So what is banding? It is similar to a rubber band that closes over the top of their testicles. This restricts blood flow to the area and makes them infertile. I've been told by one person they shrivel up and fall off. I was told by another person that you have to wait a week then cut them off. So, I'll be doing some mega research on that this week. 

I'll also share that we had a death in the family on Saturday evening. This week, I may or may not be writing as we handle all the arrangements and also take our time to mourn. Thank you for understanding. 

Nutella, and also proof of why it was definitely time to band