30 Years

Thirty years ago, give or take a few months, I did the bold thing and asked a guy out on a date. It was for an Amy Grant concert, and he said yes. 

Well, the day before the concert, this guy said he couldn't come because his grandmother was sick. It broke my heart and while I took a friend with me, the concert wasn't the same. 

Fast forward thirty years, give or take a few months, this same guy made good on breaking our initial date. We had second row tickets for Amy Grant! It was a spectacular concert and Rob, you're forgiven. 

Working Dog

Teddy is coming along as a working dog. He's learning to jump into the mule and ride with us. The goats he easily herds, but I've noticed if he doesn't know where to take them, he just makes them go in circles. 

He hasn't tried to herd the bigger animals yet, but I do think he's going to have competition with Dandy. Poor Dandy is bossed around by his ladies constantly, he just looks for someone to boss himself. All Teddy does is bark at him and Dandy doesn't understand why the little fellow makes that sound. 

It's been a long week already, but I think Rob and I will have some fun tomorrow!

The Chickens

There's not much to say about the chickens other than they're doing their job. We've still got all sixteen: five Rhode Island reds, five Plymouth barred Rock, and six black beauties of undetermined breed. 

Now one of the black beauties I've named Sidewinder. She was born with a deformity where one side of her is bigger than the other. Other than that, she's completely healthy and produces eggs like all the others. But, she moves in arcs, not straight lines. 

Somehow, the other black beauties have decided they all need to walk like this, so sometimes it's difficult to determine who is the true Sidewinder. The other hens can walk normally, and do, but sometimes they're all just winging it!

Day Late

I apologize for forgetting last night's blog. We have added Sunday rehearsals for our play, and that through me completely off schedule. That's ok, you haven't missed much. 

This weekend, it was time to hose the cows down with fly spray again. Normally, we wait until they're in their stall where they can't run away. Since the summer heat keeps continuing, they don't use the stall as they prefer sleeping under the stars. So, Rob and I hitched up our Kawasaki mule, put a spray bottle each in our hands and went after the task cowboy style. The only rules to this game is to not hit them in the face. Remember that. 

Coorie, Flora and Maesie gave us no problems. Brogan, not the brightest bull yet, kept looking up thinking it was rain. Fiona made us chase her quite a bit. But Ciarán, she kept facing us. Yep, she knew we wouldn't hit her that way. She took a little maneuvering with Rob and I flanking her on foot. Can you even believe she tried to use her baby Callie (who wasn't getting treated because of her age) as a shield?! We kept at it though and got it done. Now, after the fact of course, she's thrilled the flies aren't landing on her. 

Mango

Of all, and I mean all, of our animals, Mango is the one who requires the least bit of attention. He's happiest when he's found a tiny hidey-hole where no one knows where he's at. On his more active days, he can be found literally climbing the walls and testing out the highest heights of the house. You'll have had to be a guest several times at our house to catch a glimpse of Mango. He's not shy, he just decides when to make the first contact. 

Speaking of contact, Mango prefers solo time with either Rob or me. He will either go to Rob for petting and I'm supposed to not notice he's there, or he'll come to me and Rob can't look in my direction. It's just what he prefers and it seems like a reasonable enough request. It's quality time, not quantity time. 

Lastly, he is the animal who needs to be brushed the most, but hates being brushed. If there are tangles, we have to hold him down and take his wrath (claws) to get them out. Otherwise, the hands of his human pets can remove any loose hair. Have a great weekend!

A Rare Look

Usually, Rob and I are always together. So if he's gone, so am I. Well last night, he left to help out someone who had a flat tire on the road and I got to see what we usually miss. 

Yep, I'm chopped liver. No, even chopped liver would get more attention. Alas, the older pups were anxiety waiting for Rob's arrival. 

Teddy, however, was sharing my lap with Flurry, so it wasn't lonely on my side of the couch. Yes, I've got a huge lap, that's not the point. So laughing!

Wisdom

Maturity doesn't always come with age, neither does wisdom. Both seem to happen at random and one day, you realize you know better and no action is better than reaction. 

I'm seeing this with my animals as well. I've always been used to dogs and cats in my life and how they mature whenever that light bulb goes off. I'm learning the cows and goats have their own maturity moments. I'm still waiting on the donkeys. It seems every week they do something that makes me question if they'll always be overgrown children. 

The wisdom comes from me though. I'm to the point (finally) where they're going to do what they're going to do and if I leave them alone, then maybe they'll figure things out themselves. 

Oh, and my mom says I never mention the chickens or the cats anymore. They're all doing great and I'll grab some pics of them here soon. For now, another pic of the kids!

Impossibilities

What farmers and ranchers will tell you, there's always something that needs to be done. Water, feed, and hay to start. That's a daily thing. Brushing, hoof trimming, shots and fly control. That's a common occurrence. Then breeding, banding, weaning and I'm there, too. Plus, you always want to improve their shelter, fencing and pastures. All that is enough on itself. 

But I take it steps further. I train them, socialize them, and give them enrichment items so they don't get bored. I pet them, love on them, and they know their name. Yet even there, it's not enough. 

Point is, while the animals are a big part of the farm, there's more to the farm than them. You have to be part of the community, to keep learning and sharing. You have to keep your household because it's a barndo, not a barn. You have to maintain your vehicles, maintain your relationships, and maintain yourself. It's not impossible, but you do have to work. 

Selfie Sunday

We have had a crazy past week (I know, it happens a lot with us), but I managed to do a quick selfie session with the two new kids. We definitely have one girl, and I'm thinking the other is a boy, but he's squirmy, so we're leaving it as undecided until we get more than the briefest of looks. And no, I couldn't tell on the belly portion because he's still got part of his cord. 

Anyway, they're both adorable, of course. Both will have horns it looks like and both have excellent jumping abilities. I'm looking forward to spending more time with them this week. 

We also had a glorious gully washer yesterday morning and the best part of that, is it cleaned my cows splendidly! They were so soft and cuddly. I could have snuggled them for hours. 

Two Precious

After our theatre rehearsal, we came home to a wonderful surprise. Spice had twins! I haven't fully examined them yet other than to ascertain they are both completely healthy! We knew she was due soon, but Spice always adds a little flair to delivery. They are beautiful kids. 

I'll get better pics tomorrow, but one is white with gray spots. The other is more gray and tan, but still light colored. They're beautiful and already love their mama so much. 

I was wondering what was going on this afternoon as I saw birds of prey sweeping over our barn this afternoon. Between the dogs, donkeys and the other goats, Spice was completely safe. She also didn't deliver until after 9 tonight, so that's good. Yay, they're too precious!

Riddle Me This

Over the last ninety days, we've been drier than sawdust, but now with the second day of rain, all of a sudden we have gigantic frogs? How?

Where do these croakers go for months on end and how do they magically reappear once the ground is wet? These aren't small frogs either. I almost stepped on one that was bigger than the palm of my hand. I called him Jabba and wished him well. 

All I know is the farm and its inhabitants are singing the praises for the rain and cooler temps. Keep it coming!

When the troughs are wet, just feed them on the ground. They truly don't care

Very Thankful

I'm keeping this short tonight. We got lovely rain around 3am and tamped down all the dust. It sounded wonderful outside (yes I was up), but you could barely hear it inside! So yes, the insulation is great!

Then, today has been wonderfully cool and in the eighties. The animals and us humans have loved it. I am hoping our days of heat are over this year!

Now Me & Me Again

For the month of August, I barely did any brushing of my cows. It was way too hot and they and I decided it was best not to try. Today, it was cooler and overcast, so we got back into it. I've created a monster with Brogan, he's worse than any of them. 

I started with Maesie who was happy to get one side done. Them here comes Brogan pushing his way in to get brushed. Now, he's our bull and as any boy in any species will exhibit, he was a hot mess. He had burrs, caked in mud (we're going with mud even though there's no mud around), and fragments of hay and who knows what else in his fur. I did a thorough top coat brush and then tried to move onto Coorie. Well, I managed to do her face and shoulders before Brogan pushed her away and demanded more. I spent thirty solid minutes on him and he still wasn't satisfied! But my hand was aching by this point, so I'll try again tomorrow. 

In other news, Patches has an overgrown hoof and we managed to get some of it lopped off before she had enough. We might have to call Gator in to help us!

Working Dog

Teddy is over six months old now, and he's becoming quite a good pup. Where he struggled with easy commands: down, leave it, no; he excelled at others: sit, stay, and fetch. The most surprising of all though, is what he instructions knew to do. We witnessed that this weekend. 

Teddy learned he could crawl under the pasture gate and go visit the farm animals. He didn't bark, attack or even make sudden movements. Instead, he just walked around the animals and watched them. Then Rob tried to get him to herd a goat. He kept cutting off the goat from her intended direction until she finally gave up and turned around. Then, he patiently sat. Good boy!

There is one thing we're not crazy about, he'll eat whatever is available on the ground in the pasture. Cattle cubes are one thing, but cow patties? Please no!

Interesting

We've opened up the back pasture, but only the donkeys have been exploring it. They've been frolicking in the fields even though it was a sweltering day! Fancy was training for the fastest horse track, Dandy was trotting like the stud he is, and Patches was nibbling on all the weeds like it was a gourmet buffet. 

The goats and the cows let sanity hold them at bay. They took refuge in the barn during the hottest part of the day and the main pasture for some early evening grazing. I doused Brogan with the hose, so he doesn't like me right now. One last day tomorrow of excruciating heat, and then we slowly go down in temperature. 

Have a great weekend. I'm going to put Rob to task to get the house looking more lived in and less boxy. Wish me luck!

Wide Open Spaces

Double the great news today! First, I guess Sundae just smelled funny or something yesterday, because today there were no problems with her and the rest of the herd. I'm glad because I really didn't want to separate her. 

The bigger need though is Gator finished the back pasture. That's what we're calling it for now, even though we can eventually go further back if we choose. Having thirty acres is awesome! Anyway, now we have double the space for everyone to roam. Soon, when the weather gets more bearable, we'll take the opportunity to get everyone on the back pasture while we do some clean up and repairs of the barn, pen and pasture. Nothing major, just normal upkeep. 

This back pasture also already has a lean to installed by Gator. If we ever have rain, the animals will have a place to seek shelter if they choose. This is when we're closing off the barn to clean up and ready for winter. Nothing ever goes quickly around here, but we're still loving all the progress!

Catch A Break

Y'all all know the struggles Sundae has had lately. Today, the other goats decided to ice her out. Anytime she tried to get near them, they did more than a little ramming at her. This has just been the first day this has happened, but if it continues into tomorrow, I'll separate Sundae from the herd until she fully recovers. 

We're still hot and dry here. Although, we are starting to see the beginnings of clouds here and there. Perhaps they'll tell all their friends this is the place to be!

Play rehearsals are going well, the rest of the animals are great, and Gator is almost done with our latest project: an extended pasture! We're so fortunate to have found him. 

Try That In A Small Town

The title of this blog is a running joke around our small town. Some don't truly understand and bless their hearts, it's just because they haven't lived in a small town. I'm still considered a newbie around these parts, but I know I can safely say these things about a small town. 

First, everyone knows someone who knows the one you mean. You watch what you say, you watch what you do and you'll be alright. Some will say you're doing it wrong, but that's alright. You just stay polite and nod your head and go about your business. 

Second, anything out of the norm will bring out the rumors. Clear a lot of land? People will think you've sold to a developer. Go to a Meet the Teacher without your significant other? There must be marital discord afoot. It's best if you just let someone know what you're about to do and why to get ahead of the game. 

But jokes aside, everyone in town looks out for one another. A random cow loose on the county road? Within an hour, the owner will have been notified and the cow safely back in its fence. Not only that, but the spot of fence where she got out will be repaired because that's just the thing to do. It's right and proper. Everyone would be lucky to live in a small town!

Glass Half Full

Hate to start off on a bad note, but Sundae did deliver triplets. All stillborn. We're now going to get her spayed and keep her as a pet. She's such a lovable girl, we have no problem letting her live the rest of her days happy and loved. The others are happy and loved as well, but they're all good at making babies, too. 

But we move on. Sundae is healthy and made it through this ordeal just fine. She's still healing, but that's going great as well. 

We do have exciting news. We are now investors on three feeder pigs. Meaning, we're chipping in some of the costs while Gator and Ali raise them and then process them. Then we get our share of the meat. I'm not meeting them, I'm not naming them, so hopefully I won't have any issues. I shouldn't, I'm pretty good at out of sight out of mind. Wish us luck!

Sundae getting back to her normal shape