Welcome to the Barn!

Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod!

My little animal family lives over the barn on 40-acres in the Sierra.  We are, as the crow flies, almost equidistant (north to south) between Yosemite and Mt. Whitney (the highest peak in the lower 48!)  Our barn-home is at an elevation low enough to grow most things we like in our garden, but high enough to get a little snow in the winter.  I should be clear, now that the 3 chicks are big enough to be outside without a heat lamp, the only members of the family who live over the barn are the dog and I.  The cat lives wherever he wants, except inside.  The horse lives in the pasture, and the chickens live in the dog kennel-soon-to-be-converted-into-kennel/chicken coop. 
Our landlords are terrific - letting us have the dog, kennel, chickens, garden, etc, right outside the barn.  Susan works with my horse (because he's 4 and still not quite saddle broke and I need as much training as he) and has several other equine friends on the property to keep Jericho company. She also has a few cattle, including a bull who is almost as sweet as a dog (he'll lick you if you give him hay...)
First family update: My family = me, Sailor (my mini-Aussie), Jericho (my quarterhorse), Buster (the cat which tolerates us and eats HUGE rats), and Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod (my little pullet hens).  Winkin' is a Barred Rock, Blinkin' is an Australorp, and sweet little Noddy is an Easter Egger.  Sometimes we have raccoons, deer, bats, coyotes, mountain lions, fox, bobcats, skunk, and rattlesnakes, but they do not live here.  They simply visit.  Rattlesnakes sometimes die here, a just consequence for entering a certain proximity to, well, me or my dog! .  Occassionally the bats will come inside, and I tend to get a little girly when they fly at me, but I'm not too wimpy to get them out by myself. 
I love living on a farm, and hope to have one of my own someday.  Right now, the only thing missing from our little family is a hot guy and a couple of kids (the people kind, not the goat kind).  Hmmm... the goat kind are alright too.  Probably cheaper than the people kind...
Anyway - welcome to the barn!