It's time to get serious about this...
It has been 13 months since I last posted, and WOWZA! The changes that have happened in the last year could fill volumes of posts, but that would get tedious in this little blog so I will hit the highlights because, as the title says, it is time to get serious about this blog.
I write this looking out the french doors to the backyard (yes, french doors and backyard - I have moved!) where my 5 little seven-week old pullets are hanging out in their little chicken tractor giving themselves dustbaths in REAL DIRT! Thus far in their little lives they have been in the brooder or playpen or plain grass, but today I set them over a bare patch on the lawn and they are quite taken with it. They are three Delawares (Mara, Cora, and Bess) and two Marans (Mathilda and Amelia) and will be added to the other eight in the flock in the next few weeks as the coop expansion is completed. What? Oh, what do I mean "...the other eight..."? Guess I had better back up, but I'll give the condensed version...
My friends, Gary and Suzanne, listened to God's call and moved to Tennessee where Gary has a new job with a huge dairy back there. Naturally, the matter of their 9-acre farm here needed to be settled. The short version of this is that, after much prayer on everyone's part, I now live on the farm. It was hard to leave the barn (mostly, Susan, Dave, Katie, Brooke, and all the horses with whom Jericho was friends. It was also the only home Sailor had ever known, and while she just wants to be wherever I am, I still worried if she would adjust. I worried for no reason, of course). Gary and Suzanne and their boys AND the dairy goats, dogs, ducks, cats all made it to Tennessee with some serious adventure under their belts. My adventures continue, too.
The place came with Blue (a Queensland mix), Kasey (a 31-year old arthritic mare who stays because she could not trailer), and two hens whose names I did not know, so I called them Copper and Bronzie. That took the total up to: 2 dogs, 1 cat, 5 hens and a roo, and 2 horses. Oh, and a gigantic rat in the barn, but he is not part of the family. Especially since Buster ate him. Shortly after I moved in, the family of several of my special needs students GAVE me two miniature donkeys named Penny and Paula. I was instantly in love! Total number of critters was at 12, when Copper, the hen, was "dispatched" by either a hawk that could not lift her out of the run or the other hens. Down to 11. My sister-in-law and a co-worker rescued a calico from the banks of the Kings River, and guess where the funny little thing now lives. The original plan was that she and Buster would be great mousers together, but she has a funny little "hitch-in-her-git-along" and slightly disproportionately short legs. Additionally, I've had her since March and she is no bigger now than she was then. The great outdoors, no matter how much she longs for it, is not destined to be her playground. I am still working on a way to let her enjoy it, but it just isn't safe for her. Especially with Blue.
Ahhh yes, Blue. The day before I moved in I went over to get the keys and Blue bit me. She didn't break the skin, but she left a bruise. Gary had really wanted to leave her as a guard dog, and they really couldn't take her to Tennessee, so this little biting development was a speed bump. We decided to see how she did after they were all gone, and I am quite happy about that. After all the chaos of moving (the Harpers out, me in) she settled down and now is an unbelievably lovable, loyal, wonderful dog. She is still a guard dog - PG&E, the propane company, the tree-trimming company that clears the powerlines will not come on the property unless I am home. This is a good thing. Sailor is not entirely convinced, however. Blue usually stays out in the garden, garage, barns, and between pastures, and Sailor gets the house and backyard (mama's girl!). Now and then Blue gets to come in the backyard and the two dogs give each other their space, but Blue wants to play so I have to keep an eye on it (her version of play vexes Sailor a bit). Blue catches rabbits (although, so have Buster and Sailor!), protects us all from the coyotes howling waaaaayyyy down the road, alerted me to the rattlesnake in the garage last week, and tries to kill the basketball. She gives hugs, and bites the water from the power nozzle of the hose, and owns a piece of my heart. She has even, in the last two weeks, learned to back off a visitor on only one command, and yes - this was an issue. While Blue listens to me on most things now, she still harasses the horses by barking and jumping at the fence when they are there, and some day she may learn the hard way.
The horses - Kasey is old, arthritic, creaky, and sweet. She didn't like it when I had to treat her eye for an infection, but she is a champ with letting me at two hooves in the morning and two in the evening to treat her thrush. She needs to come in under the barn awning in the winter storms, but she just stands by the gate, staring out for Jericho. Jericho likes having a companion, and also likes the mini donkeys, talking over the fence with them and leaning over to give them a little nudge or nip. Obviously, the jennies are not pasture with the big horses! There is a clearing up the hill and to the west/southwest in the pastures that might make a good place for a (small) arena to work Jericho. God knows, Jericho needs to be lunged and driven and saddled! I had hoped it would be a project for this summer, but it will have to wait.
So, the chickens are next. I began with three hens and a roo when I moved here. The place came with two hens, one died, so then I had 4 hens. In March I decided I wanted Marans for the dark brown eggs so I ordered them from the local feed supply store and they said it would probably be June for the Marans. Somewhere in between March and June, a friend of a friend needed to find a new home for her last three hens. She was putting it off because they were her favorites and she wanted a good home for them. Our mutual friend suggested me, and a week or so later I brought home Goldie, Beauty, and Cinnamon. Cinnamon wanted to roost on my shoulder the first evening, and Goldie still lets me pick her up and pet her, but they are really just quite settled in with the others and doing just fine! In June I went to get the Marans, and was disappointed. They had shipped the day before, but had not arrived and that was not the norm for this company. I waited overnight imagining all sorts of terrible things - squished in a freight truck, roasting in the back of some post office. I was thrilled the next day when I got my three-day old chicks, but there were only two, not the three I had ordered, so I took the Marans and three Delaware as well. Now I have an even dozen hens and one rooster. The new chicks are now about 7 weeks old and stay in a playpen in the house most of the time and go outside in the dresser-converted-to-chicken-tractor. I hope to finish the new coop in the next week so I can get everyone transitioned in together.
In a nutshell, here is my farm family on our little 9-acres, closer to work and church:
I write this looking out the french doors to the backyard (yes, french doors and backyard - I have moved!) where my 5 little seven-week old pullets are hanging out in their little chicken tractor giving themselves dustbaths in REAL DIRT! Thus far in their little lives they have been in the brooder or playpen or plain grass, but today I set them over a bare patch on the lawn and they are quite taken with it. They are three Delawares (Mara, Cora, and Bess) and two Marans (Mathilda and Amelia) and will be added to the other eight in the flock in the next few weeks as the coop expansion is completed. What? Oh, what do I mean "...the other eight..."? Guess I had better back up, but I'll give the condensed version...
My friends, Gary and Suzanne, listened to God's call and moved to Tennessee where Gary has a new job with a huge dairy back there. Naturally, the matter of their 9-acre farm here needed to be settled. The short version of this is that, after much prayer on everyone's part, I now live on the farm. It was hard to leave the barn (mostly, Susan, Dave, Katie, Brooke, and all the horses with whom Jericho was friends. It was also the only home Sailor had ever known, and while she just wants to be wherever I am, I still worried if she would adjust. I worried for no reason, of course). Gary and Suzanne and their boys AND the dairy goats, dogs, ducks, cats all made it to Tennessee with some serious adventure under their belts. My adventures continue, too.
The place came with Blue (a Queensland mix), Kasey (a 31-year old arthritic mare who stays because she could not trailer), and two hens whose names I did not know, so I called them Copper and Bronzie. That took the total up to: 2 dogs, 1 cat, 5 hens and a roo, and 2 horses. Oh, and a gigantic rat in the barn, but he is not part of the family. Especially since Buster ate him. Shortly after I moved in, the family of several of my special needs students GAVE me two miniature donkeys named Penny and Paula. I was instantly in love! Total number of critters was at 12, when Copper, the hen, was "dispatched" by either a hawk that could not lift her out of the run or the other hens. Down to 11. My sister-in-law and a co-worker rescued a calico from the banks of the Kings River, and guess where the funny little thing now lives. The original plan was that she and Buster would be great mousers together, but she has a funny little "hitch-in-her-git-along" and slightly disproportionately short legs. Additionally, I've had her since March and she is no bigger now than she was then. The great outdoors, no matter how much she longs for it, is not destined to be her playground. I am still working on a way to let her enjoy it, but it just isn't safe for her. Especially with Blue.
Ahhh yes, Blue. The day before I moved in I went over to get the keys and Blue bit me. She didn't break the skin, but she left a bruise. Gary had really wanted to leave her as a guard dog, and they really couldn't take her to Tennessee, so this little biting development was a speed bump. We decided to see how she did after they were all gone, and I am quite happy about that. After all the chaos of moving (the Harpers out, me in) she settled down and now is an unbelievably lovable, loyal, wonderful dog. She is still a guard dog - PG&E, the propane company, the tree-trimming company that clears the powerlines will not come on the property unless I am home. This is a good thing. Sailor is not entirely convinced, however. Blue usually stays out in the garden, garage, barns, and between pastures, and Sailor gets the house and backyard (mama's girl!). Now and then Blue gets to come in the backyard and the two dogs give each other their space, but Blue wants to play so I have to keep an eye on it (her version of play vexes Sailor a bit). Blue catches rabbits (although, so have Buster and Sailor!), protects us all from the coyotes howling waaaaayyyy down the road, alerted me to the rattlesnake in the garage last week, and tries to kill the basketball. She gives hugs, and bites the water from the power nozzle of the hose, and owns a piece of my heart. She has even, in the last two weeks, learned to back off a visitor on only one command, and yes - this was an issue. While Blue listens to me on most things now, she still harasses the horses by barking and jumping at the fence when they are there, and some day she may learn the hard way.
The horses - Kasey is old, arthritic, creaky, and sweet. She didn't like it when I had to treat her eye for an infection, but she is a champ with letting me at two hooves in the morning and two in the evening to treat her thrush. She needs to come in under the barn awning in the winter storms, but she just stands by the gate, staring out for Jericho. Jericho likes having a companion, and also likes the mini donkeys, talking over the fence with them and leaning over to give them a little nudge or nip. Obviously, the jennies are not pasture with the big horses! There is a clearing up the hill and to the west/southwest in the pastures that might make a good place for a (small) arena to work Jericho. God knows, Jericho needs to be lunged and driven and saddled! I had hoped it would be a project for this summer, but it will have to wait.
So, the chickens are next. I began with three hens and a roo when I moved here. The place came with two hens, one died, so then I had 4 hens. In March I decided I wanted Marans for the dark brown eggs so I ordered them from the local feed supply store and they said it would probably be June for the Marans. Somewhere in between March and June, a friend of a friend needed to find a new home for her last three hens. She was putting it off because they were her favorites and she wanted a good home for them. Our mutual friend suggested me, and a week or so later I brought home Goldie, Beauty, and Cinnamon. Cinnamon wanted to roost on my shoulder the first evening, and Goldie still lets me pick her up and pet her, but they are really just quite settled in with the others and doing just fine! In June I went to get the Marans, and was disappointed. They had shipped the day before, but had not arrived and that was not the norm for this company. I waited overnight imagining all sorts of terrible things - squished in a freight truck, roasting in the back of some post office. I was thrilled the next day when I got my three-day old chicks, but there were only two, not the three I had ordered, so I took the Marans and three Delaware as well. Now I have an even dozen hens and one rooster. The new chicks are now about 7 weeks old and stay in a playpen in the house most of the time and go outside in the dresser-converted-to-chicken-tractor. I hope to finish the new coop in the next week so I can get everyone transitioned in together.
In a nutshell, here is my farm family on our little 9-acres, closer to work and church:
- Dogs: Sailor & Blue
- Cats: Buster & Widget
- Horses: Jericho & Kasey
- Mini Donkeys: Penny & Paula
- Hens: Winkin, Blinkin, Nod, Bronzie, Goldie, Beauty, Cinnamon, Mara, Cora, Bess, Mathilda, & Amelia
- Mr. Roo
- A barn owl, a screech owl up the hill, too many cottontail rabbits, MADDENING gophers, and the occassional snake.
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