Texas Snow Storm

 I posted yesterday it had snowed. Well, I got up this morning and thought we would have a winter wonderland, which I didn’t want, but we didn’t. I got to work and started working and here comes the snow. By the time I was getting off work, I had called Ronnie to see how the roads were and he offered to come get me which I was grateful for. I hate driving when the roads are rough. I don’t have much experience with it and apparently don’t want the experience. He had been to tractor supply to get some pine shavings for the barn. He knew the animals had to be cold since none of them wanted to come out. The pigs came out to eat but then ran back in. So, ronnie and I played in the snow tonight and put more straw in with the pigs and pine shavings for the donkeys and goats. Then we both did paperwork for work until just now. It’s still snowing and will for a few more hours according to the weather. 

Spoiled

 I forgot to say this on my last post. As I was walking out to the pig pen and had picked up the straw, Cracker Jack and the goats were all calling for me: braying, bleating, I swear they were screaming at me. They followed me all the way to the pig pen on the other side of the fencing, I swear they were asking me where their straw was and why I wasn’t over there fixing the barn up for them. Which I do find funny, they didn’t like the barn until recently. They used the small lean to, but now they use the barn. Noma is the only one that has been in the lean to since baby Jack passed away in there. Which still makes me unbelievably sad. Luckily the animals had started using the barn before that. This post was supposed to be funny, so let me bring it back to that. Cracker Jack and the goats wanted straw in their house also. Thank goodness, Ronnie brought more home and we were able to get it spread out here. They are certainly spoiled. I wouldn’t have it any other way though. That’s how we did things in Arkansas and that’s how we will do them in West Texas. 

All Four Seasons

 Let me tell you something. I am from Arkansas, I know the weather can turn in the blink of an eye. West Texas is just as bad if not worse. I have literally seen all 4 seasons in 24 hours. I got up yesterday morning and it was 30 degrees. I get to lunch time and it’s a nice 60 something. By the time I get home, I’m out feeding the animals with a short sleeve shirt on and no jacket and it’s almost 80 degrees. I get up this morning and it’s like 40 something and by mid day, it’s in the 30s and snowing.... snowing ya’ll. I’m not much on snow or low temps. It’s only supposed to be in the 30s tomorrow and snow all day. So, I get home and put extra straw in both pig houses. I’m really not sure what to do for the chickens. They have their own spot out of the wind and weather so they should be fine. I spent a lot of time getting the pigs all fixed up, I know they are cold but they do have their own spots and they have plenty of straw to get in and they huddle together. My wonderful husband brought more straw home and we were able to get it in the barn for the donkeys and the goats. They might not need it, but I know they like it. Noma has to lay down a lot and the goats like to lay down. And actually since being here, Pete and Cracker Jack lay down also. I know the animals hate this and I hate it for them. It will only last a day or two here and it will get warmer, but until then, it’s cold. Hubby will be home some tomorrow and he is going to put more straw out for them since it will be cold all day. I spent 2 hours outside and by the time I got back in, my clothes were wet, my coat was wet, my gloves were wet since it was still snowing. Poor little guys. At least they have warm houses and a barn. 

A Cold Night

 The weather here is a bit nuts. Yesterday the high was mid 70s. Today the high was mid 50s with the wind making it so cold all day. Tonight it’s supposed to be in the 20s, so I put new straw into the pig houses. Pete and Noma usually sleep in the middle of the field because they refuse to be in an enclosed area. I get that since I have no idea what they have been through. As I was feeding tonight, I look up and I see all the donkeys and all of the goats in the barn. I cannot accurately tell you how happy that made me. They were in there eating the hay that was in the barn. The barn still needs some updating. The wind out here has blown some of the sheet metal completely off the barn. It needs work. It’s on the list of things to do, along with lighting. The lady that owned this place before had 200 goats out there and they ate the wiring. Anyway. My point here is that all of those animals are in the barn tonight where they will be warmer than if they were out in the field. I’m grateful that’s where they ended up tonight. They are smarter than we give them credit. 

New Findings

 I sat with Noma for a long time today. She really only wants to deal with me when she is laying down. That’s okay. We are going to work on it. Today I noticed Noma had gotten in to a cactus. I was pulling out the cactus spikes off of her nose and her mouth. Oh boy, she didn’t move much but she didn’t like it one bit. I can’t say I blame her. I didn’t get them all out because she reached over like she was going to bite me. She didn’t bite me, I was watching her closely. Later I noticed she was going right for the cactus again... I think she doesn’t see very well. Bless her sweet heart, she needs a lot of TLC. I’m so glad she is here. I needed her just like she needed me. 

Oh Pete

 This morning, I do my morning routine with the feeding and watering. When that is completed, I go out to check on Moma and Pete. They are both standing together watching me. I walked right up to Noma who let me pet her. Pete did not leave this time. I wasn’t able to pet him yet, but he didn’t leave. I would say that’s progress. He did get close enough to smell my hand. Looks like it’s all going to work out!! 

Progress

 I am really working on these donkeys. I want to get them help with their feet ASAP. To do that, I have to get them comfortable here first. I have to get them used to people and to being touched. They are so scared and nervous of people right now and who could blame them?? They have been through who knows what. They are unsure of what is happening to them. Yesterday I got close enough to feed Noma from a bucket. Might not have been the best idea to feed them grain just yet, Noma has some diarrhea today, but I’m sure it’s because she hasn’t been fed properly and they was too much too fast. She is still eating grass and she is drinking today. Pete wants nothing to do with me at all. I went out earlier and saw them laying down in the field. I decided I would go out. I sat down close but not too close. Pete didn’t stick around long, he went off with the other animals. Noma stayed there. It’s really hard for her to get up so I figure that’s why she stayed. She tried to get up and just gave up trying. I sat there and talked to her. She would move her ears up and down like she was listening. After a bit, I moved closer. Noma didn’t move. Ever so often I would move closer. The whole time, Hercules was trying to take my hair down and was in my face... he is intrusive like no other. Hercules finally walked away for a minute. When he walked away, I carefully and in a non threatening way reached up and touched Noma’s nose. Very softly. She didn’t pull away. I ended up being able to pet her for a long time. I cried over this because I knew how hard that had to be for her. She continued to let me get closer to her and I was able to pet all the way down her neck. I moved my hand to give her a minute and she leaned into me to get more petting. This is a huge step for her. I didn’t push my luck though and gave her some space. I went back in the house and when I came back out, she was up at the fence waiting on me. I went over to her and put my hand over the fence and she put her nose up to it. Today has been a huge step in showing progress. I’m so grateful. 

Star of Bethlehem

 I have seen so many posts about the star of Bethlehem tonight, so I watched the sun go down with my husband and we waited to see the star. I was definitely impressed. It was beautiful. Made me think of the stories in the Bible while looking at it. I do hope 2021 brings us all good things as I know 2020 has been rough on us all. I hope each and everyone of you are blessed in 2021. The pictures I took turned out better than I would have thought. 

More Time in the Pig Pen

 I went out several times today to check on the animals. I spent some time with the pigs today and it was wonderful. Each of them have such silly personalities. They all wanted my attention which I love. Gus was running other pigs away so he could be in my lap. Silly pig. They got lots of belly rubs and attention. I love hanging out with them but I am so ready to go back to work!! 

Eggs

 So, I wrote a post the other day about the chickens and them acting like they are going to start laying eggs. Well, that is exactly want has happened. They had started going over to the laying box which is quite a ways away from where they roost. The set up is something to see. I had started watching them and every morning, they are over by the laying box. I finally decided to go in there and I found 2 eggs. Then this morning, I found another one and it doesn’t get any fresher than that one, it was still warm. I need to get some straw and stuff set up in there for them. 

Update

 An update on Noma and Pete. Both of them are still really nervous, but they are trying. I was able to get close enough to Noma to pet her. She really doesn’t like to be touched at this moment and I will respect that. She did let me hold a bucket so she could eat out of it. She also stood and sniffed my hand for a bit. I sat on the ground today to let her get used to me being there. I know I can’t push it. Pete wants nothing to do with me, but once Noma does, he will also. As soon as they warm up, Noma has to get those feet done. I’m still appalled at how bad they are. It will get fixed. Neither of them are bothered by Cracker Jack or the goats. They will be happy here. They are staying close to the barn right now and they do not follow the other animals when they go down to visit the pigs, but they probably don’t need to at this time with the feet as bad as they are. Honestly, I’m going to put a picture on this post so you can see it. Anyway. They are doing well. 

Noma and Pete

 Welcome to the farm Noma and Pete. Pete is about a year old. Not sure Noma’s age but she has given birth multiple times. Pete is tall and mostly legs. He looks to be in fairly good condition. Noma on the other hand is skinny and her feet are downright atrocious. Whoever had these babies before going to the kill pen and coming here needs a lesson on the importance of good feet on a horse or a donkey. This poor little lady is a fighter for sure. She does have to lay down a lot because she is literally walking on the sides of her feet. Breaks my heart. I will be getting that fixed as soon as she is comfortable here and we are able to get close to her. Noma and Pete are so stressed and scared right now. It’s better now that they have been here most of a full day. They will let me get close but won’t let me get close enough to touch them. That’s okay, I know they are stressed. It will come eventually. They will need a ton of tender loving care but I’m up for it. They are both fighters and want to live. They have full bellies and have already made themselves at home in the barn. They have made friends with all of the goats and Cracker Jack. These guys will never know hunger or thirst again. Noma will not have to give birth again. They will only know love from here on out. 

A Rough Day

 I know I need to make this post, but I have put it off all day. I just really don’t know what to say. I am going to try though. If you read my blog about the kill pens, you know I was getting 3 donkeys. There was some miscommunication since I was actually dealing with 3 different people. I assumed they were all okay because I had asked about them. Animals don’t do well in kill pens from what I understand. It’s a high stress area with lots of animals. I got a call yesterday saying the youngest one needed to go to the hospital. He was severely dehydrated and severely malnourished. Up until this point, I didn’t realize this baby was actually a baby, still on mom. Mom had stopped letting him nurse due to the high stress. He was unable to get up. They were feeding him every two hours and doing everything they could. As we discussed, his chances weren’t good either way, so just get all three of them here as soon as possible. This was at 6:30 pm last night. They got here to bring them to me at 3:30 am. Little man, Jack died five minutes later. It was absolutely devastating to us, but he was in terrible shape. He passed away in a lean to, his own space in warm straw and a blanket wrapped around him. He is no longer suffering and was laid to rest on our property. We tried is all I can say. It was a risk I was willing to take. I sure hope animals go to heaven. I don’t know what all he went through but I’m sure it wasn’t good. The other two are here and doing okay. I will tell you about them later.  

Not Sure

 I have been here in Texas about a month. I was left 12 chickens and 2 roosters from the lady we bought the house from. I am now down to 8 chickens and 2 roosters. I really hate they keep dwindling down. Don’t misunderstand me, I know there are a lot of predators that can kill a chicken and the fact that they are free range makes it that much more likely. I’m wondering what I can do to protect them. They only thing I can think is to put a gate up to where they stay at night so nothing can get in or out. I still have the 2 that stay in the shop so I know they are fine. The other thing about this is when we got here, I found a laying box full of eggs. I know a lot of people would love that. I’m okay without the eggs. Anyway. I didn’t know how long the eggs had been there and I had not seen the chickens over there at all since we got here. Ronnie and I started cleaning them out. Oh my goodness. A couple of them ended up breaking as we were cleaning them out and let’s just say, they were rotten and it was awful. Yesterday I was watching the chickens and they were all back over near the box. They stayed over there until the donkey and goats saw them. I’ve never seen chickens run so fast away from anything. I looked later to make sure they hadn’t left any eggs. They hadn’t. Now I’m wondering if they are going to start laying more eggs. I’m not sure what’s happening around here anymore. Lol!!

Kill Pens

 Guys, I learn something new every single day in the world of animals. I have always loved animals. They have always been a part of my life. We had a childhood dog that lived 21 years. She was there throughout my entire childhood and awful teenage years. Whenever I was sick or hurting, she would crawl into my lap and just stare at me. She was a great dog, even being a chihuahua. She was not discarded when she got sick. None of our animals were. That leads me to this... kill pens. I never really knew of these things called kill pens. Not sure if my head has been in the sand like an ostrich or what but here lately, I have been doing some research on kill pens. This essentially, from what I can gather is like a humane society for a dog or a cat in a high kill shelter. This is where discarded horses and donkeys go when they can no longer be cared for or are unwanted. The kicker here is, it’s illegal in the US to consume horse meat. I cannot even imagine why this would be a question. But I won’t get into all of that. Horses can be workers but more importantly to me, they are a beloved animal that should not be discarded. If you know me at all, I feel that way about all animals. I had a hard time with birds at one point but now that I own chickens, I’m over that. Each one of those animals belonged to someone and has been discarded for whatever reason. Now they are being shipped to  somewhere else for slaughter. I mean my heart is broken. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have such a big heart for animals. Regardless, this is happening. Somehow I ended up on a couple of kill shelter sights on Facebook. I found 2 donkeys I wanted so badly to give homes to, but they were shipping out the next morning and we had some repairs or something that needed to be done on the barn. There was no way I could get the money and transport and all of that done before they shipped out. Well, I have to tell you, I did not sleep at all that night. Yes, my heart is that big. Who would have ever thought if you had known me when I was younger?? I ended up going to work the next morning and I was depressed about the situation. I looked at the site and at least one of the two I wanted was saved by someone else. I am hoping the other one was also. And bless that person whoever you are and wherever you are. I just couldn’t get it out of my head. I still can’t wrap my head around it. Anyway. I went to work and found out I am positive for the coronavirus, this post isn’t about that and I’m fine. Since I am stuck at home, I looked into a site that is already in Texas which is where I am. Guys, I found a donkey mom and her 2 babies. One of them born last year and one born this year. What the heck?? They all deserve to live a life. These 2 youngsters haven’t even had a life and were in a kill pen set to leave the next day. I’m at home at this point and don’t know what to do with myself, so I put things in motion. That momma and her 2 babies will be coming to live here. I have transport set up for this weekend unless something changes. I have “paid their bail.” They get to live. If I could save them all I would. And that brings me to my last thing, thank you to everyone who had bought my book. Because of my writing and people buying it, that’s what made this possible. 

Spending Time

 Since we moved it has been nonstop with being busy. Still so much to do. Ronnie and I have both been exhausted. Yesterday we had time to finally get the rest of the pig house done. The pigs have been mad at me since we moved. I can’t say I blame them. I have tried giving belly rubs and spending time with them but they wanted no part in it. Yesterday when I got in the pen, they have all decided they love me again. I spent hours out there yesterday giving belly rubs and giving attention. I put new straw in the 2 houses that are out there now. That happened just in time for a really cold day today. Gus really enjoyed my time out there yesterday. I finally had to sit down in the straw. He tried to get into my lap. He is so sweet. Darla even rolled over for a belly rub. That hasn’t happened since we moved. It’s like they are finally not mad at me anymore and I am grateful for that. 

Lesson Learned

 I’m from Arkansas where we have lots of humidity. You sweat when you’re hot. West Texas is totally different. It’s a dry heat. No humidity. Yesterday Ronnie and I did some work outside. We were not out there but 3 or 4 hours. As we were out there, I was wearing a coat, gloves, and a hat. I started getting hot and it was 50 degrees outside. So, took off all of that stuff and was out there with a short sleeve shirt on. It felt good to me. When we came back inside I started feeling weird. It was like all of a sudden. So, I went to lay down and take a nap. When I got up I felt worse. Then I started getting nervous. Surely I don’t have the coronavirus. I then look down at my hands. Holy cow. I had wrinkled fingers and had not been in the bathtub or the shower. I then re

alized how dehydrated I was. Apparently being dehydrated can really make you feel bad. I then drank about 108 ounces of water. I ate a banana. I have water here with electrolytes in it and drank that also. Yes, I was up half the night because I drank so much water, but my fingers are no longer wrinkled and I feel so much better. Dehydration is no joke. I have never been that dehydrated. I didn’t have covid symptoms but it sure scared me. Ronnie had warned me about the dry heat and the possibility of dehydration. I thought I had hydrated enough but it’s obvious I didn’t. I learned a valuable lesson yesterday. I won’t be making that mistake again. 

Coyotes

 I know if you have read this blog, I freak out over coyotes. In Arkansas where we lived, out house was at the bottom of a mountain and there was a lot of wildlife. Where there is wildlife, there are always coyotes. I know they can get out of hand and they can take your pets. They were loud and normally seemed really close. They probably were not as close as I would have thought. Even so, I would wake up several times a night after nightmares of coyotes getting my animals. That was my mind playing tricks on me. I could sometimes hear them but not always. Being here in west Texas, things are so different. I know they are here and are probably worse than they were in Arkansas but they are more spread out. I have heard them but not often and it sounds like one or two and not 10 together. This makes me very happy. I don’t wake up thinking I hear them anymore and I don’t have nightmares like I did. I’m grateful. All the animals are happy here also so that’s a big bonus. 

Oh Romeo

 Romeo had started doing better. He has put on some weight. He is eating and drinking. The really cold days, he stays in the barn in the straw and hay so stay warm since he still isn’t at 100 percent. I noticed a few days ago after laying off his meds and stuff, he started having diarrhea again. So, I started giving him some supplements again. Today I got home and he was up moving around with the rest of the animals. No diarrhea!! That’s a huge thing. I decided I would go ahead and give him some more supplements tonight to be on the safe side. He hates it. I hate doing it. But, he needs it. That, to me, is very obvious. Since Romeo has been so sick, Cracker Jack has been very protective of him. He stays with Romeo. I love to watch this. Cracker Jack is an amazing animal. I’ve never seen such a thing. Tonight, Romeo was standing right beside Cracker Jack when I brought out the meds. I grabbed Romeo and Cracker Jack literally leaned over a bit me. Not hard but he bit me to get me away from Romeo. I still was able to give him the meds but I was in shock!! That’s protection for sure. The bond they share is undeniable. We could learn something from these animals.