Funny

As we were all in the goat pen, Tinkerbelle is the only one who wanted attention. Cinderella went into the shelter with a bunch of chickens. Sebastian was not having that, so he went in there also. The chickens would run by him one by one until he decided he needed to get out of there. I laughed watching him with those chickens. He was fearless until he wasn’t anymore. 

Overwhelmed

Little Rosie was a little overwhelmed by all the animals. She was not sure what to do. She was able to play with a goat, pet some sheep, pet some horses. She had never seen a cat before and they fascinated her. I did not get pictures of it, but she wanted to play with the cats. The cats wanted nothing to do with her, of course. It was a joy to see her experience new things on the farm. 

Horses

I do not know what it is about my grandson, but the horses pretty much just flock to him. Jeb and Chief have done that since he was old enough to walk to the fence. I was interested to see what the new horses would do. Two out of three of them went right to him. I’m amazed. I think it is something special to witness. There is something special about that kid. 

Gloria

I wondered when Gloria would find herself back in the shop. Apparently she has made it back. I saw her roosting in her old spot with another chicken. I was shocked she had waited so long to find her way back, but she did. 

Grateful

On this last day of 2022, I am grateful for so many things. New Years Eve was a great day. Ronnie cooked and the kids and grandkids were here. The kids loved the animals on the farm and we had a a great time. Rosie got to experience the farm for the first time. I do not think she was a fan of the west Texas wind but she had an experience with the animals. She may have been a bit overwhelmed but seemed to have had a good time. Sebastian has been here many times but he was worn out. I have never seen that kid pass out while watching tv but he sure did today. The food was good and the company was good. It was a good way to end the year. 

What Just Happened

It looks like Takua, Chief, and Jeb are good buddies now. Takua did not even eat with Spots and Saverine tonight, he stayed with Chief and Jeb. It was funny watching them eating out of the same bowl. I am glad they have become friends though. That’s a big step in the right direction. I knew it would happen sooner or later. I like that it happened so quickly. 

Athena and Onyx

Onyx is bouncing back quickly from her surgery. She is doing well. Athena is not doing as well as Onyx. She is laying around not wanting to move much. She even stayed where she was and let me pet her. That never happens which tells me she does not feel well. I hope she will be feeling better soon. It hurts my heart to see her like that. 

Blessings

I had some kids come out to the farm this week. People I did not otherwise have ties with. That makes me happy. The grandmother had bought them books I had written for Christmas and they wanted to come see the animals. They had a good time. They were able to pet the animals and give treats to them. I later texted their grandma telling her they had been able to come by and I had hoped they had a good time. She said they were already ready to come back and bring some treats to do it all over again. She told me she hoped when they read my books they would be exposed to kindness and courage to do good in the world and that others needed to be reminded of that by someone who leads by example. I had tears in my eyes, but the blessing that was to me was such a big deal. I do get discouraged at times but I know things are going to work out. I appreciate the encouragement and I am glad people do enjoy their experience when they come out here. 

Spay Appointment

I took Athena and Onyx in for a spay. They did not get them to surgery the day I dropped them off so I had to pick them up the next day. I was not real pleased when I took Yeller in, but they did well with Ursula so I thought I would give it a shot. Well, I still was not too pleased. I know it’s a good vet office but they are so busy. It took them a long time to find my cats. When they did find them, Athena now has one sort of eye infection and they told me I could bring her back if it did not clear up. The cats were yelling out until they saw me and then they stopped. They were quite all the way home. Once we got home, neither of them wanted to eat and they went to hide. I hope they are okay. They did not seem to feel well for sure. Hopefully they will feel better tomorrow. 

Rough Week

This week has been tough, but when you get home on Friday night and there is a beautiful rainbow in the sky reminding you God is still in control, it changes your perspective. Some days, some weeks are rough and we have to keep moving. We must remember there is someone on our side and in our corner. God is still in control. 

Ronnie and Bubba

Ronnie and Bubba now have a funny relationship. He used to tell me that I had a weird relationship with Bubba, but now it’s him. Bubba has been sick. Since he has been sick, he has decided Ronnie is his person. If Ronnie is talking, Bubba will go over to him and try to pet his face. It’s so funny. He will try to sit up on the arm of his chair. He wants to be close to him. I have to laugh. Ronnie is not a big cat lover, but he is tolerating Bubba. 

Photo Represents

Ronnie and I were in the pasture checking on a few things. I asked him to take a selfie with me. He did. The photo, to me, represents how far we have come as a couple. It shows how far we have come with the nonprofit. I feel we have accomplished so much since moving to Texas and I’m excited to see where we can go with it. 

Previous Owner

I spoke with Cracker Jack’s previous owner recently. I have to say, God does put people in your life for a reason. If she had not asked me to take Cracker Jack, I am not sure we would be here doing what we are doing now. He paved the way to all of this. It was nice to be able to tell her what was going on and she was nothing but encouraging about the whole situation. I send her pictures every now and then of Cracker Jack. I really am grateful to her and I’m glad we can stay in touch. She came by right before we moved to tell Cracker Jack goodbye and she knew he was going to be okay. It warms my heart to know she trusted us and is happy to see how far we have come. 

Checking on Cracker Jack

As I was looking out the back window, I saw Cracker Jack limping. I asked Ronnie to go check on him. I guess he was okay. It bothers me when he starts to limp. He got a hoof trim not long so I know it’s not that issue. He was fine a few hours before that. You never know what will happen around here. 

Shop Chickens

We have always had at least one shop chicken. First it was Edith, then Gloria. I’m surprised Gloria is not in there but she is not there this winter. There are about four different chickens in there now. They probably ran Gloria out. Each of these chickens refuses to leave the shop because of the roosters and I do not blame them. Auburn, Melody, Ernestine and one of the barred rock chickens, I cannot tell which one, is now living in the shop. Who knows when they will leave. 

Mean Mare

Saverine is definitely feeling at home. She has decided when she gets finished with her food, she will go across the pasture and she will eat the rest of Chief’s food. Luckily for Chief he does not have much left when she comes over to finish it off. I feel bad for him, but I would not mess with that mare either. They do seem to all be getting along these days though. 

Problem Solved?

Matte, Noma, Jasper and Alex are all together in the pasture. Jasper and Alex are becoming food aggressive to each other and the donkeys. I wish I knew why. Regardless of why, it’s happening. Ronnie bought new feeding troughs for them. The new troughs did not help. I started pouring feed in the two new troughs and the old trough and that seems to be doing the trick for now. I hope it works for a while and that problem is solved. 

Oh Noma

Oh, Noma. She is a special one for sure and always will be to me. I have put so much time and effort into her trusting me and being comfortable here. She is still coming around, but I was able to hug her and kiss her nose without any food. That is huge progress. She has been so nervous for the two years we have had her, but she is trying to overcome that. I’m still working on her. My hope is one day she will be okay with us. 

What’s Wrong

Tinkerbelle has not been eating all of her food, or had not been. I think that’s over now, but for a few days, I was concerned about her. She has been stiff in her joints lately, but I think that weather related. She had not been herself and I did not know what was wrong. She does seem better now. She also likes to walk out of her pen, she does that every day, but one day she just started head butting the fence at the other goats. I had to make her turn and go back to her pen. I have no idea what that was about. 

Daring the Donkeys

Athena loves to dare the donkeys, Mattie and Noma, to come after her. She is all over their spot. The donkeys might be getting used to her being there, though. Mattie is calming down some with not chasing the cats much now. Any progress is good progress. It does make me laugh watching her run all over the place not scared of anything. 

A Man and His Horses

I do think Ronnie is happy the horses are here. He is working hard at gaining their trust. I usually watch from the sidelines when he is working with them. The hard work is paying off. I work with them also but Ronnie is putting more work into it. He was happy to bring these horses home. I’m glad he did. He seems to be in his element with the horses. 

Frostbite

We did not lose an animal is the cold spell, but we do have a rooster with some frostbite. Rojo and his hens refuse to roost in an area out of the wind and cold. Somehow he is the only one out of that group that has frostbite. There is one other rooster who also has frostbite but not like Rojo. His looks rough. He acted funny for a day or two but seems better now. 

Everyone Made It

The cold weather has moved past us for now. It’s only December, so there may be more coming before spring is here. All the animals made it through. I worry about all the animals so much in the cold weather. I worry about them in the hot weather, too. We did everything we could to make sure they would be okay and they all made it through. 

Best Christmas

This past Christmas was the best Christmas I remember in a while. Ronnie and I were able to go home for a few hours since some good friends of ours were able to come take care of the animals. It was a fantastic day. It was exhausting but worth it. We got to see most of the family. We did miss a couple, but overall it was just a great day. I am happy we got to spend it with the family this year. I am grateful to our friends who helped us out so we could go. 

The Barn

I looked out and saw a fantastic sight. Saverine, Spots, and Takua where all in the barn. It shows me the horses are getting comfortable here, or they were cold, but regardless, they went into the barn. It makes me happy to see them feeling more at home. I want them to feel at home. I know they will in time. 

Spoiled Ursula

I am aware I have spoiled Ursula. I think she deserves it. We left for a day and I knew she would be alone. I had someone checking on her but I knew she would get bored. I went and bought her a bunch of toys to play with while we were gone. She seemed to appreciate it. She is definitely spoiled and will always be spoiled. I think every animal here is living a good life, or that’s my hope. 

Not a Great Look

I do not like the cold weather. I cannot put enough clothes on to stay warm when it’s as cold as it has been. Wearing a bunch of clothes with gloves, hats, and a scarf is not a great look for me. I spent two and a half hours outside in temps below twenty degrees. Oh I did not like it, but those animals needed to be taken care of so I did it. I know they appreciated it. I sure do love each and every one of them. I think they know that. 

Shelters

I have said this before and I will say it again. I am happy we got the shelters up. It had been so cold outside. The animals needed the shelters to stay warm. I am happy to tell you, they used them during the cold spell. That’s a big deal. Some of them do not want to use the shelters, but they did use them this time. I’m glad about it. 

Desperate

Darla was desperate to get into the bale of straw I brought out when the weather started getting cold. She was chewing the plastic off the bale. I had never witnessed her being that desperate to get into the straw. I let her do her thing but I decided I would hurry it along for her. She is such a funny pig. She was happily spreading out the straw as fast as I could take it out of the bag. I unwrapped two bales for them to spread out and snuggle in. I’m so glad I did and they made it fine. 

Sonny

Sonny is a smart rooster and I’m happy. He has to be my favorite rooster since George died. As the temps started dropping, I couldn’t find him. That was concerning me. It was day two of the cold spell and I had hoped he was okay. I kept looking for him. I finally spotted him in the little goat house. I should have known that’s where he would be. He spent a couple days in there with them to stay warm. I was grateful he got smarter and stayed somewhere not out in the open like he normally did. 

Everyone Is Fine

The weather was supposed to be cold for several days in a row. The temps were going to be below freezing for those several days. I hate the cold like that. I worry so much about the animals. However, of course everyone was fine. As my friend and I were talking about, animals have been doing this for hundreds of years without our involvement. It still stinks for those of us caring for them. 

Size Difference

I kept talking about how much bigger these new horses were compared to Jeb and Chief. I was in amazement. They were finally getting along well enough to be close enough to each other to get a picture. I’m still amazed at how big these horses are. I’m glad they are friendly enough. It would have been bad to have to manage them with their size if they weren’t friendly. 

What Roosters are Supposed to Do

I was in the shop and looked up to see a rooster with two hens. It was a colder night. I did not think much about it after that and I went on about my chores. When I was finished with my chores, they were still up where they were. The rooster had positioned himself in front of the hens and was cuddled up to them to keep them warm. That’s what a rooster is supposed to do, protect the hens. He was doing his job that night and I’m sure the hens are grateful. 

Yep, Getting Back to Normal

Yep, Bacon Bit is getting back to my normal sweet pig. As I was in the pig pen with all the pigs, they were eating some hay. I bent down to get something off the ground. When I looked up, there stood Bacon Bit. I have some kissy noises and sure enough, she gave me a piggy kiss. It’s been two years since she has done that. It made my day. 

Not Good Onyx

The cats around here go all over the place. They don’t pay attention to much going on around them. They all do whatever their heart desires. I was out feeding the animals. I went to feed the horses. Once I was finished feeding, I walked back over to the horses and stood there. I was trying to get them used to my presence around them. As I was standing there, I see Onyx out of the corner of my eye. She went through the fence toward the horses. Jen and Chief tolerate the cats, but the other three I was not sure. It took a minute for me to figure out these guys were not going to tolerate the cats. It took Onyx about that long to see that as well. She got out of there quickly. 

Alex and Jasper

Alex has been rough and mean to Jasper lately. I have no idea what their problem has been. The only thing I can think is maybe the weather is bringing out the worst in these animals. I have not seen Alex being mean, it’s usually the other way around. I saw Alex acting like he was telling Jasper he was sorry. He was grooming him. Maybe that’s their way. They seemed better after that. 

Friendlier

The horses are progressively getting friendlier. Takua is the most friendly up to this point. Saverine is working on it. Spots is trying, but she is more resistant to being friendly. It’s all a work in progress, but it’s coming together. I know they will warm up to us. It’s getting better everyday. I am determined to make things easier for them. 

Mother’s Protection

The three horses we brought in were a mother who is in her twenties and two of her babies who are in their upper teen years. They have always been together. The first few days, the momma, Saverine, seemed to be trying to protect her babies, even though they are grown. Spots and Takua can handle their own for sure. It did warm my heart to see Saverine still in protection mode after all these years. I guess that’s just being a mother. 

Mattie’s Mountain Success

As the year comes to an end, Mattie’s Mountain has been started. We are still working to get things up and running, but the weather is cold now, so we are going to start having more events and stuff once the weather warms up some. So far, we had a ribbon cutting and we have done some booths to get our name out there. People do know who we are after a newspaper article put us on the front page. We have had some success. We have taken in a couple sheep, a couple goats, and some horses. Our mascot, Mattie was born this year.  We have helped with a kid needing a home for a short time, we have helped a girl with getting out of a rough situation, we have helped with a girl needing to get a license for her job, and we have helped a woman get a book published this year which has been a dream of hers for over forty years. I would say things have been a success. Things may be starting slow, but I know this is going to get big. Please continue to pray for Mattie’s Mountain and those that need help. I’m excited to see what the new year brings. 

In the Dark

I got home late one night and had to feed in the dark. I despise feeding in the dark. Ronnie usually is not home at night because he works later than I do. I was trying to get things done as quick as I could so I could get inside. As I was going over to feed the horses, I hear a noise behind me. It startled me. Instead of panicking which is what my heart was doing, I had to use my head. I turned quickly to see Jasper running after me. I turned right before he got to be. He was running toward the feed I had in my hand. He sure did not get any of it. He did startle me for sure. 

Learning Fast

The three new horses are learning quickly around here. They already have the routine down and they have not been here long. They are waiting at the fence when it is time to eat. They know how I feed and they are waiting for me. I love the fact that they are fast learners and they are starting to feel comfortable already. I knew they would be okay once they got here. I’m pretty sure they know they are going to be okay. It is a process but they are learning fast.