Unbelievable

A sight I have seen a few times lately that seems unbelievable to me and I am always unable to take a picture since I’m driving every time I see it or if Ronnie is driving I am not fast enough with the camera. There is a spot not far from our house that has cows. Most the times we past there, the cows are eating and the wild hogs have joined them. I saw some wild turkeys over with them not long ago and now I have seen deer in that area also. Looks like that’s the spot to be around here. 

Like Clockwork

Every night between 10 pm and 11 pm one of the donkeys starts braying. I’m not sure if they are saying good night or if there is danger. I’m not brave enough to go out and see what’s happening. It is like clockwork every night. It’s entertaining to me that they do this. They have since we got them. I’m not sure which one it is but my guess is Red. That’s who it sounds like. I could be wrong though since I don’t go check. These animals amaze me every day. 

Frosty Everywhere

I got up one morning to feed. It was early. I did not know it until I walked outside but there was frost everywhere. There was ice on everything. I was shocked. Out here we have more freezing fog that I have ever seen. I’m guessing that’s what caused all the frost. I bundled up with my hat, gloves and coat and went out to feed. All the water was frozen so I busted up what I could for the animals. I fed everyone extra to keep them warmer. The donkeys looked like they had been up eating hay all night. They even had frost on them. The roads were not good either, but I made it to work that day. I’m ready for this cold weather to leave. 

AGAIN?!?!!!!!??

Oh Edith. I put her in the shop to keep her warmer. Did that work? Nope. I came home from work the next day to see her walking on the fence. Rowdy was giving her grief. He ran her off from the food. He jumped on top of her and literally stood on her neck. Ronnie say that and was chasing him with an ax to get him away from her. Luckily no one, not even Rowdy was hurt during this little episode. Ronnie was protecting Edith. So, then I start chasing Edith to do what I don’t know. She ended up running back into the chicken coop so I put more straw in there with fresh food and water and I figure that’s where she will stay. It seems to be where she wants to be anyway so I will leave her alone and let her stay where she wants to. 

The Lookout

These pigs are smart. If you have ever owned a pig, you know they are smart. When I went outside to feed the animals this morning, I noticed only Brutus came out of the shelter. I did watch over there as I was feeding to see if there was more movement. It was just Brutus. As I got closer to the pig area, Brutus started oinking and the rest of the pigs came running out. It looked like Brutus was the lookout to let the others know when to come out into the cold to eat. 

Slacking

I did not realize how bad I was slacking on finding eggs. I may have messed up since I am sure a lot of them are frozen due to it being in the 20s for the high today with sleet and snow. I went out to feed this morning since Ronnie got called out at 3 am. It was 18 degrees and snowing. These are days I would rather stay in bed but these animals need to be fed and the water needs to be cracked since there is ice on the top. I was checking for every animal we own to make sure they were all okay. The only one I could not find was Peanut Butter but I am sure he is okay. I wasn’t out there early enough to see him. At least that is my hope. As I was checking everyone out, I walked in the barn and found 2 dozen eggs. As I was feeding the little goats, I found another dozen. I know I have not been slacking that bad. I know I picked up a dozen yesterday. What in the world is going on around here?? 

Cold Again

It’s cold again here in Texas. It’s been icy and cold. No snow, just icy. I really hate that. We have been feeding the animals more again to keep them warmer. We are busting up ice in all water troughs several times a day. I have crawled into all the shelters to make sure the wind still stays out of there and they will be warmer in there. I know I’m a mess, but I have to make sure every time. The animals don’t seem bothered by it as much as I do. 

Moving Edith… Again

I made a decision to move Edith back to the shop, again. I mean this poor girl, I know she has to be sick of it. I want her to be safe. The cold weather was coming in and I did not want her to be in the chicken coop on her own because it was going to be so cold. I decided it was too cold to leave her in the coop. I went into the coop and picked her up and then hid her in my coat to get her moved. She was shaking. I think it was a combination of fear and being cold. She ended up getting her head out of my coat. She wanted to know where we were going. I got her in the shop without the roosters seeing her. I got her in there and fed her. I hoped she would stay warmer in there. 

Vent Session

I just want to vent for a minute. I see all the posts for horses and donkeys in the kill pens. I see all the posts about dogs in shelters and people needing to rehome their pigs. It has really put me in a sad place. It makes me so sad that all these animals need a place to go. These horses and donkey were once someone’s pet most of the time and when they aren’t useful anymore, they are discarded. It breaks my heart. I have seen so many posts lately. It makes me so sad. I have 5 donkeys and a horse from a kill pen. They are great pets out here. I try not to let the posts bother me but it does. I have had to snooze some of them because I can’t save all these animals and I want to. 

Mail Surprise

I did get a surprise in the mail this week. I received the paperwork back for the nonprofit. We are incorporated in Texas!! Yay!! I know we have been working hard on this. We still have a lot to do to get people out here. I’m excited to get it going. There are so many ideas. I just have to get this organized and get stuff done. It’s really happening!! For those of you that don’t know what I have been up to lately, I’m working hard at starting a nonprofit here in Texas that works with depressed kids. As I am sure you have seen, we have a lot of animals here on the farm also. The goal is to bring these kids out to the farm and let them be around those animals. We have about 65 animals at the present time. This lifts spirits, shows them compassion, love and responsibility. We have about 65 animals here at the present time. Most of these animals have a story just like these kids do. The animals love to have visitors and treats of course. Another goal we have here suicide awareness. This is a big problem and we need to help our kids. I still have a few things to file on the federal level, but we are incorporated in Texas!! We have been working on this for a little over 2 years and here we are!! This nonprofit is named after Matthew Corley who lost his life too soon. 

Spoiled Cows

These cows are so spoiled. We let the cows out during the day to run around. They have started mooing at me after they eat in the evening which says they want out again. I have not let them out in the evening, really it wouldn’t matter if I did but we leave them in a pen at night. They run around hard during the day and then they plop down like they are exhausted when they come back in the pen. They really are so cute. I’m glad we have them here to be able to spoil them. They get plenty of time out of the pen. They can rest at night. 

Another Hay Bale

Before the cold weather hit again, Ronnie and I moved another hay bale out to the donkeys and goats. The rest of the animals still had hay. The donkeys and goats were all far away from where we were. I am going to interject this because it was so funny. As we were moving the hay bale, somehow Ronnie almost flipped the tractor because he was so tired. Maybe that is not so funny but the look on his face was priceless. As we pushed the hay bale the rest of the way through the gate, the donkeys and goats saw what we were doing and started running toward us. They were so excited. That was four days ago and the hay bale is half gone already. 

Peaceful Place

This place out here is so peaceful. The sunrises and sunsets are spectacular. It’s quite out here, except the animals. There is so many wide open spaces out here. It’s like the stress can melt off of anyone who comes out here. Maybe it’s just me, but I sure do love it out here. I know I have said that multiple times, but I felt like I needed to say it again. It’s beautiful. We have been blessed. 

At Peace

I read something not long ago about horses and when they are comfortable in a place, that’s when they will lay down. They have to be totally at peace where they are before they start laying down. Jeb must have been at peace day one, that’s when he started laying down. Chief has been a little different. We came home one day and I saw both horses in the barn laying down. I could have cried. I was so happy to see both of them laying down and in the barn. I told Ronnie to look. He laughed and said they do that all the time. Well, it was the first time I had seen it. It warmed my heart and showed me we are doing something right by these horses. 

PortAHut

Have you ever seen a PortAHut?? They are for animal shelters and they are amazing. I know we needed some for some projects we have going on. I had called a store close to us a while back looking for something and they did not have it. So, when the PortAHut came back up into conversation, I decided not to call that particular store. I called a store 45 minutes away and the manager said she could go to another store farther away to pick on up for me. I told her we would come get it sometime that week. When we were able to go pick it up, for some reason I called to make sure they had it so we didn’t drive all that way for no reason. Luckily I called and they did not have it. Oh I was so mad. Hang in there with me on this story. There is a point. I decided to go ahead and call the store that was close to see if they possibly had one. Guess what, they had 4. I was shocked. We went over and picked a couple up. The moral to this story is that sometimes things work out better than what you thought you wanted. I was so grateful and felt silly for being mad. Luckily again, I kept my temper in check and did not let anyone know I was mad. I did get a PortAHut, actually two!! Yay!! The projects can continue. 

Tagged On FB

I was tagged on Facebook the other day from a friend of mine. She had asked for books over Christmas for all of her students. I sent her some autographed copies of my children’s book to her. She was able to keep one for her classroom which I was really hoping for. She tagged me in a post and she had used my book for one of her lessons for her class. That made me whole day. I am so happy she is using it for her kids. I was also happy that the kids were enjoying the book. It really makes it all worth it to me. I am so glad the book is being used and liked by those reading it. I’m so appreciative to her for doing that and then letting me know about it. 

Polite Cracker Jack

After I saw Suzie Q in the hay bale. Cracker Jack came over and was eating the hay off the hay bale. What’s funny about this is the animals usually eat out of the middle of the hay bale. Somehow he knew Suzie Q was sitting in the middle of the hay bale so he was eating around the the side to avoid bothering her. He is a polite donkey. He is really the sweetest donkey. 

Caught Ya

After I found the eggs in the hay bale, I wanted to see which chicken was laying in there. I was interested. I caught Suzie Q in there. She was so cute in there. I did not bother her. I did take some pictures of her though. She is a beautiful chicken. It’s funny to see the chickens doing their thing. She stayed in there for a while longer after I took her picture. 

Beating Up On The New Kid

As you have read, when the weather is cold, most of the chickens go to one area instead of roosting in two different areas. They all just sit together on the ground in the cow barn when it is cold. Well, one of the those island reds decided she would fly up and roost with some of the other chickens who stay in the cow barn all year round. Well, Sally and May did not like another chicken on the roosting spot. May got one one side and May on the other and they started going closer and closer to this other chicken until that chicken was getting pecked and she jumped down off the roosting spot. She stayed in the cow barn but did not roost. She stayed on the ground with the other ones. They are pretty smart. They know when it’s getting cold and they stay in with the cows. 

Edith

Edith has really started to look better. Her feathers have grown back. She is starting to put some weight back on. She seems to be doing well in the chicken coop. The roosters still try to get to her, but can’t get her because she is protected. The donkeys hang out around her coop. I’m glad she is doing well. She has had me concerned. 

Sweet Chicken

I found a sweet chicken laying on some eggs. I did not realize she was sitting on eggs. I thought she was laying an egg. I was able to pet her as she was sitting there. I actually do not know how long she had been sitting there. She did not even act like she was going to peck me. I was surprised but it happened. She was sweet, the other chickens are not like that. 

Finicky

The changes with Cracker Jack and Noma lasted maybe 15 minutes. I fed them in the pen, I fed the cows outside the pen. However, the cows were finished before the donkeys and they were trying to figure out how to get the donkey food, which they do not get much anyway. So, the donkeys were scared and refused to finish the food. Then they stood by the gate pretty much demanding to get out. They were not going to move away from the gate. I opened the gate and they got out of there as fast as they could. The cows ran in as fast as they could. I guess these guys are finicky. They like there own places. Who knew?

More Changes

If there is one thing that continues around here all the time, it’s change. The cows love to be out of the pen and we let them out all the time now except for at night. Noma has been laying down in their pen during the day. Ronnie and I had decided to just pen her up in there for a while to help her out. We have been trying for a long time to get her feet done but she is just not cooperating. She does not want to be messed with and will still try to kick me at times if I’m too close to her. That is the same story that has been going on for a very long time. The rest of that story is, she was doing better until we separated her and Pete. That was necessary. She has been laying down more lately and she likes it in the cow pen. She was in there and so was Cracker Jack, so I locked them in for the night. I put the cow’s food bowls out of the pen. How long was this going to last? 

Scared of Storms

I had forgotten until recently that Persia is scared of storms. We had a thunderstorm not long ago and she was so scared. She almost crawls along the floor looking for somewhere to hide. She ended up crawling up next to me and hiding under a blanket. Then when the thunder came in, she hid under the bed. She was terrified. I forgot she was so scared. She has never gotten over that. I’m guessing she must have been through a bad storm as a stray and is still scared when one comes through. Since we live in West Texas, we don’t get too many storms these days. 

My Patsy Girl

My sweet Patsy girl has been the same since she was a tiny thing. She is still the smallest of all the pigs. She waits for food and still foams at the mouth. She also still waits until I put food into a bowl that no one is fighting over before she decided to start eating. I feel like she is Patient Patsy. She really is a sweet pig. She is still timid and does not like a lot of attention. She still stays close to Brutus most of the time since that’s her brother. I love this little pig. 

What is Happening?

Some days around here, I have no idea what is happening. I watched the donkeys, more specifically, Red and Pete, we’re running around the whole property. It was like they were fighting for dominance or something but the longer it went on, I had no idea what was going on. Ned and Pedro were staying out of it. Who knows really what happens with them. They were fine a little while later, like nothing happened. 

Cow Horns

If you have ever been around a cow that has horns, you will notice the horns are warm. When our cows first got here their horns were not big, but they have grown a lot since bringing them home. Their horns feel warm. I thought that was weird. I have had some friends mention that also. I didn’t know why the horns were warm. Ronnie and I were talking about it in casual conversation. He did know why the horns were warm. There is a lot of blood running through those horns which makes the horns warm. The mystery has been solved for me. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that. 

Mean Donkeys

I swear, these donkeys really can be mean to each other. I don’t think that is really their intention but they do play rough. They will kick each other and bite each other. I do have to watch myself when I’m over there with them. They all get jealous and they start to fight beside me so I have to watch it. I know they are animals and they play rough. It’s usually when the weather changes and it’s cooler. It’s like they get mean with cold weather. Who knows? I do know when to stay out of there. 

Attention Seeking

Oh Pedro. He just has this way about being an attention seeker. He is so funny. He will walk up right behind me, I always know he is behind me. He will then follow me around until I leave the pasture and then look at me like I just hurt his feeling for leaving. I do know that Pedro is my donkey. I know he loves me. He is such a loving donkey. I am happy to give him the attention he is seeking. 

Egg Haul

We have so many eggs, all the time. Maybe we have too many chickens. It may be that we don’t really eat the eggs so they pile up. I did find two dozen eggs in one day. That’s almost one for every hen we have. That’s a lot of eggs. I do still have an egg hunt every day. It’s really becoming something of a comical thing around here. 

Of all the places

Of all the places on this 47 acres for these crazy chickens to lay their eggs, several of them decided to lay inside the hay bale where the middle had already been eaten. I just happened to look over and see the eggs. I laughed so hard. I had not seen as many in the normal spots so I had wondered where they were laying. The cows and the donkeys had left them alone. They all do live in harmony around here. 

Unlatched Gate

I got home and the gate where Hercules, who is desperate to get out was left unlatched. Ronnie had been working nights and he was exhausted. What’s funny about that is that Hercules could not get to the chain to move open the gate. However, he knows how to push open that gate with his head so I’m guessing that he just didn’t realize the gate was unlatched. That’s a lucky day for us. If he had gotten out and let the other goats and the donkeys out, I’m not sure we would be able to get them back. 

Jelly vs Pedro

Jelly was not being smart the other day. He wanted my attention and I was over in the donkey pasture. The donkey pasture that does not like cats. I was over in the chicken coop checking on Edith. Pedro followed me over there and saw Jelly laying by the fence. I told Jelly he better get out of there. He was able to crawl through the fence to get away from Pedro. Pedro did go after Jelly but Jelly was already over the fence. Good for Jelly listening to me. 

Loving Hercules

Hercules is such a loving goat. It’s crazy to me how loving he can actually be. It’s becoming more often that he tries to show affection. He is so sweet. I went to the barn to collect eggs and Hercules followed me. He was desperately trying to get my attention so I gave him my attention. He really loves having my attention. That silly goat was even licking me like a dog. Gross. He loved the attention. I need to spend more time with him. He is usually running around with the donkeys so I don’t see him as much when I’m in that pasture. I need to make sure I spend the time he needs with him. I sure do love that goat. It’s obvious he loves me, too. 

Pacing Edith

I walked outside to see Edith pacing in front of the gate to the coop. I thought she might have wanted out. After I went in there to give her food and water, she got back in a laying box and seemed calmer. I really don’t know what to do with her at this point. She is safe in there and she has friends that come around to see her, I’m talking about the hens, not the roosters. If I let her out, I know the roosters will go after her again and her feathers just came back in. She does seem lonely though. I am at a loss for what is best for her.