Flooding

It has rained so much there is flooding around here. The shop is flooded, so the cats have been kicked out of their home. I hope they found a dry spot. Annabeth and her chick are in there also, I hope they get on higher ground so the chick can survive. I have not seen flooding like this since being out here. Our road is closed because areas are flooded. The rain has been coming down in sheets. It’s getting insane with the water. We needed this rain so badly but now it needs to stop. None of the shelters have dry ground in them. Everything is wet in every spot we have here. I know most of the animals don’t care about being wet but it makes me feel better to know they at least have a dry spot if they want it. 

Stalking

The kittens are stalking the chicks. I am sure we all saw that one coming. I am grateful they get distracted easily. I am also grateful the chicks are fast. I hope they continue to be fast and stay away from the cats. I wonder how that will play out. 

Only The Strong Survive

I am hoping these chick survive. I am making myself crazy over these babies. It has been raining so much here that if the cats do not get them, I’m afraid they will drown. It is crazy around here right now. I feel Josephine left them too early but I’m not the one that makes those decisions. I’m sure she knows what she is doing, except she has not been a great mom. I guess only the strong can survive here. That goes with everything here. 

Made It

I saw Josephine get up on the roosting spot. Her chicks are too little to get up there. I watched all three of them struggle to get up to where Josephine was. One of them finally made it. I wish I had been watching him get up there. The other two continued to try but it did not happen. I do not know where they all ended up to sleep. All of this makes me crazy. 

That Looks Bad

Well, I caught Yeller around the baby chicks. As I watched him, I wondered if he was guarding them or going to try to eat them. Either way, things looked a little scary. He sat there until the chicks noticed them and they ran off. Again, I hate Josephine has left them so soon. Yeller was cute watching them but it made me nervous. I ran him off after they ran off. 

Jeb

Jeb had been looking skinny lately. He has finally started to gain some weight back and he looks so much better. We had been using feed and hay, so I’m not sure why he looked so skinny. He had also been wormed. I’m grateful he is looking better. 

A Tender Moment

I witnessed a tender moment between Jeb and Athena. It was such a special moment and I am so glad I got a picture of it. I had thrown some hay over to Jeb. Athena had followed me over there. She stopped at the fence where Jeb was and Jeb came to the fence and they were touching noses. It was a cute thing to see. The animals around here do love each other. 

Egg Hunt

I do an egg hunt every day. I happen to notice Onyx near a spot that had several eggs. It was not an area where they usually lay eggs. I’m wondering if it came from some of the younger chickens on the property. I bet they were. The next day there were more and Athen was near it. I was able to pick them all up. I guess I have another spot I need to check daily. 

Green Grass Everywhere

We finally have green grass everywhere. The animals are liking that for sure. It’s so pretty also. We have been looking at brown grass for a long time with the drought we have had. In a matter of a couple of times raining, and now things are green. It is amazing how fast it happens around here. 

Rubbing on Fencing

Have you ever seen a goat running on fencing?? Do you know they are not doing this to scratch?? They are actually looking for a weak spot in the fence to be able to get out of the fence. I caught Carlos doing this the other day. What’s funny about this is Carlos is not in a pen. The fence he was rubbing on, he was on the outside of the fence. Why does he bother? I really cannot answer that. It’s something goats do. 

Left the Babies

Josephine has left her babies. I googled how long a hen was supposed to stay with her chicks and it said 6-8 weeks. I’m not sure it has been that long and the chicks are still small. I hate this. I’m not sure the chicks are ready to be on their own. I guess they will have to figure it out. I do not like that they are so small and on their own. It makes me nervous for them. 

So Sweet

I was watching Annabeth with her baby. She is so sweet with that baby. It does show me she did want to be a mom. She is loving with this chick. I honestly have not witnessed that with another hen and her chicks. I’m so afraid she will lose the chick since a lot of them around here do not make it. That being the only one makes it harder. I hope this chick makes it for Annabeth. I know she is just a chicken but I want that for her. 

Raven

Raven thinks sitting up on the grill is a good idea. Most of the time I would agree but on the night I’m discussing, it was not. It was pouring down rain. She stayed where she was. The rain was not bothering her at all. I tried to catch her to move her out of the rain and in a stop which was dry and she was not having it. She flew off and went to another spot where it was still raining. I gave up messing with her. 

Athena

Athena has been all over the place lately. She has been all over this farm lately. She never slows down. She has been in the barn where the donkeys are. She has been hanging with all the other cats. She has been hanging with the sheep and goats. She has been cracking me up lately. She has so much energy. She was a good addition to this place. 

Noma’s Baby

Mattie is Noma’s baby. She is not willing to let him go. She is still nursing Mattie. She seemed to have been trying to wean him but he is still nursing. She may have decided once he is weaned that he will leave like her other babies. The thoughts break my heart but Mattie is getting rough with Noma and with Cracker Jack. I am hoping he can get fixed when the other donkeys get fixed and he will calm down some. At this time though, he may need to go into the pasture, but Noma will have to wean him. 

Where’s My Hay?

Hay has been increasing in price since the drought started out here. We had been feeding the horses alfalfa. We changed to coastal for the time being. Well, I took some to the horses. Chief took a bite and then looked at me with disdain. He did not appreciate the change, but he ate it anyway. He is a silly horse. 

A Surprise Photo

I was out taking photos. I do that often while I feed and water the animals in the evenings. I caught what I think is an amazing photo. In the clouds, it looks like a heart in the sky above the barn. I took several photos of it. It was a surprise when I was looking back at the photos. God is an amazing artist. 

Sleeping Soundly

Yeller is starting to get bigger. I caught him at a moment where he was sleeping so soundly, he had no idea I was taking pictures of him. I was able to sneak away before he woke up. He is the cutest little thing. He keeps us all entertained around here with everything he does. 

Oh Cracker Jack

Mattie has been rough with Cracker Jack again. Cracker Jack has started limping again. I hated to do it, but I had to put Cracker Jack back in the pen. I knew he was not going to love that, but it was for his safety. He really does not like it. I do not blame him. Hopefully it will not take that long for him to start feeling better. Mattie will have to go to the pasture with the others before long for safety. 

Bill

Bill has not seemed like he was feeling good. He did not have any of the symptoms that he had when he had pneumonia. I was not convinced he did not need an antibiotic but I decided to wait to see if continued to act funny. Well, he started acting fine the next day. He does not seem a hundred percent, but the weather is wet and rainy and cooler than it has been so I am sure that has something to do with it. He is eating and running around so that’s something. 

Onyx and Pepper

Onyx loves the dogs. She wants to be friends with them so badly but the dogs are not cooperating. It is funny to watch them try to figure each other out. Onyx will follow Pepper in particular around and try so hard to be close to her. Pepper does let Onyx follow her but she does not act amused by a kitten following her around. 

Update on Annabeth

I started writing this one morning and did not finish it. When I got home from work that day, I fully intended to get the eggs from under her. I was feeling bad about it since this would have been her second time to sit on eggs and none hatch. It broke my heart a little. I walked in the shop and a surprise unfolded. There beside Annabeth sat the prettiest little chick I have ever seen. I was happy to see she did finally hatch her a baby. She is still sitting on an egg. If that one does not hatch soon, I will take that egg. I am hoping this chick makes it. 

Interesting Place

When it rains here, the shop usually floods. Luckily this time it didn’t. I look out the next morning and there sits Yeller and Jelly on top of the hay bales. I have no idea how they got up there, especially little Yeller, but he was up there. It was an interesting place to be lounging around. He sure is an adventurous thing. Jelly was hanging out with him but on the opposite side of the hay bale. I laughed when I saw that. They did look comfortable. 

Nervous

We need the rain out here so badly. What makes me nervous is all this lightning. It may not be dry enough for fires at the moment, but it sure has been lately. I also get nervous for the animals. I mean, they are animals, they will be fine. Everyone has shelter. The cats don’t stay in the shop since it floods and they don’t like the sound on the roof. Some of the chickens insist on roosting on the fence where there is no shelter cover. The other animals all have barns and stuff and they actually go in them. I just get concerned for no reason. 

Curious

Yeller is a curious little thing. He is finding stuff to play with and being the kitten he is. It’s a cute thing to watch. He is learning all kinds of things. He found some string in the shop and played with that for a long time. I had to stay and watch because it was so adorable. Who am I kidding, everything he does is adorable at this stage. 

Accident Prone

Jeb is a little accident prone. I did not witness this, but Ronnie did. As we were out feeding and watering, Jeb fell into the fencing that is around the garden area. Ronnie had opened the gates to that area so that wouldn’t happen. Ronnie said it looked like he was twisted up in the fencing but before Ronnie could get over there, he was up and doing fine. He does have some scratches but I looked him over and there were not major injuries, thank goodness. 

The Stories

I met someone recently that lives in the same town as I do. It’s an older man. We live in a town with 250 people. It’s a small town. So, when he asked me where I lived, I told him. He knew exactly where I was talking about. He even told me a story about the property. His grandparents lived on our property by the well house. You can still see where the house was. It was interesting to hear. I took a picture of where the old house was. 

So Much Accomplished

Our first event is coming up for the nonprofit, Mattie’s Mountain. I’m excited and I’m nervous. There is so much that needed to be done before this and the count down is soon. We had some friends come over to help us out. We did get quite a bit accomplished and I am grateful for that. I’m ready to get it all finished and focus on the event. I’m really hoping for it to be a success. 

Green Grass

As you have seen, we have not much rain. It did finally rain a few days around here. I am amazed by how fast things started to turn green after the rain. It was only a few days after the rain that the green grass started coming up. There is green grass coming up all over the place. That makes me happy. It makes the animals happy also. They are eating the green grass as fast as they can find it. 

Big Feet

I was watching Yeller in the shop the other day. I had no idea how big Yeller’s feet were. This cat is so tiny right now but he is going to be such a big cat. He is going to be massive. I could not believe what I was seeing. He is so cute right now. I’m sure he will be cute when he gets bigger. My other yellow tabby is big also. I wonder if that’s just a yellow tabby trait. 

Squawk

Squawk hates the cats. She absolutely without a doubt hates them. I have watched that hen chase the cats away from where she is. I wish I could say I didn’t laugh at that, but I do laugh. The cats have started watching out for her and they stay away from her. You just never know when this will happen, but it does happen and often. 

Hide and Seek

I watched Onyx and Athena playing hide and seek through a bush. I have to say, that was really a cute thing to watch. I do love those silly cats and I am glad they are here. They do liven things up quite a bit. They certainly will make laugh with the silly stunts they pull. 

Update on Noma

Since Noma got her feet trimmed. I’m so happy that she finally got that done. We have had a lot of trials with that, but it’s done. Noma is still upset with us, but it was worth it. She is starting to walk better. She is still tender footed and walking slow but the poor girl has to learn to walk again. She is doing better. That is what is important. She can stay mad if that’s what she needs. She will have to get used to getting trimmed because she will be getting one every 6 weeks. 

That Was Close

Maggie is a little food aggressive sometimes. She is not near as bad as she used to be. However, Rojo decided he would grab some food out of Maggie’s bowl, while she was eating. That is probably not a good choice. Rojo is a rooster if you do not know how Rojo is. Maggie is much bigger than Rojo. I am glad Rojo is quick because Maggie was going to bite his head off, literally. I was not going to like to see that. It is a good thing it did not happen. 

Getting Separated

The chicks have been getting separated from their mom. They chirp and Josephine is no where to be seen. They do eventually find her and I am sure they will be gone from her before long. She might be trying to show them what to do when she leaves them. There are still three left and they stick together pretty close. I don’t understand what is happening with them, but I’m sure they know what’s going on. 

Yeller and Friends

Yeller has friends now. He is now in the group of cats. Peanut Butter is his favorite. Those two are thick as thieves. Yeller even eats out of the same bowl as Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter will not let any of the other cats do that. It is amazing to see that. Jelly tolerates Yeller but he only tolerates all of them, except Peanut Butter. I love that he is finally friends with the other cats. 

Roosting spot

For some reason some of the chickens have decided to roost on the backyard fence. These chickens even sit there in the rain. I feel it is an odd place to roost. There are plenty of other places for them to roost that are more protected for them but they like it there. Sometimes these same chickens will roost on top of the grill. I find that to be funny. I mean, we don’t use the grill but still, it’s funny. They are something else. 

Wet Feet

Peanut Butter was in the crate. I stuck my hand in there to let him. He decided to come out and see me. He got halfway to me and started kicking his feet because they were getting wet. He did not like his feet being wet so he turned around and went back into the crate. It was funny to watch. 

Looking Alike

Noma and Mattie are starting to look so much alike that I have to really look sometimes. Mattie is losing all his baby hair and he is looking just like his momma. I had no idea that would happen. He had dark hair and now that the hair is shedding, his coat is gray and soft like Noma’s. Mattie is sure turning out to be a pretty donkey. It’s been amazing to watch. 

Annabeth

Annabeth is sitting on a few eggs. She sat for a month on one egg I let her keep earlier this year. Turns out, the egg I let her keep did not hatch. I almost felt sorry for her. I know she is just broody and that’s nature for them. She might hatch one this time but we will see. She has another week give it take a few days to see if the eggs hatch. I hate for her to not hatch them but we sure do not need any more chickens around here. 

Oh Cracker Jack

Cracker Jack wants out of that pen. He is walking better now. It seems like the trim helped him and he is no i her limping. He will still be in the pen a while longer since Mattie has been so rough with him. I do worry about Cracker Jack with Mattie. Cracker Jack is older and does not do well with Mattie being so rough. Hopefully we can let him out soon. 

Noma is Better

Noma is doing better. She looks so good. She is still looking like she is sore but she is getting around better after her hoof trim. I am amazed at how resilient that donkey is. I’m so glad she is doing so well. I have been concerned but she is fine. She is a beautiful donkey.