August 10, 2025

May was up and moving around first thing. She even came out into the sun for a few minutes. That makes me so happy. 

I did get to see all the cats. 

Ronnie and I went to a friend’s house and one of her horses was lying down. It made me feel better to see that Jeb is not the only one who lays down for no reason at all. 

Sonny has taken over. 

Jeb has got something going on with his leg. He does not act like it bothers him at all, but it sure looks like it would hurt. 

Pete is still lying down. I am sure he is sore after yesterday. 

Noma is doing great. She is moving better than I have seen her in a long time. 

Gus has moved the water more in the shelter. He is so smart. 

Fred is still hanging in there. 

It was too hot to mess around outside today. 

August 9,2025

I went out and played with the chicks this morning. They were all over me, of course. I am trying to figure out which ones were on me the most and which stay away from me. There are 24 of them, so that’s a task and so far I have nothing. I will though. When I set a goal, I get it completed as soon as I can. Goals are good to have to keep you focused. 

I did get to see Athena and Onyx before I had to go to work, even though it was Saturday. 

I also saw a snake skin. That snake skin was tiny. I was reminded that danger is everywhere when seeing that snake skin. Guard against the danger around you. 

The farrier was coming out, so I helped Ronnie give Pete something to help relax. Noma did not cooperate either, but Ronnie and the farrier did it. 

I was able to give the goats and sheep some treats. They loved that. 

When I came outside, Ronnie told me Fred had passed away. I was sad, but not surprised. However, I saw Fred and he was very much alive which meant Sonny killed Lester. That makes me very sad. Lester was great. He was the only docile rooster I have ever seen. I am very upset with Sonny about that. 

The donkeys did give Ronnie some attention. That does not happen often. 

The cats were all up lined up against the house staying in the shade on this hot day. 

May was up and around. 

Sonny took no time in taking over Lester’s spot. 

Noma did get her hooves done. They look better, but they will never be normal because of the neglect she endured before she came here. She may not love us too much, but we sure do love her. 

Pete got his hooves done, too. He is walking pretty gingerly. I know he has to be sore. 

Mattie and Willow were following me around. 

Gus was loving the water today. He is trying to push all the mud into his shelter so he can be in the shade and in the water, too. He is pretty smart. 

Fred is looking rough. 

The moon was absolutely gorgeous. 

August 8, 2025

I walked out the back door to feed the chicks, Ronnie was outside feeding everything else. I heard this awful screaming. I look over and Yeller has a baby bunny in his mouth. Well, I grabbed that cat and got the bunny who then jumped out of my hands and Onyx started chasing. I finally catch up and grab that bunny again. The poor thing's heart was beating so fast and breathing so hard. I could feel the fear of that animal. I held the bunny close and let it calm down. I had no idea what to do for the bunny. I did look for cuts and puncture wounds but only saw one on a foot. I had contacted a wildlife rehabber for advice. Ronnie said we were not keeping that bunny. Nope, that would be a nightmare. I had to feed the chicks but did not know what to do with the bunny. I finally decided to put the bunny in my pocket because I knew the chicks would be all over me, and they were. Ronnie comes out of the house to go to work. I have the bunny in my hands again. He is laughing and says, did you really put that bunny in your pocket to feed the chickens? I looked at him in astonishment and asked how he could possibly know that. He had been watching me which made me laugh. He said I definitely deserved a spot in heaven because of my heart, but he does have to shake his head at me sometimes for how I do that. The rehabber got back with me and said the bunny was old enough to be on its own which was what I was worried about. The bunny was not injured except for that one spot, so she said I could let it go. I found a spot to put the bunny and made sure the cats did not follow me. I hope it ran off and is okay. 

The donkeys and goats were by the fence watching the whole thing. 

Ursula got out again while I was unloading groceries. Crazy cat. Yeller had to go investigate. He did not care at all. Onyx was watching but did not even get up from her spot. Athena was under the porch staying as cool as possible. 

I had a hen coming over to steal the chick's food. These hens make me laugh. The chicks are all doing fine. 

May does seem to be doing better. She will never be the same, but she is looking better. 

The horses were all trying to eat out of the same trough. That usually does not end well, but they seemed okay today. 

I did give the pigs some salad stuff today. They were appreciative of it. 

The cows sure do love each other. Jasper and Alex allowed me to give them attention.

The moon was beautiful tonight.

August 7, 2025

It was a gorgeous morning. The colors in the sky were so beautiful. I always love to see the horses in the mix of a good sunrise. Enjoy those little moments in this life. 

Athena is so mean to Yeller. He came in to eat with her and Onyx and she started hissing at him. Ridiculous. He did end up eating. I was not going to let her be mean to him. 

I watched Pete and Ned laying around. They were having a lazy morning. The goats were being lazy, too. Pedro and Red were out and about. 

We have an influx of those crazy blister beetles. I can smell them. It is not a nice smell. They are driving Bella crazy. She hates it.

The chicks were not as wild this morning. I think I might have been in a hurry though. 

I was concerned about Ned and Pete, so I went out to check on them again, but they were fine. They were up and about with the rest of the crew. When you have a feeling of needing to check on someone, do it. 

Ursula is a wild one. She wanted to be up in the kitchen window. She has so many other windows to look out of, but she wanted that one. I guess she needed a different perspective of what was going on outside. Whatever works. 

When I got home, it was another hot one. Yeller and Onyx were out front staying in the shade. Athena was under the porch. The cats know how to stay cooler. 

The pasture goats were in the barn. They were out of the sun. These animals are not dumb. 

The chicks were excited about their food. They did have to crawl all over me though. 

Daisy and Bella were pawing at the crawl space under the house. There are cement blocks there so they cannot get in there. I do not even want to know what they smell or what could possibly be under there. No thanks. 

Fred is still around. I am not sure if that is a good thing for him or a bad thing. He is not looking good. I feel awful for him. 

The horses got sprayed down in this heat. They sure do look forward to that. You know, there is always something to look forward to in life. 

The pigs are all staying muddy to keep them cool.  They are also utilizing the sunshades. Those things really do work. 

We actually have frogs living in the mud holes where the pigs cool off. I find that hilarious for some reason. 

We have a big influx of those stinky blister beetles. I thought with all the rain we have had this year maybe we would not get them as bad, but since it has not rained in a few weeks, here they are. They stink so badly. 

Bill is being lazy and eating while laying down. I mean, it is hot, I do not blame him. He is not acting sick which I am grateful for. He is just acting like he is miserably hot. We are all hot in West Texas, its August. 

Waldo was sure interested in Mattie and Willow. He was trying to crawl up the fence to see them. He does that when they are around. He likes them, unless he is out of the pen, then he runs for his life. It is okay to like or love someone with a boundary in between. 

Jasper looks like his abscess is back. It has been there a while, but it does look like now there is a place that is fixing to open up and let it drain like last time. I am so hopeful for that. I hate getting him to the vet and making him so unhappy.