Ginger

That Ginger is something else. The day I had the bad migraine; she must have been missing me. She crawled up on Ronnie's arm and just talked to him. He sent me a video which really meant a lot to me. Ginger stayed with him for a good long while. Ronnie sent me more than one video. He said it was like she was looking for me. I guess I have spoiled her. I usually come home and she squats down so I can pick her up and hug her at least once a day. I mean, why have them if you do not spoil them. That is my opinion anyway. I was glad Ronnie gave her some attention; he thinks it is wild that Ginger wants to be picked up or will crawl up an arm. The next day, I made sure to give her extra hugs and love. 

Saverine is Declining

Not only are we dealing with Ted being sick, but I feel like we are literally watching the life go out of Saverine. It is so heart breaking. I do realize that is life and she was an older horse when we got her. She is close to 30 years old now. That is an old horse. I see the decline daily and it is so sad. Jeb continues to run her around all the time, to the point that sometimes she has little drops of blood from her nose, which apparently is in her bloodline anyway. She tries to stay away from Jeb, so she does not eat as much hay as she probably should so she can stay away from him, so she is losing weight. Saverine also has an injury she has had since she was a baby on her leg, well, that has gotten worse. I just see the decline and I hate to. I will continue to love her and do what I can for her. She allows me to get close to her and love on her. Saverine is not a particularly friendly horse, so she does not let too many people close to her. Having animals is a tough job, but I am grateful I get to be a part of it, even when it hurts my heart. 

Ursula

I have been having a lot more migraines lately. I do not know what the deal is, but I have been having more than normal and definitely more than necessary. I came home one evening and could barely keep my eyes open due to the lights and the pain. I am not one to complain too much. I worked all day with that migraine, but it is no fun. Ronnie came home earlier than normal knowing I was not feeling well. He told me to go to bed, and he would take care of all the chores and stuff. I was so grateful. He brought me an ice pack, and I put it on my head and went to sleep. The whole time I was in there, Ursula was right beside me or literally on top of me making sure I was okay. She is a one-of-a-kind cat, that is for sure. We are lucky to have her. 

Ted and The Vet

Ted did end up going to the vet. Getting him in the trailer was a terrible experience. He was so weak that it was hard to get him in there. He did get to the vet, and I think she made a comment to Ronnie about the sheep looking for somewhere to die. I know sheep are hard to keep alive and I am hoping that was a joke, but we will see. She gave him a shot of a stronger antibiotic and said to keep giving him electrolytes and liquid B12. I am hoping he will snap out of it, but she said his lungs were scarred up from the pneumonia, so he was in pretty bad shape. We are not giving up on him. The vet visit was traumatizing to Ted. Bill did not like Ted being gone either. It was a traumatic situation for all of us. Apparently, the trailer ended up with a flat tire on the way home from the vet and Ted was unable to stay upright. He was so tired from all of that we about had to carry him back to the pen. Then once he got to the pen, he had difficulty with staying upright due to fatigue. He is definitely not back to normal and he may never be, but we will doctor him and love him just the same. 

Cat Toy

The cats liked their new toy so well, I decided to get them another one. They would take turns sleeping on top of the toy, so I thought they could both use one. They sure did go after that new toy as soon as I finished putting it together. Whatever I can do to make them happy. Both Ursula and Oreo do seem pretty happy. That is what matters to me. Ronnie laughed when he saw I had bought them another one. 

Pigs and Food

If you have ever watched pigs in a group during feeding time, it is one of the funniest things. Each of them go back and forth to different bowls until all the food is gone. If they would just stay at one bowl, they might get more to eat. I do not know though, they seem to get plenty to eat. I know they do. It really is fun to watch. I wish I knew why they did that. It would be interesting to know that. But, at the end of the day, as long as they are being fed and they are getting plenty to eat, I will still laugh about the way they choose to eat it. 

Missing Chicken

I am weird about my animals. Anyone who knows me, knows this. I want them taken care of and I want to make sure they are okay. When I see any little thing off, I want it fixed. Well, I count the chickens in the morning, the ones who stay in the coop at night. I noticed I was missing one. I told my husband about it, and he just said she was probably roosting somewhere else on the property. For days I kept my eyes out for her and searched in various areas to try to find her. I did not see her. I knew she was missing though and she had to be somewhere. I also know my chickens well enough; I knew which chicken was missing. As I was out feeding the goats a few days after she went missing, I turned over a feed trough I had not been able to reach and out that chicken ran. Poor girl, she was so scared. She looked miserable, too. Her comb was laying over and turning colors. She was skinny and dehydrated. She went right for the water. I went over and picked her up and carried her to the coop and put extra food out for her and made sure she had plenty of water. She looked awful. I was worried later that she may not make it because she kept falling over and having difficulty with getting up, but the next morning, she was up and ready to go with the other ones. Ollie was the one missing. She is my problem hen. She liked to roost up in the tree on her own but now stays with the others. She is also the one who kept getting stuck behind the chicken coop. She is my problem hen, but I sure do love her and I’m glad she is doing okay. 

Banana

I walked out into an area where Yeller was laying in the sun. He looked so cute and relaxed. When I got over there, I gave him some petting. I turn around and Banana was laying in the sun in another area, but not out of Yeller's sight. I walked so close to Banana, but at the last minute before I got to him, he ran under the shed. For a long time, he watched me with the other chickens and the other cats who were wanting my attention. I am still hoping he will start to trust me eventually. I am still trying and I got so much closer. I know he is scared. The progress is good though. I do not want to terrify him. 

More Than One

I now have more than one chicken who sits down at my feet to be picked up. There are several that do it now. I think it is hilarious to watch them. I even had one who wanted to be picked up and then when I put her down, she flew up to sit beside me. She was not ready for me to let her go. I guess I am glad they know they are safe and loved. That is important to me. Now, I need to see if I can train another bunch of baby chicks to love me. I feel like that is a challenge for me. I will continue that thought process at a later date. 

Donkey Togetherness

There are times on the farm where I can look over and see Mattie and Willow interacting with Ned, Pete, Pedro, and Red. It cracks me up to see them all getting along like they do. I am glad they are all doing well. Sometimes I would like to let Mattie and Willow go over there into the other pasture, but then I think twice about it. They get along well across the fence, but I am not sure how it will go if I let them both go into the other pasture. I do not think I really want to find out. Mattie and Willow are good where they are. I do like to see them interacting across the fencing. It is entertaining for me.  

Cat Toys

I have noticed lately that Oreo will be napping on the bed. When he jumps off the bed, he usually leaves a toy behind. I am not sure when he decided he needed toys to nap with, but that is what I am seeing happen. I went to look in the cat bed they both fight over and sure enough, there was another cat toy in there. Once upon a time, Oreo was a street cat and was happy to have a meal, now he is bringing toys to take a nap, in a bed. Times do change. He is one happy cat and that is all that matters to me. 

Frosty

It was a frosty morning when I went out. That does happen in the cold winter months. As I was outside checking on all the animals, I look over and see the cows in their normal spot in the hay. Those crazy cows had frost all over their bodies and they looked happy as can be. The frost did not faze them at all. They do have plenty of shelter out in the pasture, but they have to choose to go into the shelter. Both of them, unless it is snowing or sleeting, choose to stay out in the open. I guess they can do whatever they want to. 

Ted Update

Oh, this sheep is so sick. I am still hand feeding him. He is still getting antibiotics, and he is still being babied, by me. I feel so bad for him. He just looks so lethargic and miserable. It is not a fun thing for any of us. I continue to clean his nose and give him some medications. Ronnie is giving him the shots. I cannot do that for whatever reason, I have tried. I am hoping he gets better soon, or he goes to the vet. The weather is not helping anything; it continues to change back and forth from cold to warm. He isn't eating that much, so it might take longer to heal. We will see what happens. 

Rena

I went out to feed Rena and Angel and saw Rena had passed away. It was pretty shocking to see that, but I knew it could not be much longer for her since Annabeth passed away not long ago. It sure does make me sad. Angel may be happy about it though; she was released from the coop and ran back over to be with the rest of the chickens. I do now have another coop opened for more chicks. I am sure sad about Rena though. I sure did love her. I am glad I got to hold her and pet her before the winter storm hit. I know she knew she was loved. It still hurts my heart. That part I will never get used to. 

Quail

We have a spot on our land for quail habitats. I have rarely seen the quail in the last few years, but believe it or not, we have been seeing more and more. I saw a bunch of them all together and watched them for quite a while. They are an interesting bird. I do find that the older I get, the more I am fascinated with birds. That must be an old age thing. I guess I am old enough to be there.  

Ginger

As I was outside with Ronnie doing some chores, Ginger came over and sat down near my feet to pick her up. She does this at least once a day. Ronnie had not seen her do that. He could not believe his eyes. I picked her up and loved on her for a bit and then she decided she wanted down and flew away. It is such a sweet little relationship. I have never had a chicken who wanted to be held and loved, but now I do. 

Rainbow Cloud

I saw the best rainbow cloud I have ever seen on my way to work. It was so beautiful. I had never seen one so with the colors so vibrant. It really made my day to see that. Sometimes we need to pay attention to the things around us. They are there to enjoy. 

Armadillo

Ronnie went outside and saw an armadillo sticking out of the ground. Ronnie thought maybe he was dead, but he was not. He ended up getting into the goat pen and digging around. The dogs tried to get his tail, and did get it some, so I had to get them in the house. I thought he was gone after that. He was not gone. I was loving on Ted and cleaning up his nose and the armadillo started coming right toward me. That was a little unnerving. He then went into the next shelter to dig. The armadillo caught the eye of every animal on the farm. He did not care. I saw him later with the chickens chasing him toward the road, so I thought he was gone again. Nope, the next day as I went to go feed the pigs, when I rounded that corner, there he was. It scared me. I was not expecting us to cross paths like that again. He did dig some more holes. He had Olga following him to see what she could get out of whatever he was digging up. It could have been a comedy routing. He then got into the pen with the fainting goats and then into the shop. He came out of the shop and was making himself at home in the fainting goat pen. The next thing I know, I hear the dogs going crazy, so I go check and sure enough, the dogs have injured the armadillo. I got them inside and he ran off. I am sad to report that the next morning, I saw he had been hit and killed by a car. I am actually really sad about that. I know that sounds silly, but he entertained me for 3 days. He did not need to go out that way.