Willow

Oh that Willow. She is such a mess. She learned well from Mattie. The pretty yellow headed blackbird was on the ground walking around and Willow was chasing him. For some reason, the donkeys do like to chase birds, all kinds of birds. I do not think it matters what kind of birds, if it is on the ground, the donkeys will chase it. Willow is just like Mattie. I should have known that would happen. 

Yellow headed Blackbirds

Every spring I look for the yellow headed blackbirds. They are so pretty and they are only around here for a couple of months. I guess I turned old since I watch for them. I saw my first one this year this month. This male was just hanging out for a long time around the pasture. He was walking around for a bit and then he was up in the trees with some ladies. I watched them for quite a while. I sure do like to watch those birds. I hope to see more of them soon. 

Pen

Saverine is in a pen and she actually seems to be liking it. She is getting all she can to eat. She is still getting sprayed with the water hose when it is hot. She has her own water trough. I go in the pen and love on her every day while I feed her. She is doing well. I am glad she is in the pen. The other horses can still see her and she can still see them, so they are going to be okay. I just feel it, they are going to be okay. 

Separation of Horses

Saverine has not been doing well lately and Jeb just will not leave her alone. I told Ronnie we had to get her out of the pasture and put her in a pen.  Ronnie was hesitant just because that horse has put him into the hospital before. I was insistent. Ronnie fixed the pen for her and we got things set up. I brought out a rope. She saw that rope and decided she wanted nothing to do with me. Saverine is not too fond of Ronnie, so I knew he could not help much. I asked him if he would go get a bale of hay to distract the other horses. Ronnie said, “I sure hope you are not just going to try to walk her over there into the pen because that is not going to happen.” That was my exact plan and I was hopeful she would just come over to the pen. She needed to so we could help her. She is an old girl and the old age is showing. Ronnie went and got the bale of hay and took it out to the horses. I had a bucket of feed and sure as the world, that horse followed me right over. I had not opened the gate wide enough, so we made a few laps before Ronnie told me to open the pen wider, but we eventually made it. She is in the pen. The other horses were not letting her eat, so she is getting all kinds of good stuff to eat and getting spoiled. Poor girl. She is going to be okay. Jeb cannot chase her anymore either. Takua has not been happy with Saverine gone, but it is necessary for her health. 

90 Degrees

This is going to be a rough summer. It is already 90 degrees and it is only March. The animals seem to be handling it better than me. It is hot. We did turn the fans on already for the animals and they seem to be appreciative of that. I guess we will just have to ride it out this summer and see how things go. I am not looking forward to the heat that happens out here in West Texas. 

Double Yolk

I Found the biggest egg I have ever seen from these chickens. I feel like it could be all the cat food these chickens are eating. They are being ridiculous about all of that. It has slowed down with the warmer weather though, so that is good. The egg was huge. I sent pics to my mom to show my grandma. I know that egg has a double yolk in it. We get several of those these days somehow. 

Alerting

We had some workers putting in a new pole or something. Let me tell you. Ronnie and I were both home, but those donkeys were by the fence and they were making such a fuss. It was like they were alerting us to someone being on our property. Maybe someone who is not suppose to be there. We knew the people were out there working, Ronnie had even talked to them. The donkeys were making sure we knew they were there. I had not seen that before. It was actually something interesting to see. I am sure glad we have all those donkeys. 

Yeller

I am going to tell you about Yeller. That cat was so nervous about any human contact in the beginning, but he has turned out to be the sweetest cat. He just melts into you when you pick him up or when you pet him. He loves to be loved on, and he lets you know he loves you, too. Yeller is one of a kind and I hope he knows how much he is loved. 

Banana and Yeller

I saw Yeller out by the storage building one afternoon. I went over to check on him. I asked him where Banana was and I kid you not, that cat looked over to his left and there sat Banana. I startled him since I did not know he was there. He went under the storage building but was watching me closely. I went a little closer, but he wanted nothing to do with me, so I backed off. I am glad those two are friends though. I really think they are brothers. I want Banana to be able to trust me. Hopefully one day he will. 

Donkeys Following Me

When I go out into the pasture with the donkeys, they all follow me around. I do love those silly animals. They are so much fun to be around. I do not know what it is about them, but they just make me smile. When I am out there they all try to be near me, except for Pete, he is still leery of everyone.  Ned, Red, and Pedro will fight for my attention. That will make a girl feel good. They are so sweet. I love to have them follow me around the pasture. I am glad I have that relationship with them. 

Eggs

While I was in Arkansas, only a couple of days, Ronnie did not pick up eggs. I never really expect him to do that since I know the areas to look since I pick them up daily. Well, when I started looking, I figured out really quickly, I needed an extra basket to put them in. I have about 8 different places to look. I ended up finding 45 eggs. I even found a new spot to look for eggs. That is crazy to think about, especially with the weather being off while I was gone. I just hope I found them all. 

Stormy Weather

It is March. With March comes rainstorms, dirt storms, and who knows what other kinds of storms.  The weather kept predicting rain and storms. It did rain some and we had a little cold front, but it was not like anything they were predicting. I am grateful we did not have the hail like they said we would. We did one year and it was terrible. I know March has more to come. Let's see what it brings. 

Ursula

Oh Ursula. That poor cat has such bad separation anxiety. I have never seen anything like it. I just get my suitcase out and she starts getting in it and not wanting me to go. It is so sad to watch her do that. I wish I could take her with me. She would not travel well I do not think. She is pretty friendly though, so she could win over whoever we were visiting, except there are so many people in the world who are allergic to cats. She has to stay home. Ronnie does tell me every time I leave to go on a trip that I am going to have to take her with me the next time. She is fine. 

Arkansas

I went back to Arkansas for a weekend. I had not been back for a few months due to weather and being sick, but I was finally able to get there. Ampa and Gramma made waffles like they used to do when I was a kid. It was a nice little memory to have. My nephew's basketball team won their championship game. I got to see one of my kids and one of my grandkids. I got to see some friends and spent time with family. It was a good visit. 

Little Goats

I was able to pet on the little goats. I know people think the little goats are not friendly, but if they know you, they are. They come up to me, except for Porky, he does not like anyone. The other two do like to be petted and loved on. Everyone needs a little love. 

Daisy and Bella

Daisy and Bella are some great dogs, most of the time. They do not listen to me much, but they do listen to Ronnie. I guess they have always done that. They are doing fine these days. They are getting up there in age and are a little lazier than they used to be, but that comes with the territory. The days have been warming up, and they have been able to be outside more. I am not sure they are loving that, but they need to be outside more when it is nice outside. They may not know they are dogs, but they are. Those two are sure loved. 

Pete's Feet

Pete's feet are atrocious. We have tried and tried to get someone to fix them, but we get it going and looking good and then the farrier does not come back until they are so bad we have to start all over. It hurts my heart. His mom is the same way. I truly feel like Noma foundered when she was pregnant with Pete and that is why his hooves are that way. He was only six months old when he got here and they were already bad. I just wish we could get some consistency to help him. He has been like this forever, so he seems to not have a problem. He still runs and jumps and does whatever he wants to do, but it hurts my heart. We are still working on it, and we will never stop working on it, but it just continues on. 

Pete and Hercules

I do not know what is going on with Pete and Hercules, but they have become very close friends. I watched Hercules playing with Pete's tail and I just thought that was brave. Then I saw Hercules rubbing up on Pete's chest. I do not know if maybe Pete was not feeling well or what was going on, but I have not seen any of that since then either. There for a quick minute they were best friends though. 

Chickens Still Love Me

I was coming out of the shop one evening to feed the chickens and one of them flew right up to the chicken feed in my hand. Another one flew up to my shoulder. In my head I thought, well, they do remember what they used to do when they were younger. They might not be in the coop anymore, but they still know how to get to the feed, and into my heart. They do still love me, or at least that is what I tell myself. 

Roadrunners Can Fly

As I was driving home, I came across a roadrunner fixing to cross the road. I guess the roadrunner did not think he could run fast enough to get across the road before I got to him, so he flew all the way across the road. In all my years, I do not think I have ever seen a roadrunner fly, but I did that day. Not long after, there was a road runner up on the fence at my work and I got a picture of that to remind myself that sometimes, roadrunner do, in fact, fly. 

Athena

Athena is not a friendly cat. She never has been, so I am pretty sure she never will be. In the mornings and the evenings when I come out to feed the animals or just the chickens in the mornings, she always runs into the shop to grab her a bite to eat. She may not want me to pick her up and love on her, but occasionally I will anyway. Athena will tolerate that every once in a while. She can be sweet sometimes. I make sure to get a picture when she allows me to pick her up and love her. I need proof of those instances. 

Lunar Eclipse

There was a lunar eclipse early in March. I had every intention of seeing the eclipse, but I also knew I would not actually get up at 5 in the morning to watch it. I know myself too well. My husband did take a few pictures for me, so I still kind of got to see it, so there is that. 

Update on Goats and Sheep

The fainting goats in with the lone sheep is just so funny to watch. They are getting along okay, but some moments are just funny. They will head butt each other and they will run around each other. Bill will lay in the hay, so he does not have to share, but he ends up sharing anyway. It is a riot around there. I am glad I put them together. I know it has been an adjustment for them all, but that is okay. At least Bill is not alone. I know we all miss Ted pretty badly, but I did not want Bill to be alone. I also do not want to get anymore animals, except maybe some more chickens and guineas, but other than that, I do not want to get anymore, so this was a good decision. 

Spring is Here, March

March is here and so is spring. Things are blooming and making everyone sick. Bees are out, storms are coming in and out, the temperatures are already in the eighty degrees and ninety degrees. The dirt is kicking up over everything. Welcome to March in West Texas. I usually figure out spring is here when the tree in the backyard is full of bees. I hear them before I see them. This year I also noticed how many bees were taking advantage of fresh, clean water when I was filling up troughs. I leave the bees alone. They do not usually stay around too long. Once all the flowers start blooming, they move on.