I’m going to start this blog off with our chicken conquest. I have weakened when it comes to not letting the chickens out of their coop. lol. They do get into quite a bit, but it also cuts down on the amount of chicken feed and they eat bugs! I’m also convinced they lay more eggs when they’re allowed to roam around during the day. I’m still trying it out but the chickens have been making it fairly easy, going into their coop when the sun begins to go down. There hasn’t yet been any chicken chasing going on (thank goodness), instead its quite the opposite, with them following me around the yard nonstop and sitting at my feet staring up at me, whenever I stop walking. No- they’re not hungry- so what else could a chicken possibly want?
The last bad storm we had was unbelievable. I’m sure I posted on a blog before regarding the wind over here, but I would have never imagined it would have gotten as bad as it did. Thank goodness I was in the barn when the storm was at its worst. I was convinced it was going to rip the barn off its foundation, and after walking outside- I discovered at the same time I was fearing the wind was going to take the barn, it actually pulled our 2 outside horse stalls out of the ground, lifted them up, and dropped them on half of the roundpen. Thankfully the horses were standing out in the rain instead of in the stalls and were huddled in the corner instead of taking off. We’ve been unable to disassemble and reassemble the shelter until yesterday since the weather and ground was so wet. Yesterday, since the weather was warm, and the ground was dry, we were able to move the paddock and put up a new shelter to get the horses out of the rain instead of having them stranded out in the field. with only their waterproof blankets, standing on a (what was huge but now flattened) pile of wood chips trying to keep their feet dry.
The farm is slowly coming together. I wish I would have taken more “before” pictures but I think we’re finally catching up. The hay is growing and coming up nicely. It’s also harboring more jack rabbits then I would have imagined. While walking through the field this past weekend picking up sticks and pear tree pieces (so they don’t get baled with the hay), I must have nearly stepped on 4 or 5 jack rabbits. They aren’t eating the hay (thankfully), just using it for hiding. I’m super excited to begin working on the parameter fence this next week. That will eliminate a lot of stress since we pulled down the hot-wire the horses were in in the pasture, and have been keeping them in the paddock. The no climb fencing will also keep the jack rabbits, coyotes, and stray dogs out and will allow up to let the goats out into the pasture (even though they’re all a bunch of chickens and stay around the barn anyway. So still a lot of projects going on.
The goat kids are coming close to being able to be weaned. Once they’re weaned, we’ll be starting on soap making for this year. Our garden will also be put in this next month, the raised beds anyway. I don’t really want to deal with evicting the gophers since they’re guaranteed to return anyway, so we’re just going to completely avoid them by putting in the raised beds. It’ll be nice to have or own garden this year. Speaking of rodents or pests, we haven’t seen the blackbirds now for quite some time and are not missing them one bit. They’ll be back, no doubt but have to be the worst pests I’ve ever dealt with. They’ve greatly enjoyed eating about half of our hay seed and getting in the barn, dusting and leaving bird droppings everywhere, and eating the chicken feed; walking right into the chicken house to get to it…. The cats have been catching and eating about one bird a week so even the little sparrows and other birds have been keeping a safe distance. We still enjoy watching what birds we do have here (minus the black birds) even though our trees and bird friendly environments are minimal.
Oh! And I completely forgot! We took our trip to Nashville, TN this past week. What a blast and what a great city. I wouldn’t mind one bit living back there, but after seeing the tornado shelters, not so sure. I enjoy not worrying about tornadoes or hurricanes. Shane’s family is from Louisiana and they claim they prefer the hurricanes and tornadoes to earthquakes because they know when they’re coming and can plan for them. Even so- I’ll take earthquakes over that any day. But we did have a great time. Stormie thoroughly enjoyed it also. Wish we could have stayed longer but we had goats and a life to get home to. It is always nice to escape once in a while and run away from reality for a couple days.
Lastly, Brie, the pony we rescued, is coming along in driving. I went ahead and purchased her new harness (since the one I’ve held onto for a couple years didn’t fit), bit, and a new whip for her. She was pulling the tire and ground driving very well before the wet weather arrived. I started her again yesterday with ground driving and back to the lounging basics. I think we may be starting over again after the multiple tantrums she threw. After some disciplining, and realizing how rotten she was being- she didn’t move a muscle while standing tied. Normally- she shuffles, whinnies, and does all other baby actions including kicking out and striking at the trailer in frustration. We have plenty of work to do with this little girl but she has great potential and is pretty intelligent when it comes to training and common sense.
Well! I’m off to move the roundpen and get ready for a new load of hay. Taking the weiner dogs out in the back with me today no doubt means I’ll be giving them baths tongiht before coming inside. The daylight savings has kept me outside most of the day. I have no idea how I was doing it when it got dark at 5 PM. Check in soon for more posts on our progress and eventful times here on the farm 
