The First Frost

Yesterday evening I sat at the kitchen window enjoying some wine and admiring how the setting sun illuminated the back woods on the farm.  "Middle" dog admired the view also, though I suspect for different reasons. 

When I woke up the next morning, the view was a bit different.  And so was the temperature.

The birdbath was even frozen!

Old Dogs

I prefer sunrise to sunset.  To me, the beginning of the day seems filled with promise and energy.  The evening makes me feel like the day is ending. It's over. Done. There's nothing left of it.  A little sad really.

 

The sunrise makes me want to linger in the barn with all the animals and drink coffee, run my hands over my horses neck and breathe in their horsey smell.  I talk to the pigs, take a look at the bunnies,  feed the chickens...  They're all just waking up too you know. 

Sometimes I think it takes Louie a little longer to wake up than the rest of us.  When he accompanies me out to the barn in the morning he just sits and stares.  I can't imagine what goes through the old dog's mind...

Its great if you are a duck or a pig...

 

Speaking of pigs, my two are doing wonderful.  And loving this mud and rain! Wonderful storms thundered about last night throughout the evening and into the morning.  Though, I'm not really sure we need more water at this point.  Things are pretty much saturated and there is flooding everywhere. 

Yesterday the new rain barrel (crate?) was hooked up to the gutter downspout.  It was three quarters of the way full by seven o'clock this morning when I checked it.  It holds 275 gallons when filled to capacity.  That just shows how much water runs off a standard size roof in a few short hours.  Very mind blowing.  Even more mind blowing - the state of Colorado prohibits collecting rain runoff into rain barrels.

Saffy doesn't mind the rain either it appears...

Thanks to all this rain, the hay cutting is still on the back burner around here for the local farmers.  Hopefully, sometime in the next two weeks there will be enough of a break in the weather to get it done.  Though I personally dread that task - having to line up enough people to help get it put up.  Its not an easy job at all.  Unless you are a body builder and do not suffer from hay-related allergies.

I think I need to find an intern or two in the future to help out...

Mud Dog

Obviously its mud season....

 

Growing

The little quail are growing and will soon need a new, bigger home (or roasting pan...).

The little pigs are growing. And I moved them into their new stall over the weekend.  They completely destroyed their heat lamp the other day.  I guess they no longer wanted it?  Thankfully they didn't manage to burn the barn down in the process.  My lesson:  always hang a heat lamp higher than a pig can stand.  You wouldn't believe what acrobats and tricksters these little pork chops are!

The little dog, "Saffy," is also growing.  How the big dog puts up with her endless playing is beyond me.  Good Louie is very patient.

And here's Dottie.  Dottie is not growing...that I know of.  But she is shedding, and needed a good thirty minute grooming.  Now she's fit for a little hack.

Farm Dogs

Snow doesn't seem to phase these two.  It was seven degrees this morning when I took them out for potty break.  They can't resist a good romp, no matter how cold it is.

 

Little Suprises along the Way

It was supposed to be a quiet, uneventful two days on the farm this past weekend. But then Saturday afternoon arrived. 

What started out as the ordinary, weekly trip down the road to the feed mill was about to end up anything but.   I walked into the shop and placed my grain order. Then, an old Amish man drinking coffee and sitting in the corner began to make small talk about the cage full of bunnies at his feet, which he was trying to sell for a neighbor.  I inspected all the bunnies, gave them all a pet, and told him how nice looking they all were, but explained that I had my own "bunny farm" of sorts going on since I raise my own to eat.  I clearly didn't need any bunnies.

Then he asked if I might be interested in a puppy.  Sucker that I am I had to ask what kind, which led to driving over to his farm next door.  Within ten minutes I was leaving Mr. Andy Miller's barn with a new puppy in my arms.  I brought her home and promptly gave her two baths and a good spray of perfume.

 

 

And now I have a Jack Russell-Spitz puppy, a little girl, yet to be named...

What a pig...

I knew nothing (and still very little) about pigs.  But this year I decided to add one to the menagerie at Mon Abri, and I have to say its been a good choice so far. 

(The one on the right is just a dog that eats like a pig...)

My perception of pigs was that they are dirty and stink.  Neither is true, as I've discovered.  At least not with my pig... 

He has a stall to sleep in lined with fresh sawdust, and a kiddie-pool of clean water out in the yard to play in.  He gets out to run all over the pasture and play with the dog, and root around all over to find whatever it is that pigs find when they root around. Ocassionaly he plays in the mud.  But then he always runs back to his kiddie pool to wash off. 

He like to build himself a little "nest" to sleep in by stacking up his hay just right.  He's really quite particular about it too.  Who knew that pigs build nests?

 I used to envision them laying around in their own crap and mud all day, covered in flies, which I guess is actually what they would do, given no other choice. But no, not my piggy! He found a good home ; )



See how clean and shiny he is?

Farm Dogs

A (nearly) "Wordless Wednesday."



Do you think I'm cute?



How 'bout now? 

~ Love, "BiBi" the farm dog...

Adios January

Its 36 degrees today as I sit here slurping a hot bowl of tomato-basil soup, and this weather feels absolutely amazing after so many days of arctic BS.  This is the last day of January and I am very glad to see it go! I am so hoping for a kinder February and looking forward to spring again.

Not much of anything is happening on the farm right now.  Its just cold and uneventful.  Mama-to-be goat still has not shown any sign of having any babies any time soon.  I really am beginning to wonder if she is in fact pregnant?  What a trick that would be.  She went out for a stroll and played in the snow with her BFF doggie "Louie" yesterday, and seemed as content as ever bouncing around the snow covered pasture.

I am almost decided that a pig will be added to the farm this year.  I'm a little leery about getting one, because I know nothing about pigs and I still have to set up a pen for it.  But the farmer called me the other day and said the two sows had just given birth and the piglets will be ready in mid March.  So I need to hurry up and make a decision, pig or no pig. Have any of you out there raised a pig before, and if so, can you give me the dirt on what I'm getting myself into if I get one?  Is it worth it? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Well the weekend is finally here, and I'm looking forward to some better weather and the quiet time to experiment with some new recipes. I hope you all have a lovely weekend. 

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And the "Polar Vortex" continues...

Yep, its still c-o-l-d...  I know because I checked this morning, and the temperature read -23 degrees.  So it is true!.  This was the first time the big dog ever had frozen, stinging paws after running outside for a quick poop this morning. Poor Louie.  Because it was too cold to let the dog play outside, I took him along with me to the feed mill to pick up some grain.  He looked a tad concerned with my driving skills.  But in my defense it was snowing, and icy!



Louie riding" shotgun"

Snow and cold.  Cold and snow.  More cold, more snow. Cold snow. It appears never-ending. I'm going to loose my mind.  Have I already?



Heading to the Feed Mill

What have we been doing to get through all of this polar despair?  Drooling over spring seed catalogues and eating of course!  Lately we've just been hanging out in the kitchen, throwing ingredients together and playing around with our food to see what we could come up with.  So far the results have not been disappointing.



Perfect Seafood Soup



Red Skin Mashed Potatoes with Bacon



A little bit of everything omelet



French Toast and More Bacon!



Sausage Bean and Veg Soup (Spicy)



Simple Salad with Feta and Chickpeas

Birthday Buddies

Yesterday was my Birthday.  I turned 41!

I had to spend my big day without any human company for the evening becuase, well,  humans have to work and travel and do all that other human stuff.  So I seized the moment!  The day was perfect when I got home from work around 6:30 pm.  The sun was shining and it was 76 degrees outside.  I poured myself a little (okay, HUGE!) glass of cold Pinot Grigio, grabbed my camera, and headed outside to spend some quality time with the "gang".  They were loving the weather as much as I was.  And I'm sure I heard them whisper "Happy Birthday" to me in their own little ways...

This is "Nigel." He's a five year old Thoroughbred.  I hope he can run fast. Really fast.



 Next we have "Maggot," a 14year old Thoroughbred, and retired racehorse. (a.k.a. "Widow Maker")

And here's "Dottie."  She's a five year old Snowflake Appaloosa mare. She likes to buck.

"Louie" is a 3 year old Pitbull mix who I rescued from the city streets. He now has the responsibility of being the livestock gaurdian dog.  And stinking beyond belief. I wouldn't mess with him, woud you?

"BiBi" is my little girl.  She's a Toy Fox Terror.  I mean, "terrier."  She's three years old also.

Next in line is "Ezra," a ten week old Boer-Nubian cross.  I just got him a few weeks ago.  He has great lawn-mowing skills...

Here is one of the new chicks that hatched on March 3rd.  I think it's a hen, but I'm not really sure yet.  I'm pretty sure the Naked neck rooster was the daddy though!

"Mr. Fugly" is the Naked Neck Rooster.  He's odd. And he does innapropriate things to the two ducks. That's all I can say.

Fugly out...