Bit of history

Went out to the new house yesterday and while I was there it was more picture taking time. I ventured into the old milking barn to really see how much clean up there is. Um, a lot!



This side of the barn was turned in to dog kennels.




A sign on one of the doors.




All I can say with this mess is, "Wow".




There is a lot of work ahead to get this mess cleared and cleaned up.




Not sure what these hoses were used for since they look pretty modern.




I noticed water faucets and decided to see if there was still running water inside the barn. Much to  my surprise there is! Sweeeet! The actual barn clean up won't happen until Spring of next year due to winter fast approaching.




I noticed this can hanging from a tree. Don't have a clue as to why. Maybe in time the answer will come.



Now for some history I uncovered about the property.

In the 1970's a man named Roy Kabat owned the property. He trained animals to be used in Hollywood movies and commercials. The animals were at the property with him and he would travel down to Hollywood with them.

Also, Roy started the program Dogs For The Deaf right there on the property. That explains the kennels in the barn and also the kennels located on the other side of the barn. Dogs For The Deaf are now located about a mile from where I live now. It is a wonderful organization. Here is a link in case you would like to learn more about them     http://www.dogsforthedeaf.org/

Roy passed away in 1986.

I also found out that there was 280 acres total, but with time is just now the 43 acres. Also the property is a Sensitive Big Game Winter Range Habitat. Not exactly sure what that means just yet.

I haven't been able to search further back yet. But given time I will find out more of the history.

Oh, and I saw five Does coming down off one of the hills behind the barn. I was so excited.

One more quick thing. Yes, all the chickens are moving with to the new place. I forgot to add them in the list of critters.

Until next time......................



Animal abusers can't hide anymore!!!!!!!

Just a quick post this morning. I'm headed out to the new house, but thought you all might be interested in the website

http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/cruelty_database.php



This site will let you know about animal abusers in your state, country, etc....  It is very interesting and I, for one, am very happy this is public knowledge. Now the animal abuser can be recognized for what they are!!!!! No more hiding in the shadows thinking they got away with their crimes.


Until next time..........................

Found this on the property

Went out to the new house today to set off bug bombs with my oldest daughter. It's been a long time since I've had to use those bombs. After we placed them in each room, we went back and started setting them off. She took one half of the house and I the other half. It was actually hilarious us running room to room setting them off and sprinting out the back door.

After that was done we decided to walk around the barn a little bit doing a mental check list of everything that needs to be done. While we were doing that we found this old stone wall covered by tall weeds. Well, a small portion of what was left. There are stones laying around. We are pretty sure someone started dismantling it and never finished. Well, I'm glad they never finished because eventually I would love to start rebuilding it.

When time allows I am going to dig in to the history of the place.

Oh, I have been asked which animals are moving with. Well, all of them. Are you ready for the list? 3 horses, 6 donkeys, 4 goats ( there were 5, but the old buck passed away on Sunday), 2 dogs and 14 cats.

And this morning I read on the Internet that Oregon is forecasted to have one of the worst winters in 10 years thanks to El Nina. Hmmmmm, me thinks there is going to be a lot of snow at the new house.

Until next time..................

Watching the clouds

 We went out to the new house today to measure the pasture so we can start putting up a fence on the one end of the pasture that has no fence. And wouldn't you know it, the rain was downright pouring and the wind was a blowin'. After the measuring was done we headed back to the house to get out of the rain. While I was standing in the carport area I noticed what I thought was smoke coming from wood stoves. But realized that I wasn't watching wood smoke, it was clouds coming in and starting to form on the mountain across the road.

 The clouds were coming in really fast.

As we stood there we could see the clouds swirling and changing and ever growing. It was rather awesome to see it happen right before our eyes.

While we were measuring we found a rather disturbing thing kind of hidden under some dead blackberry bushes. Want to know what it was? It was a carcass of a baby calf. Have no idea where it came from because as far as I know there haven't been any cows on the property in some time. But this carcass was fresh enough to know what it was. No, I didn't take any pictures of it!

Going back to the house again tomorrow to set off a bunch of bug bombs. While we were there we noticed just how many spiders were in the house. And since I do not do well with spiders, well, they have to go before I move in.

Until next time......................

Pictures of the new place

 Just a few pics of the new place. This is the front yard. I was told that deer graze on the lawn and rest under the trees in the background. And they can be seen from the two big picture windows in the living room.

 This is at the very end of the hay pasture looking towards the house ( which is located in the grove of trees just a little to the left of the picture.

 Old milking barn. The place was a dairy farm back in the 1960's, The inside of the barn needs a lot of cleaning up, but once it's cleaned it will make a good area for the goats and chickens. The upstairs was once used for the caretaker many years ago. There is no hope in saving the upstairs so it will not be utilized.

This road is behind the barn which is going up a hill. It goes quite aways till it comes to another road that you can only access either by foot, horseback or an ATV.

 Taken from the other side of the house. There is about 20 acres that has been taken over with blackberry bushes. And if you know about blackberry bushes, you know how fast and thick they can take over anything! Goats will be turned out to hopefully start making a dent in the forest of blackberry bushes.

 This was taken from inside the house looking out. Not bad scenery huh!

This road is up behind the house going up another hill. This one is going to require some work to make it where it can be driven on.

While driving the Gator on the one road up behind the barn I noticed some poo piles. After a bit of thinking about it I concluded the poo belong to bears!  There is a lot of deer poo all over. Yup, there is a lot of wildlife there. The only critter I am concerned about will be the mountain lions.  

Tomorrow I will post more pictures. I am pretty exhausted right now and am going to vegetate the rest of the evening. 

Until next time.............................

Great News!!!

Just a real quick post today. I wanted to share with all of you the great news I received a little while ago. I applied for yet another place to rent a week ago and guess what? Yes, it was approved!! Meeting the landlady tomorrow at one o'clock to get the keys. And it is a real house on 43 acres!!!!! Will you all please join me in the Happy Happy Joy Joy Dance?

Thank you all for sending your prayers and positive thoughts. It truly helped.

More details to follow tomorrow. With pictures!!!!!!

Whooooooo! Hoooooooo!

Until next time..........................

Redneck Project continues

 Cookie helping hold up one end of the tarp.

 Cookies deciding that holding it up this way was a better idea.

 AJ, our Mustang, holding down her end of the tarp.

 Cookie looking for what I need to secure one end of the tarp to a tree.

 "Is this is what you are looking for?"

 Caught red handed eating the Gator seat. Now you know why they seats look they way they do.

Hoody Dude looking for a bungee cord.



Between all the starts and stops thanks to donkeys and horses helping ( or running off with items), I finally managed to hang the last two remaining tarps out in the pastures. With any luck the winds won't be too bad, the horses and donkeys will stay dry and I will be able to sleep knowing they are out of the rain.


Until next time......................

Looks redneck but........

 The weather forecast is calling for rain starting this weekend. And we need the rain. However since I had to take down my portable stall unit there is no place for the horses and donkeys to get out of the rain except for what little cover the trees provide. It bothered me knowing there wasn't a dry area for them so I used my imagination and made some redneck shelters. Armed with tarps, bailing twine and my trusty Gator, out to the back pasture I went. Those blue tarps are really ugly, but they do the job as far as keeping things dry.

 After choosing which tarp was going to be tied to certain trees the job began. I was only able to get two shelters up today. Tomorrow two more will go up.

 The donkeys followed me tree to tree while I was standing on the Gator tying each tarp end. I couldn't tell you how many times I had to stop what I was doing and retrieve an item or two those silly donkeys walked off with.

 Arnold decides to be the first to go under one of the shelters.

 Seeing that Arnold made it through okay, Mike followed. Pearl is in the background making sure that the shelter wasn't a donkey eating monster.

Seeing that Arnold and Mike made it just fine, Pearl deemed it safe enough and walked on through.


Now I feel better knowing that there are some type of shelters for the horses and donkeys when the rain starts. They look mighty redneck, but at this point I don't care, so long as they keep everyone dry.

Until next time......................................

Post office employee

Had to go to the post office in town this morning. There is one woman postal employee who I swear if she smiled she would crack her face! I'm not kidding. She is rude, snippy, and sighs with the customers. Thankfully I have only had to go to her window just once and that was enough for me.  If I am the next in line for her, I will have the person behind me go first while I wait for the two really nice employees.

Today I got one of the really nice ones and we laughed and joked. One of these days I might have to ask the rude one what is stuck up her butt that makes her so crabby!! lol :) 

Thanks for the suggestions on the panelling. If we get the place I am going to ask if it is okay to paint over it.

The temps here have been gorgeous. The house is 99% packed up. Oh, and guess who has found another way in to steal the chicken eggs? That Fred is one smart squirrel!!

Louise, your package is on the way!!!

Until next time...................

Historic buildings

 Today on the way to go look at the rental property we had to drive through a town called Jacksonville. It was established around 1850 and was a Gold Rush town. Jacksonville is a National Historic Landmark Community. There are 90 original brick and wooden buildings. And there are a lot of tourists who visit each year. The above pic is of one of the several old churches in town.

 Above pic is of the McCully house. It is now a little restaurant and if I remember right, it is also a bed and breakfast.

 Not sure what this building was used for when it was built. But it sure is big and beautiful. If only those bricks could talk! My best guess was this may have been a mercantile of some type.

 Another building I think was the livery stable with rooms above. Possibly used as a brothel!!

 This is the original post office building which is still in use today!

 Another original building. I think this was the newspaper shop.  

 Another beautiful building.

This is the Nunan house. I adore this house. This picture does not do it justice. It truly is breathtaking. Well, if you like Queen Ann Victorians!
The beautiful Queen Anne style Jeremiah Nunan House, circa 1892, is called the Catalogue House.
Purchased by Jeremiah Nunan as a Christmas present for his wife, Delia, it was shipped from Knoxville, Tennessee in 14 railroad boxcars. It took six months to assemble it in Jacksonville.

The interview went fine. We will find out by end of next week wether we can rent the place or not. I'm not crazy about the house ( anyone remember that cheap, ugly, dark fake panelling used back in the 1960's)? Well, that's what is in the house!!! Ugh!!!!  If we get to rent the place I am going to have to buck up, grin and deal with it. So long as the animals are with me that is all that matters!!!

Until next time...........................

Answer revealed and winner announced

Today is Friday which means the contest has ended, the answer will be revealed and the winner announced. Setting up the video monitor helped a lot to catch the egg thief but if it wasn't for my favorite chicken, Little Inger, I would never have been alerted as to who the culprit was. I know Little Inger's 'voice' so I know when something is not right just by the way she 'talks'. I was sitting in the living room, heard her 'yelling', looked at the monitor, saw nothing, so quickly went out to the chicken house. When I got out there she was pacing up and down and telling me all about it.



When I walked inside the chicken house I noticed that the hole I had covered up earlier was uncovered again. Hmmmm.




This is a close up of the hole. As I was taking the 'hole' picture I saw an egg in the middle of the house. Hmmmmm. Then what do I see in the corner????????




I see Fred, the resident ground squirrel!!!!  The answer to the chicken thief is Fred, the ground squirrel! Yes, apparently ground squirrels do in fact steal chicken eggs. I have since covered the hole up again, but this time set heavy rocks over it. And guess what? No more eggs are coming up missing!! I can only imagine how many eggs went down that hole! :) Fred scurried out to fast for me to take a pic of him in the chicken house.



You all sent in some great answers. But no one guessed ground squirrel. Well, the next best thing to do was to shake up the papers with your guesses, reach in and grab a winner.


So without further adieu the winner is................................................



Louise at http://livingretiredinwesternnewyorkstate.blogspot.com/




Congratulations Louise. Please send me your address ( I won't publish your comment with it) and I will send your gift box out to you.




ps--The interview with the prospective landlady did not go well. Let's just say she is, well, let me try to put it nicely, she is rather on the, very uptight side. But that's okay, because thanks to my oldest daughter she found another place for me to go look at tomorrow at noon.


I really enjoy these contests so look for another in the future!

Until next time.............................



Feeling ornery as hell.

 For the past several days I have just not been feeling well. I am one of those people who refuse to get sick. Nope, not an option!! However this morning I gave in, realized that yes, okay, fine, I don't feel well. And anyone who knows me knows that when I don't feel good, well, I am not a pleasant person to be around . Not because of not feeling well, but mad at myself for allowing it. Grrrrrr. The pic above of Trashcan shows how my mood is today.

This is what I want to do. But, that would be giving in to not feeling well, so this is not an option. Are you asking if I am stubborn? Yes, yes, stubborn as they come on certain things.


On a good note. Tomorrow morning at ten I am meeting with a gal who has property with a house for rent that will allow all the animals. We were suppose to meet yesterday but she was unable to keep the appointment. Please keep positive thoughts that I am able to rent the place.  I know sooner or later this darned, black, ugly ass cloud is going to have to move on. Of course if my ornery mood continues I may just have to have a discussion with that cloud! lol


Tomorrow is the day the contest of the egg thief ends. Wow, the guesses have been fantastic.


Until next time................................

Peaceful parade

Saturday was Southern Oregon's 1st Gay Parade held in downtown Ashland.



And guess what? There were no protests! Everyone got along peacefully!




Everyone was smiling and laughing and having a good time.




There were people of all ages. Young to old.


I was very happy to hear that there was no ugliness at the parade. Looks like more and more people are opening their closed minds and seeing for themselves that love is love.


By the way there have been some really good guesses to the egg thief. Keep it up. Contest ends Friday! And yes of course you can enter as many times as you want.


Until next time.............................