Content and happy

Feeding time. Everyone happy and content.

As you can see Arnold has his appetite and is doing much better today.

Thank you for all your prayers and positive thoughts for him.

The horse across the street is really enjoying having lots of friends to talk to.

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

Arnold Update

My farrier came out this morning to look at Arnold. And to trim other donkey feet. I told him what I suspected what was wrong with Arnold, either laminitis or abscess. After checking and trimming his feet he came up with the same conclusion. It is one or the other. Now that Arnold has been trimmed, if it is an abscess, then it should blow out in a few days. 
So, being on the cautious side I have started a sugar and betadine solution on his feet to help with the abscess if in fact there is one. As for if it is laminitis, well, a schedule of anti inflammatory medicine and strict diet. And that means he has to come closer to the house ( in the breezeway) so I can monitor him. I have also noticed that Arnold has been sad which also concerns me. So I have been making it a point to spend time with just him throughout the day which seems to brighten his spirits up. 
I know as soon as we all get into a regular routine like we had at the other house, he will feel better. With him having such a rough life before we got him, maybe moving to a new place he has anxiety now for fear of what has happened to him in the past and that it might happen again. 

I get up before the sun rises to start the day. This morning on my way to let the chickens out there was Mother Nature showing a beautiful sunrise.



Another pic of the sunrise.

Mother Nature sure does know what she is doing when it comes to beauty.

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



Wildlife count update

With each day comes a new sighting of the wildlife here.
Day before yesterday I startled a fox on one of the hills behind the house. Yes, I had my camera but by the time I got it out, turned it on and aimed, well, the fox bounded away. He/she sure was a pretty little thing.
Late yesterday afternoon there was an odd type of squawking sound. After looking around and not finding the source I figured oh well. Just about then movement in a tree caught my attention. There, up in a tree, were a bunch of Quail. If you look close you can sort of see them. There must have been a dozen or so.
The buck came down for a visit the other morning. And there have been two more Bobby the Bobcat sightings.
Oh, and the smell of skunk hung in the air for a little bit the other night. It wasn't close to the house which is a good thing.  If there is one smell on this planet that will make me gag, it is the smell of a skunk. Yup, I gag everytime. 
Haven't seen a raccoon or a possum yet, but not saying they aren't out there. 
Arnold isn't any worse this morning which is a good thing. At the old house the stall barn was up which made it easy to stall a horse or donkey who wasn't feeling well. Here there is not much for them except a portable stall with a tarp for covering. I have to drive into town today so will pick up some pine shavings in case I do have to bring Arnold here to the house. 
Who knows what other wildlife I will see!!! Now if only I can take pics at the speed of light!! 
Until next time....................

Having animals

As soon as the sun begins to rise each morning I let my chickens out of the chicken house. This morning when I opened the door, sadly I found Danni, my little comic, dead on the floor. No injuries, no blood, nothing. She was fine and being her silly self last night when I locked everyone up. She showed no signs of illness so am somewhat baffled as to why she died. And she was about two years old so it sure wasn't old age. Out of all the chickens, she was one with a sense of humor.



She was given a proper burial complete with a prayer. I can only hope the hole is deep enough so the wildlife won't dig her up. She is buried on one of the hills on the property away from the rest of the chickens as well as the rest of the animals. I feel bad for her having to be buried so far away. You know, all alone on a hill.  



For three days I have been worried about Arnold. He either has laminitis ( inflammation of the hoof) or forming hoof abscesses in his front feet. And he seems to be on the sad side. He isn't his usual handsome self. I have been giving him Banamine ( a drug for inflammation) to help ease his discomfort. Thankfully my farrier is coming out Tuesday morning and hopefully we can found out exactly what is going on with his feet. Distinguishing between laminits and abscesses can be somewhat of a challenge especially in donkeys.  
Regardless of what is wrong with him, I am contemplating bringing him to the house where there is a breezeway between the house and garage. I can put some rubber stall mats down with some shavings and keep him there until he feels better. Arnold was the first donkey rescue and he is very near and dear to my heart.



And speaking of donkeys. Everytime I drive the Gator out into the pasture they just have to make it a point to come over and see if their is any food. And it just so happened I had hay this time. Good times!



While out checking on Arnold, Oreo goat came up and wanted to be petted. Out of all the goats she is the friendliest and enjoys a good scratch.

Having animals does keep us on our toes!

Oh, just to let you all know, I pleaded with the neighbor about letting Betsy goat come live with me, but he flat refused. Said he loved her and would miss her. Um, okay, sure didn't miss her when she was in my pasture for x-amount of months! I can only hope she will be okay. But a part of me says otherwise.

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

Christmas vent

Alrighty, it is time for one of my vents.
I woke up this morning grumbling about the holidays. Specifically Christmas. Not sure if it is because age has crept up or it has just gradually become worse over the years.

The whole commercialization of Christmas. Buy. Buy. Buy. If the kids don't get the top seller of the season then they are devastate and think life is unfair. If it isn't a top of the line, name brand item, then it is embarrassing.

The employees in stores are required to say " Happy Holidays" and not "Merry Christmas" for fear of offending someone. Really? Well, I am offended when  someone says Happy Holidays! Yesterday at the bank the gal behind the counter said "Happy Holidays" to me. I stood there, looked at her and said loud and clear, "Merry Christmas". She grinned and said it back to me. I thanked her and left. 

Whatever happened to baking goodies, putting them into a basket or gift box and giving that?
Or making something and giving that? Or doing something for someone that would help them out?

As I sit here writing this, the gifts I most remember are the food gift baskets from neighbors/family/friends. Now don't get me wrong, there are some store bought gifts I have to this day. But I couldn't tell you each and every gift that was store bought over the years and whom it came from and most likely don't even have anymore because it ended up to be just stuff after awhile. The items I still have are ones that were heartfelt. I'm sure you have some too. The ones whenever you look at them still brings a smile to your face.

Is it my age making me think this way? Has it really become so commercialized that the true spirit has faded into the past of a bygone era? Have times really changed to such an extreme we have forgotten the true meaning? 

My mission this Christmas season is when I go to any store, it will be a loud and clear "Merry Christmas" said. If I offend someone, well, too damn bad. I am tired of being being offended by all this politically correct B.S.!  

And so on that note I say a loud and heartfelt Merry Christmas to you all!!! 

Okay, I'm done venting. :)

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

Last of the animal move

While we were moving the horses, donkeys and chickens, all the cats were rounded up and either put into carriers or were allowed to roam free inside vehicles as we were making trips from old house to new.  Only having four carriers and way  more cats, free roaming was an only option. All the cats settled in right away. As you can see Smudge here ( pic above) immediately investigated every part of the house. Here she is at the very tip top of the ceiling on a ledge that runs the entire house.



Jovi and Squirrel finding another high spot in the house. There are a lot of ledges and cabinets they can get up on. Let's just say with having so many high places for the cats to get to, throughout the night you can hear cats jumping from one high place to another.




Ozzy doesn't care for anything having to do with exercising too much energy. He prefers the easiest place to stretch out. Here he is in front of the wood stove doing what he does best.  




The very first hot meal I cooked in the new house. Steak, rice, buttered bread and tomatoes. I am looking forward to garden season. Now that we have plenty of water and good soil, a huge garden will be planted. Most for us, some for the horses, donkeys, goats and chickens and a bit for the deer.




The last of the animals to come over were the goats. Now let me tell you I never in a million years would have thought loading goats would be quite the adventure it was. The goats are not exactly overly friendly and not very trusting. Thank goodness they will come up to me. First goat caught was Oreo ( black and white). A quick grab, held on, picked her up and into the trailer she went. Okay, that's not too bad.
Next was Goldie Goat. She was a bit more wary of coming up to me. But knowing I had treats got the better of her. As soon as she was close enough to grab, in she went.
By this time Gabby and Baby are wise to what is going on. That's when it all turned into a rodeo. There was no place to confine them and they had five acres in which to run away. After some time Baby was getting tired enough she got caught, lifted up and into the trailer she went.
That left Gabby. We are all tired, out of breath and having to dig deep to catch the last one. What seemed like an eternity, Gabby tired enough for me to literally jump on her bringing her to the ground. As bad as I felt having to do that, there was not another option. There were already three goats who were stressed in the trailer and time was running out to get them to the new house before it was dark.
After catching our breath we guided Gabby to the trailer, picked her up, put her in and sighed. The last of the animals were loaded up. Yay! 
The goats unloaded pretty good. They looked around at their new surroundings and started munching on the grass. 
Animal moving adventure over! Thank goodness. Three solid days of moving animals is enough to last me quite awhile. 
I can honestly say I found muscles I never knew I had during this move. From loading furniture to unwilling donkeys wanting to load, to goat wrangling and everything in between. 
Until next time.........................



Moving more critters

Moving chickens turned out to be a bit of a challenge. Here is the chicken house before being put together.



Chicken house just about ready for them.
Want to know how all the chickens came over at once? Not having enough carriers for them all, the only alternative I had was to load them up in the horse trailer! Sorry, no pic of that. But just imagine 15 chickens being caught and loaded up in the trailer. Let's just say that they were all very upset. Roosters crowed all the way to the new house. Talk about some strange looks driving through the small town of Jacksonville. A horse trailer that is crowing!



After a few days of being here all the chickens settled in quite nicely. I opened the curtains one morning to see a hen perched on the wood pile in front of one of the big windows looking in.



In fact they have all settled so nicely that every morning when I let them out of their house, they make a beeline for the front steps. Not sure why they do it, but it's okay since they eat bugs.




Little Inger really seems to enjoy the new house. The other day she scared me. I couldn't find her and began to panic. I hollered and hollered for her. Nothing. Then I walked into the hen house just as she was coming out of one of the cat carriers ( for them to lay their eggs in). She started 'talking' to me asking me what I was so upset about. After all, she had been there the whole time!

Update on the sightings of Bobby the Bobcat. My youngest daughter came up with Bobby. I know, not very original. Anyway, yesterday as I was checking blankets, watering and checking the horses and donkeys I looked up to see Bobby way out in the pasture. He was just sitting there, then casually got up and walked back into the blackberry bushes. Of course I didn't have my camera with me. Note to self: bring camera all the time!

I was asked about if I am going to bring Patti Cake back. It's funny but I have thought about bringing her back home, but have decided for now that she is safe and happy where she is now. I may change my mind later on.

Betsy goat had to go back to the next door neighbor. On our last day at the old house I saw her in her old pen and I told her I was sorry I couldn't bring her. Believe me, if I could have brought her over her I would have. But taking her without permission would have been stealing and so it was not an option.

Tomorrow, another animal adventure moving chapter.

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