The animals are springing themselves!
We had one glorious spring like day on Friday, sunny and almost 70, then it was back to winter. On that one glorious day I was emptying all the frozen water dishes and cleaning up a bit around the yard. I went out the gate to the pond from the horse pasture to dump out the ducks dish. The dogs in their yard could see me and Tiny Tina decided I needed help so she climbed the back fence and came after me, then chased all the wild cats up trees, which incited Peanut, her grandmother to climb the fence too, and Peanut went after the poor old duck. Since only the edges of the pond were unfrozen he couldn’t swim away from her as he does in the summer and she chased him across the pond ice to the bank near where I stood then caught him by the leg. He didn’t fight her at all, didn’t do anything even make noise. I had caught Tina to keep her from joining in and I was trying to get down the steep slippery bank holding her under one arm.
I finally managed to snag Peanut by the collar and now I am laying on the muddy bank, a dog in each hand. I couldn’t stand up, it was too steep and slippery and if I let either of them go they’d go back for the duck, who was alive and not bleeding, a good sign. So I crawled up the bank on my belly, pushing a dog before me on each side while holding on to their collars. What an exciting life I lead!
The duck is 8 years old at least, his last bachelor friend died last spring. He’s a white Pekin, but very wild. I made him a shelter out by the gate to the pond and have been wading through the snow all winter to put food and water over the fence. Last winter the ducks came up to the lean-to on the barn for shelter but we had torn that down and put up new fence since then. So he was kept alive all winter only to be caught by the dogs. He’s still alive actually, but I think a leg is broken. He is staying in the water and on the bank near where they caught him, I tried to catch him but he gets in the water just out of my reach and I can’t trust the ice. I threw him some bread but I don’t think he ate it. He’s used to eating dry cat food. This morning we had a dusting of snow and the gate latch was frozen so I couldn’t even get down by the bank.
The dogs were excited by the spring like day and so were the horses. I let them out in the bigger pasture and they ran and ran, kicking and rearing and having a great time. No grass but a lot more room. They decided they liked that I guess, because when I went out this morning they were out there all on their own, gate still closed. They had pushed some fence away from a post and squeezed through. By the time I went through the barn they were back in their stall area, quite innocent looking, waiting for their sweet feed. I tried to fix the fence but I didn’t have tools with me. Then I thought I would just open the gate to keep them from making any more damage, but its latch was frozen too. Hopefully they will remain in the small pasture today.
As soon as it warms up and the grass begins to grow we are moving them to the west pasture with the run in shelter but that may be a month or so. We have to fix a gate and put up some fence on top of the five foot fence to keep the dogs from climbing the shared boundary when they see the horses. It seems like I am always trying to keep something in or out.
Charlie really needs to be gelded. That’s the next big hurdle, and he needs his hoofs trimmed for the first time too. They both need some work, they have become bratty over the winter. Charlie wants to bite or kick me all the time.
Ah, the sun has come out even if it is cold- Hurray!
Living the dream
Visiting grandmas farm.
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Monday, March 9, 2009
Monday, April 14, 2008
Well let’s start with the weather. Doesn’t everything start with weather? Here in Michigan we had 70 degrees yesterday after which came severe weather. We had 2 inches of rain in about 36 hours. Everything is soaked but the good news is that the pond is filling up and the grass is getting green. The crocus and iris reticulata are blooming. However it is supposed to snow tonight. Welcome to spring in Michigan. It won’t stick, but the cold isn’t welcome.
The sheep are starting to get a little grass. Thank God because hay at 6 dollars a bale is hard on the budget. If the weather holds we should be done buying it in a week or two. Taco the bottle lamb has finally became part of the sheep herd. He has a girlfriend, one of his cousins. I have even quit giving him a bottle and he is eating hay, like a sheep should. I still sneak him some animal cookies everyday.
We had a new baby lamb born about 2 weeks ago. It is another Hereford marked one but I still don’t know whether it’s a boy or girl. Susan surprised us with two Jack Russell puppies, we knew she got bred but she never looked pg. One died, but the other little female is doing fine. The cocker pups are eating well and trying to get out of their pen constantly. One little female is the most successful, then she waddles over to me and wags her little stub tail wanting to be picked up.
We had Gus the stud Jack Russell neutered but it didn’t stop him from tearing open his kennel again and then into Crickets kennel a week later. The vet says we may still have puppies from this, sperm still lives in the reproductive tract a while. We have left him with Cricket, we have new kennels to put together for the outside dogs, but the weather and time haven’t allowed us to get them done yet.
We had a young couple stop by the farm looking for scrap metal. He was out of work and they were cleaning up yards etc for metal to sell. I showed them the back of the barn were we had a tangled mess of old wire pens and told them they could have that. Then we looked at the shed tacked onto the back side of the barn that was collapsing. We didn’t feed the sheep from the barn this winter because I didn’t think that mess would hold up all winter and would fall on them or make getting feed to them hard.
Anyway they agreed to tear it all down and stack the good lumber if I gave them my old car. In one day while I was at work they ripped it all down, sorted and stacked everything and hauled a bunch of it away or burned it. This was a big shed, 20 by 12, that we had built with pallets, (yes pallets), about 12 years ago. Had we put a better roof on it, it might have lasted longer. I had to burn some more of the old pallets the next day and then they came and removed the rest. There is still some rusty fence here and a pile of old roofing but the change is immense.
The barn possum was a casualty though. He was hiding in some wood when it got thrown in the fire. The back side of the barn cats were all a little spooked but I fixed them some new beds just inside the back door of the main barn and they are settling in.
Next we tackled the fence between the dog yard and the sheep pasture. The dogs have been terrible this spring getting out under the old chain link. The wood posts we had were rotted and the bottom gave too much, they could dig a little then push the bottom and lift it up to go under. Steve freaks out when they get out when I am gone, they won’t let him catch them and he can’t move fast enough. I had tons of cinder blocks and boards along the bottom but nothing worked for long, they just found another spot.
So last Sunday we replaced it all with 5 foot high welded wire on metal posts. It was the first big day long project we had done in a good while and we were both exhausted. I put a board all along the bottom that I nailed to the fence, laying on my belly in the pasture. The next day I had to fix a spot where Ginger got through but it’s been fine since. We still have to replace the walk gate and re-work the drive gate but we are almost done with that. Then it’s on to replacing the fence along the back of the barn, and rebuilding the dog kennels. And the east pasture needs the fence along the woods repaired and up by the orchard.
I want to take some of the old lumber and make raised garden beds for vegetables, all the flower beds need cleaning out and I have baby chicks arriving Tuesday to get ready for. We need to make a new trellis for the grapes and move them as they are in too much shade now. And then of course there is the porch/laundry room roof that needs to be torn off and replaced, my son says he will be up around the first week of May to do that. When that’s done I want to put up a 6 foot wide deck on the east side to make it easier for Steve to get in the back door. I think we can do that. What I need is several strong grandchildren to use as labor but they are too far away!
It amazes me what changes this house and farm have been through in the 13 years we have been here. And what changes we have been through ourselves. When we moved here Steve was capable of doing things like putting up sheds from pallets, and getting in and out of the house on his own. I seemed to have a lot more energy and physical strength too. I just keep thinking that when certain things are done everything else will be easier, but the work just never seems to end. I love spring but it is such a busy time!
The sheep are starting to get a little grass. Thank God because hay at 6 dollars a bale is hard on the budget. If the weather holds we should be done buying it in a week or two. Taco the bottle lamb has finally became part of the sheep herd. He has a girlfriend, one of his cousins. I have even quit giving him a bottle and he is eating hay, like a sheep should. I still sneak him some animal cookies everyday.
We had a new baby lamb born about 2 weeks ago. It is another Hereford marked one but I still don’t know whether it’s a boy or girl. Susan surprised us with two Jack Russell puppies, we knew she got bred but she never looked pg. One died, but the other little female is doing fine. The cocker pups are eating well and trying to get out of their pen constantly. One little female is the most successful, then she waddles over to me and wags her little stub tail wanting to be picked up.
We had Gus the stud Jack Russell neutered but it didn’t stop him from tearing open his kennel again and then into Crickets kennel a week later. The vet says we may still have puppies from this, sperm still lives in the reproductive tract a while. We have left him with Cricket, we have new kennels to put together for the outside dogs, but the weather and time haven’t allowed us to get them done yet.
We had a young couple stop by the farm looking for scrap metal. He was out of work and they were cleaning up yards etc for metal to sell. I showed them the back of the barn were we had a tangled mess of old wire pens and told them they could have that. Then we looked at the shed tacked onto the back side of the barn that was collapsing. We didn’t feed the sheep from the barn this winter because I didn’t think that mess would hold up all winter and would fall on them or make getting feed to them hard.
Anyway they agreed to tear it all down and stack the good lumber if I gave them my old car. In one day while I was at work they ripped it all down, sorted and stacked everything and hauled a bunch of it away or burned it. This was a big shed, 20 by 12, that we had built with pallets, (yes pallets), about 12 years ago. Had we put a better roof on it, it might have lasted longer. I had to burn some more of the old pallets the next day and then they came and removed the rest. There is still some rusty fence here and a pile of old roofing but the change is immense.
The barn possum was a casualty though. He was hiding in some wood when it got thrown in the fire. The back side of the barn cats were all a little spooked but I fixed them some new beds just inside the back door of the main barn and they are settling in.
Next we tackled the fence between the dog yard and the sheep pasture. The dogs have been terrible this spring getting out under the old chain link. The wood posts we had were rotted and the bottom gave too much, they could dig a little then push the bottom and lift it up to go under. Steve freaks out when they get out when I am gone, they won’t let him catch them and he can’t move fast enough. I had tons of cinder blocks and boards along the bottom but nothing worked for long, they just found another spot.
So last Sunday we replaced it all with 5 foot high welded wire on metal posts. It was the first big day long project we had done in a good while and we were both exhausted. I put a board all along the bottom that I nailed to the fence, laying on my belly in the pasture. The next day I had to fix a spot where Ginger got through but it’s been fine since. We still have to replace the walk gate and re-work the drive gate but we are almost done with that. Then it’s on to replacing the fence along the back of the barn, and rebuilding the dog kennels. And the east pasture needs the fence along the woods repaired and up by the orchard.
I want to take some of the old lumber and make raised garden beds for vegetables, all the flower beds need cleaning out and I have baby chicks arriving Tuesday to get ready for. We need to make a new trellis for the grapes and move them as they are in too much shade now. And then of course there is the porch/laundry room roof that needs to be torn off and replaced, my son says he will be up around the first week of May to do that. When that’s done I want to put up a 6 foot wide deck on the east side to make it easier for Steve to get in the back door. I think we can do that. What I need is several strong grandchildren to use as labor but they are too far away!
It amazes me what changes this house and farm have been through in the 13 years we have been here. And what changes we have been through ourselves. When we moved here Steve was capable of doing things like putting up sheds from pallets, and getting in and out of the house on his own. I seemed to have a lot more energy and physical strength too. I just keep thinking that when certain things are done everything else will be easier, but the work just never seems to end. I love spring but it is such a busy time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)