Will spring EVER come??

This has most certainly been the winter from HELL.  It has taken its toll on the animals, I'm quite sure.  Blankets all winter, sometimes double blanketed...trying to keep hay in front of them 24/7.  I can't wait until we start warming up, and definitely can't wait until all the mud from the winter thaw is gone, and everything is green.  If all winters in WI were like this, I quite surely would not be here.  Me, I'd like to retire in Kentucky.... maybe Missouri.... cheaper living there.  And winters aren't like they are here.

Two weeks ago (today actually) our chicks and ducklings came from Ideal Hatchery in Texas.  They all arrived alive and well.  We did lose one after a few days, but she was smaller than the rest, and I assume weak.  It was one of the silver laced wyandottes.  The ducks are getting HUGE FAST, and two of them are crested, one with a much bigger crest than the other.  I did not want crested ducks, but knew there would be  a possibility.... and actually, the poofs are growing on me.

Also, two weeks ago this Sunday, I brought home a painted standard donkey named Webster.  He's a cutie.  Now, I let my donkeys go last fall...and didn't plan on having any more, but this guy lost his friend (his pasture mate died at 30 years of age) and he was alone.  Donkeys don't like being alone, in fact, they typically like the company of other donkeys, but since Webster has been with a horse for company, I'm not too concerned about not providing a donkey friend for him.  He hasn't been very fond of me, after all, his whole world was turned upside down, he lost his buddy, got ripped out of the home he's known his whole life, got his first trailer ride, and then showed up at a strange place.  And I was there for most of it....so I'm quite sure he held me accountable.  He is coming around.  He plays a little hard to get sometimes, but I do not do night chores without scratching him and wrapping my arms around his neck.  So, the fact that he's allowing me to do that says a lot.  He's a cute guy...and his bray is nowhere near the ear piercing brays of the minis I had.  He will turn out just fine.  I can see he's a sweet old soul...who just needs to learn to trust me a little more.

Well, more later.... it's funny this post is about new additions, when I'm considering downsizing.

Almost two years ago....

was when I last posted on here.  Yikes.  Not good.  I'm going to do my best to try to keep this thing up and running a little better this year.  But, a lot has happened in that time.  In June of that year (2012), just a couple of months after my last post, I had Kissy put to sleep.  That was quite rough on me, as you can imagine.  I still miss her.  I also had neck surgery later that year, had a herniated disk repaired and C5/C6 fused.  That had me out for awhile.  As I sit here typing this now, I am still off work from a relatively simple carpal tunnel surgery on December 20th.  I have one more week of OT/PT then I finally can return to work.  Last fall, prior to my surgery, I adopted out our donkeys.  It was a hard decision, but I knew it was in their best interest to go somewhere where they would receive more loving and attention.  I didn't get to just sit and hang out with them as often as I wanted, but the main reason was because my husband trims the minis and has a bad back, so those minis killed his back.  So I went from 4 minis (donkeys and horses) to 2.  I also adopted out our flock of hens.  I thought it would be nice, especially with surgery, to have one winter without wintering chickens, and I'm sure glad I did.  This winter has been absolutely wicked.  Just so horribly cold.  I'm glad I didn't have the chickens to worry about.  They were also getting older and not laying as well.  But, as I say that, I have a new flock coming in a couple of weeks.  Much bigger this time, although I may not keep them all.  I have a total of 30 birds in all coming.  A mix of black australorps, silver laced wyandottes, ameraucanas, buff orpingtons, mille fleur and porcelain d'uccles, and three cayuga ducks!  I've never, myself, had ducks before, and I'm looking forward to it.

I would like to try  couple of building projects on my own this year.  Well, I have a larger brooder to build, but I also would like to build some sort of smaller playhouse coop for the d'uccle bantams, a larger run for the large coop, and a "catio" for our cats.  We currently have 5, and that's already more than enough!

The biggest news I have is that I have a new fjord gelding.  He's in his late teens, been around the block and back in his driving career, and a big fluffy lover.  I'm hoping he can help Daffey learn the ropes of driving.  Daffey is becoming a beautiful three year old this year.  The new guy came from Utah, and I'm so happy to have him.  I just love both of my fjords.  I'm quite sure they have quickly become my chosen breed.

Anyway, this has been a dreadful winter....and I can't wait for it to be over, and to hear my frogs again.  I have plenty of planting projects for this year, as usual, and have some growing in my basement as I speak.  We'll get to those later.

Spring is here!

Been awhile since I posted any updates on here...thought I'd do so now. It's the middle of April. Almost tax day....(yes, I was late in getting my taxes done this year....a week before the deadline!) We have nothing but green grass, no mud, trees are awake, and my hostas are coming up like crazy. My strawberries are as well. I've already planted some more raspberries, and more horsetail near the pond. My frogs have been singing me to sleep since mid-March. With the nice weather, it's killing me not to go out and plant yet....but the nights are still too cold for my tropicals (giant colocasia, bananas (basjoo and ensete maurelii), a few varieties of canna, and a young brugmansia tree). So until the time comes, I still tend to them, actively growing, in the basement.

The animals here all faired the winter well for the most part. Our fjord filly is doing well, she's beautiful, so sweet, but loves to be dirty. Like me when I was young....ha ha. On April 1st, Palm Sunday, one of our donkeys, Kochia, participated in the annual Donkey Walk at a church here in town. This was her second year as "the donkey," and everyone loves her. One of the members of the church made an amazing video of the walk, I'd like to ask him if I can post it here.

Kissy...my 27 year old Arabian mare, if I have the strength to follow through, has had her last steroid injection about three weeks ago. She was miserable prior, and is now moving around well. Although her knee has increased in size over the winter, and her leg continues to bow out more. She was treated for a skin infection as well, she has several spots, mostly on one side, where she had open sores, and now that it's been taken care of, she is missing a lot of hair in those spots.

I myself have been seeing a physical therapist since November, who is just awesome, and let me take home a handheld infra-red light machine to try on her knee. I can't say whether it helped or not.... since she has improved greatly from her shot...it would have been interesting to try it on her prior to her last injection.

I am not completely at peace with my decision yet, however I have decided that I am going to need to say goodbye to my dear friend of 26 years this summer. I want her to be comfortable, and these shots just are not lasting her near long enough. Some days she's happy, enjoying life, although she can only go as fast as a walk. Other days, I see her laying down a lot more (which was the cause of her skin infection), and she turns away from me if I talk to her or try to pet her beautiful face. That speaks a lot to me. My girl has never turned away from me before. I love her enough to let her go with as much dignity as she can. It is time to let her be free of her aching body, and gallop across the rainbow bridge. Am I ok? No, not yet. But I knew it was coming...and I know if I don't let her go, I'm being selfish. Some days she looks like she has a few years ahead of her yet. Other days, to see her would cause some to question why I continue to make her live. That girl has been by my side for 26 years. I barely remember life without her in it. She has stood by my side all those years, and was always there when I needed her. I think we've come to a place where she needs me to give her the ultimate gift. I love her with all my heart. I am preparing to say goodbye to her this summer. Before she gets real bad yet again. It's just been a roller coaster for both of us the past year and a half or so. It's time to get off that ride.

Fjord fun!

I am absolutely LOVING our new fjord filly. She's super sweet, smart, quiet, and is quite the talker. She's whinnying at me constantly. I've read a lot of things about the breed, and she is no exception. After meeting Daffney, you can't help but fall in love with the breed! I swear she was born spook-free! I took several photos of her yesterday, and will add some here. I need to get a page for her on our website pretty soon...life's just been a little busy! On another note, I took our boarder horse, Natage to his new boarding facility yesterday. It just wasn't working out here...he needs a more quiet horse to be with. At 30, with one eye, he's very timid. I tried him with Kissy too...which is when he decided NOT to be timid. He finally had a horse he could pick on, and after a couple hours, he did. He's such a nice horse, and after seeing his new buddy Reggie and him together yesterday, I think it will work out for him there. He couldn't be at a nicer place than he is! And Daffey has been here two weeks now, and I'm falling in love with her more everyday. I am SO lucky to have her! Anyway....here's a few pics of our fjord, Daffey.

New addition!!

So, we came home with a new filly today. I've always liked Norwegian Fjord horses....and I saw an ad that I just couldn't pass up! I went to see her today, and she was even better in person! So we now have a 6 month old Fjord filly in our barn! Her registered name is Kjor Doreen's Daffney, but they called her Daffy...and, well, she knows the name. She's a sweetheart, and oh so cute! Someday, I'm hoping she'll make a wonderful riding and driving horse. It was raining all day, so she's wet in the pics!

Winterizing...yuck

So, the horses' blankets are out from storage (and have already been used!), the water tank heaters are installed and running, but as I write this, the chickens are still waiting for their heated pail. But they're in a nice, insulated coop, and the water isn't quite freezing at night yet. The girls are disappointing their egg consumers...we have some egg customers, and they are going to have to pass on our eggs for winter. Some people put lights on to fake them into having longer days...the way I figure it, they work pretty hard producing those eggs, and they can have a break! I like to let nature take its course. So....I'm only picking up one, maybe two, eggs a day from 9 hens!

My banana trees have all been dug up and are now in the house (potted, but hacked off, I'm going to let them start growing again thru winter), my cannas are dug up till next year...and it's just all stuff I don't want to think about. I want summer back! I guess it's time to get me a winter hobby....I have a sleigh/cutter in my basement, and a belly strap of sleighbells in the garage, maybe it's time I train a horse to use it?

So....for the updates. Blue hates sharing her space with Natage (the one-eyed bandit....), but I kinda think that's what ya get when you put a younger horse in with a 30 year old timid one. She's not had a problem with others... but they're doing ok. She's not hurting him or anything.... Kissy....well, it's been two months since her steriod shots...seems like longer, but that's it. She's doing some limping here and there again, and I've noticed her attitude has changed a little. I hope this isn't what our winter is going to be like. I want her to be pain free. So she has her 10x20' stall that she can come into, rubber matted, and deeply bedded...so I know if she's feeling a little under the weather, she's not a nice place to sleep. She's getting pain medication once a day, her weight is good...I'm just keeping an eye on her pain and attitude. The vet hoped she'd get at least three months on these shots, and I do too, because they're quite pricey...actually more than I can realistically do if it's going to be quite a bit more often than that.

Magic, one of our minis, had his fun for Halloween again this year, and his picture even made it into our local newspaper. His headless horseman costume had NO wardrobe malfunctions this time around, and he had quite a crowd meet us to join him. I'm so torn...it has become a tradition to take Magic every year, a tradition I'd like to continue, but at the same time, I'd really like to give my Shrek idea a try.... dress up as shrek, and take on of my mini donkeys instead. Quite a decision!

Soon time for Christmas decorating...and all eight of our barn critters have their own stocking with their name on it...they'll be hung in the stalls....Deck the stalls!

Update

Well, a couple of things going on here... Natage is here...such a sweet boy that he is. Blue likes to throw her weight around, just lets him know she rules the roost. She only talks to him with her eyes and ears, thank goodness, and it gets the point across. He's been here about three weeks now, and I think things will go ok.

Kissy had steroid shots in her bad knee on September 12th. For the first few days, she was in a great deal of pain, but I'm seeing a great improvement now....she's moving, what appears to be, pain free. I've yet to see any limping. The true test will be when the cold weather comes.... I am still giving her pain medication just as a precaution, but only once a day...

She even gave a ride to a little girl last night...and they both had a blast! By the time they were done, this little 5 year old knew how to direct her by herself, just a halter and lead rope...no saddle (I wouldn't put the extra weight on, and this girl weighs like nothing!). Kissy tells me if it's not ok. And she was really enjoying herself! They both were. I should have taken some photos...

Anyway, the days are getting shorter....but the most beautiful time of year is coming upon us. And a very fun time (Halloween) for me, our son, and one of our little mini horses. So starting to gear up for that. Our little horse's "costume" needs some modifications!

Summer! Don't go!

Ok...so I've been in a bit of a mood this week. I work for the school district, and I love my job! However, school starts this week, and that means summer, basically, is over. No more lazy days at home...no more going out on a whim and doing something fun, no more late nights enjoying the nighttime sounds...reality has hit. Anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a fan of winter. In fact, the complete opposite. I despise winter! I've spent all summer watching things grow, mowing my lawn (which I love to do)...to eventually watch it die and be covered in this white stuff. Ugh. Eventually we will be bracing ourselves for another long, cold winter, filled with tank heaters, horse blankets and high heating costs....

But, before winter hits, we do have one of the prettiest times of year, I do love fall for its colors. I have a hard time enjoying fall because of what comes after it, but I love the changing leaves, and especially the smell of fall. And, I am a big fan of Halloween! I have a lot of fond Halloween memories....one in particular involved a friend of mine and I, being asked to "spook" a neighbor's daughter who was having a Halloween sleepover in their old barn. So, at midnight, with us dressed up in ghoulish costumes, we mounted our horses and set off across the fields in the dark to try to scare the wits out of these girls who were telling ghost stories in this old barn. It worked! Now, nearly every year, Halloween is limited to taking my son trick-or-treating...but I've learned to make more fun out of it, both for me and for all the neighborhood kids who see us, and I take Magic, our little black miniature horse. The first year he pulled his cart. He wore a cape and devil horns for the occasion....and did the following year as well. Last year, we went all out, and he wore his little saddle, and carried The Headless Horseman. It was AWESOME! So much so, that we're doing it again this year. It needs some modifications, some of the frame for the horseman came apart under the movement of the horse, so we'll beef it up this year. This headless horseman was complete, carrying a lit up pumpkin! We even used one of my son's little squishy balls where the neck was, that flashed red....it was perfect! I have photos...I'll share here. So, watch out for Magic as "Gunpowder," the Headless Horseman's horse, again for Halloween this year! It will keep me sane the next couple of months.....but after Halloween, I will be sulking until April! =)

Head in the clouds...

And another hobby....staring through the telescope. Last night, from midnight till 1am, I was outside with the telescope, looking at Jupiter. Of course, it looks MUCH better through the telescope than it does in this pic...since this pic consisted of me taking my regular camera, pointing it through the eyepiece of the telescope, and taking a photo. You can still tell what you're looking at, but through the telescope, the stripes on the planet were so perfect, so vivid, nothing like the blurred view in this pic! Ok....just a glimpse into my world. Back to the farm blog! I am just enjoying some late nights while I can...it has been a nice, relaxing summer. But next week, we go back to school and work. Summer is coming to an end for us... :(

Going BANANAS!

Ok, so I thought I'd introduce you to another hobby of mine...not related to the critters at all... my heart is in the tropics. I am obsessed with palm trees and such....I love tropical plants! I actually looked up trying to grow palms here, which of course isn't typically done in our zone 5 climate, some do, but it takes a lot of prepping for winter, something I'm just not ready for yet. So, I started looking around at different plants I thought I'd like, and of course, every one I liked was not suitable for our zone. Again, I have a tropical heart. Well, I found a way around it! I found something that looks tropical, like the palm trees, but is easier for me to care for in the wintertime, yes, they need care...but not as much as the palm trees in WI would...banana trees! I bought me a couple of small, fast growing banana trees...and after an acclimation process, they've really taken off! I do have to water them daily, and fertilize them weekly, but it's paying off....my musa basjoos are producing pups (baby banana trees, suckers, if you will). My larger, fuller of the two has four pups (as of today, one just popped up today!), and the other one has one. I'm going to leave them on the mother corm till spring....my plan is, since the mother plants themselves are young yet, to dig them up and bring them inside for this winter... but after this winter, they'll winter outside with some care. I plan to plant them around my deck next year...if separation of the pups goes ok. I have an ensete maurelii out there now, my third banana purchase this year. Ensete maurelii is thicker, beefier than the basjoo, the leaves stay more upright typically, and the leaves are red, with some dark green in there. It's a beautiful tree...mine's quite young yet, so not AS red as it will be, but it's certainly red enough to be pretty, but it's quite small yet. So...I've got a taste for things that aren't supposed to grow here....I have cannas (digging them up and bringing the tubers inside for winter), coleus, persian shield and my bananas for now.....I think I've shared some pics on here...I may have. Anyway.....I'll get a pic of one of the basjoos here to post. The maurelii is pretty small right now, about two feet tall, but it's spitting out new leaves constantly, as you can see in the pic, there's one ready to unroll.

Blue heron

Every year we have a nesting pair of blue herons that spend their summers here. It's quite a treat. Why they choose our pond, I don't know, but I'm thankful, and every year, I watch for their return. Just last weekend, a friend of mine, who had spent the night here so we could catch up on our lives, and I were sitting out on the deck with coffee on Sunday morning and watched them flying around, they flew up to the closest tall tree to us, and one of them perched up there, as if to let us see the beauty of that beautiful large bird. He only stayed a moment, but long enough for us to catch a glimse before he was gone. They are very shy birds. I can only get a photo from inside the house. Whenever I try to get a closer look outside, they fly away. But I have seen a young heron flying about, so I know they have their babies here. Anyway, I snapped a picture of one yesterday, and thought I'd share it here. While I was looking through my photos, I thought I'd put a picture on here of a huge flock of canadian geese that walked purposely through the yard this summer too. I'm glad I happened to look out when I did...I have no idea where they came from or what they were doing, they were walking with a purpose, and I counted, there were 24 of them. Adults, and young ones of various ages. Some obviously not old enough to fly, which is why they were all walking I'm sure. Amazing to see TWENTY FOUR of these birds all walking together, in the same direction, in a line like they were!

Natage

Well, Natage is coming back. He is a super sweet, 27 year old Arab gelding. His farm is for sale, and he's going to need to find a place to live. He's owned by a friend of mine, he's a pasture pet only, she doesn't ride, but pampered, and one of the sweetest gentlemen I know. He came here last year, but because of the owner's constrictions, and Natage's eye surgery, it was late, and winter came in like a bear during that time. I tried him with Blue, but it simply didn't work out. I was skeptical, with his age, the fact that he's been alone so long, and having only very recently lost an eye last year before he came here, I was afraid he'd feel too vulnerable being with a younger, bigger horse, in new surroundings, etc, and coming into winter. It was right after his eye removal, and coming into winter, and the timing was bad, but it ended the way I kind of figured it would.

(even though their ages match up, putting him in with Kissy is NOT an option, she is terrified of every horse her size....she's breakable and she knows it!)

Blue wasn't mean to Natage, however she did let him know she wanted to be on top in the herd. He wouldn't go into the shelter...he was feeling "whooped."

So...now that he's gone a year with one eye, and it's a little earlier than last year, we're going to try it again. Hoping this time will work. If the old boy doesn't make it here, I believe he will be put down. He's in amazing shape yet....unlike my girl, who at a year younger, is barely able to walk comfortably some days. If the time comes I have to say goodbye to my Kissy, Natage would be a perfect companion for Blue, as she will notice Kissy's absence, and she turns her nose up at the minis....she wouldn't find them suitable as companions for someone like herself.

As far as Kissy goes....she has her good days and not-so-good, but we had a good day last week, and she and I went for a nice walk together. She about ripped my arm off, so I knew she was feeling well! She enjoys getting out...and it's her version of "trail riding," although she certainly can't be ridden anymore. I still like to get her out when her arthritis will allow her to. I took some nice photos of her, and we enjoyed the time together. But, today, she's hobbling around...and my last straw are those steriod shots....I'd like to try it before winter hits...if she gets no relief from that, or not enough, anyway, I think it would be inhumane of me, as her caretaker, to make her hobble around through winter...knowing the cold weather is even harder on her. So.... we shall see. I've included a photo I took of her on our walk last week!

Special helper!

We had a special visitor yesterday, Elise, a family member from Milwaukee who is working to earn a new Girl Scout patch by helping out on a farm. She could have gone to a farm closer to home, but she wanted to come help out on ours. She learned how to give Kissy a bath, fed the chickens for me, and did some feeding of treats for the minis, and fed Kissy after we put her away too. She seemed to have a good time, and I know Kissy enjoyed her pampering as well. Today's been busy getting our air conditoner fixed, which thank goodness it is...it's working on getting the house cooled down, the heat index outside is 100, so I'm thankful we got it in just in time! The past few days were bad enough! Anyway, I thought I'd share some photos of our farm helper for the day!

Then, after some hard work, a girl's gotta have a bit of fun, don't you think?

Just stuff...

Say hi to Gracey! Well, it's looking like our central air system needs to be replaced....it's quite uncomfortable in the house, and I'm spending a lot of time in the basement, where it is a little bit cooler at least. But I spent some time outside last night just snapping some pics......I just don't have the room to share them all here, but those of you who know me well are friends of mine on Facebook, and see ALL of my photos on there....probably more than you care to see! I took pics of all of the minis, and I also took a pic of one of my basjoo bananas (I shared it here)....which are coming along nicely now that they're acclimated in their new spot in the ground. They got planted quite late this year because the weather just wasn't fit for them. Next winter the two basjoos will winter outside, however this winter my basement will be home to them, and my ensete maurelii banana, where hopefully they'll continue to grow a little bit for a head start for next year. They could get 8-10 feet tall eventually! The ensete will always have to come in for the winter. Will need to bring my cannas in too. My persian shield looks AWESOME, and I'm sad that I'll have to let some of it die before winter. I'm going to bring some of it in the house to save for next year, and a friend of mine would like some of it, but it has multiplied so big, so fast, I just am not going to have room to keep it all in a pot this winter. My son and his grandfather made me a beautiful planter bench, I think that's where the persian shield will go next year, maybe that on one side, and my caladium on the other side. I have a tropical heart! I might try elephant ears next year!

I'm sad to see that tomorrow is August already...one more month of summer break for me, but I will like getting back to work and getting a paycheck again too! I've missed seeing the kids and coworkers on a daily basis. It has been such a hot July, so I hope we're given a break for August...which is usually pretty hot around here. I think my critters are pretty tired of the heat, and I know I am too!

Knocking on wood is a necessity....

So....it's been a pretty uneventful week with my broken toe...but it is feeling well enough to walk on now, as long as it's well supported. Kissy, however, has begun limping again. She's had such a great 6 weeks or so....and now a few days of limping and soreness. So she's back to bute twice a day, and me wondering what the future will hold. This roller coaster is so tough. I believe I'll spend my free time the next few days researching those steroid shots, and if I need to try one earlier than winter, I will, just to see if it works for her. That way, if by chance I do need to say goodbye to her, I can do so before winter hits. I don't like to think that way...but I've BEEN thinking that way for the last 5 months or so, preparing myself, just in case.

I have also thought about Blue, our other "big" horse, who's very bonded with Kissy...and what she would do with Kissy gone. I know. She'd freak, for awhile. But, I have a friend's horse coming over in August...hoping he will get along with Blue (it's not Blue I'm worried about, it's his personality, really). If things eventually work out, and we need to let Kissy go, it will work out the best all around. She'll have a safe place to keep her horse, and Blue will have a buddy. She doesn't consider the minis her buddies. She turns her nose at them. Eventually I would like to buy another horse, not to replace Kissy, but a horse I've wanted for a few years now, but I'm not ready for that right now. And, I need to see Kissy off to her next good place first, whenever that happens. I included a pic of her bad knee, where you can see the lump on it, and one of her x-ray photos, where you can see the lump on the x-ray, and the degeneration of the joint inside.