Winter is coming!

As is always the case, my website and other things just aren't updated much when the weather is nice. But here we are...Thanksgiving is over, and December begins next week. Here is my first farm blog post in quite a long time! Thankfully it was quite an uneventful summer around here, we had no big issues to contend with, it was a relatively cool summer, we had quite a wet October, and now we just had our first ground-coating snowfall a couple nights ago. Of course, it was all melted off by morning. But, the tank heaters were dusted off and running for the first time in October! That is sad! Included here is a photo of the new hay feeder (thank you to Premier 1 Supplies for the idea and plans, it is sort of along the lines of a "slow feeder," using 3x3" squares towards the bottom so we'll see how much they pig out....we may have to go with smaller holes yet, it's a trial and error sort of thing. We want them to be able to "graze" all winter long, but not stuff their faces constantly. There is Magic, in front of the hay feeder. It is 8 feet long, and the same on both sides, and so far, both mini horses and the three mini donkeys have had no trouble eating from it. Magic is the one who sometimes will be a bugger...but he and Merlin will eat on one side, the three donkeys on the other!

The critters are all getting their winter woolies, the chicken coop is being winterized, and we just finished a new hay feeder for the minis, which was just introduced to them today, as a matter of fact. I will include a photo with this post. Magic and Merlin's tails are up for winter now, I have always put Magic's tail up for winter, it grows so nice when I do, but this is the first with my grullo, Merlin. He has a very long tail, but it's very thin. I don't know if protecting it will give us some thickness or not, but we shall find out! Kissy's weight is really good coming into winter, so hoping to keep it that way. I need to do some blanket shopping for Blue, as one side of hers looks like it took a tangle with some sort of mountain lion or something (which was Jag, the red dun gelding we sold in March).

We had an extra special visitor here in October, a beautiful Friesian mare, Katryne. She was here for some riding and pampering, which I really enjoyed her presence. Friesians have always been my dream horse, but their price is way out of reach for me, so it was fun to be able to just enjoy someone else's for awhile! But...she was missed at home, so of course eventually went back where she belonged, with her owner, and the other Friesians on the farm where she belongs.

I still feel an emptiness in my heart after finding a home for my two pygmy goats late last winter. I miss my goats. Someday, I'll have goats again. Either I will have dehorned goats, or a separate place to keep them. Our goats were occasionally using their horns (playfully) with the minis, and I was afraid someone was going to get hurt. So I decided I needed to do something....before an injury occurred. And I had nowhere to separate the minis from the goats...unless I put the goats in the barn, which was no life for them. Someday perhaps I can have a different setup, but until then, I will be goat-less.

So, I'm sure I'll have more updates now that the weather is gearing up for a Wisconsin winter. But for now, that is all!