Horse Woes

Christine rode her horse (HD) Thursday evening. Apollo went crazy in the pasture being by his self. I had a halter and lead rope on him trying to brush him and apply fly spray. As HD went out for a ride Apollo reared up and I had to let the rope go or take a chance of getting hit. I hate to say but Apollo is either going to get worked by me during the day, every day or he finds a new home. I can't have an unruly horse at the farm with elderly and young people around.

Chicken coop

I almost have the new chicken cop finished. I am picking up the last of the wood today. I will check the security of the coop this weekend. I will do this by putting tuna fish cans inside the coop and see if anything can get to it. I'll let you knoe the outcome. I'll post photos this weekend.

This morning as I drove down the lane to go to work I noticed the live trap was closed. I looked inside and it was empty. I suspect someone was playing with it and triggered the release. I reset it so hopefully it will be occupied this evening.

Much needed update

Been busy lately so I haven't had a lot of free time to write. Christine and I went down to Biloxi, MS to visit my relatives. It was nice spending time with my grandson and everyone else of course.

While we were gone a racoon got into my chicken coops and thinned out my flock. I lost about 6-8 chickens. A couple of them were laying hens. When I got back home I set the live trap and caught 2 racoons. I relocated them to the after-world.

Christine's belly dance troupe, www.tribalattitude.org, and friends performed at the local casino. It was a blast. We received a lot of positive feedback. May do it again next year.

Gas prices are killing us ($3.79 a gal). It costs a small fortune to cut grass. We are looking at getting a few sheep and goats. I'm still waiting for my horse to be purchased. I'll hold my breath.

I am in the process of building a bigger coop. I am building it in the lean-to off the barn.

Planted the garden this past weekend. We didn't put as much in it this year as we did last year. Hopefully we have enough to last through the winter.

Return of the Snowbirds

The weather is warming and the snowbirds are returning to the farm. Christine’s grand parents came home yesterday. Her parents ought to be home in a week or two. Our routine has already changed. We have to close the blinds at night, be fully clothed when going outside, and consider the time before starting to work in the morning.

During the winter

This year started off rough. We had record snow fall, rain, and ice. It is mid April and we had a little snow flurry last week. The weather kept Christine and I inside for most of winter. All the animals made it. The chicken eggs were freezing and cracking in the nest boxes with a few hours of the hens laying them.
The tips of my fingers were numbing by the time I would complete chores. I wasn’t able to clean the barn any. I did manage to take the barn heater down. I was thinking about trying to do a little personifying in the barn but it’s a communal area so I left things the way they were. We did some rearranging in the barn for the winter but de-rearranged it for the spring. In other words, we put the clutter back.
Christine and I put up an electric fence for the new horse area. The area is across the pond. We still have to roof and enclose the structure to house the horses. I trimmed up some trees and cleared some areas for future construction sites. One site is for my chicken coop. My Maran rooster has become aggressive. I have to keep him away from people or he will come up from behind and spur you. He is just doing his job. I think he will become part of an entrée.
Just like the changing of seasons, the dynamics of the farm are starting to change. Which way will the wind blow?

Farm lineage

Christine and I bought the farm. The family farm that is. This is how it came to be. Christine’s grandpa, Milford, received the farm from his parents. Milford and Delores (Christine’s grandma and Kathy's parents) sold it to Christine’s parents, Randy and Kathy. Randy and Kathy sold it to Christine and me.

Side of the house