Our little animal community here on the Farm is hilarious sometimes.
Sable is such a patient horse…
Any chance they get, the cats are rubbing up on her.
Trouble does love him a big horsie girl to love on.
lol!
Astrid however, is not quite as patient as Sable is…
Can’t blame her though…no one likes a cat’s butt in their face.
LOL!!
Sharing with Comedy Plus for Feline Friday
and
Word of the Day Challenge for Community
and
Oak Hill Homestead for The Simple Homestead blog hop.
I’m adding to the duck flock this spring.
We still have our 4 muscovy hens.
Donald went to Freezer Camp.
So today I was looking at the local hatchery’s website, planning…dreaming…plotting what I need financially and in supplies for what birds I plan to order.
In May there’s going to be a local small animal auction that we want to go to, so I’m hoping to pick up a new drake for the muscovy girls.
I don’t think they much cared for Donald, because of all the eggs they gave us, not a one was fertile.
So I’ll see if we can find them a better suitor.
And then, hopefully, we’ll be overrun with muscovy babies!
I’m told they breed like crazy…I haven’t see it yet.
Back to the hatchery…
My plan is to order pekins.
They’re a simple white meat duck.
Which is what we want ducks for…meat.
And then I noticed they had cayugas this year.
Oooooooh…
Cayugas are a black duck with an iridescent sheen to them..
You can see examples here:
Metzer Farms
So now I’m thinking I’m going to order 9 pekins and 1 cayuga.
And we’ll see what happens from there.
I’m hoping to get at least a pair of drake and hen so I can keep 2 for breeding, and the rest will go to Freezer Camp at the end of the summer.
Again, we’ll see what happens.
But I’m focusing on poultry this year, while researching sheep still, because we’re not planning on pigs this year.
This is my break year from raising pigs.
That’s okay, because we still have a bunch in the freezer…and I still have to smoke the bacon.
I’m getting there.
😂😂😂
Sharing with Comedy Plus, Image-In-Ing, and bethere2day for Wordless Wednesday
and
Create With Joy for Inspire Me Monday
and
Word of the Day Challenge for Astonishment…because I looked on in astonishment watching this interaction between Ruby and Astrid.
“All photos to be taken/converted to monochrome. Focus on the tone of your capture.”
With that I give you…
Ruby, napping in the remnants of an exploded (“I don’t know how it happened, but I know it’s Sable’s fault”) oat straw bale.
Sharing with Comedy Plus for Happy Tuesday
and
Word of the Day Challenge for Collaborate…it counts because the image is a collaboration between Ruby and I, right? 😉
I don’t really have any quality content for y’all today.
I’m puttering today.
Thinking about going outside with the camera and taking pictures of The Merry Mares.
Weather is amazing for this time of year, and I want to take advantage of it as much as I can.
So I’m going to leave you with one of Sable from early January…while I go sit outside on the fence, like a vulture, waiting for the horses to entertain me.
She was coming over to the fence from the far end of the pasture, hoping as always for The Food Lady to have treats in her pocket.
All I had was a camera…much to her chagrin.
Hello Bella! ❤
Sharing with Comedy Plus for Awww Monday
and
Word of the Day Challenge for Vulture
53 days until Spring.
Another month before we fire up the incubator. Still just the one…haven’t managed to get the $$$ together to order the 2nd yet.
I keep spending the egg money on things that come up…
Like new blankets for all before Yule.
Groceries when Hubby found a spanky deal on some veggies/fruits.
Feed, now that the layers are gearing up and laying more…they need more than just the barley chop and wheat so we’re mixing in layer feed now too…
But, I can still run batches of 24 eggs at a time.
And I’m waiting for some money to come in at the end of the month, so the next incubator should be ordered and arrive in time for hatching season’s start.
I’m looking out the window at our unseasonably, but oh so appreciated, -8*c.
Normally we’d be at least 10 degrees colder.
Of course, I’m also dreaming wistfully of the garden.
Unseasonably warm weather will do that to a Farm gal. 😉
We’ll start seeds soon though…right around the time we fire up the incubator.
So much life to start in just a few months!!
One of the best parts of this weather is how much less The Merry Mares are eating.
Hay consumption has slowed down, and for that I’m grateful.
They did decide to dig out the last bit of the first oat straw bale and have a bit more fun with it…
Astrid buried her head way down in there, looking for left over grain bits.
She was awful peeved that I called her ’til she lifted her head out…Sable dove into the spot she had been and probably found the tasty bits she was digging around for.
😂😂😂
And Ruby wore her straw beard whilst trying to have a nap…apparently I was annoying her again by taking pictures.
lol
Too bad for her.
😂😂😂
Sharing with Word of the Day Challenge for Wistful
and
Oak Hill Homestead for the Simple Homestead blog hop.
I love thrift stores.
Long before I ever thought about saving money, recycling, etc, I have loved a good trip to a thrift store.
My grandmother used to load me up onto the bus early on a Saturday morning and we’d go to the rockin’ huge town of Dauphin*, Manitoba, where we’d hit all the rummage sales and thrift stores…and then have lunch before climbing back on the bus with our treasures and go home.
I **loved** those day trips.
Now I love shopping at thrift stores because I’m cheap.
lol
I like to save money on things.
Let’s face it, I have 3 giant pretties in my pasture who can wipe out an emergency fund without batting an eye…so anywhere I can save money (and have fun doing it) is fan-effing-tastic.
Yesterday we had to go into the closest small town for some errands after a Big City trip in the morning.
I said we needed to stop into the thrift store.
It’d been a while since we stopped in, so it was time.
That’s where I saw this beauty:
Cabbage bunny!! 😍
I didn’t buy it though…
As smitten as I was with it, I couldn’t think of a use for it.
It’s a candy dish (I assume) but candies don’t last long here because I eat ’em.
lol
But last night, all I could think about was this bunny and his cabbage.
*sigh*
So today when we had to go back to town to pick up prescriptions for The Kid, I told Hubby I needed to buy the cabbage bunny.
$4 later, I have a new candy dish…with no candies in it.
😂😂😂
That’s the next purchase.
Probably jelly beans.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*
Dauphin at the time, was not a rockin’ town.
It was a tiny town in the middle of nowhere who’s biggest claim to fame was the Ukrainian festival every year.
Now however, it is famous world wide for Dauphin Country Fest, which draws huge name country stars yearly, thousands of people and sells out in micro seconds.
Dauphin has come a long way from the days of my youth!!
She’s turning 17 this year.
Furs a little rougher, no matter how high fat of food we give her.
Eyes don’t work as well as they used to.
Ears don’t hear as well either…
She’s been lonely since her brother Odhinn died last May.
The kittens just aren’t the same as her life long best friend.
And now, dementia is sneaking up on her.
There’s an unspoken agreement between us…
When it’s time, we’ll hold her close and say good bye.
She’ll let us know when that time comes.
Freyja
Until then, we’ll keep her happy with whatever foods she enjoys, and all the late night cuddles she wants.
Sharing with Comedy Plus for Feline Friday
and
Word of the Day Challenge for Unspoken.
Fatty BoomBoom hasta go on a diet this spring…
People keep stopping in to ask when the baby is due.
😂😂😂
I mean, she’s been rotund ever since she came Home.
And there’s never been a foal here.
You’d think people would get it after a while…
Not preggers, just a fat girl.
Holy moly.
She’s an easy keeper, what can I say?
I like an easy keeper. It’s so much easier on me to not have to worry so much about how she’s doing.
She’s fat, she’s healthy, she’s happy.
It’s all good.
🙂
Sharing with Word of the Day Challenge for Holy
and
Brian’s Home for Thankful Thursday
Capture52 week4 ~ Green
Test pot of green beans growing in the kitchen window.
Weekly themes guide photographers to create new images.
I’m finding it a fantastic way to force myself to keep shooting, even when the urge to hibernate is strong.
❤
Sharing with Word of the Day Challenge for Guide
and
Comedy Plus, Image-in-ing and bethere2day for Wordless Wednesday
and
Create with Joy for Inspire Me Monday.
Midnight Calico Farm 