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October 30, 2007

Attack of the Asian Lady Bugs!

I have heard of this happening, but I've never seen it before. Last night, thousands of Asian Lady Bugs swarmed all over the deck and tried to find a way into the house.

Eventually, they found an entrance through I have only seen one or two this morning, I have no idea where they have hidden out for the winter.

If they swarm again today, I will get a picture!

Posted by Beth at 7:42 AM | Comments (4)

October 25, 2007

Heh

Posted by Beth at 10:00 PM | Comments (3)

Tiny little miracles happen

I don't believe I have mentioned this before, but Gunner, our puppy, has been personally responsible for the deaths of two of our Guineas. He cannot resist chasing them and grabbing them, and they are not quite old enough to get off the ground fast enough to avoid him.

So, I make sure the dogs are within my sight when they are outside, or that they are on the deck, with the gate closed when the Guineas are out.

Today, however, the dogs ran out when our new sofa was delivered. It took some time before I realized they were outside and I was not sure if the guineas were in or out of their run.

I ran around to that side of the house where I can see the chicken/guinea run/coop, and saw some inside and some outside.

I did not see either dog.

I called for Kiki and she came pretty quickly, then Gunner showed up - thankfully, no bird in his mouth. But then, as I shooed the dogs into the front door of the house, I saw a guinea on the ground.

Damn. I picked it up, it was barely breathing, did not move a muscle. So I held her close and said a prayer, and she started breathing heavier. One of her legs did not look right, so I changed the way I held her and she moved her head a little bit.

I thought, oh, golly, she is going to die. I had a bunch of things to do, so I thought I would just bring her to the guinea run and try to make her comfortable in a sunny spot. She was still not moving, but breathing normally. I gently put her down, and she looked around at me, then jumped up and ran over to the other guineas. I think she may have lost some flight feathers, so she won't be flying much, but gosh darn it, I think she is going to make it okay.

Thank You, God!

Posted by Beth at 12:36 PM | Comments (3)

October 21, 2007

Oh boy! New critters added to the poultry yard!

Major just dropped off 4 hens and a rooster! Woo woo! They are in the guinea's pen, and all appear to be ok with each other.

I'll take pictures. Oh, and John, I will take pictures of the vault - I was just messing with you on the phone!

Posted by Beth at 6:13 PM | Comments (2)

Critters adapt

Today, I brought Willy into his stall and brushed him and pampered him and fed him his special Equine Senior. He has no interest in the hay, probably because the fresh grass in the pasture is tastier!

Then I took him for a walk around the house and yard, and he munched on some grass and suddenly, Petey called for Willy.

Willy played it smart, completely ignored his fickle friend. Petey became increasingly upset, racing up and down the fence line, neighing at Willy.

Finally, I put Willy back into the pasture and Petey and he trotted off to the pond together.

Posted by Beth at 11:08 AM | Comments (2)

Malibu Burning

I'm sorry - this will make me sound like a cold, mean woman, and maybe I am. But ... I am switching from one news station to another and they are all so, so upset about movie stars possibly losing their homes. They are absolutely gushing about how awful it is.

Of course it is awful, but of all the people in the country who would suffer losses from a fire, the rich and famous movie stars are the ones who can recover from fires - they have millions of dollars and all kinds of insurance.

The news channels never gush about how awful it is when normal people lose their homes to fire.

It's the same on CNN and FOX and MSNBC, etc. A pox on all their houses!

Posted by Beth at 9:24 AM | Comments (3)

October 18, 2007

Change can be hard for critters

Willy is having a very hard time adapting to farm living. For 11 years, he has lived in the same stall and only been allowed to go to the pasture 3 times a week. Petey, our other horse, lived in the stall right next to Willy. They are very attached to each other.

Currently, there are 7 other horses here on our land. They belong to Major, who helps me with numerous hard chores. Willy does not like the other horses.

The problem is, Petey does like the other horses. So Willy stays away from them all, and once or twice a day, he will come to the gate and cry for Petey. I bring him in from the pasture - to his new, beautiful, much larger stall, with much fresher hay and an airier space. And Willy will eat his grain and some hay, then he gets upset - he keeps looking over at the empty stall (Petey's) next to him, and will cry for Petey again.

Petey has no interest in coming into the barn. He is loving the grass in the pasture, and his new friends. So Willy pines for him.

Willy is 23 years old. Petey is 14. Major's horses range from 2 to 5 years of age.

I think Willy is not fond of those young whippersnappers. I'm very sad for him.

Tomorrow, I'll go hunt him down (trickier than you might think, we have acres and acres of woods and grassland for him to hide in), and I'll try again to bring him to the barn, to his nice stall, out of the never-ending rain. And then, I'll go hunt down Petey, and make him come in, too. Willy really deserves to have his friend with him.

Posted by Beth at 7:34 PM | Comments (5)

I think maybe I should start building an ark!

It has been raining and raining and raining - sure, we might get a 12 hour break now and again, maybe even 24 hours, but the rain keeps coming. The ground is squishy!

My mood is as dark as the skies.

I have been busy arranging and rearranging our things in this house. Then I go over to the other house and realize how much is there that I need to make decisions on and get rid of.

I hate to go to the other house. It reminds me of just how much work I have to get done yet!

This *will* be our last move!

Posted by Beth at 7:20 AM | Comments (2)

October 13, 2007

Guinea Fowl update

Here is a recent picture of my Guineas. I kinda wish I had a digital camcorder - they are the funniest critters to watch!

Posted by Beth at 9:14 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

Farm update

I have really been bad about recording what's going on here at the farm. The land is incredibly beautiful. In fact, a neighbor and his son rode their horses over the other evening and he thinks this is the prettiest property in the county. I have to agree. I have started hiking through the woods and pastures, and I am amazed at how much beauty there is.

The horses are really helping to clear parts of the undergrowth in the woods by making trails through the trees. So I can now walk through them without getting stuck with thorns, etc.

I have been taking early morning walks (unless it is raining, as it is today!) Here is a picture I took a few days ago at dawn:

If you would like to see a larger version, click on the picture, and it will take you to my Exposure Manager pages.

Posted by Beth at 8:48 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

I'm still alive

I'm just stuck with dial up temporarily, and I just don't have the patience to sit and sit and wait and wait!

Rain today. I sure wish we had been able to make it to Reno for the Gun Bloggers get together!

Posted by Beth at 8:30 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack