FRANCIS'S BLOG 04/19/2026
Cooler weather is coming 🐴
Any morning above freezing is a good morning:
It’s supposed to get above 40 today. . .
But cooler weather is coming tomorrow, along with February! 🐎
Our morning feeding was again delayed, due to ducks 🐴
The ducks invade the driveway. . .
The feed shed. . .
And a water bucket.
They are everywhere. 🐴
Well-dressed horses 🐎
Stormy and Iris went for a trail ride Sunday afternoon and got very sweaty.
They’re wearing their coats for a while so they don’t get chills. 🐎
Kitty Capers 😺 and Donkey Doings 🐴
Schroeder tries to stow away in Mary’s car:
Noodle is treated to a slice of cheese:
And I’m staying hydrated:
There’s always room for Tux 😺
Tux pays us another visit:
He helps himself to breakfast:
And has a taste of our famous “duck soup”:
Which is made fresh daily:
Ukie visits the farm 🐺
The cats have shut Ukie out of the garage:
She keeps eating their breakfast! 🙀
Equine emergency! 🐎
We all looked healthy and happy as we came in for dinner Wednesday evening:
But—oh no! After we had our grain, Misty got a bloated tummy, with gas pains so bad, she had to lay down:
Here’s Mary listening to Misty's stomach rumblings, and feeling where she’s bloating along her digestive system:
Luckily Ann and Mary were both there, to get her on her feet and walk her around, which will help clear out whatever blockage of gas and food is hurting her. Here is Ann giving her some vegetable oil and pain medicine, which should help even more:
About 30 minutes later, Misty felt better, and joined the rest of us for after-dinner hay:
We’re all glad that she’s still feeling good this morning! 🐎
Happy chicken 🐓
It’s cloudy today and right around freezing. But Franz is smiling. . .
He has 24-hour sunshine! 🐓
Chilly, windy Tuesday 🐴
We’re having to wait to be let out. . .
Mary is brushing the mud out of our coats.
Now that it’s cold again, there will be less mud in which to roll around. 🐎
Foggy Monday 🐴
It’s so foggy this morning. . .
You can’t see your ducks in front of your horses! 🐎
Meanwhile, Pumpkin has duck eggs for breakfast. 😺
Cloudy, muddy Sunday 🐴
It’s muddy. . .
Muddy, and poopie. . .
But the cat-cops cleaned up a lot of poopie this morning, because it was a pleasant 40 degrees. 🐎
33℉ Saturday 🐴
It’s above freezing this morning:
Time to take a bath. . .
And have breakfast outside. . .
And clean my stall! 🐴
Cats after breakfast 😺
Solitary tabbies:
Finn sits alone in the stable. . .
While Zelda meditates in the “cathedral” (hay barn). 😺
We’re warming up for a few days 🐴
It was a whole 20℉ this morning:
The neighbor ducks came looking for water.
And the roosters came out of their igloo. 🐓
Zero degree Wednesday 🐴
Poor little donkey, out in the cold, all alone:
But not alone for long! 🐎
It’s supposed to be 40 by Friday (we can only hope). 🐴
Another cold morning 🐴
The ducks aren’t going outside this morning:
It’s only 6 degrees.
I need my own heat lamp. 🐴
Snow is back 🐴
I wish we could have snow without the cold.🐴
We think we make a pretty picture (especially with me in the middle). 🐴
Freeloaders at the farm! 🐴
The neighbor ducks were dying for a drink. Sorry the cat-cops weren’t out earlier, ducks, but beggars can’t be choosers. 🐴
One “beggar” we like is our friend, Tux. Here he is having breakfast.
“Yummy-yum!” 😺
Not much going on 🐴
It’s only 3℉ today. Not much to do but find a heat lamp and settle in:
Let’s look back to Tuesday, when it was 37, and watch the ducks enjoying some non-frozen water:
It got very cold, very quickly 🐴
It was 51 degrees yesterday morning—It’s only 13 today!
The neighbor ducks are over here again. They are the only ducks outside this morning.
They’re looking for a drink and a bath.
Sorry, neighbors, but unless you can fit in a bucket, you’ll have no baths today! 🐴
37℉ at 8AM—it’s a heat wave! 🐴
We’ll celebrate this warm (relatively) Wednesday by going out to the far pasture (after breakfast hay, of course):
But the ducks are happiest—they finally get a bath!
Hey Pooter, give someone else a crack at that tub! 🐴
Foggy Tuesday morning and 27℉ (we can’t complain) 🐴
Here we are enjoying our 37 degree Monday afternoon:
Iris may need to get rid of that coat:
But she looks good in it! 🐎
Ice-covered snow 🐴
How wonderful! An actual day above freezing! 🐴
The snow was glazed with ice, and the driveway was icy, too. But by the time we were fed, it was 34℉. 🐎
Oh boy—the cat-cops have a lot of poopie to clean up! 🐴
Tux is back! 😺
It went from being -16℉ yesterday morning to 22℉ today. But our hearts are warmer still, because Tux is back!
We haven’t seen you in a whole two years! 😺
Sixteen below this morning! 🐎
Iris and Misty were shivering this morning, so Mary and Mara put on their coats:
I guess they had just one too many freezing mornings. 🐴
Hang in there, horses, it’ll be in the 30’s by Sunday afternoon (we hope)! 🐴
Six below this morning 🐴
Lucky cats—their canned food is stored in front of the heater in the tac room.
It doesn’t stay warm for long in this weather—but at least it doesn’t freeze solid before it’s eaten. 😺
It’s back to below zero 🐴
It was 8 below this morning. We were found in our usual “soaking up the sun” formation:
Oh, and the roosters got a heat lamp:
Better late than never. 🐓
It’s warmer today! 🐴
It’s a whole 16 degrees today.
The ducks were invited to go outside and enjoy the warmth (the garage door hasn’t been opened in a week):
They declined. 🐴
Just as cold today as it was yesterday 🐴
It was another 18 below morning. 🙀
I not only have a frost beard, I have frost eyebrows and lashes.
What we wouldn’t give for a day above zero! 🐴
Let’s hope the first day of 2018 is the coldest it’s going to get 🐴
Oh no! It was 18 BELOW ZERO this morning!
These ducks don’t ever think they’ll see daylight again: it’s been a week since they’ve been outside.
But “Bossie” the cowbird is happy to stay in the garage as long as he can:
Oh, look! . .
EGG-CICLES!!!!!! 🐴