FRANCIS'S BLOG 10/06/2025
It’s getting green 🍀
Thursday morning is lovely and sunny, but rain is on the way.
Here’s Iris doing a little bird watching.
Doggie time 🐴
Dukie paid us a nice visit Tuesday.
Horses have big tongues, too; but we keep them in our heads (unless we’re near the salt lick).
Henry reports a horse crime 🐎
Henry has a serious look on his face.
He reports that the gate to the creek has been broken down.
He’s not saying who did it. . .
. . .only that it wasn’t him (or me 🐴).
Brooding Gretel 🐔
Gretel takes a crack at the nesting box.
We’ve been dusting her with mite killer, and hope that will help her head feathers grow back (in addition to keeping the roosters away from her as much as possible).
Horses and horsewomen take wing 🐎
Mara, Stormy, Chavez and Iris have a class with some great riders!
Roaming pigeons 🐴
RC alerts the cat cops that L’orange, Paschal and Pooter are getting away (like I care 🐴).
See them, way down by the feed bin?
Here they are in the front pasture, by HWY 6.
But they’ll find their way back (again, like I care 🐴).
Cantankerous cats 😾
Schrödinger and Kanna are not happy with each other today.
They don’t plan on staying out of each other’s way, either.
Will someone please tell me what cats have to fight about? What, someone stole sombody’s mouse or something? 🐴
Cool, sunny morning! 🐴
Only Iris and I can be distracted from our breakfast enough to look up.
Oh, and here is the killdeer I’ve been hearing since Saturday.
Ducks plow into breakfast 🐴
In all this muddy mess, there are lots of worms and other assorted creepy-crawlies.
No one goes away hungry; everyone goes away filthy.
April showers are a month early 🐴
El toro, Chavez, is about to charge (into breakfast)!
Oh, and the crocuses are blooming, and the daffodils are on their way.
Visiting kitty 😺
A half-grown kitten was spotted in the front yard Sunday afternoon. We think he lives next door.
Schroeder is about to take a break from campaigning to escort (chase) him off the property.
Signs of spring 🐎
What’s that I hear?
I hear killdeers, but just can’t see where they are right now.
But I can see the redwing blackbirds are back.
Schrödinger says he’ll help me locate the killdeers. 😺
Can our chickens scratch, or what? 🐓
The roosters take scratching to the extreme!
Actually, we’re just getting a new sewer system for Easter.
Beautiful afternoon 🐎
It was sunny and 74℉ Tuesday afternoon. And little shoots of grass are on their way.
Mary and Mara and Cheyenne (sorry if misspelled) gave Iris and Chavez a nice ride.
Time change 🐴
Either Paschal’s or L’Orange’s biological clock has skipped ahead 12 hours. Instead of both laying their eggs in the early morning, one of them has switched to the afternoon.
Not that it matters much.
The DHS never sleeps 😺
Whenever a suspicious vehicle pulls up (which pretty much means anything with a motor), Chief Luigi springs into action.
First, a walk-around. . .
Then a complete undercarriage inspection.
So far, no IEDs (or mice) have been found.
Chicken crime 🐔
Alopecia of the chicken (not really):
Poor Gretel has had the feathers pecked off her head by Hans.
He’ll spend the days outside (getting chased around by the other roosters) until he learns his lesson.
The good stuff 😺
The cats haven’t had canned food for dinner in about a week, so Evil Cat and Schrödinger put their differences aside to dig in.
It’s nice somebody is getting fed. . . .
(Don’t worry, we got fed 🐴)
Hopefully, this is the last snow of the winter! 🐴
A little snow this morning. But not enough to interfere with Pooter and Percy quacking insults through the fence.
Who knew there was a complaint department? 🐴
L’Orange, Paschal and Pooter pay a visit to the kitchen (feed shed).
They’re wondering what’s holding up dinner.
