FRANCIS'S BLOG 04/21/2026
Yes, we have no Easter Bunnies! 🐰🐇
Finn and Noodle are in charge of hiding the Easter Eggs 😺:
But they’re not doing a very good job 🙀:
It looks like they would rather have an Egg Roll 😺:
And Noodle is trying to hatch a few 😺:
Here’s a little video of the miscreants in action:
I guess the eggs are my job, now! 🐴
L’Orange will help me:
She will look out for good hiding places:
Happy Easter! 🐴
The puddles just won’t go away 🐴
It rained overnight, which was the last thing we needed. 🐴
If we have any sense, we’ll follow Noodle out to the far pasture. 😺
But, at least, the grass is beginning to grow:
Now we just need to dry out! 🙀
The snow is almost gone 🐴
We need a brush-out:
And so do Major Tom and Kanna:
Finally, here’s some cat crime:
Who else would be in the middle of the road again, but Schroeder? 🙀
Sloppy Tuesday 🐴
It’s a good day to be inside:
At least the ducks are happy:
Look at all the water!
Here’s a little video of Ferdinand, Percy and Daisy rooting around and having fun:
We need sunglasses 🐴
Yesterday afternoon the sun was so bright on the snow!
We really had to squint!
But at least the snow is melting fast. There’s water everywhere:
It’s nice that we had our hay either put out on a clean patch of snow, or in the bins:
Oh, and here’s a picture of me giving Ukie a ride:
Don’t get used to this, Ukie! 🐴
The snow is deep, but the sun is out ☀️
Finn and Noodle are staying cozy under the barn:
And Schrödinger is having a go at the sparrows:
The horses are wearing their coats, because they’ve started shedding (it’s supposed to be spring, after all):
I’m not wearing a coat:
I make it a point to never start shedding before April Fool’s Day! 🐴
Where did spring go? 🐴
Oh, look what we woke up to this morning!
Nasty, wet, blowing snow!
We’re all wet this morning, so we get our hay inside.
Iris gets to spend the day in her stall.
And Henry gets his stall left open so he can come and go as he pleases…
Since he can’t get out of his stall right now. 🐎
More Fowl Crime! 🙀
Pooter, Paschal and L’Orange are sitting entirely too close to the road:
Maybe they think the yellow flags will protect them (actually, the flags are there to mark gas lines—more preparation for the riding arena).
Oh, and we have some new white crocus:
They say it’s supposed to dump snow on us tomorrow. We hope not:
We want spring, and we want it now! 🐎
Another sunny day with no wind! 🐴
Finn’s keeping lookout on the water fountain:
But she’s not keeping an eye on the ducks:
They are too close to the road! 🙀
Oh, and Henry says Hi! 🐎
More changes at the farm 🐴
We’re saying goodbye to these tall truck and riding crop snagging overhead wires!
Our friend Todd is putting all the wires in trenches, in preparation for the indoor riding arena.
The ducks have been filling up on the unearthed bugs and worms. Look at the mud on their bills!
“Somebody help me get this off!”
Chilly Tuesday 🐴
Not too much going on this morning.
I’m just enjoying my alone-time,
which never lasts long. 🐎
Spring starts this week 🐴
The crocus keep coming,
and daffodils are due any day:
Here’s Noodle, admiring the crystal clear creek:
There were even a few tiny fish! 😺
Sunny Sunday! 🐴
Yesterday started sleety and ended sunny, and this morning is sunny too. It’s a nice day to be at the farm.
But Noodle looks like he’s about to get a ride to East Moline:
That’s it, Noodle,
get down from that truck! 😺
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, from Francis O’Burro,
Henry O’Henry,
Iris O’Trotter,
Stormy O’Ornery,
Chezzie O’Pony,
and Patrick O’Quacker!
🍀
Stormy is copying my routine 🐴
We have a few more crocus to admire:
Oh, and Stormy was sneaking food straight from the bucket:
Cut that out, Stormy! 🐎
I’m the only one who eats out of the bucket! 🐴
Schroeder wants to be an indoor cat, so badly 😾
Oh, and here’s our Bill on a fishing trip in Austin, Texas. He caught a 38-pound carp!
Please leave that fish in Austin, Bill! 🐴
Sunny but brisk Wednesday morning 🐴
Well, good morning!
The sky is blue.
The dirt keeps coming.
And Schrödinger is upstairs in the farm house. 😺
Beautiful signs of spring 🌼
We have a couple little crocus in front of the house:
Oh, and truckloads of dirt are coming in this morning for the foundation of our new building:
The ducks are finding lots of worms! 🐴
Things are changing at the farm 🐴
I knocked over the wheel barrel, as you can see:
I admit it, I knocked it over:
But I had nothing to do with this:
The riding circle is coming down to make way for an indoor riding arena! 🐎
Spring forward 🐎
The time changed this morning.
Losing an hour doesn’t bother us—
It feels like we're getting our breakfast an hour earlier! 🐴
Fire and Fury! 🐴
On Thursday, Mount Vespoovius erupted in smoke and fire:
Praise be to the ancient Egyptian duck under the heat lamp (and a few matches):
Speaking of heat lamps, here’s Schroeder staying toasty:
😺
Get well Henry and Patrick! 🐴
Henry has been very good about taking his medicine. It helps that it’s apple-flavored!
Oh, and this boo-boo on Patrick’s bill isn’t as bad as it looks. It’s just a blister that Ann lanced with a needle and treated with peroxide and vinegar.
He’s getting medicine too, in his water bucket. 🐴
Get well Henry! 🐎
Here are Ann and Doctor Christina examining Henry in his stall:
He has an infection under his tail. So we’ll put medicine in his food until it clears up.
As you can see, Henry’s not feeling too bad, or else he wouldn’t be eating his hay. 🐎
Sunny Wednesday 🐴
Last night was so nasty, the horses stayed in their stalls. But today it’s drier and sunny.
Time to tank-up before heading to the far pasture:
🐴
Nasty weather is back 🐴
Yesterday was so nice, but—
This morning there’s sleet and freezing rain:
The robins always seem to pick the wrong time to be “harbingers of spring:”
Here are some pictures of the freezing rain (with horses in the background):
🐴
Sunny Sunday 🐴
It’s so nice and sunny, everyone’s happy to be outside:
But Stormy and Iris are still stuck in their stalls, munching hay:
We don’t feel bad for them. In a few minutes, they’re going on a trail ride! 🐎
Dog duty 🐺
Ukie’s guarding the gate:
She’s making sure the ducks don’t go down the hill toward the creek, like they did yesterday:
No ducks are getting past her!
Uh-oh, they’re just sneaking past her on the other side of the stable.
There they go!
As if I didn’t have enough trouble 🐴
While the pekins have been behaving themselves—
and staying on our property (except for Pooter)—the baby ducks keep wandering farther away each morning:
Here they are, far down the hill:
We’re worried that if they see the creek—
they will jump in for a swim, and get carried away by the current! 🙀
That’s it, ducks, head home now! 🐴
And keep out of our hay! 🐴
Duck doings, and a cat crime! 😾
Hansel chases the ducks away from the mealworms:
And Finn finds a very dangerous place to sit in a truck:
Bad kitty! 🙀