FRANCIS'S BLOG 09/12/24
Let’s hear it from Baldy! 🐓
As you know, I’ve been giving everybody a chance to say, “Good morning!”
But I’ve forgotten Baldy!
Now those are some loud and clear Cock-a-Doodle-Do’s! 🐓
Other than that, here is a picture of everyone’s favorite nesting spot from a few weeks ago:
Oh my!—it finally toppled over:
No eggs were broken. . .
Time to put that sawdust on the floor, and set up a new bag. Our chickens love to lay eggs in high places. 🐔
Coming in for dinner, going out to pasture, and an anomaly of nature! 🐴
Good morning. It’s been raining a lot (quelle surprise). Excuse me while I have a nip of hay. I don’t really know why I’m doing this: I’m about to head out for some sweet green grass.
Oh my goodness! Where did this 2-headed horse come from?
Oh, it’s just Stormy, snuggling with mother Misty while they wait for a brushing. But you knew that, didn’t you?
Now, let’s look at us, heading in for dinner last night:
Here’s a little video! Does Rose want to check out the camera?
Not if you ask me. I bet she's looking for a carrot? 🐎
Rainy Orthodox Palm Sunday 🐴
Good morning! I’m watching the rain:
I’m glad you’re having fun, Ferdinand:
What a good day for those of us with hooves to stay in the stable. 🐴
We’re sorry we don’t have much to show you today, so let’s watch some swallows taking a break from nesting:
They are happier it’s raining than the ducks are: all this mud will go right into new nests! 🐴
Lovey dovey horsies! 🐎
Good morning! Rain is on the way, but at 7:30 the sun was glorious:
Some may think dandelions are weeds. . .
But I and everyone at the farm appreciate them for the beautiful flowers that they are:
And dandelion greens are tasty! 🐴
Finally, you know horses like to groom each other, so let’s watch best friends Stormy and Iris in a video from April 15th, which was Iris’s birthday!
And even though the nasty clouds and wind are rolling in, here they are, doing the same:
As you also know, it’s a sign of mutual trust and comfort, which is a big part of horsey love! ❤️
The chicken and the eggs 🐔
Good morning! Oh my, we were having such a wonderful time with Ann’s friends yesterday, some eggs were forgotten in the cat garage:
I’m surprised the raccoons didn’t get them—those guys are slipping up! 🦝🦝🦝
Anyway, the rain is bringing in the chickens, not that they need a reason:
I wonder if we’ll get a “gift,” like we did yesterday:
Let’s finish off with a video of Gale making her nest:
They can do what they want, I suppose, as long as nobody makes a chicken poopie! 🙀
Holy Moley! 🙀
Good morning! Why am I smelling fresh poopies? I don’t think I know:
Oh my! What is this dead mole doing here? How did it get in the cat garage?
Oh, do you know where the expression “Holy Moley (also spelled Moly)” comes from?
It’s a diminution of “Holy Moses.”
But in this case, “Holy Moley!” is a better fit. 🐴
Crunch time! 🐴
Good morning. Oh goodness, Stormy, it’s rare to see you laying down:
Since you got up and came to breakfast, I guess you’re ok, but the cat-cops will keep an eye on you.
Did you have anything to do with this?
It looks like it may have been kicked:
Well, at least it was easily fixed.
Anyway, watch me having some carrots. I know it’s nothing new, but listen to me chew:
It’s the crunch of contentment! 🐴
Crowded nest! 🐔
Good morning! It’s a little cloudy, but otherwise, not bad:
We have an apple tree, rampant with blossoms. . .
Fiery tulips. . .
And Frizzle, Martha and Indira, crowding the most popular nest on the farm:
Gracious! 🙀
Let’s do some bird watching! 🐦🐔
Good morning! It’s warmer today:
The Indira and Petra are finishing up Onslow and Schroeder’s leftovers:
And who is this, twittering in the barn? The first of many swallows!
Time to rebuild those nests from last year or start new ones! 🐴
Discontented cat 😾
Good morning! Would you believe there’s a trace of ice on our water? That’s April for you, I suppose. Oh, by the way, my shadow looks like a spooky dragon, doesn’t it?
Come on in for breakfast, Chezzie and Misty. Let’s hope you didn’t fill up on grass:
Let’s watch him meander in:
Other than that, Buttons appears to be ignoring a perfectly good breakfast!
Onslow look happy with his breakfast:
He’s not minding if the chickens join him. 😺
Oh my. . . 😿
Good morning. Oh dear, I’m just learning that one of our Wyandottes went to chicken heaven:
The goldfish are leading us in a moment of silence:
Rest in peace, #16, we love you. 😿
Safety hazard! 🐴
Good morning. The sun is out. With all the rain, the weeds are growing like, well, like weeds!
Onslow says, “The grass is growing over the rocks as I watch!”
And what do you see, Misty?
“It’s a board with a nail sticking up! That’s so dangerous!”
I’m glad you saw it, Misty. That could have caused serious injury to hoof, foot, or paw!🐴
Perfect attendance in the cat garage 😺
It’s raining so hard, I’m having trouble concentrating on my morning carrot. I can usually chomp a skinny carrot like this right down:
The cats are all present for breakfast, especially when it’s from a freshly-opened bag, and topped with warm, canned Friskies:
Although you can’t tell from here, poor Red has a hurt paw and is limping. Oh Red, you trust the cat-cops to feed you; so why won’t you let them help you when you’re hurt? 😿
Feathering her nest 🐔
Good morning! It’s very windy. Although the clouds behind RC and me look menacing, they’re nothing compared to the storm last night:
Betty says, “I think I’ll stay on this warm hood for a while:
And here’s someone laying an egg. See what she’s doing?
She wants her nest to be a little softer. Every chip helps. 🐔
Look who’s back! 🐦
Onslow says, “Good morning! You can see from the pretty white sand that I’m checking out the riding arena.”
And look who’s here!
Two swallows are scouting out the farm. They'll let the other swallows know if our “accommodations” are still up to snuff.
Here are two videos of them checking out the old nests under the hay barn:
I’m sure things are still just fine:
Around the first of May, we’ll have swallows by the dozen—chattering away and hatching new babies! 🐴
A beautiful day to celebrate birthdays! 🎂
Good morning! We have 3 birthdays we’re celebrating this Monday!
Tax day is a happy day at the farm, because Iris was born, April 15, 2009! Isn’t she looking lovely!
And, yesterday, April 14, 2014, Ferdinand came to us from the hatchery. So he’s 10, plus a few days:
And so is Baldy!
We love our birthday girl & boys! ❤️❤️❤️
Eggs can be recycled! 🐔
Good morning! It’s supposed to be over 80 today!
Ann is washing our masks, because the flies are already out.
And we have a youtube video for you:
So that’s why everyone loves our eggs! 😺
Walk out to the field with us, and see our pretty creek, full of fish! 🐴
We’re all out in the field, can you find me?
Here I am!
We have two videos for you of our beautiful creek!
The sounds are so peaceful (if you ignore the occasional traffic), and the water is so clear:
Can you see the fish? They’re near the top:
Everything is coming to life! 🐎
Scratching an itch 🐎
Good morning! What are you looking at, Onslow? If you want to make yourself useful, keep the hens from laying eggs on my hay!
Speaking of chickens, pretty soon they’ll have raspberries to eat:
And Chavez has an itch:
Come on out, Chezzie, and the cat-cops will brush that spot for you. 🐎
An amazing discovery! 🐔
Good morning! First, let’s take a look at our gorgeous daffodils:
And our magnolia is in full bloom:
I’m being offered a baby carrot. I’d rather be offered a full-grown carrot (I’m a full-grown donkey, after all), but I’ll take it:
And what is the amazing discovery we mentioned in the title?
Chickens don’t like green beans or lime pudding! 🐔
Chickens, come on down! 🐔
Oh, it’s a nice day. Good morning!
We have one purple tulip in bloom, and one on the way:
And let’s watch the chickens hop off their roost:
Breakfast is waiting! 🐔
Why did I run? I’ll tell you in the captions! 🐴
Here’s a video of the chickens picking at poopies, with me in the background:
When I saw the flashlight on the phone, it scared me a little. But I took another look and realized it was just a bright light, and not fire or lightning. 🐴
Eggs are everywhere! 🐔
Good morning! I’m standing on the border between “Dryland” and “Muddyland!”
Try not to step on a chicken horses. It looks like you’ve got 3 around your feet:
And remember when we saw Jane checking out a new nest?
Well, it apparently met with her approval!
🐴
Peaceful videos of US! 🐴
Good morning! What? You say it’s raining again? I’m SHOCKED, I tell you! SHOCKED!
I’m teasing, of course. ❤️
Here we are, eating our hay. . .
We’re nice and dry. . .
Our hay stays clean and delicious in these bags. 🐴
A sunny morning and a visit from Sophie! 🐴
Sophie says, “Good morning! I’m so happy Francis said I could ‘do the honors!’”
My pleasure, Sophie. I’m smiling because Ann is about to give me a nice brushing:
Hey, Buttons! Take a break from bird watching and come down to breakfast:
And Jane is checking out a potential new nest:
We’ll check for an egg this afternoon. 🥚
Finally, some sun! 😺
RC says, “Good morning! Sunshine at last!”
Oh! look at our muddy hooves! Don’t worry, even though it doesn’t look pretty, it doesn’t cause problems for healthy horses or donkeys (like us!):
Other than that, something has Betty licking her lips:
Finally, let’s watch Jewel enjoy her breakfast carrot:
She’ll be joining us out on the pasture in a minute; where, as you know, there’s a lot of grass and practically no mud! 🐎
Pensive puss 😼
Good morning! It’s still chilly, but thank goodness it’s not snowing or raining!
What are you thinking about, Onslow?
You look lost in cat-thought. 😺
More snow, more mud, more poopies! 🐴
Good morning! Why is it snowing in April?
I suppose we must be grateful the temperature is staying above freezing:
Jewel says, “I guess I won’t be going out today, will I?”
We spent last night in the stable, so this morning there are loads of poopies on the floor:
Don’t worry, they were all shoveled up before Mary put out our after-breakfast hay:
Finally, let’s watch a video of Jewel. She’s tired of looking at snow:
Jewel has a bag of hay, too! 🐎
Gruesome discovery! 🙀
Good morning. It’s pouring. So we’re all inside:
Notice that Mary put our hay up in a net. She put several of them around the stable. We can eat hay out of them all day, and the hay will stay clean and off the floor!
All this rain has washed a raccoon skull out from under the hay barn:
Yikes!
I’ll say one thing, this raccoon had great teeth! 🦝
Let’s finish on a happy note with this video!
Ferdinand is starting the day nice and clean, like we all should! 🐴
Monday, muddy, Monday! 😾
Good morning. Rain all night means mud all day.
But, as usual, show me mud, and I’ll show you a happy chicken or duck! It’s a bonanza of bugs!
Here’s Frizzle, laying an egg in the latest, most fashionable nesting place, in the corner of the duck garage:
And Schrödinger says, “I’m staying inside all week if I have to.”
“Please bring my breakfast up here. The cat garage is just too damp!” 😾