FRANCIS'S BLOG 04/21/2026
They always get away 🐦
Poor Chavez isn’t feeling well today. His legs are stiff, so he’ll have to stay in, until we can get him his medicine:
The rest of us are enjoying the pastures:
And Betty has a sparrow:
The sparrow seems to know it’s going to be ok (and it was right):
Betty let it down, and it flew away. 🐦
Dog days of summer! 🐺
Calla, Dukie, Nixy and Sophie say, “Good morning!”
I say, “Good morning, carrot! How nice to eat you!” 🥕
So much grass. . .
So little time! 🐎
A clear, cool morning, and fresh cat food: The kitties can’t lose! 😺
Dukie says, “Good morning!”
She’s so happy. She hasn’t been with us recently because of the rain and mud:
There’s nothing like the smell of Kit & Kaboodle from a brand new bag:
The only bad news today is that we’re almost out of hay:
The good new for the horses is that they’ll spend the day out on the pasture, grazing:
I’m still on my darn diet:
But I at least get the hay that’s left! 🐴
Chicken dust-up! 🐔
Jewel says, “Good morning!”
I’m having my breakfast:
And Chezzie has a guest in the corner:
It’s Astrid:
Having a dust bath! 🐴
The rain is back 😾
Onslow and I are discussing the weather over breakfast:
The chicks just got a brand new feed block:
It’ll be gone by dinner time! 🐥
Kitties at the door 😾
Alfred, Onslow and Schrödinger are hanging around the back door of the farm house:
They want breakfast and so do I:
Speaking of food, the chickens got a new feed block, just last night:
And this morning, all that was left was the plastic stick:
They work fast! 🐥
Hungry hungry chicks! 🐥
Alfred’s tail seems to get curlier all the time:
I spent the night back in my pen. I’m just fine, but “management” thought it best that I still should not be allowed to scarf down grass all day. Don’t worry, I had five fresh carrots with breakfast to make up for it:
The chicks have ignored the seed block, but they discovered it last night:
As you can see, it’s almost gone:
It was good to the last drop! 🐥
Sunny Sunday! 😺
I spent my first night out of my convalescent pen. (I broke out yesterday):
Farmer Rich brought us some more hay (as you know, we’ve run out). It’s a little dry, but full of tasty alfalfa and clover blossoms!
Dukie is with us this morning!
Buttons' hair is growing back, slowly but surely. She looks like a lion, I think:
Finally, the chicks are quite fond of the adult hens. . .
And the hens love the chicks!
🐔
I’ve had enough of my diet 🐴
The swallows say good morning:
Betty pretends to be scratching, when we all know she’s really checking out the chicks:
Now, she’s getting a bird's-eye view of the birds. She’s thinking, “Can’t I have just one for breakfast?”
And I’ve been a very bad donkey:
I’m acting like I’m very ashamed of myself:
I’m only acting, of course! 🐴
Gate problems 🐴
Security Chief Schroeder finds that this stump makes a good lookout point:
How this part of the gate came loose, I don’t know. But I got extra carrots for not trying to squeeze through, and possibly getting hurt:
And Iris can’t resist stomping on the bottom rung of this gate, especially when she’s impatient for food:
So Mary straightened it, and put in a stone to support it:
We’ll see how long it lasts. 🐎
Rest in peace, Zelda 😿
We are so sad. Our dear Zelda went to kitty heaven yesterday. 😿
Thank you for being the best kitty for 19 years. ❤️
Sick kitty 😿
Good morning. I don’t know why I let myself get so wet, when I have half the hay barn in which to stay dry. I may look pitiful, but I’m actually feeling good, and about to tuck into breakfast:
Zelda spent last night in the old duck house. Yesterday she couldn’t walk or see very well, so naturally we’re all concerned. Our dear Zelda is 19 years old!
She looks a little more responsive this morning, but Ann has taken her to the vet, so we’ll see. ❤️
Goodbye, Tree. . . 😿
Good morning. As you can see, something’s happening:
There’s a cat-cop up in one of our trees:
Oh my! In the blink of an eye, there it goes:
Now there’s nothing left but a stump (which they’ll grind down tomorrow) and a lot of sawdust:
We’ll miss the tree. It was a good source of shade; but, one of these days, a storm would surely have blown it down on the hay barn.
We’ll put a new chicken coop where it used to be. 🐔
Cat crime! 🙀
Good morning! It’s cool and clear!
Yesterday afternoon, the chicks got to play outside their pen. As you can see, they love to perch—the higher, the better!
But for breakfast, they’ll stay inside. You’ll notice that our Betty is helping to keep an eye on them:
Patsy has the tank to herself:
And Buttons was a bad kitty yesterday! What made her bad? The cat-cops didn’t see her all day—at breakfast or dinner! They were sick with worry! 😿
Don’t upset the hands that feed you, Buttons. 🐴
Take a gander at these geese! 🐎
First, let’s watch the latest video, taken from the security cameras about a month ago, concerning our Jewel and a gate!
The gosling count at the pond in Silvis has gone from 2 to 4!
Sometimes they sit on their mother’s back:
Baby on board! 🐴
Break out the bug spray 🐎
The hot weather has broken a little, because a storm blew through overnight. The ducks woke up to fresh pools of rainwater:
I’m still a little wet, because it felt good standing in the rain:
Doesn’t my breakfast look appetizing?
Stormy and the other horses had carrots, too!
Lastly, all the rain is sure to bring out the flies, so we’re all getting sprayed:
I get my ankles sprayed heavily, because those flies have an easy time clinging to my hairy little legs! 🐴
Uh-oh! 🦝
Security Chief Schrödinger has something urgent to report!
A raccoon was caught trespassing in the chicken and duck pen, and captured!
Don’t worry, raccoon, we’ll give you a new home away from the farm. We’re sorry, but we can’t let you eat our poultry.
New baby geese 🐴
Good morning. It’s very hot again:
The chicks spent another cozy night under the watchful eye of the security camera:
And there are two new arrivals at the pond in Silvis:
Newly hatched goslings:
The goose watches the babies. . .
While the gander keeps a lookout! 🐴
80 degrees at 8 o’clock! 😾
Hansel has more chicks to guard:
Baldy will help out too:
The chicks are happy to be out of the farm house basement. They are under the hay barn with the ducks, where there’s fresh air and sunshine (through the casement windows), and lots more room in their new pen:
As a reminder, we have 15 golden laced wyandottes and 4 olive eggers (because they lay greenish-colored eggs). 🐥
Finally, I get to be outside! 🐴
It’s 81 degrees at 10 o’clock! How did it go from being too cold to too hot so fast! Schrödinger and Onslow are keeping cool in the grass:
As I mentioned yesterday, I’m over my case of sore hooves, but I still can’t eat all the grass I want. The good news is that I’m no longer stuck in my stall all day: Ann and Bill built me a pen!
There’s grass for me to eat (without it being too much). I’m out in the sun, and if it gets too hot for me, I have shade under the barn:
And I can be near the horses! 🐎
It’s a great Monday! 🐎
Ann checked me out this morning and I’m doing fine! I still can’t eat all the grass I want, because the new spring grass is still too sweet, but my hooves are no longer sore:
Ferdinand and Percy say, “Good morning. It’s a little breezy, but in the 70’s!
Dukie celebrated the warm weather with a dip in the creek. You can see she’s still wet:
We ran out of Farmer Rich’s hay again; so for a few days we’ve been using the bright green store-bought hay:
Does bright green hay cause bright green poopies? Maybe it’s just a coincidence:
But you tell me. 🐴
Apple blossom time! 🐎
I’m hoping this will be my last day in the stall. I am feeling and looking better:
Mr. and Ms. Swallow are taking a break from building their nest. They’ll have hatchlings soon:
Jewel says, “Those swallows must be happy, with mud, mud, MUD!—EVERYWHERE!”
But let’s look at the bright side:
What lovely apple blossoms! 😺
Sunny Saturday 😺
The ducks are enjoying the sun, and hoping, like all of us, that it dries up some mud!
The goldfish are soaking it up, too!
I’m still on my convalescent diet—my only treats are two carrots per meal:
And how are the chicks doing? Let’s watch a movie:
They love those worms! 🐥
Drizzly Friday 🐴
My feet are feeling better, but I’m inside again today. I shouldn’t mind, because it’s very muddy outside:
I’m still getting medicine and I’m watching my diet—and yesterday, Ann gave me a foot soak!
In the chick department, here they are being hand-fed:
Speaking of birds, would you like to see a red-tailed hawk?
He was on the patio of the apartment in Silvis, looking at all the nesting birds by the pond!
Tiny little puppy 🐎
I’ll have to spend today, too, in my stall—just to be safe—but my hooves are feeling better:
Hansel is busy cleaning up some leftover cat food:
And just who is this adorable little puppy?
It’s our Dukie!—way back in 2015!
My, how she’s grown! 😺
I’m getting better 🐴
The chicks are eating and growing:
Onslow wants a hay ride:
And I want out of here!
My hooves are feeling better, though. Ann can tell by feeling my pulse in my ankles. The pulse isn’t as strong as it was yesterday, which is a good sign.
I’ll eventually settle down. You can see I have a nice bed of fresh sawdust. 🐴
Lots of news today! 😺 (not all good 😿)
The not-good news first: I’m afraid I ate too much grass. You remember that I wrote (click here) how new grass can make us sick? Well, I was laying down this morning with sore hooves:
So I got some medicine, and am under “house arrest” until I get better:
In better news, just look at the gorgeous birds at the feeder outside Ann’s window. Here is a brilliant scarlet tanager:
And an oriole!
Finally, a friend of the farm wanted some eggs for her incubator:
Well, look who hatched! We were happy to help provide such a nice friend with a new chick 🐥!
Movie time 🐎
Carrots again this morning?
How nice!
Remember when I had my dental visit last Tuesday? Well here’s the video:
We’re sorry we don’t have much for you today—but no news is good news. 🐴
Dandy duck digs! 🦆
You know by now that we have 19 new chicks. But what type are they?
We have 4 Olive-eggers:
And 15 Black-laced golden wyandottes:
Also, our Mary and Mara worked hard all weekend to set up a new home for the ducks, under the hay barn:
The fence divides the drakes from the hens:
They also have a new play yard!
Each side has its own pool!
How nice it will be this summer! 🐴