FRANCIS'S BLOG 04/19/2026
Everybody wants to be inside 🐦
The ducks elected to stay inside this morning:
I spent last night in my stall, as you can see by the wood chips on my side from where I slept. My right front leg had been a little swollen, but I’m feeling better now:
As you know, the hay barn is always a nice place to stay out of the damp:
But it’s not as dry as the riding arena. Here’s Mary, with Dukie, Calla, Nixie and Sophie:
Even this little sparrow would rather be in the cat garage than out on a tree:
Although it has to keep a close eye on the cats below. . .
One such cat is good old Evil Cat, who is “cleaning up the dishes.” 😺
The sun is out but the mud is in! 🐴
Don’t worry, Chezzie. You’ll get all that dried mud brushed out soon:
And don’t I look dazzling in the sun?
Now, let’s watch a Halloween movie!
Spooky! 🎃
Betty is a very unsafe kitty! 😾
It’s another miserable morning:
Onslow is about to let this mouse get away:
🐭
Now, here is Betty, doing a very dangerous thing:
Do not, under any circumstances, get under a car or truck! 🐴
What a dreary Thursday! 😾
Oh, look how dark it is—and it’s raining. We have to eat inside with the lights on:
Ferdinand and Percy don’t mind the wet so much, but would certainly rather be basking in the sun:
Let’s cheer up with some pictures from yesterday. We had a visit from Sophie!
And as you recall, RC got himself covered in brambles. Here’s a close-up of his ear:
And here’s that ear after Mary and Ann worked their magic:
Quite an improvement! 😺
Duke visits, RC is full of brambles 🐎, and a tailless raccoon! 🦝
We see that Dukie is coming to visit us!
Here we are together!
She would love to take a walk around the farm right now, but she waits patiently while we get breakfast:
Everyone likes Dukie, even the chicken:
Oh no! RC got into the brambles again! Look at those prickly plants all over his ears, head, neck and knees:
It’s a good thing that Mary and Ann are here to clean you up!
Here you are, a half an hour and a lot of work later:
How nice you look, RC 🐎
Finally, the trail camera discovered a raccoon with no tail! Let’s look:
Poor raccoon, but he doesn’t seem to miss it. 🦝
We’re being watched 🐎
We’ve got the sun in our eyes this morning:
It’s cold enough to make Misty’s breath steam up:
RC will need a brushing: His legs have picked up brambles!
And last night, we accidentally got into a box of apples and a bucket of pears. Oh no! Don’t eat too many, Jewel!
You too, Stormy!
The cat-cops are watching you today, to make sure you aren’t laying down with a sore stomach! 🐴
Loads of mud 😾
Just look at all this mess:
But it’s not enough to keep a smile from my face:
The chickens are ready to start the day:
Evil Cat and Buttons always get along well, especially when food is concerned:
Jewel has her mouth full:
And so do Stormy and Chavez!
Now, please come out, sun, and dry us out! 😺
Mouse goes for a swim 🐭
It’s a dark and rainy Sunday:
We’re eating with the lights on:
Buttons says, “It’s dark in here, too.”
And the ducks found a mouse in their water bucket:
Poor mouse, it can’t get out! 🐭
Finally, let’s watch a movie of Pumpkin and a raccoon:
She gave that raccoon its walking papers! 🦝
We have frost and a dog! 🐴
Is this frost?
Yes! The first frost of the year:
But it was gone an hour later:
Here are the chickens “sampling” the ducks breakfast:
And look who’s here, waiting patiently while we get our breakfast:
It’s our friend, Dukie! She loves her walks at the farm:
Now she’s waiting by the door, without barking, for Ann to take her home:
What a good girl! 🐴
Chilly, but nice! 🐎
A little flower braves the cold under the manure cart:
My mouth is open because I’m whining for breakfast:
Rose and Iris say Hello!
We’re wearing our masks today because it’s sunny and there’s no wind:
Unlike yesterday, there’s no wind to blow away the flies! 🐴
Windy, and Cold, and Drizzly, OH MY! 🙀
It’s not winter yet, but it feels like it today:
It’s so gloomy! I can’t stop yawning!
I really can’t! It’s so dark, I feel like I should still be asleep!
We will try to do without fly masks today: 
The flies don’t like this weather anymore than we do! 🐴
A sunny day is always a good day! 😺
Pumpkin looks glorious in the sun:
Evil Cat doesn’t look evil at all:
I’m having a nosh outside the gate. . .
And now that the gate is closed, I’ll start on this hay:
Until the others come out, I'll pretend it’s all for me! 🐎
You’re an unsafe kitty, Betty! 😾
Our friend Officer Mike trimmed all around our buildings:
These pictures may not look like much to you:
But all the weeds you don’t see look great to us:
Iris and Rose are in the new area again today:
And this is Betty, being a very bad kitty, by rolling around under a running truck!
Get out of there, Betty! That’s a dangerous and unhealthy place! If the tires don’t get you, the exhaust fumes will! 🙀
New construction 🐎
I say “Good morning!” (as I usually do):
Zelda says Good morning, too:
And so does this grasshopper!
Anyway, remember how Mary and Mara made this enclosure for us, when we might be sick, or otherwise need to be segregated?
Well, over the weekend they expanded it! They swung out a section, so we can walk up alongside the stable:
The back of the stable is now fenced off:
So we have access to the narrow area down the hill:
Right now, Iris and Rose are in there:
They agreed to test it for us. 🐴
Another chilly morning 🐎
Not much going on. We’re grateful the mud is almost gone. We’re having our hay in the front pasture, which is not exactly news, but it’s the first time this season:
Here I am, sharing my hay with Jewel:
That’s all for today. . .
. . .Except for a cat and chicken movie!
😺
Chilly morning!
It was only 42 this morning!
Chezzie had us concerned, but he got right up:
He got his pill with breakfast:
Finally, here’s a picture from yesterday:
Evil Cat sticks out his evil tongue! 🙀
I wish for a custom-tailored fly mask! 🐴
Evil Cat is licking the “platters” clean!
There’s still a lot of good broth in these!
And there’s also what Buttons left:
Here I am, in a mask I’ve been wearing for a while. It droops down a bit, and tickles my nose—so I “lost” it yesterday:
Ann cut the ears out of another mask, and it fits okay. Finding a mask for small donkeys is hard to do:
I hope the dedicated ear holes will help keep it off my nose. 🐎
Mushrooms in Manure! 🐎
Finn has two peculiar expressions on her face today:
And here she is, having a drink and watching the goldfish:
They’re very easy to see after all the rain:
The chickens say, “Good morning! Now let us out, please!” 🐓
Nobody’s hanging around inside the stable today, now that breakfast hay has resumed:
Finally, just look at these mushrooms!
The rain and our manure work magic! 🐴
When you gotta roll, you gotta roll! 🐴
We’re watching some nasty clouds heading our way:
The chickens have wasted no time getting into the hay barn:
This is the first morning that we’re having hay, since the grass in the field is almost gone:
Since it is still so muddy outside, I’m going back in for a roll:
This picture makes me look like I have a hump:
I think it makes me look like a kangaroo. 🦘
The sun shines on the clean and the muddy! 🐎
Finally, a sunny morning!
The ducks are getting a drink while their water is clean. It’ll soon be bath water!
I wish we were as easy to get clean. Don’t worry, RC, we’ll all get a nice brushing:
And Goodness, Stormy!
It looks like you’ve been painted!
You’re going to need a bath! 🐎
Another dark rainy day 😿
I’m afraid today is a rerun of yesterday:
The feed shed is leaking a lot, but only the poultry feed is in there, and it's safely out of the way:
As you expect, the ducks are loving it:
But they haven’t yet realized that breakfast was served inside. Baldy has all those mealworms to himself:
The ducks caught on—but not until Baldy had had his fill:
Stormy says, “Now that I’ve eaten, I’m going back to sleep.”
Iris says, “I know how you feel.”
“Please stop, Mr. Rainstorm.” 🐎
Fowl deeds, Donkey doings, and Kitty Capers 🐴
Edina says, “Do you mind? I’m trying to lay an egg!”
Buttons says, “Feed me now. Pet me later!”
Pumpkin and the chickens would like their breakfast, too:
It’s such a dark morning, with the rain and clouds. It takes a flashlight to see our food:
Funny, I had enough room to get in here:
But I’ve decided I don’t have the room to get out:
Other than that, it’s one of those dreary mornings where we don’t know what to do with ourselves:
Everyone’s hanging around the stable:
I’m trying to lead everyone out:
Wish me luck! 🐴
You don’t have long to blossom, little flower! 🙀
It was sprinkling yesterday, so Pumpkin is staying dry under a car:
You know that’s not safe, Pumpkin. But this morning, she and Evil Cat are out enjoying the sun:
I’m used to being used as a convenient place to put fly masks, fly spray, and other what-not. I don’t appreciate it, but I’m used to it:
Even though it’s late in the year, a brand new celosia (cock’s comb) has a tiny bloom:
And it’s morning bath time for the ducks:
The camera catches water flying in the air:
This mallard has a glazed head (albeit for a fraction of a second)! 🐴
Friday is drying-out day 🐎
Here I am yesterday afternoon. With all the mud around, it was nice to have my hay on a clean, dry surface:
The runoff from the stable has made our water crystal-clear:
Jewel is enjoying it this morning!
Other than that, the electric company is working out front today:
They are hooking up some underground cabling to a new pole:
I suppose it’ll give me something to watch:
Stay safe up there! 🐴
It’s Raccoon Movie Time! 🦝
It was very rainy this morning:
So we’re eating our hay inside:
What is there to do on a rainy day? I know! Let’s watch a brand new movie!
🙀
Don’t be a hider, spider! 🕷
The flies are almost non-existent this morning. They must be planning something big for this afternoon, so we’ll get masked up, anyway:
Oh, Evil Cat, if you would only let the cat-cops take you to the vet, she would be happy to clear up that eye:
Security Chief Schroeder wants to come in and inspect the farm house for “signs of mice.” I don’t think the cat-cops will buy it:
And this spider is intent on spinning a web over the security camera:
Stop it, spider! That camera has to watch over us at night! 🐎
Raccoon Alert! 🦝
I’m afraid I don’t have too much for you this morning, but the cats had a busy night!
A raccoon has Finn’s fur standing on end, and her back arched!
And Pumpkin isn’t too happy with raccoon number two!
Ok, raccoons, have a look around and get out!
Please leave so the kitties can go back to sleep! 🙀
Tell us the weather, woolly bear! 🐴
Rose says Good morning!
We’re keeping an eye on this truck stopped along the road:
We thought Percy and Ferdinand would like their morning worms in a bowl. . .
But they still prefer them in water:
Finally, legend has it that the longer the black bands on a woolly bear caterpillar, the worse our winter will be:
But this one is all curled up, trying to hide its secret! 🐴
The flies of autumn are awful! 😾
What lovely marigolds!
Schrödinger and Zelda are lapping up some fresh duck eggs:
Why does Baldy look pleased with himself? He just ate a cicada, and then a katydid, wings and all!
Jewel is telling the cat-cops, “Get those fly masks out of the laundry and on our faces, please!”
She’s not wrong: look at those nasty flies on her:
Iris is grateful for her mask, too:
And as for me:
I won’t leave the stable without mine! 🐴
We have visitors all the time 😺
Good morning!
Are our leaves changing already?
Security Chief Schrödinger reports a suspicious, but very handsome, stranger on the premises:
And this cat, on his way up the hill, is not an official farm kitty!
Dinner time is over, stranger, and so are visiting hours! 😾
Strange phenomenon 🐴
We broke the last board keeping us out of the far pasture, so this morning we were found way out over the hill:
It took a lot of hollering to call us in for breakfast:
Doesn’t Iris look lovely in the morning sun?
Our Pumpkin is having her morning drink of new, clean water:
And isn’t this amazing?
One of us is good at balancing feed dishes! 🐴