Ann's  Horse  Farm

“Good morning!  It’s sprinkling today.”“Only last night Francis was basking in this glorious sunset:”“The kitties are gathering for breakfast.  I think we’ve mentioned before that a group of cats is called a ‘clowder.’  So, even when the sun is shining, it’s always a clowder day at the farm!”Very droll, RC.The chickens have new, high-capacity feeders:The one in the other coop is a little smaller (27 chickens versus 15), but both should now feed them for days:

Finally, we have a lighting issue that requires attention:

This is giving me a headache! 🐴

Good morning!  I’m first to the hay today!Oh!  Look at this gorgeous sunset from last night:Notice the rays making a “V”:Speaking of gorgeous. . .Our silver-laced wyandottes are getting silver-lacier every day! 🐔

“Good morning!  I’m one of the three Barred Rocks that ‘management’ has yet to name.  I’ll be with you in a minute, as soon as I lay my egg.”“Look at this colorful banquet of leftovers that Ann brought us today:”

“I think our colors say “autumn,” don’t you?” (more after video)

“On a day like this, with all these juicy vegetables and fries, where are the older chickens?  WHAT?  In the duck garage!?!?”

“They look like they’re ready to go back to bed!” 🐔

Good morning!  The good news is, it’s a comfortable 50 degrees, and it’s only 8AM:The bad news is, it’s waking up the flies, so we’re all getting sprayed:Those flies love my delicate donkey ankles. 🐴

Anyway, Chin and Bolt have dragged a pool noodle out of the arena:

Pool noodles are used to give the horses something safe to step over.  It’s part of gradually teaching them to jump (but you figured that anyway, I’ll bet). 🐎

“Good morning!  Do you see me?  I’m waiting to pounce on a breakfast bowl as soon as it’s put down.  I’m so happy Francis asked me to greet YOU. ❤️”I hope they saw you, Chin, or at least your white muzzle (that cat door is showing its age).Do you see me?  I look so tiny in front of these statues of Scotland’s legendary Kelpies, between the towns of Falkirk and Grangemouth:These statues are NINETY-EIGHT feet tall!Kelpies are legendary Scottish water spirits that aren’t very nice.  They take the shape of a beautiful white horse grazing peacefully, like this gorgeous creature that came from out of nowhere:Folklore has it that they use their horse-handsomeness to tempt passersby to pet or ride them.  Once that happens, the unfortunate traveler is stuck fast, dragged into the nearest water, drowned, and EATEN!  HORRORS!  Uh-oh, this horse keeps coming toward me. . .You’re so pretty, you might be a kelpie!  I’m running away as fast as I can! 🐴

Good morning!  Not a cloud in the sky, because you’re here!Even Eva is here, and we haven’t seen her in 2 days.  It’s not like you to worry the cat-cops, Eva:I’m afraid I’ve been teasing ‘catering.’  I’ve been flipping my bowl, just before they try to put food in it (and then I cry about not being fed):Speaking of food, Charlie is hogging Betty’s. And, to add insult to injury. . .He’s on top of the heated cat tent—that’s Betty’s special place as a senior member of the farm! 😾

Anyway, let’s watch Stormy make short work of RC’s leftovers:

No pellet shall be left behind! 🐎

Good morning!  You make me smile!Now, let’s return to the Fairy Glen, near the village of Portree, on the Isle of Skye, which is one of Scotland’s Inner Hebrides islands. 

These conical hills were formed in prehistoric times by lava.  The lava would gush up, each time cooling into successively smaller disks of stone:Did you see me on the left?  Let’s try illustrating how the lava cooled after each “spurt:”When the ancient Scots saw these strange hills everywhere, they could only conclude that the fairies made them!Makes perfect sense to me! 🧚🏼‍♂️

I do believe in fairies! 🧚🏼‍♂️🐴🧚🏼‍♀️

“Greg here, wishing you ‘Good morning!’ from the bathtub in the farm house!”It looks cozy, Greg.  I have Rose, RC and Stormy in charge of “lighting a fire under” the cat-cops to get us breakfast:If you’ll notice, Stormy is stomping the ground:Boy, do we need a “cleanup in aisle 2!”Anyway, here I was, Sunday, Oct 11, scoping out some more of the Hiland’s hairy “cOOs!”These hungry “gingers” were on the mainland near Loch Lomond:They sure look like they eat well in Scotland. What a mountain of hay (more after video)!

When I was on the Isle of Skye, I stayed in the town on Portree:Here it is on the map:Goodness. . .But those Scottish cat-cops like their bright colors, don’t they?Very picturesque! 🐴

I loved my vacation, but I’m so happy to be back at the farm, I can’t stop smiling:So, where did I go?  The Scottish Hilands! Here I am, visiting with the Hilands’ most famous citizens—the Hiland Cows!  (By the way, the Scots pronounce cow, “coo.”)You won’t see cows like this in Geneseo.

I’m only beginning to sort out my hundreds of pictures and videos; but, let me start with Scotland’s finest:

What a lovely pair of redheads! 🐴

First, let’s watch the hens beat it to the leftover Little Friskies (more after video)!

We’re all out in force to say Good morning to YOU! ❤️Patches and Luna are playing “tree tag.” Patches is “it” and the tree is “base,” but you can only stay up there until Patches counts to 10!So hit the ground running, Luna!Finally, we’ve been trying to determine which one of the spring chickens has been the first to start laying:It’s one of the Rhode Island reds!Hopefully more of your “generation” will start laying, and your eggs will get bigger, little Red! 🐔

Good morning!  Can you tell that my hair has received a lot of rinsing?  It looks like I’m wearing a bustle:“Your tanks have been completely refilled, Francis.  I see the new baby goldfish I’ve heard about:”“The hens and I really appreciated the stable during the rain—it was the only place where the dustbaths weren’t mud baths:”I know kind of what you mean, Tom.  The stable floor was the only place where we could knock the mud off our hooves.  I think even the ducks were getting tired of it:“Not really, Francis.” 🦆