FRANCIS'S BLOG 04/22/2026
Our New Year’s party got out of hand 🐴
We played with the electricity:
We tossed around the stable tools:
Rose’s door is torn off, of course:
She pulled all the halters and leads into her stall:
And now I have to wear this silly tiara:
Happy New Year! 🐎
Winter is back 😾
Onslow and Kanna are in the duck garage:
Zelda is in the hay barn:
I’m helping Henry eat his breakfast:
Oh, and here’s a mouse:
It had been in Finn’s mouth; but Bill rescued it. 🐭
Good news and bad news 🐴
The bad news is that it poured all night. It’s way too sloppy to eat outside:
Henry’s only stepping out for a drink and a lick of salt:
The good news is that all last night it was in the 50’s!
I suppose it had to rain sometime 🐴
It’s pouring this morning and we’re all trying to eat in the stable:
Henry is “hiding” behind the post (if he can’t see you, you can’t see him):
Iris is on lockdown until her neck can dry off a little:
Iris’s, Jewel’s, and Rose’s coats are still in the wash.
Chezzie always likes to eat where he can see outside:
And Betty is under a heat lamp:
She’s looking and feeling rosie! 🐎
Chilly, but for December, we’ll take it! 🐎
Iris is spending the day with Jewel and Rose. She’ll get her coat cleaned this weekend:
I’m moody this morning and won’t eat out of my dish. Here I am stealing bites out of the bucket:
And here Onslow is, stealing a drink from the bucket:
😺
60 degree Christmas! 😺
It was wonderfully warm yesterday, but December is coming back in a hurry. Enjoy your bath while you can, Patrick:
Jewel and Rose are getting their coats cleaned—they’ll make do with just “sweaters” this morning (but it’s getting colder by the minute):
Oh, and last night Misty’s door wasn’t locked:
So she soon had company. 🐎
Have a horse-farm Christmas! 🐎
🎄 Oh Come, All Ye Kitties! 🎄
🎄 Onslow, Betty, and Finn gather around the tree. 🎄 And here are Finn and I, ready to go a-wassailing. 🎄
🎄 Betty says, “Unless ‘wassail’ means ‘cat food,’ I’ll catch you later.” 🎄
🎄 I just love our tree! 🎄
🎄 We’ll be very careful eating the hay out from under it. 🎄
🎄 Time to hop off, cats. 🎄 
🎄 I hope you like my lights this year. 🎄
🎄 They're battery powered. 🎄
🎄 Happy Holidays! 🎄
Frosty morning before Christmas 🐴
We’re in our “sunning” positions this morning:
The chickens wanted to see a reindeer on their roof:
And Betty aims to please!😺
Kitty Capers and Horse Hijinks 🐴
Betty looks kind of Christmassy under the heat lamps:
And Onslow is about to jump:
Yesterday afternoon, Charlie and Chavez were found “squatting” in Misty’s stall:
And this morning, Chezzie was waiting for her again:
Don’t worry, Misty, your door will be locked from now on. 🐎
Sunny Sunday 🐎
The skunk smell from yesterday is still in our nostrils:
It makes for grumpy cats. 😾 But it’s all fresh air out in the pasture:
Hansel and Gretel only need a minute under the heat lamp to get rid of this morning’s chill:
They’re soon out getting a head start on the ducks’ worms:
Yummy! 🐔
Skunk attack! 🙀
Today’s another good day to be outside:
Which is lucky for the cats:
A skunk made a nasty stink in the garage and tack room:
The stench will take all day to clear out! 😾
Let’s change the subject—here are my pictures from the New York Museum of Natural History:
The first thing you see when you walk in are elephants!
Then you see all kinds of stuffed animals:
But the most amazing exhibits to me were the dinosaurs:
Oh my gosh!
Who knew. . .
That there were giant prehistoric ducks! 🐴
Kitty Capers 😺
It’s a nice day today:
The ducks can have a bath:
Betty is warming her back under the heat lamp:
And now she’s warming her bottom over the heat lamp:
😺
Fancy Feasts 😺
In honor of Mary and Bill finding time to come out to the farm, the cats are having a breakfast of both dry and wet food (usually it’s only dry in the morning and canned in the evening):
Hansel and Gretel are enjoying the cats’ breakfast, too!
And as for us. . .
We all got carrots for dessert!
Yum! 🐴
Frosty Wednesday 🐴
It’s only 13 this morning:
Kitties are in the barn:
Here’s a short video of the view from the sidewalk outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art:
Let’s look inside:
I found this Egyptian hieroglyphic the most interesting:
Is that a donkey over the duck? 🐴
Chilly Tuesday 🐴
Baldy has his place under the heat lamps staked out 🐓:
And so does Kanna 😺:
Until Hansel decides it’s his turn 😾:
Let’s look at some Christmas sights in New York:
Let’s look at a short video of the Rockefeller Center tree:
🐴
I’m back in snowy Geneseo! 🐴
I had a good time in New York. But I’m glad to be back to my normal routine (and diet):
I even missed the ducks:
I’ll share my pictures with you during the course of the week. Let’s start with Times Square:
Lots of dazzling lights! 🐎
Snowy Wednesday 🐴
Kitty in the snow:
The ducks don’t know where to go:
Iris wants fed:
As for me, I’m going to New York tomorrow and will be back Monday:
Weather permitting, of course. 🐴
Happy Stormy 🐎
It’s only 12 this morning. But the upside is that any mud is frozen, so Stormy can spend the day outside without worrying about his bandages getting messed up.
He’s so happy. . .
He just has to roll!
Oh, and what would Francis’s Blog be without some horse crime?
Jewel’s door is knocked down. . .
And so is Rose’s! 🐴
Cloudy Sunday 🐴
It’s not too cold but the wind is picking up:
Jewel, Iris and Rose say Hello:
Their coats will get washed today. 🐎
Betty is waiting for some sparrows to come down from the tree over the feed shed. 🐦
That won’t happen anytime soon. 😾
Kitties in their cubbies 😺
Schroeder is in the Igloo:
Evil Cat is in the homemade cat-nest:
As for us, we’re already out of bed,
And enjoying some of Farmer Rich’s hay:
It’s green and sweet! 🐎
We get a good look at Sophie! 🐎
Someone has our attention:
Why, it’s Sophie! 🐴
Let’s watch a video of us checking each other out:
She’s feeling more at home everyday. 😺
We’re getting our hooves done 🐎
When it’s farrier day. . .
Francis will play! 🐴
And Stormy got a fresh bandage. Ann sent pictures to Dr. Danielle and she says it’s looking better. 🐴
Fun in the sun 🐎
We’re all outside, appreciating the sunshine:
Schrödinger looks a little grumpy, though, doesn’t he? 😾 I think that’s just because the sun’s in his eyes. 😺
Finally, let’s watch a video of Onslow jumping the fence to get to some fresh duck eggs:
😺
Drying out 🐴
Onslow and Finn play in the duck garage:
Major Tom is ready for a nap:
And Kanna is already napping:
RC, Chezzie and I have determined why breakfast is always late:
Too much time is wasted on cat pictures. 😾
Please let us dry out a little 🐴
Hey Schroeder, come out from under those heat lamps!
The sun is shining on Baldy:
And the sun is shining on me:
The sun shines on the fair and the fowl! 🐓
New member of the farm family 🙀
Betty has never seen anything like her:
And Onslow is dumbfounded:
Henry says, “I’ll look later—I’m eating.”
Meet Sophie—Mary’s Russian Wolfhound, also known as a Borzoi—almost 2 years old, with some growing still to do. She is very gentle and quiet, and her hair is as soft as a bunny’s.
She has never seen a chicken before:
Here she is, about to pay an introductory visit to Stormy:
Stormy is getting his ankles re-bandaged and medicated this morning:
He’s doing better to everyone’s delight! 😺