Chickens

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I don't like live chickens.  I can watch them from a distance, but if I am too close to them and they can have access to my body...I get the creeps.  I honestly start to get scared and wigged out.  But...Andy and the girls wanted chickens.  They wanted to raise them and get eggs and eventually eat the chickens.  I agreed with the egg and meat part, but not the "having chickens" part.  We reached an agreement--they would feed and care for the chickens, collect the eggs and all that.  I would wash the eggs and cook everything once it's away from the living chickens. 

(sorry the pics are sideways, and Mikayla is like me and won't touch them)

So we got 6 chickens.  When we got them from our friend, they were only a few days old.  Now they are almost 6 weeks old and much bigger than this.  They look like chickens, not cute, fuzzy chicks.  It was time for a new home.  Our friend Tom, who gave us the chicks, came over and helped us build a coop the other day.  We put up a fence and got it all ready for them, then released them into their enclosure.  It was quite funny.  Their new home is about 20' from our steers' pasture, and the steers are afraid of them!  I can SO relate.   Anyway, we aren't yet sure how many are hens or roosters, but next week we'll get another 6 baby chicks and start the process again.  Once they are big enough, they'll be released with the others and we'll hopefully end up with 6-8 laying hens.  The group we have now should start laying in July.  I admit it's cool to watch them run around in their pen, but other than that, I can't wait until July when I can stop buying eggs!

Our Youngest, Biggest Baby!

My youngest, biggest baby turns 3 today!  Marley has been such a wonderful dog.  I had wanted a Great Dane since I was about 10, so when Andy and the girls surprised me with tiny, itty bitty Marley almost 3 years ago, I was over the moon!  I am so in love with this dog.  She is gentle, she's fun, she's well behaved, she loves to play, she is protective of her family, she's smart as a whip, she's pretty...she also leaves piles in the yard the size of my foot, has some separation anxiety from me if I leave her too much (read--chews toilet paper) and drools all over right after she's been eating or drinking.  But we love her and life wouldn't be the same without her!  Happy (golden) Birthday, Marley!!  We love you!

4H, Fair and Fun

This past week/end was our county fair.  It's something that we all look forward to each year.  The girls do projects and work with their animals, us adults help them and get things like decorations for the barn ready This year our house was command central for new barn decorations for 4 nights before we were finished with the new decs--red lattice cut and framed with white boards and a wooden 4-leaf clover on each panel.  They were a lot of work but looked great!  And I neglected to get a picture.  :-(  Anyway, it's a lot of work for everyone, but we all love the fair and it's so worth it.

ALAYNA took a lot of projects this year.  She didn't get her photography done, but she made a pillow, bulletin board, jewelry (bracelet and matching earrings) knit a scarf, made chocolate chip cookies.  She also showed 3 calves and her horse.  Alayna was a busy girl, but she did a great job and we're so proud of her!

 Judging her blue ribbon cookies

 her blue ribbon jewelry

 Alayna and Chloe--they got 1st blue and a trophy in Showmanship, 1 red and 1 white

Judging her pillow (red), bulletin board (blue) and knitting (white) 

Alayna showing her beef cross bred steer calf, Doof (blue in fitting and grooming, red in finishing, and first blue and trophy in showmanship--my camera died so I don't have pics of this but others took lots of pics for me!) ((I don't know why this is on it's side and not rotating...grrr)) 

Showing Ferb, her jersey steer calf (1st red) 

Showing her cross bred heifer calf, Isabella (against another in our club--she got 2nd blue)

LILLY is a Cloverbud, which means that she's a junior 4H member.  (The youngest 4H kids are Cloverbuds from K-2 grade.  They have a set catalog of projects they can do for their age but cannot show animals.  They get participation ribbons but aren't actually judged and don't get premiums.  The summer after 3 grade they are an Explorer, which means they can bring a few more projects and 1 animal exhibit.  Explorers are judged, but not as strictly as older ages, and they can get premiums, though they have a set project catalog as well.  After 4 grade, they are a full 4H member and can bring up to 23 projects total.)  She brought a plate of 3 cookies, 2 key chains she made in the arts and crafts division, and a drawing of an International tractor in a corn field.  She did so well with her little interview from the "judge" asking her about her projects.  We all had to laugh when the judge asked how she knew when the cookies were done and Lilly responded, "When it dings."  She also showed Alayna's calf, Doof, for Little Britches.  Little Britches is for kids too young to show an animal, so they can show an animal by leading them in the arena and answering questions about the animal to a judge.  They ask things like how old the animal is, what it eats, etc.  The kids all get a participation ribbon and a free root beer float at a stand on the fairgrounds.

MIKAYLA isn't in school yet, so she's not able to bring projects to the fair.  However, she is able to show in Little Britches, so she showed Alayna's heifer, Isabella.  She was so excited to show and did a great job.  She had all her information down perfectly and was very confident in answering her questions and leading the calf.  Even when Isabella got a little stubborn, Mikayla threw her entire 37 lbs into it and got her going again.

It was a great fair.  We are all exhausted, but it was a very busy week.  We were at the fair from Wednesday afternoon to Sunday evening, with each day in the 80/90s and high humidity.  We had some storms on Saturday, including a particularly fast forming one in the morning that took us all by surprise and was horrible for Mikayla, but we all survived.  It was her worst reaction yet and since we were in the barn, almost our entire beef/dairy crew from our club witnessed it.  Needless to say, few people adult and kid alike had dry eyes.  It broke my heart and we're praying that this stormy summer is soon over and the time winter affords us helps her to forget and get over her fears.  But besides that moment, it was a very fun and successful fair for the whole family!  Oh, and we bought a new camper last Friday and it was GREAT!

It's 4H Time!

Sunday was the first 4H horse project clinic that Alayna attended this year.  It was a safety clinic and also a clinic for beginning or intermediate riders.  She and Chloe did fantastic!  Last year, there were some issues with Chloe's behavior, which we eventually discovered were due to her feet having some problems.  This year, though, Chloe was on her best behavior.  Of course, Alayna is also doing so much better with her commands.  She is more confident in her abilities and what she needs to do, so she is giving clear commands that Chloe cannot confuse.  Together with strong feet and therefore no pain and a better attitude, Chloe and Alayna did amazing!  We are so proud of how far they've both come!

Dogfish

When we woke up yesterday, we were informed that Sunny had fishhooks stuck to her.  Andy and I were obviously tired and just waking, so we thought we heard Alayna wrong.  Then Lilly came running into our room and said, "Sunny has a huge fish hook on her side!"

Yes, our dog somehow got caught in some fishing lures overnight.  When we looked at her, it was quite a pathetic sight.  Two large rapalla-style lures were stuck to her side near her back leg and a lone treble hook was stuck in her lip.  How?  We have no idea.  Nor do we know where they came from.  If only dogs could talk.

We laid Sunny down in the yard and went at her with a pair of pliers.  Luckily, the smaller lure was only tangled in her hair and stuck on the larger lure.  And of the 3 hooks (actually nine) on the larger lure, only one was stuck through her skin.  Andy was able to cut the hook and since it was just barely piercing the skin with the barb out, he was able to pull it through with no problem.  The hook in her lip, however, was harder to remove.  Only one "hook" of the 3 was poking her, but that one wasn't poking through the skin.  Since the hooks are barbed, you do more damage trying to pull them back out then push them through.  So I was laying across Sunny, petting and talking to her, while Andy tried to force it through her lip as carefully as possible.  Finally, after about 20 mins he was able to poke it through and pull it out. 

Sunny was such a trooper!  She laid so nice and still while we worked on her, never trying to get up or even move.  She only whimpered a little when Andy was working on her lip (I was trying not to cry, too) and when we were done she jumped up and covered us with kisses, like she was thanking us for our help.  I'm sure she was glad to be free!

The hook on the left was in her lip, the center hook of the larger lure was in her side,

and the bottom lure was just tangled with her hair and the other lure

When we came in the house, the girls were all concerned about Sunny and how she was doing.  They ran out to give her hugs and kisses, and tell her not to do that again.  Then Mikayla asked me, "Mommy, why did the fishes attack Sunny in the night?!"  We don't know how or what happened, so maybe she's on to something.  But Lilly had another idea.  "I don't think the fish attacked Sunny, but we should attack them and go fishing!"  Maybe we will.  I just hope these lures don't catch another Dogfish.

*I posted a few times this weekend, so be sure to check them out below!

The Painting

I've been spending a lot of time looking at this painting lately. That's my horse, Cookie, in the corner, and she's been gone a little over a year now. A long time ago (okay, in 1996) a good friend of mine painted this picture for me and it's hung in my house ever since. It was a wonderful surprise that I cherish now that she's gone.

I had worked in a small store that was part of a small resort near my house all through my teens. Every summer, I was in that store for several days a week. If I wasn't in the store working, I was riding my horse or other horses for the trail-riding business my aunt ran as part of the resort. It was a dream summer job, let me tell you!

The resort catered mostly to people who had seasonal campers, and Bob was one of those campers. He was an older, retired man who loved to fish. His wife would leave him at the camper for the week, then come up on the weekend. He would get up each day at dawn to go fishing, then come in and have nothing to do the rest of the day until it was time to go back out fishing around supper time. Bob would visit me in the store every day, sometimes for hours, just to talk and visit. He told me about his family, his old job as a mail carrier, the best fishing spots...I would tell him about my boyfriend, my horse, my plans for after high school. We would just talk.

One thing I knew about Bob was that he was an amazing artist. When he wasn't talking or fishing, he was painting. On my last day of work at the resort for the summer of 1996, Bob presented me with the painting above. He had worked on it throughout the summer, having taken pictures of Cookie while I worked (I would ride her the 2 miles to and from work each day) He knew I loved rivers, autumn and old buildings, so the combination of the picture was perfect. The thought was amazing and so touched my heart.

Now that Cookie is no longer alive, I love this picture even more. I see it and I think of her and how so many people misjudged her. We were a perfect pair for almost 20 years. I miss her every time I look into the pasture and see the other horses, but not her. Then I look at the painting that hangs above my couch and it makes me feel better.

Fair-ly Late Post

Finally! I have some fair pictures! This year, Alayna was an Explorer, which is kind of like being in 4H Junior High. She was able to bring more projects, including 1 animal besides Little Britches, and had to fill out a record book, but she still had some limitations on what she could do. Next year, she's a full-fledged 4H'er and can do what she wants. This year, she brought a plate of 3 cookies that she baked herself (she was so proud!), a sequence of 3 pictures of our crab apple tree in various stages of bloom, a birdhouse she built with my dad's help, and an informational book about Manatees. I neglected to get a picture of her with her items, but she did a great job. This is the first year she also gets ribbons for placing, instead of just participating and she got all Blues! Great job, Alayna!


Alayna also was able to show her horse, Chloe, for the first time. She showed in Showmanship, Equitation, Western Pleasure and Horse Judging. Chloe was a little anxious with all the horses and not listening too well, but they did a great job. She got one red, 2 white and 1 pink ribbon. Alayna was very pleased with her first year showing horse, and we were so proud of her!






Both Lilly & Alayna showed a calf for Little Britches on Sunday morning. They worked with their calves over the summer and spent a lot of time getting them to lead, being used to getting handled and washed, etc. Lilly's calf was Crash and Alayna's was Eddie, both named after the crazy possum duo from Ice Age 2 & 3, which are favorite movies in our household.

Lilly in the show-ring
Alayna in the show-ring

Next year, we'll be even busier because Lilly will be a Cloverbud and able to bring some projects to the fair, and Alayna will be a regular 4H participant. She's already thinking about things she wants to bring! As for me, I usually bring a photo or two for the Open class, not because I want to win but because an exhibitor's pass is cheaper than a traditional season pass. Scandalous, I know. But, this year I actually got third place with this photo!

Horse Camp

Last week, my mom watched the girls and did daycare for me while Alayna and I went to Horse Camp. It was through the 4H and such a great experience for Alayna! She was able to ride for several hours a day, with sessions including Trail Class (getting your horse familiar with various "scary" things they may encounter on a trail-ride) showmanship, games, etc. Mixed in with the riding sessions were horseless sessions about caring for your horse, judging horses, general veterinary care, etc. She had a blast. While she was doing all that, I was relaxing in our borrowed camper, helping prepare meals for 100+ people and watching what I could of her riding sessions. We both had a great time and are ready for next year!

Alayna and her horse, Chloe

Trying to get Chloe to walk over a tarp. They circled several times before she finally did it!
Coming off the bridge in the trail class

Alayna during Horse Bowl (quiz bowl with horsey questions)

Alayna got 2nd place and a silver medal for her age group (23 kids) in horse judging!

**I have posted more today in a bit of blog-keeping, so look below for more of what's been happening!

Dog Lovers, Read Up

I don't know how many of you pay attention to the links list on my side-bar, but I just added a new book that I read while camping over Memorial Weekend. My mom had read it for her book club and immediately told me I had to read it. She knew I'd love it, and I did.

"The Art of Racing in the Rain" is a book that I think everyone should read and will enjoy, but especially animal and dog lovers. It's the typical book review of "I laughed, I cried, I rejoiced..." it's all true.

Seriously, you need to read this book. It's told from a dog's point of view, as he looks over his life while he's in the process of dying. Not only will you never look at your pets the same way, but you will also stop at least once and marvel at the intelligence and depth of some of the dog's statements. Honestly, you forget that it's really a person writing from the dog's point of view. Fab.U.Lous. It's in my top 10 of favorite books ever read, I think. And I've read a LOT of books. So if you're looking for an easy read that will touch your heart and make you think, this is it. For realz.

We're gonna get you!

Something has been visiting us for the past few weeks. And it's getting old.

It all started earlier this spring. Every so often, the grain bins in the barn would be knocked over when we'd go out to feed the animals. We didn't know what was doing it, so we assumed it was our dog, Sunny, for some reason. Shortly after the first time, the bins were bungee tied to the wall and their covers were securely snapped in place. Then it happened again, with the huge 33 gallon bin knocked over while 2/3 full. Hmmmm, maybe it's not the dog. As a matter of fact, I remember her barking in the middle of the night...

The bins were re-secured, with some extra reinforcements, and we set up a live trap. That first night we caught...a cat. Poor Coonie was so upset and didn't talk to us for a day. He's since recovered, but there's still something getting into our grain bins. It was in there 3 or 4 nights last week. We honestly have no idea what it is. We're assuming raccoon(s) but there's a very real possibility it's also a small bear recently kicked out of mom's den. And it could still be the dog, though we've never seen her have a desire to eat the grain any other time. It's driving us crazy and costing us money.


I got a brainiac idea and asked Andy's cousin if we could borrow their trail-camera. They came over for a family play date and the men set up the camera. We were certain we'd catch the bugger, if not in the trap, at least on camera so we knew what we were dealing with.

Well, it didn't quite work that way...

I know the pics are hard to make out, but take a look at a couple details with me. In the first photo, it shows the time as 0:35, which means 12:35 am. The live trap is nicely situated right next the bags of grain (which the critter thankfully hasn't touched!) The camera flashes and still doesn't get a pic of whatever it is. 5 mins later, at 12:40, (the soonest the camera will take a pic) it takes another shot and you see that when the camera flashed the first time, it apparently scared the animal, causing the live trap to go rolling across the barn. Each time, no animal is in the picture that's obvious. If you look closely, it looks like there may be a leg on the left edge of the photo--a yellowish leg (which may account for the huge white spot in the center) But even if it is Sunny in that photo, since it's the second pic and taken 5 mins later, I don't immediately deduce it was her that knocked things over. After all, this is her property and she's very protective. If she heard a noise that she didn't make and wasn't normal, she most certainly would go investigate. Grrrr It's motion activated, so something caused the camera to take the photos. Grrrr Obviously, it was also too close to the area since it's all so bright and distorted from the flash (and they aren't meant for indoor photos, but I. Don't. Care.) Grrrr

So we still have some work to do. The visitor didn't strike last night, so maybe the flash scared it off for awhile. We can hope. But just in case, the trap is set and the camera is in (a new) place.

Horse Expo

Every year, we go to the MN Horse Expo at the MN State Fairgrounds. It's something the entire family looks forward to. The barns are filled with horses for breed demonstrations, competitions and advertising for stables. There are booths everywhere to sell and advertise anything horse-related, from grooming supplies to riding apparel to barns and trailers. It's horse heaven.

Tomorrow is the big day. We usually go on Saturday, but we have a wedding this year, so we decided to pull Alayna from school. She has no problems in any of her classes, so we feel confident that it will be fine to take her out for a day of family fun. We all love to wander the grounds and see everything. We also have quite a list of items to look at and purchase this year. Should be fun!

Ball Battle

The pictures that I have to help illustrate this story are a little hard to see. But I'll tell you, it's a very funny story. I'm sure it's much funnier to have witnessed it, like we did, but in pictures it works okay, too.

Chief, our 3 year old gelding, is a very curious horse. He's always the first to check out if something is making funny noise, but he'll act very nonchalant about it. Almost like a teenager. Anyway, we were throwing the tennis ball for the dogs the other day and Andy threw it to land near the horses. Chief immediately checked it out. Marley wouldn't even think about it, because she's tall enough to get zapped by the electric strands. Sunny, on the other hand, is not only short enough to fit under the fence but she's the real ball fiend. She was going crazy trying to get to the ball, but Chief wouldn't let her. Chief would stand over the ball, acting like he didn't care, but as soon as Sunny would try to sneak in, Chief would do a little charge in Sunny's direction. This went on for over an hour. Sunny would finally make it in to get the ball, then Andy would throw it back in the general direction and the stand-off would begin again. And for the record, as long as the ball is not involved, they get along just fine! Cheap afternoon humor in our house, I'm telling you!

It's hard to see, but the ball is very dirty and to the left of Chief

Checking out Sunny after she got the ball one time

Sunny sneaking away, with Chief on her tail

We are such dorks. But our animals give our entire family such pleasure, from the big horses down to the little cats. We could, and do, play with them all for hours.

Does the H in 4H stand for Horse?

Alayna has anxiously been awaiting this year in 4H--the first year she can be involved in the horse project. She's been working with her horse, Chloe, at home 2-4 times a week and she's been doing so well. The first few times, she wasn't comfortable with me letting go of the lead-rope. Now, I don't even lead her at all. She and Chloe are both getting more comfortable with one another--Alayna's learning to properly tell Chloe what she wants, without confusing her or hurting her (even though that's all inadvertent) and Chloe's learning that she can't get away with things when Alayna's on her back. They are learning a mutual respect of one another, which is exactly what you want between a horse and rider.

This past Friday was the first beginner's clinic of the year. A stable that helps the 4H project devoted Friday to first- and second-year horse members, so they could have a dedicated time to get comfortable with their horses, the grounds, and riding without the presence of the more experienced riders. Alayna did a fantastic job. She was one of only two students who didn't need extra help during the night, and she also kept Chloe in control when another horse got spooked right in front of her. Alayna also did a great job of reminding Chloe who was boss when Chloe saw where the gate was at the end of the session--she decided she was done but Alayna kept her going past the gate 3 times before they left.

Andy and I couldn't be more proud of how well she did not only on Friday night, but how well she's done with all her work with Chloe. Together they are shaping up to be quite a team.

Alayna and Chloe go trotting by

We love Como Zoo!

For those of you who aren't somewhat local, Como Zoo is in St Paul. It's open 365 days a year and is affiliated with a large park system and conservatory, plus a small amusement park in the summer. Oh, and it's all free (except for the rides). They ask for a free-will donation when you walk through the doors, but if you have nothing to give you are still allowed in. It's worth every penny you do, or don't, spend and then some.

Como is a rather small zoo. You can walk through the entire thing in about 1-2 hrs without rushing. It has an Ape Building with about 5 different species, including little Tamarins -- which we all love and refer to as the "Little Old Men Monkeys" -- and going up to large Gorillas. There is a large cat building, which houses lions, tigers and leopards, and next to that is an enclosure for 2 grey wolves (which I see plenty at home, thankyouverymuch). There is a nice central building for African hooved animals--giraffes, zebras, various deer--and then an aquatics building with penguins, puffins, lots of fish, seals and sea lions, and polar bears (which will open their new exhibit later this spring). Scattered around the way are also bison, long-horned sheep, caribou, various bird and waterfowl species, and giant tortoises. Attached to the zoo is a large conservatory with tons of exotic flowers, trees and plants. There is also a newer exhibit, the rain forest. In here you are able to walk amongst the tall trees and see some of the rain forest inhabitants, like a huge anaconda snake, tarantula, and 3-toed sloth (Alayna's favorite).

Again, this zoo is not huge, but it's so much fun for the whole family. You don't have to make a huge time commitment to go there, it's not hard on the wallet, and the animals are pretty close and easily visible. We love it. Which is why we went there again this past weekend. We had a prior engagement with our 4H club that was going to be as far south as the cities but just a bit further east. This commitment, while important, was only for about an hour total. We couldn't drive all that way for such a short time, then turn around and come home. See, Como was the perfect choice!

I took some pictures, but they'll look like any other zoo picture. The big cats and wolves were actually out and active, because it was a cool day--usually we're there in summer and it's so warm they're rather lazy. But because it was a cool day, the giraffes and zebras were kept inside their barn, where we were able to see them but it wasn't as great as when they're outside. All the apes were indoors instead of in their outside pens, and the tortoise was nowhere to be found, probably nicely tucked into a warm room.

We go to Como 2-3 times a year, if not more. And if you're in the St Paul area with an hour or two to kill, we totally recommend Como!

Every Night...

...we go out to the barn and feed our funny-farm full of animals. They always seem to know the difference between someone closing the house door to leave vs. closing the door to come out to the barn. Maybe they hear our boots, maybe they are psychic. I don't know. But the animals can tell the difference and get all lined up. So for my "city" friends, I'll give you a pictorial account of our nightly chores. *All these pics were taken the evening of Feb 15.

First off, the dogs can hardly wait to get outside and run and play in the snow while we're out feeding everyone.


When we enter the barn, we are greeted by the cats. We have 6 cats and they all come out of hiding once the barn door opens. We never know where to find them. Sometimes, they're in the rafters... (this is one of the 3 identical black cats. They are named Blackie, Midnight and Kitty, but we can't tell them apart)
...or waiting for us on the fence separating the calves and horses...(Sid, our newest addition. She's kind of an idiot, but really sweet, so we named her after Sid the Sloth from the Ice Age movies)

This is Coonie, the stray that showed up hungry and scared on our back porch this summer as a kitten. He's certainly not hungry or scared anymore and is our most friendly cat.

Another of the black cats, nestled on the stack of hay bales.

The third black cat, sitting on the other side of the barn in the rafters on top of some spare plywood. I didn't get a picture of Stormy, our gray cat who is very crabby, moody and skittish. She will let us pet her, but it's never her idea and she doesn't like it. Typical cat.

As soon as the calves notice we're in the barn, they come running. We have 12 bull calves at our house right now, so we feed them in 3 different bays of feeders. They stink and are noisy, but what can I do. I have to compromise with my husband. And like he always tells me, I'll like them in a few months once they are fed out and sold...

Once the calves are fed and the water is full, we feed the horses. This little lady is Belle. She's one of the new horses we just got a few weeks ago. Belle is a 1.5 year old Quarter Horse/Arabian cross. She's so friendly and curious for her age!

And here's Bingo. He's the other new horse, a Morgan gelding. He's also super friendly and kind of takes on the fatherly role of the horses. We're so glad that they get along with Chloe & Chief as well as they do!

And of course, Chloe and Chief are waiting for some grain, too. Alayna is anxious to start riding Chloe again this spring and I'm hoping to train Chief this summer. Wish me luck!

Chief is watching the cats come trailing behind us.

We went out to check on the round bales we have in the pastures for the horses and calves. Whenever we walk into either pasture, the cats and dogs always follow us. It's pretty funny to see a train of animals following us around. Can you find the 2 cats in our bonfire pile for next summer?