25Jun
We were so relieved to make it to spring that we let our guard down and took Crockett’s (horse) goggles off. What were we thinking?!? While he enjoyed being goggle free for a few weeks it wasn’t long before he scratched his other eye – lesson learned, never again! Fortunately, we caught it early and the vet hurried over with the good meds. Crockett is doing better and his goggles only come off once a day for dinner and cleaning.
Just when we thought all was well again, we lost one of the Chicklettes (bantam chickens from the neighbor). Feathers scattered around their barn stall and outside the barn near Smokey’s (barn cat) entrance were our first clues. We immediately closed Smokey’s entrance – not to worry, she uses the door while we’re doing chores – and thought all would be well. It wasn’t, we lost another chicken the next night. We brought in a large dog kennel and started to move the remaining Chicklettes into the kennel at night, but we were missing two! We searched everywhere and were sad to accept that we lost two more. The next day there were more feathers in the stall and one of the missing two was back in the barn. Dang it! They must have been hiding and one of them taken by the pesky raccoon. Not again, not on our watch! The four survivors go into the kennel at night and free roam during the day. You can guess our next project – raccoon proof the chicken stall.
Meanwhile Maya, our boarder (Crockett’s girlfriend) moved out of state. We knew this day was coming and it was with a heavy heart that we said our goodbyes. We expected a lot of drama from the remaining equines, but after a few whinnies they all went back to eating. We are grateful that everyone adjusted quickly and will forever be thankful that Maya’s mom trusted us with her care for the last five plus years.
Less one, plus three. While Maya’s family was preparing for their cross-country adventure our neighbors reached out looking to rehome their goats. Evidently, they became quite the escape artists at their property and needed to be kept somewhere with more secure fencing. We took them in with our herd and began reaching out to our network to see who would like three more goats on their farm. It didn’t take long before our friends at Patty’s Mini Acres in Nebraska said they would take them and we began making plans to transport them across state lines. It took a few weeks before we had the time to drive them up and over to Nebraska, but it was worth the wait. We love our friends at Patty’s Mini Acres and enjoyed our visit; baby goat therapy is good for the soul.
What’s also good for the soul? Sharing our animals with others. Farm visits to local senior living communities resumed with the warmer weather. Pearl and Bullet (goats) made their final trip to Friendship Village Chesterfield in April and have decided to retire from traveling farm visits. They are still here and you can come to our farm to hang out with them, they just decided not to make the rounds anymore and we respect their decision. In their place Mellow Yellow (chicken) has stepped up and begun joining Becky (mini donkey) for our site visits. Don’t tell Becky but Mellow might have taken over as the new fan favorite, she calmly sits on residents’ laps as they stroke her soft feathers. We are thrilled to see the joy she brings with her everywhere she goes. We will continue our farm visits through October and wish everyone a beautiful summer.
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