The Chicken Mama On Vacation

I'm gonna be out for a week.  I'm on the beach.  Recharging my batteries. Regardless of the fun, I still miss the barnyard animals.  So we created Doink out of sand.  Thank you Beth and Libby.  They got his head just right, don't ya think? See ya next week! … [Read more...]

The Barnyard Poop Patrol

There are three things I do every day in the barnyard.  Feed my animals, love my animals, and pick up my animals' poop. Some days I build things.  Some days I repair things that are broken.  Some days I scrub stuff that is dirty. But mostly, it's the first three. Food, love, poop. Feeding is oh so rewarding.  "Oh LADY!  You're here again!  With FOOD!  Thank you thank you thank you". … [Read more...]

Surprise In The Pasture

We are so lucky to have county-owned open space behind our house.  We'll never have neighbors back there.  Except animals.  And we love having animals for neighbors. When we first moved in, horses roamed those acres.  We fed them carrots and rubbed their noses.  Eventually, cows replaced the horses and we eagerly look forward to the first cows in the spring. This year was no different. … [Read more...]

The End Of Motherhood

I knew this time would come soon.  I've been taking photos every night.  I've been looking for signs every day. Earlier this week, Mama Rapunzel laid an egg, a sure sign her motherhood was coming to an end.  The next evening she went into the coop with the other hens, not the new chicken shed where she has been nesting with her four babies for the past six weeks.  She hopped into one of … [Read more...]

Trickster Goats

Last night around 8:30pm I did my final rounds in the barnyard.  Eight chickens in the coop? Check.  Raise the chicken food?  Check.  Lock the coop door?  Check. Moved on to the goat shed.  Two chickens?  Yep.  Doink and Brandy already sound asleep? Of course.  The younger goats were still hanging out in the barnyard.  They like to stay up late. Next, on to the new chicken shed housing the … [Read more...]

An Unsuccessful Vet Visit. Again.

I could write a book about the relationships my animals have.  But this photo is better than words.  Let me explain. First, the bad news.  The vet came out yesterday to trim Doink's tusk and hooves.  Actually two vets.  My guy and the young woman vet who comes for barnyard visits. Basically, it did not go the way I was hoping, just like last year. I gave Doink the prescribed sedatives … [Read more...]

This Old House

A few days ago marked an anniversary.  Very Excellent Husband Don and I have owned our house for 25 years.  No, really.  Who has lived in the same house for 25 years?  We're like dinosaurs. Long story short - Don and I met and married in Colorado, Soon after we married, we moved to New Jersey.  Soon after we arrived in New Jersey, I realized I really, really, REALLY did not want to live there. … [Read more...]

Summer Craziness

The animals have been standing in line to tell me their stories the past couple of weeks. Now they've started asking me why the heck they're not showing up in the blog.  I've had to explain that it's summer and it is CRAZY busy (and CRAZY fun) around here.  Not a lot of spare minutes to gather the thoughts and put them in writing! While I am certainly not wistfully thinking about winter, I am … [Read more...]