There will never be another Maverick

Most of the rescues that have come through here have been pretty easy to say goodbye to.  Some weren’t even here long enough for me to grow attached to them, and others I liked, but just never “clicked” with.  However, I was reluctant to leave Quest behind at his new home and I hated watching Ellie leave.

I will be completely inconsolable for a month and cry a river when this guy leaves.

 

 

He is still growing taller and is tall enough for me to ride now.   I just wish he was still growing  in length as well.  His back is so short that I could never get one of my saddles on him.   I had thought that I’d teach him to drive, which I’ll still do until he’s adopted, but he would make an incredible riding pony for some little girl.

 

I just never want to see him outgrown and tossed aside for a larger horse.   That would crush me and I’d be a sniffling, snotting, bawling little baby over it.

 

Maybe I’ll just have to keep him and ride him bareback for the rest of his life.  :)

Brave New World

I decided today would be the day that the “baby” hens in the outhouse coop should be set free to help demolish the bug population.  The problem, is that two of the hens have actually grown into very beautiful roosters.  Four roosters on one farm, with only twenty hens to share?  This could mean trouble!  I couldn’t possibly butcher Rambo and Billy Badass, as they’ve done a wonderful job protecting and leading the older hens and guineas.  The two new roosters are just beautiful, therefore, immune to Glenn’s knife.  We’ll just have to see how it goes.

But first, there’s the whole setting free idea that the young hens didn’t exactly understand.

Hey guys!  The door is open!!!

 

 

Yeah, but it looks pretty scary out there. 

 

I think we should let the men go first.

 

But wait, I see BUGS!!!!!

 

The Americauna rooster was the first chicken brave enough to step out the door.  Isn’t he just gorgeous??

 

He was followed closely by the other rooster, who didn’t want to seem like a total wimp.  Rooster #2 later escaped back into the coop when no one else was looking.

 

It took about 15 minutes, but eventually all of the birds had at least taken a few steps out of the coop.  Most had gone back in within minutes, and no one got more than 10’ from the coop.   I’m sure by tomorrow they’ll all be wandering the farm in search of bugs.

Check out Mr. Tom Turkey with his two pure white Americauna girlfriends.  I just love Tom, he’s so curious and friendly.  I give him two weeks before he’s marching into the house to see what’s going on.

 

I suppose the birds could have had good reason to head back into the outhouse… as I was snapping pictures I came across this, right around the corner from the outhouse door.

 

 

That’s a face that’s just looking for trouble.  Or food.

She’s not picky

I have one Rhode Island Red hen that chooses to lay her eggs somewhere on my porch every day.  Forget about going back to the chicken coop, that would take way too much time and effort on her part.  Besides, wouldn’t I find it easier to get her egg if she lays it right outside the door?

Here lately she’s just been laying her egg on the pile of feed bags in the corner.    Today she found someplace softer and I finally found it when I went to get feed ready for Junior and Duchess.

 

That’s right, in the bag of beet pulp.  *sigh*

So tonight after feeding I did something unheard of… I cleaned the porch.  For those of you who have seen my porch, I’ll give you a minute to let that soak in, and to collect your jaw off the floor.

 

All better?

All the horse feed went into tubs, the floor was swept, the feed bags and other burnable trash was thrown on the burn pile, and… ready for it?  I threw the dog beds in the wash (after I removed Jelly Belly to a safe place)!

Amazing, huh?  I thought so, too.  Especially since I sneezed the whole bloody time.

I suppose I should clean the house next.  The little red hussy was checking out the movie collection today when I had the door open.

 

 

Next I’ll find an egg next to Glenn’s copy of “Wayne’s World”. 

 

Only fitting, I suppose.

Still Alive

Yup, I’m still here.  There have been no posts in awhile due to Jelly Belly fracturing her pelvis in four places and needing much nursing back to health and many hugs and smooches, and my allergies have made their appearance already this year.  We got a really nice thunderstorm last night which means I’m a little less whiny and miserable today than I was yesterday.  That’s a bonus for you. :)

Last night as I was sitting on the porch after dark pretending the mosquitoes weren’t driving me nuts, I heard some very non-horsey sounds coming from the back pasture and the dogs went INSANE.  I grabbed a flashlight and put all the dogs except Thor back in the house, then went to investigate.

I didn’t see anything, but Sadie, Stride, and Flo were tearing around the pasture like maniacs and came running up to me when they saw me, shaking and shivering like the devil himself were after them.  It reminded me of the night we found Maverick terrified and shivering alone in the dark last year when he was in the same pasture.

When Doc was out here to stitch up Sadie he suggested we get an Alpaca or Llama to add to the herd.  Not because they’re good protection, but because they run slower than horses.

Smartass.

So… I think we need a couple of mules for herd protection.  Maybe in a few weeks I’ll get the posse together and we’ll make a Sugarcreek run.  Please don’t be surprised if I come home with two mules and a Seymour. :)

My Three Sons

Now that Buddy, Quill, and Maverick are in the quarantine pasture and closer to the house, Buddy and Quill have become MUCH friendlier.  They’re both easier to halter now, since I’ve been putting their halters on right before I feed them each time.   They were both leading well by the time we wrestled them down from the barn last week, even though it was a pretty eventful undertaking.  I probably could have sold tickets to the show, but didn’t think that far ahead. 

 

 

Has anyone else had trouble with horse flies this year?  You know, the ginormous biting beasts about the size of your thumb?  I have NEVER seen them this bad before!  I have a daily discussion with the guineas and chickens about how they are supposed to be doing a better job of bug control, but they just follow me around begging for more corn instead.  Maverick has learned to do the same as Junior… he swings his butt towards me whenever there’s a fly on it that he can’t reach and waits for me to smoosh it.   The first time he did that I was a bit leery – that’s an awfully big and powerful butt to be swinging towards you!

All three of them come running when they hear me call and Quill has become quite the little love bug!  He loves just standing next to me to be stroked and scratched, and if I stop he simply steps closer until I start petting again.  Quite a change from when he arrived here!

 

Being the oldest and wisest of the three, Maverick is in charge of this little band of studs.  However, while he may be stouter and weigh as much as the other two combined, but Buddy and Quill are already taller than poor little Mavvy.   They’ll all get gelded once the weather cools and there are fewer bugs to bother them, especially Maverick since he has to have invasive surgery instead of a simple nip and snip.

Buddy is also a friendly little guy, but he’s also very mouthy.  If he finds me petting one of the other two he usually sees fit to chew on me.  Hands, arms, legs, clothing… doesn’t matter. 

 

But they’re all way too cute and cuddly to stay mad at for long. :)

Quack

I built the ducks their own little house yesterday to put down by the pond then we moved them into it yesterday evening, a few hours before dark.  The idea was to lock them in it for a couple of days so they’d know where it was safe to hide, then let them loose to wreak havoc on the frog population.

Have I mentioned that I’m impatient?  I let them out of their house this morning and sat in the grass watching them make their way to the water and trying to decide what to do first.  Drink?  Bathe?  Eat? 

 

Waddle around and quack in confusion?

 

Once they were in the pond they had a grand time bathing and eating the algae.

 

Then it was time to explore a bit…

 

and go for a swim.

 

We left for a few hours and came home expecting them to still be in the pond doing what ducks do.  It was a little disappointing to find them snoozing in the shade of their house.  I hope they don’t get eaten!

Long Ears

Seymour doesn’t live here on the farm, I only wish he did.  He lives next door with Misfire and I told him last night that if he ever wanted to run away he was more than welcome to come live with me.  Glenn agreed and we took his measurements to see if we could get him in the front of the truck without being seen.

 

 

Seymour is the cutest little donkey this side of Middle Island Creek.  He’s also the friendliest donkey.  Once I made the mistake of scratching those long furry ears he wouldn’t let me go far enough away to take a decent picture.  He head-butted me, rubbed against me, pushed me down the bank, and nibbled on my shorts.  Which is why all of his pictures look like this.

 

 

Or this.

 

I would really like a Seymour now. 

It’s a simple concept, really…

We have a pond, therefore, we need ducks.  

Meet Huey, Dewey, and Louie.  Please don’t ask me which one is which, or even if they are all males.  I have no clue.  They’re cute and that’s all that matters around here.

 

 

Glenn picked these out.  The two blacks are Cayugas and the other is a Blue somethingorother.    They’re in the outhouse coop with the young pullets for now, but we’re building them an enclosed house down by the pond today.  In another week or two we’ll let them out to start eating the billions of toads and frogs in our pond and cleaning up the algae that’s starting to grow.

 

 

 

There was also another four-legged addition to our farm yesterday… go check her out.

Big attitude in a little tiny package

The third yearling to come to the farm today is a registered Welsh filly, named Oh My Tell Me The Story Again.  Um, I think we need something shorter to call her, don’t you agree?

Before you go thinking up names, let me tell you that she is a little firecracker!  Most youngsters, when being introduced to a herd of older horses, will make a suckling motion with their mouths to signal “I’m a baby, please don’t eat me”.  This is what Buddy and Baby Girl did earlier, but not this little bugger!  She ran straight to the Jasmine/Jewel/Willow herd and actually laid her ears back and kicked at Jewel when Jewel tried to chase her off!

 

She also stood her ground when T-Man went up to her and even gave him the cold shoulder!  Remember that martial arts commercial from the 80’s (or maybe 70’s) with the tough little black kid and his famous line “Nobody bothers me!”  She reminds me a lot of that little kid.

 

No matter what her attitude towards the rest of the herd, she certainly is a sweetheart and finds it absolutely necessary to climb into your pocket every chance she gets.

 

 

After the initial introductions we saw her grazing peacefully with Buddy, Baby Girl, and Duchess this evening, so it looks like she’s found some friends to accept her, attitude and all. 

So get to thinking of those great names you guys have stored in your head somewhere! 

Up to my eyeballs in babies

When I first started this rescue I was sure I’d be filled up with old horses that had done their jobs and had been tossed aside to make room for younger horses.  I never thought I’d be swimming in youngsters.

The old fogey, or pasture ornament count, is currently Stride, Dolly, Megalia, and Duchess.  The youngster (3 years old and under) count is Maverick, Maggie, Kenzie, Sky, Quill, Kisses, and Cheyenne.  And let’s not forget Marbles and Ellie who have already moved on to their new homes.

Let’s add two more yearlings to that count, shall we?  Meet Baby Girl, a Mustang/Paint cross who’s markings look a lot like Maverick.

  

 

  

 

Then there’s Buddy, who is a Quarterhorse/Saddlebred/Arabian mix.   Buddy is still studly, so we’ll be getting him into the bachelor pad with Maverick and Quill, provided we can get a halter on him.

 

 

They are both very friendly, and have had halters on before, but neither has ever been taught how to lead.  They came from a really nice couple living a little south of us that have hit hard times due to health problems and could no longer keep up with the day to day care and attention that these two need.

I’ll have another post up later for the third yearling coming our way today.  All these cute babies around here.. I just can’t stand it! :)