Accidents that can be avoided

A few weeks ago there was an accident down at the end of our drive. In fact, theres still a few remnants left over from that in our ditch.

It was in the middle of the night when it happened and the driver was intoxicated. He ran off the road and damaged the culvert that runs under our drive and he tore our mailbox right out of the the concrete that it was set in. The last I heard he is sitting in jail. 

In the meantime, we had to replace our mailbox with this pretty new green one.

And the damage done to the culvert was so extensive that the whole thing had to be replaced.

And then just the other day I drove home to discover this big truck parked in front of my drive.

Normally, this wouldnt really be an issue except I had just gone and loaded my van up with all these groceries.

What to do? I couldnt get the van up the drive because they were pouring fresh, hot asphalt. And if I couldnt get the van up there then that meant that I couldnt walk over it either....

I need to be up there where the house is.

This drive is normally how that happens.

Looks like were gonna be hiking the groceries up there by hand through the ditch and over the berm....And by we, that really means S.

I set all the bags out for him at the best spot we could find and then he climbed up the berm with them and then walked to the house.

After a few hours, we were left with this newly patched drive.

And now we have this shiny new culvert to replace the one that was no longer functional.

A lot of work had to be done by county workers to remedy what was caused by a drunk driver. Something that could have been totally avoided if one man had made a better choice. Im just very thankful that there werent any injuries. 

And I can hope that the dozen farm fresh eggs that I sent home with each of those 5 county workers helped them leave my farm a little bit happier than when they first arrived. 

She may be small in size

Meet Sarah.

She is super sweet and loves to be held.

Shes also the first of my 16 hens to have laid an egg.

She laid it right there. Can you see it? In the far right nest box. Even before I had the chance to add pine shavings to the boxes.

I got the girls on March 26th and Sarah laid on July 19th. She would have been 16 weeks and 3 days old at the time. That delightful little egg weighed in at 1.375 ounces. Not bad for her very first one.

The great thing was, that aside from being totally ecstatic that I had gotten my very first egg ever in my life from my very own chickens....was that she laid it 4 days before I was due to head out of town for 17 days. Thats right. I was going to be gone for 17 whole days. I was so worried that I was going to miss the very first egg being laid that I took all the girls aside and had a little talk with them. I told them how happy I would be if they decided to lay before I left....and then that sweet Sarah...she just got to work. 

Sarah is a gold sex link and she also happens to be the smallest of all my 16 hens.

Which is how she manages to show up in there.

There is where she should not be.

But as you can see, she is oblivious to that fact.

She should be contained like the goats.

And the little guy.

And yes. Like the other chickens.

But no...she thinks she just has run of the farm.

Look at Niko giving her the stink eye because hes inside the fence and she is not.

Im pretty sure she thinks that since she laid the very first egg that she can do whatever she likes. Well, I think not. 

But it totally could be because she loves me and likes to be next to me...even if that means right at my feet.

A very sweet surprise

A few weeks ago, I was heading outside and noticed that the animals were all congregated up by the chicken coop. Now this was a strange sight to see, so naturally I slipped on my boots and headed up there.

I got all the way up there and noticed that Prize the llama was very focused on something. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of white zip by. I went over to where Prize was and didnt see anything out of the ordinary...but she was still totally fixated on something. I followed her gaze and it led me to under the coop.

Of course, I say....of course I have to get down on my hands and knees to see what shes looking at....so I do... And lo and behold, look what I see!

Isnt he the cutest thing youve seen as of late? 

He makes himself comfortable while he watches me try to figure out how to get him all the way over there under the coop.

I ended up whacking my head on the corner of the hay feeder as I tried to get him out from under the coop.  Which I must say smarted pretty darn good.  The end result was a pretty good goose egg on my temple.  It almost affected my cookie eating...seeings how every time I chewed  it sent pain from my head to my mouth...but cmon...we are talking about cookies here.  

Once I got a hold of him and snuggled him and loved on him for a long while...

I put him in a little dog carrier.

The chickens were very intrigued.

The bunny on the other hand showed very little interest in all the chicken visitors.

After some thinking from S and myself we decided that the sweet, little bunny was more than likely the neighbors so we set out to return the big guy. 

After a conversation with the neighbors, the bunny was quickly identified. His name is Frank we were told. The rabbits are let out to free range pretty regularly and Frank gets picked on by the other male rabbit over there.  The other rabbit is named Walter. This made me sad to hear. Not that his name is Walter, but that hes a rabbit bully. Not nice. We very hesitantly handed over Frank and headed back home. 

Well, since then I have seen Frank a few times hopping around over there in the neighbors yard...along with a couple other bunnies whom I have not yet met. Frank is always far away from the other bunnies. Sigh. 

A few days ago, K is coming home from the bus and she walks to the door....

This time, I run out to get some food.

And a water bottle.

And G visits with Frank for quite some time telling him how much he loves him.

After a night of Frank staying with us on our farm(because we hadnt been able to make contact with the neighbors)...I talk to a friend and she says I can borrow a cage for Frank...something that I can set right in the grass. And she also gave me this huge tub of rabbit food!

Heres Frank in the new cage...I think he likes it.

G always stops in to say hi after school.

But listen. Today we spotted the neighbor out working in his yard...so we mosied on over there. He was out on his riding mower. And S walks up and says, so we have your rabbit over on our farm. And he says, oh ya do? I said, yeah....we have Frank. Can we keep him? And he said YES!!!! 

Hooray!!!!  

So now, we have 4 llamas, 4 goats, 17 chickens, and one lop eared bunny named Frank. 

This is what makes a farm go round.

Serious Business

So, this is what happens when you stay home from school with a fever, an ear infection, and a throat ache.

What? It really does make you feel better.

Now that was a long walk.....

So, after the inquiries and comments of many wonderful friends and family...Im beginning to think that maybe some of you think that I got lost on that walk I took way back in June with Prize and Allie.

I could totally see how one could think that since it HAS been 4 months since then.

Well, after I returned Allie and Prize back to the pasture we decided to go to the coast.

Okay, fine. Not right then that minute. But, we did really go this summer. And it was amazing.

I mean, take a look at this awesome fort we found on the beach.

Thats just one of many, many things that took place during the summer.

And now... its Fall. Can you even believe it? Honest. Look. We all know that mums are a sure sign that Fall has arrived.

And if thats not enough proof, well, look at these pansies. Another Fall flower to be sure.

As you can see, Allie

and Prize fared very well on their walk. The two of them have settled in very nicely here on the farm.

Niko and Kip are still mamas boys.

The goat boys are beginning to get their winter coats. I love this because it makes them look all fuzzy and chubby.

And Dolly still loves her hay bits.

She has even begun to share them. Even if its only Finley that she will allow to eat from her pile.

My ma is in town.

And she adores the chickens.

All the girls are doing really well.

Were getting about 14 eggs per day so I cant complain.

Oh, and guess what? I also got pretty new blinds for my bay window. After being here for about a year and a half and having the sun beat down on us in the living room...it was probably about time dont you think?

And see? Things havent changed too much around here.

I still have post it notes all around the house. They are a necessity, you know? Especially when you forget how to work the blinds.