What about those mules?

So many folks want to know how my mules fair in weather like this. These animals have lived since birth on the farm and have always lived outdoors. If you understand the way my land lays, you will know that we have nooks and crannies where the winds don't blow. The mules have figured that out long ago and they are free to go seek shelter or stand in the winds.

With that said, here are the girls digging and browsing in the summer pasture after the first snowfall. 

I thought it would be nice for them to have something to do rather than stand around and look bored in the winter pasture. So I opened the gates to one of the summer pastures.

Their heated water is down by the house along with their hay feeders.

Feeding in the winter pasture [this is in front of the house]:

When they are done there, they head to the woods to browse on items they don't eat in the summer. Apparently multiflora rose leaves are tasty in the winter as well as other dried out weeds.

They are bit more exposed to the weather in this area as it is nearly on the ridge. But it is their choice. The browse, they constantly move and graze just like their wild ancestors.

This is a shot from this past summer in the are where they can browse right now. 

And...

when they feel like moving, they move into the woods and stand together in their own little herd.

At 8AM and at 4PM they show up in the paddock at the front of the house and stare at the house until I appear with loads of hay.

I check them more than once a day in cold weather. I stick my hand under their snow-covered coats to feel their body heat. And it is there!

Well, time to get going. So many adventures from yesterday and more for this weekend. I just got texts from my new neighbor asking if I knew of anyone that could help get his truck out of the ditch up on the ridge.

I gave him names of those who could probably help him and one is a neighbor farmer who is also runs a township plow.

Last night all plows were pulled off the roads due to poor visibility and dangerous conditions.

It looks like we will see the sunlight today for a bit while Mother Nature does her thing to remind us about what winter is like.

Christmas Eve

Here are my ladies. On the 23rd with temperatures in the 40's which by nightfall dropped into the teens and by morning it was 6 degrees.

The gal in front is Sunshine. I delivered her from my mare ... who was my very first horse. She has been a rock for me over the years. Faithful, wonderful, and dependable.
Her half sister is the other red head in back. Yep, they are all fuzzy with magnificent winter coats. The bay mule is my other sweety. Siera.

Anyway they went into the woods last night and dropped down to shelter out of the high winds.

I went out to do chores as day broke into the valley. The elder mules behind me and all of the others had nice snow blankets on. I am constantly amazed at how well insulated these creatures are compared to myself. 

Points to photo above...

Around noon Charlie and I headed towards the ridge to grab the mail and check for the mail by meds that were supposed to be delivered. Ahhh, no go. However I did check the tracking and they could be delivered on Monday.

I put on the polarized goggles for that walk. It is a fairly long one and the sun shining off the new snow was awfully bright. Charlie thought the walk was too short.

We no sooner got back to the porch when a red truck pulled down in. I recognized her as the special delivery UPS gal. Charlie squealed and cried and rolled in the snow at her feet when she jumped out of her truck. 

'Ch..hhhar....lie! You sweety ...MERRY Christmas!' she chimed in. She was dressed in a face mask heavy coveralls and gloves. I got Rich's special order meds and wished her a Merry Christmas too.

For whatever the reason she made my day.

I love snow. I love cold. I love the challenges they bring. 

Tonight I will sit up by the Christmas Chair and re-arrange things and listen to some music. Perhaps sip a glass of wine. I'll wait until a few moments before Midnight and then bundle up to go talk with the mules under the stars.

Because you know...the animals do talk for a few moments at the stroke of Midnight. And I'd love to know what they have to say.

And believe me.

They will have a LOT to tell me.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

The Kids, Sven and Charlie

I took Sven and Charlie along with me to trim back some brush from the electric fenceline I'd just checked a few days ago. I took my machete and a big pair of nippers.

My Kenosha Pals said I could get it done it just moments if I used one of those weed whackers with the blade.
I replied that I'd cut my foot off. Then I pointed to the instrument that my husband used to use with a blade for that purpose.
It is huge with a back-strap. I'd never be able to control that huge piece of equipment. Thus, the machete and nippers. I also have a hand saw. My husband's chainsaw is too heavy and large for me to operate.
Again.
I'd probably cut something off with it.

Besides March and April are perfect times for fence clearing. You can see where the lines will be running into small patches of briers and other brush. I am going to replace the old electric line just above the creek in the next few weeks and fix the hole in the barbed wire that runs as a line fence. The mules leave the barbed wire alone and as a precaution, I've run a single line on the inside of it to keep them from being too curious about the briers and multiflora rose bushes on the other side.

Charlie was pretty unsure of my machete and wisely stayed well out of the way. He even stood behind me and occasionally put a paw on the back of my legs.

We finished up what I'd set out to do and we went down to the creek where it was play time.

It looks like Charlie is pushing Sven, but he wasn't. I think Charlie was trying to balance on the rock with Sven. Amazingly enough, Sven backed up and did not fall in.

And Sven claims King of Moss Rock.

Off they went trotting and leaping across the rocks, two odd playmates. Sven may not even know he is a goat. Charlie is enamored with Sven. He goes back across the creek if Sven gets 'stuck' by a larger spread of water. He will whine and cry and push Sven around until Sven follows him.

On the trail, Charlie leads and Sven follows. The difference is that Sven stops and grabs a bit to eat as he travels. Charlie thinks Sven is his personal tasty poo machine.
Ick.

When the two of them get to the open pasture, the races are on. Charlie zooms in large circles. Sven runs and leaps sideways with him.
I think it is safe enough to say that these two are enjoying each other's company.

Sven really keeps close. He even helps with the chores and keeps his distance from the mules on the other side of the fence. He and Charlie are nearly inseparable.

This is turning into quite the fun adventure with animals.

Crazy Crazy Me!

Do you remember this cute little guy? My neighbor's offered him to me. I said yes.
And then I had to figure out how to tell Rich who doesn't care that much for goats that we were going to have a goat.

Sven was born on the 16th.

Here he was 4 days later when he met Charlie.

And here he is on the 28th. It was warm enough to take him outside with a harness on.
Sven will be coming home...down the driveway to our place once he has been weaned and the weather turns. [We have another frigid polar thing going on this week!]

Sven has grown in two weeks!

He is a Lamancha, which is the funny looking tiny eared goat. His one job will be to eat weeds along the fence-line and clean up areas of nettles which goats love along with another weeds.

But I thought what could a whethered goat be good for? I've had goats before but really just raised them to milk them. After the kids no longer liked the milk, I sold the ones I had.
That was many years ago.

I like to hike. So for whatever reason, I looked up 'hiking with goats' and found out that full grown goats can be trained to be hiking pals that carry packs! How fun would that be to go on a hike and have Sven carry my water and lunch along with a tripod?

The training is pretty straight forward. Bottle fed goats just like Sven are the best candidates as they form a bond with their human handlers.

Yep. I go and bottle feed Sven whenever I can.

Yesterday we did some 'training'. I wanted to see if he'd come to me without me trying to ask him too.

After a bit of exploring the snow [see the harness? He knows he is going out with me when I bring that out now!]

So I waited.

And...I sat in the snow bank....

And Sven came to me and ...

snuggled? He closed his eyes while I petted him and loved him up.

Here is some reasoning to have a goat carry a pack for you. While hiking you have company and someone to talk to --- yes, Charlie also! Two, if you are hiking and pass another hiker it will cause a conversation.
Goats are easier to work with than a mule or horse and a lot smaller!

Sven won't be able to fully pack any significant weight until he is 3 yrs old. But the experience of trying to train him would be a very fun thing.
After all, I have tons of trails in my woods and surrounding area that he can hike with me.

He is a perfect candidate for this sort of training. He was rejected by mom, and has been bottle fed by humans. He has no idea that he is a goat.

This will be fun!

I have figured out where we will have to put the Sven Pen, now I just need my Kenosha Gang to help me make it work as soon as the weather gets decent!

Stay tuned for more stupid and crazy ideas from the mule/goat/dog lady.

Farm life

This summer we had a lightening strike that literally exploded a tree that was in Thor's paddock.
Thor seemed fine at the time, just very shook up. When I checked out the wires in his paddock they had been fused together. Thor didn't act much different but he started to lose some weight.

The vet said that he probably had some residual effects from the lightening strike and hadn't been struck directly but since it melted the wires in his paddock, it probably affected him somehow. Otherwise Thor seemed almost normal. The vet said there was really nothing we could do other than just watch and wait.

Thor was born on our place and was a super funny character as a donkey.

I will miss Thor's constant antics. He would take his water bucket and flip it outside the paddock. If he could find a branch...well,...

He'd hold up sticks and present them to you like a dog. Sometimes in the summer he'd stack all sticks he could find in his water tub. He loved attention and would bray at the sound of a vehicle, coyote, owl, or the neighbor's mini jack a mile away on the ridge top.
Thor was vocal. So vocal that one of the guys at CrossFit said "Oh, you are the donkey lady! The one with that loud Donkey!"

Yes, he could heart Thor from 1 mile away on certain days.

Each morning Thor would greet me when I brought him hay. It was generally a series of grunts and groans that precluded a long loud bray.

Yesterday morning, he wasn't there. I dropped his feed and went looking for him. He was laying down but didn't wake up when I approached.

He was still slightly warm but had no pulse.
Gone.

Your voice will echo through this hills for a long time and I will miss you every day.

Goodbye you big goofy donkey.

Goodbye Bart

Here is a photo of Black Bart when he first came to our farm. He is a polled American Dexter Bull. He was very productive at our farm. My husband's intentions were to raise some Dexters and sell them.
Well that never quite worked out. Bart did the breeding, the gals did the birthing and somehow we ended up with just more Dexters to feed.

That is another story however.

Bart produced some beautiful calves!
There was Stella, she was so cute when she was born!

I'd like to keep her as she is so tame, but she is another mouth to feed and hay prices are soaring.

As you can see, they are not huge cattle, but rather a nice size. However, I can't justify the cost of just keeping them because they are neat.

Anyway.
I opened the electric gate and fully expected to have to convince Bart to leave his pen. Bart looked at the open gate and walked regally through it and quietly down the electric gate into the pen where we'd ship him out.

He didn't run, buck, or even bat an eye. It was almost as boring to watch as paint drying.

I commented to my neighbor who had come along to close the fence gate while I walked behind Bart that I'd rather it be ho hum and boring.

Bart spent the day grazing and being quiet.
I worked in the garden and picked more buckets of beans. I peeked into the one squash plant I seeded and saw dozens of squash!
I pulled up more carrots and beets with Charlie's help, of course.

My garden may be messy this year, but it has been very bountiful.  I hope I am done by the time the corn is ready to start to freeze!

Here is a view of the garden from the porch...

Just as it began to rain, Jeff showed up with a trailer and we loaded up Bart. Rich actually came out to help which I was so surprised at and happy about.

He even visited with Jeff for a bit. Jeff had climbed into his truck and gotten out of the rain. Rich stood with his hands in his pockets and chit chatted with Jeff.

Bart will provide us with a lot of meat this next year. I will freeze and dehydrate my vegetables to add to our winter food.

Goodbye Bart.
Hello food.

And so it goes...

A Not Day

I think after I do the morning chores, and go to town for groceries, I will be coming home and I will NOT do any other physical labor.

Well, that is my good intentions, to take a day off and relax. The vegetable  garden needs a good hoeing and the flower gardens need weeding. I may get a the little squishy pad out and sit next to the flower garden and pick and poke at weeds and listen to music in the afternoon. That is relaxing.

Yesterday I walked to the meadow and fired up my Weed Eater and tore through a large patch of Canada Thistle. I know the cattle will eat the wilted thistle so last night I let them out into the meadow. My hope is that they eat it, if not that is okay. When I chopped down another patch by hand, the mules ate the chopped thistle and then stripped the remaining stalks.

My neighbor and her kids came for an afternoon jaunt down the new ridge road to the creek yesterday. We walked through the meadow and my neighbor noticed the Ox Eye daisy invasion and mentioned that her goats absolutely loved those pesky daisies.

Let's pause briefly for
Creek fun:

Back to the goats. Hmm. The Mules are natural browsers and so are the Dexters. I used to raise goats but never had them in the woods. It has been ages. I may have to see about 'borrowing' the neighbors' goats for some cleaning and gleaning. I know they eat multiflora rose bushes and those pesky berry briers along with burdock.

So last night my mind was whirring away, here I was trying to figure out a rotation to include a goat or two and wondering if I could pasture them with my Dexters. Mules are not generally happy with goats, however in the past two years the neighbor goats have been constant companions on the other side of the fence...and occasionally a wayward goat finds its way into the mule pasture.
I was sure that my red headed mules would hurt the goats.

So far that hasn't happened.

And then I wonder what I'd do with goats in the winter. Sigh. I do actually have the room to keep at least two.

Decisions, decisions.

However I've decided to NOT work on fences or thistles, or much of anything today. The yard needs mowing. Maybe I'll just trim a bit.
See? There I go again.
But I see rain in the forecast again starting tomorrow for the next two days.

Enough already!
And then I think.
Perhaps Sunday should be a NOT day.

And then there is that new fence line I thought I'd put up...and our pony who was wandering around this morning loose. He's broken his tie out...
and going to visit MIL...and...

Oh heck. Can I just have one day of doing nothing please???

Meanwhile at the Farm

Here is hubby with his new spring haircut and beard trim visiting with his mom who is in rehab for a fall she had at the beginning of the month. The staff a Vernon Manor have been stellar. She's had intense Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy along with decent meals and her meds have been monitored.

The difference from before her fall to now is pretty amazing. Yet the woman of course is set in her ways. She is set to be released on Good Friday. I am of the opinion that she needs 24 hr supervision. Mostly because we've discovered that her mobility is still and issue [but good enough for Medicare standards] and her memory is a huge issue [but not 'bad' enough to warrant skilled care].
Medicare will only pay for up to 30 days in a Skilled Nursing Facility, thus the other reason for her release.


That is all on that front.

Hank is now a confirmed steer. He and his mom Stella will be moving to a larger pasture on Good Friday. They will share a fence line with Stella's old pasture mates. Hank will be 3 months old tomorrow. He and Charlie share a birthdate.

After a few weeks of being reacquainted with a fence in between them, they will go into the larger dry lot to await pasture rotation once the woods pastures begin to green up.

I've spent the past few days removing worn out soft braid wire and replacing it. All five of of pastures now that are in rotation have been 'Dexterized'. The Dexters clean the woods of berry briers and brambles along with eating ragweed and burdock.
The mules eat what the Dexters don't and we end up with a great way of keeping the woods and noxious weeds under control.

The 'other' usual suspects. The red headed sisters, the bay horse we call 15 and Fred hovering in back. Missing is the grey mule, Mica who was over eating hay in the feeder. I'd just finished up a session with the shedding blade and I am again their best-est ever friend.
Sundance is on the right, she is the younger mule who will get her education this year.

I worked with Charlie in the cold wind to string new wire and test the fence. I needed one lower line for the Dexter cattle.
Charlie is a very distracted helper. He was more interested in the mud he could get into and chewing on clumps of grass.

I had his new super-light weight cord on him so he couldn't just take off.
He made multiple trips with me to the large shed and back to the pasture. The cold wind didn't seem to bother him as he was 'busy' discovering the world.

The pastures had been set up for equine. I'd come up with a rotation plan and my husband actually agreed to it.
Since his stroke last May, I've been left to more and more of the decisions.

The remainder of the Dexter herd will be trucked out and sold at local auction. The two large bulls we have will be sent off for meat and sold.

I found a new cord for Charlie. It is super lightweight. However he doesn't seem to mind dragging it or allowing me to guide him with it as a leash. The new cord is a piece of my clothesline. It works very well.

However, Charlie is a master at getting into small places and thinking it is a game.
He is still very young so I don't get too upset with him. He is still a pup. The outdoor world is a huge adventure and his acute sense of smell leads him astray...well, astray in only human terms. If I had his sense of smell I'd probably have to investigate every mouse, deer, rabbit, and squirrel smell I came across too.

This weekend ought to be a wild one. My Kenosha Gang is coming up Thursday night to spend the weekend. We'll be coloring eggs and doing some farm work. I don't know what I'd do without these helping hands!

Charlie always seems to come up with a good solution for busy days. Cuddle up and take a nap!

What about Bob?

I had some very favorite animals here on our place.
All of them were quite loved.

But here is Bob.
Quiet and gentle Bob. Bob is 14 years old and the father of Sundance.

Sundance

As with any stud one should always be careful.
Bob stays because Bob is just...

Well.
Special.

I can handle him and take care of him. He has perfect manners.
I thought about gelding him, but the vet said it would be risky. So Bob doesn't leave. That is quite the commitment. Bob could be around for another 20 years easily.

I was asked recently why would we keep any of these animals? Fred is aged 30-something. He has been with my husband since he was 2 years old. Fred, that is...
Plus the grand kids have all learned to ride on Fred.

Siera. She is a fine gentle 12 yr old mule. She has a gentleness around children that makes me sigh. And my grand kids can ride her. Ariel rode Siera last year and they got along quite well.

Sunshine. Sunshine was born literally in my lap 17 years ago. My mare Cheyanne was having trouble and I went out to help her. She has matured gracefully and has become one of my best rides ever.

Mica. Mica is ride-able aged mule, but has some health issues. She will stay here until her health takes her away.

But Bob. Why on earth would you keep Bob? A Donkey Jack?

And I say. Why not?
Besides, Bob thinks I'm a good person.
He even gave me a cockeyed grin yesterday after his bath and grooming session.