Wednesday, November 5, 2008

It has started...


There is a reason Oregon is known for being green:

The rains have begun.

This is what it has looked like outside for the last week:





Fall has definitely arrived in Oregon.

Roxy doesn't mind:

Mr. Toad (clever name thanks to tips from sugarcreekstuff) has his lily pad to stand under:

Despite the foggy, rainy skies, there are still quite a few raspberries ripening on the vines:

and I pop a few in my mouth whenever I head up to the barn.

Er, I should say, whenever WE head up to the barn:

There is even a blooming flower here and there still:

The fall colors are intense and vibrant this year.
From near to far: Lilac tree, grapevines, raspberry canes, and pear tree in the distance:

Blueberry bush:

Maple tree:

Don't know what this is, but isn't it pretty?:

Japanese dwarf maple:

Uh oh. One of my greatest challenges in the garden is picking up piles of trimmings I've cut. As you can see here, I was actually a good girl and picked up this pile... but then forgot to empty the wheelbarrow. It is now filled with about three inches of rainwater:

So when I go to pour it out, it will create a small river down my garden path that will result in a muddy mess. Fortunately, Roxy doesn't mind the mud:

Because we've had almost nonstop rain for the last 5 days, I've taken to stalling the donkeys at night. This gives them a chance to get out of the mud, dry off their feet and lie down somewhere that isn't damp.

They wind up looking like this in the morning:

This is a result of going inside with damp fur, rolling in yummy pine bedding and then having their hair dry:

It's all crispy to the touch:

...kind of like their backs have been sprinkled with some sort of brown sugary topping. Mmmmm...donkey cobbler...(now that's just wrong!!):

The chickens don't mind fall, per se, as they love all the grape leaves I've been throwing their way:

But the rain is wreaking havoc on Dot's 'do:

And now that the rains have begun in earnest, it's probably time that I cover their run with something a bit more substantial than the tarp-and-plywood combo I've got going on:

Ah, fall in Oregon...summed up best with one word: WET.

Roxy, being the hearty farm girl that she is, doesn't mind one bit:

29 comments:

  1. LOL Donkey Cobbler! You're up near Portland hu? I'm in love with it up there. Just went through Medford for a few days to see friends and can't get over how beautiful it is. Waiting for Applegate valley's prices to go down a bit more! I love the photographs on your blog.

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  2. I'm glad to see the clever naming thing has rubbed off on you. Not sure what Roxy has on her face can be rubbed off though. That is the nice thing about a white dog, you can always see when they are dirty. Had I known that before I got T-Bone, he may have been named white dog with sh*t on his neck.

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  3. Obviously Roxy and Cabra are cut from the same cloth. Oy. You know that dwarf Japanese Maple? We have one of these by the deck of the house. The goatmother and the goatfather dropped a TV on it.

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  4. Mmmm (slurping sounds) Donkey Cobbler sounds delish. What wine do you serve with that? And can I have the recipe...PLEASE for Gergo!
    It sounds much better than Oregon Mud Pie and more tasty than Dirty Roxy Cake.

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  5. I love fall in Oregon.
    I miss the dry fall season in the Columbia Gorge though.

    I love your pics.

    Now that I have a new laptop, I too will be able to post pics like a crazy woman!

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  6. Donkey cobbler, huh? I'll make sure to tell Pistol about that the next time I visit him.

    So, do you make Rox wipe her feet before she can come in the house? Or have you just resigned to wiping up cute little Roxy footprints all thru the house? I think she may need a pair of muck boots. I hear they sell those in Oregon.

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  7. Donkey cobbler cracks me up!

    I am so envious of your raspberries! I never got any fruit on mine. I am also envious of your grape leaves. I would pick many tender ones, wash them and stuff them with meat and rice to make Greek dolmas. Yum! Critter Farm is so beautiful and green.

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  8. Donkey cobbler somehow just made me barf a little. Oh sorry, not that I don't love those donkeys but I have a vivid imagination and seeing that stewing around like a fruit cobbler is horrid.

    Maybe this Oregon rain is getting to me. I love Roxy.

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  9. Roxy, you're the best! Well, Danni better rain than snow! I love how your rain chains just hang nicely in place! Every time it rains here the wind blows them sideways!!! Well, almost every time!
    Thanks for showing us your soggy farm!

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  10. It looks absolutely beautiful around your place, even if it is wet. Roxy looks cute wandering around in the leaves.

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  11. Egads! It looks beautiful but I don't have a raindrop running down my back to my...well, you know. Anyhow, I get bummed enough by the shorter days. Rain on top of that might just kill me...but keep sending pictures. It surely looks beautiful there!

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  12. Oh, I feel your pain. There's always a price to pay, isn't there?

    Poor Dot. I know how she feels.

    It would be hard to feel low with Roxy around though. What a sweet little bundle of mud & fur.

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  13. Great pictures!
    I want some donkey cobbler, just without the cobbler part.:) My silly old neighborhood thinks that donks are noisy??!

    Roxy must have a towel just inside the door for the wipe downs. Our dogs always do.

    Are the donks susceptible to rain rot/scald in your weather. I know temperature has a lot to do with it?

    Dots hair is hilarious, although I doubt she thinks it's funny.

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  14. Gorgeous pictures, it's beautiful there.......rain and all!

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  15. LOL...your donkeys are just too darn cute! I have a camel that is looking equally wet but not nearly as cute!
    We're practically neighbors, I'm just over the border in SW WA.

    I love your rain chain, I just posted pics of mine on my blog too...must be rain chain season in the PNW.

    Your pictures are just lovely...I enjoy visiting!

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  16. Hello from the equally rainy SW Wash.

    Your donkeys are just too darn cute, our camel is equally as wet but not nearly as cute!

    I love rain chains, much more cool than downspouts. I just posted pics of mine too.

    Your pics are just lovely and I enjoy visiting.

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  17. I can honestly say, I do not like the rain enough to put up with it for 5 whole days. My hair would look alot like dots! Your place is beautiful, love the pictures of all the farm critters.

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  18. Great pics. I think the late flowering plant is a Hypericum.

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  19. There's so much beauty in that rainy forest of yours. And such a good donkey mom you are for providing them with a dry stall at night. If George and Alan ever saw that much rain, they might insist I build them an ark.

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  20. Your blog is wonderful! I love the fall rainy pictures- if I were not so taken with Arizona, I think I might check out Oregon! I really enjoyed my visit!

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  21. I forgot to mention that I love the peaceful sound of the rain falling in your video. Brings me back to my childhood when it was cold and rainy outside, but warm,safe and dry inside. A good feeling. A good memory.

    By the way, I was just looking at your "egg stats" posted on your blog, and noticed that your hens have been giving you about 4 doz eggs per week. What have you been doing with all of those eggs? Eat them all? Sell them? Give them away?

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  22. Hi joann - Thanks for you kind comments! Applegate? Is that a pseudonym for the Willamette Valley?

    Hi sugarcreekstuff - You have rubbed off on me in more ways than you know!

    Hi marigold - I have always thought Roxy and Cabra would have a ball together! Now, regarding that Japanese Maple, why oh why would the goat mom and dad drop a tv on it?

    Hi greywolf - I knew there was a reason I liked you - your sense of humor is as sick as mine! :-)

    Hey heather - Ohhhh....the Columbia Gorge is probably my most favorite place on this planet. Soooo beautiful.

    Hi goatgirl - I know, right?!

    Yo frugalmom - Ah yes, Roxy's feet...I have special little "Roxy towelettes" waiting at every door. But the little stinker, she actually growls at me when I make her stop on the way in so I can wipe her paws. We're working on that, lemme tell you.

    Hi farmer jen - We were really pleased at our raspberry crop this year. It was magnificent. Why do you think you didn't get any fruit on your canes?

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  23. Hey egghead - Ha ha ha! Ewwwww!!!

    Hi eve - finally, i was able to show you my rain chain! :-) Wow, yours hangs sideways, huh? Roxy says "woof" to Daisy Lu.

    Hi Linda M - Thanks for your nice comments! Do you have a blog that I can visit?

    Hey warren... Ha! you're funny. T'is beautiful here, the pics don't lie...but we're feelin' all a bit moist right now. ;-)

    Hi carolynn - Roxy is my small smiling side-kick, she makes me laugh even on days I don't feel much like laughing!!

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  24. Beautiful photos...cute donkeys...amazing chickens...and your dog reminds me of my departed Cody, aka The Codeman.

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  25. Not sure why no fruit on my raspberries. I suspect that the soil is missing some needed nutrients for berries. Also, they get too much shade from the surrounding pine trees. Do you add soil amendments to your raspberries?

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  26. Hi ceecee...it's so funny about the donkey "noise" reputation. I've found that, again, it's like a personality thing. Yes, some donkeys bray a lot (Velvet's Baby was a classic example of this), but my remaining lot all have differing levels of braying and then for specific reasons. Ian merely sounds like a prank phone call heavy breather. And Brownie - well, I think I've heard him quietly bray, like, five times in six months.

    I don't know whether donkeys are susceptible to it or not, I would assume so, since they are traditionally desert dwelling creatures. I know that some horses around here get it, but those are horses that are constantly left outside and never given a chance to dry off. I read, also, that there has to be a way for the bacteria to get IN to the donkey, too, so a scratch or wound would be necessary for rain rot to take hold. Makes me nervous, though, you know?

    Hi erica - thanks so much for your kind words!

    Hello inadvertentfarmer - I *love*your comments and I have FINALLY found your blog - yay. For the longest time, your profile didn't list you as having a blog and then I found you on somebody else's sidebar. Yay! I am in love with your camel. :-)

    Hi mel - yeah, I don't like putting up with it, either, but, unlike you, I've got no choice. lol. Thanks for your compliments on my photos!

    Hey solomon - I think the yellow blooming one is, yes, you are right. I'm still not sure what the colorful shrub is with all the different colored leaves, though.

    Hi 7MSN - It's funny, I wish now that I just had a covered patio or something for the donks to stand under. If I leave the stall door open during the rain, they actually prefer to stand in the rain to standing in the stall (nice and dry) where they can't see out!

    Hi dee!! Thanks for commenting! I was in Arizona a few years ago and found it to be absolutely gorgeous (and HOT)!! :-)

    Hi farmer jen - thanks. I was just hoping that rain chain video didn't make everyone have to go to the bathroom. lol

    And...funny that you should mention my egg stats. All summer long I've been able to give away my eggs (they make wonderful gifts!) ...I just looked in my refrigerator this morning and I've got SIX dozen eggs sitting in there. I haven't seen any of my normal egg-takers lately. I'm going to have to convince Jim to take some into his work for me. He says people have asked to buy some.

    And no, since this was our first full year at Critter Farm, we added nothing to the berries or fruit trees - no soil amendments of any kind. Given the crop the raspberries yielded, I don't think we needed to, either. But they are in a spot to receive excellent sun almost all day long.

    Hi lutheranchick - thank you so much. and thanks for commenting!

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  27. Oh oh, you are living my dream life! My dream is to move to the Oregon countryside. We even went up this summer to visit and how wonderful and beautiful it is! One day we will be back to stay. I will definitely be back to visit you and your beautiful blog! Thank you for being here. Mo

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