tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58452996427219124992024-02-24T12:46:26.867-08:00On the way to Critter Farm...Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.comBlogger620125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-7480854629082382702015-04-01T21:36:00.000-07:002015-04-01T21:38:09.339-07:00Well, we've had quite the adventure
...and, thankfully, we are back home now. Kai has been poked and prodded and shaved and swabbed, and we were sent back to the farm last night with a sheet of instructions and an arsenal of medications.
Due to multiple nights of minimal sleep, however, I find myself now completely exhausted and totally unreasonable - and this is a dangerous state to blog in.
And so, I will write just a Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-17413463265056012932015-03-30T11:58:00.004-07:002015-03-30T11:58:48.067-07:00Totally unexpected
My llama girl, Kai, is sick.
It has been fifteen days since I noticed the first symptoms. During this time, I've had two vets out - one small town vet and one llama specialist vet - and, despite the specialist vet, Dr. Jones, finding an acute ear infection, the treatment hasn't been effective and we have yet to help Kai feel better.
Dr. Jones has now recommended that I take Kai to the CollegeDannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-36122506239809244832015-03-20T03:00:00.000-07:002015-03-20T06:04:12.324-07:00And when I'm not cuddling her
For those of you who don't know, 14 days ago I picked up my BLM burro for the 2015 Great Burro Turnaround. Per the rules of the event, I have a total of 100 days to gentle her and teach her as many things as I can before she and I will (hopefully) share her skills at the event in June. I haven't shared much yet about how things are going with Buttercup's training. This is Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-41407767774176423112015-03-19T03:00:00.000-07:002015-03-19T03:00:07.305-07:00A Lap Donkey
Today will be Buttercup's 13th day with me.
I have been in awe since the day she arrived. Not only is she incredibly pretty, she is smart, brave, and, for the most part, eager to please. She is also very loving and seems to need a great deal of physical affection, especially when things worry or concern her. She will come to me almost immediately after something has startled Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-54292307737305775462015-03-15T03:00:00.000-07:002015-03-15T03:00:05.858-07:00Party in the Round Pen
Here it is. Like it's always been here. A beautiful new round pen...that I will from here out refer to as the corral because it is no where close to being round and "hexagonal pen" just doesn't roll off the tongue.
Stop me if I bore you, but it fit in this spot like a glove. This is a big deal because we have undertaken a number of home and property projects in the last Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-64425993524232772902015-03-12T03:00:00.000-07:002015-03-12T03:00:01.528-07:00Today was a good day
Gah, would you just look at those faces. That's sweet Buttercup on the left and Kai llama on the right. Today is Day 5 of having Buttercup with us and everyone seems to be settling in and, finally, settling down.
Beau had some interesting behavioral changes since Buttercup's arrival and I'd been anxiously waiting for these to pass. My normally sweet, docile, slow-moving Beau Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-59415589031497391192015-03-10T03:00:00.000-07:002015-03-10T03:00:02.423-07:00Introducing (Princess) Buttercup
It has been a very busy last few days here on Critter Farm! On Saturday, we drove out to bring BLM Burro #5918 home:
She is definitely not as wild as I had anticipated. This little girl haltered up and trailer loaded with very little complaint - and required only a bit of feed-bag waving by my friend Heather for momentum:
Her paperwork tells us she was born in a BLM corral inDannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-35828462598061623702015-03-06T22:56:00.000-08:002015-03-06T23:15:47.287-08:00BLM Burro 5918
The burros for the 2015 Great Burro Turnaround were delivered from Eastern Oregon today!
As I mentioned in my last post, just last Tuesday I found out that I was selected to participate in this competition and I have been a bundle of excitement and anticipation since then.
Originally, I learned about this event from my farrier, Justin, whose wife, Heather, participated last year. As Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-28429490605860964082015-03-04T19:05:00.002-08:002015-03-04T22:14:48.435-08:00Excitement at Critter Farm
The farm has been abuzz for weeks now. The barn, you see, is undergoing a few changes.
We've been putting walls up:
And taking walls down:
We've been plotting and preparing:
The third stall, which had previously been walled off and used as storage, has now been graveled and leveled and stall-matted in anticipation:
As you can imagine, the barn inspectors have stopped in frequently Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-20147766675414397972014-10-31T21:19:00.000-07:002014-10-31T21:27:46.844-07:00Happy Halloween
I love Halloween. It has always been one of my very favorite days to celebrate, but I found myself very low-key for Halloween this year. Even though my children are adults now, I still love to celebrate the day in some way with my boys, but with one of them in California visiting his wife (yes, his wife!) and the other away at university, I found myself oddly uninspired.
That said, Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-14893507463576549042014-10-26T23:54:00.000-07:002014-10-26T23:55:39.286-07:007 years today
7 years ago today, October 26, 2007, I wrote my first blog post. I titled it: Country Girl Trapped in a City Girl's Life . I wrote ten paragraphs about how much I wanted to leave my (then) current life and what I really wanted to do with myself.
I posted no pictures.
7 years later, I live much of the life I dreamed of 7 years ago... a life with more wonderful animals than IDannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-78016967149659570112014-03-12T03:30:00.000-07:002014-03-12T03:30:02.193-07:00Don't you just hate it...
Don't you hate it when bloggers suddenly disappear? One day they are there, discussing their stuff, sharing their lives, detailing their happenings, and then the next - poof! - they are gone...sometimes for weeks (or even months) on end.
Now imagine you are that blogger, the one who suddenly disappeared. Things might just not be working out for you. Or, things are Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-50072208601469070102014-02-18T20:00:00.000-08:002014-02-18T20:00:04.374-08:00An inside day
These are fascinating weather times, I must say. Extended dry spells, potent snow storms, deep freezes, damaging winds, flooding rains...we've had a bit of everything lately. In case you are wondering, we are currently on the "flooding rains" part of that list.
It has rained so hard for the last 24 hours, even rugged, weather-resistent Kai llama didn't need much coaxing toDannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-59945439410687581712014-02-16T03:00:00.000-08:002014-02-16T03:00:04.943-08:00Juicy farm gossip
Some say it's nothing to be taken seriously.
But chicken tongues are beginning to wag.
The girls of the flock, of course, have been gossiping about it for some time now.
Honey, my chicken-free-spirit, has been hanging out lately around the chicken coop. She hasn't done this in almost three years. At first I thought she was considering reintegrating herself with the flock and IDannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-22346721575488398102014-02-14T19:00:00.000-08:002014-02-14T19:00:03.674-08:00How I know things are finally melting
Aside from drippy trees and muddy paths, there are many signs my critters give me to let me know that "the melt" has officially begun.
Sure, I could just look at the obvious signs - like dripping fence boards - but I find animal behavior a much more reliable (and enjoyable) indication.
When melting begins for real, Beau and Chester begin to assist with mucking again, instead of Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-64725906869815092592014-02-13T17:46:00.002-08:002014-02-13T17:50:22.083-08:00It snowed on my hoody... and other things
The weather predictions came true and we wound up with 14" of snow. The initial flakes that fell were tiny delights to my eyes....amazing six-pointed stars and heart shapes landed on my hoody sleeve. I must've looked really silly photographing my arm, but I was enthralled.
It snowed on my farm pup, Roxy. That girl loves the snow. She snuffles it.
Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-10092642555519488852014-02-04T19:30:00.000-08:002014-02-04T19:30:02.040-08:00When people blog about gardens and spring in winter
Ok. I admit it. I dreamed - and then wrote - about spring and planting way too early. Any hopes I had of planting early spinach and pruning my raspberries this week have now been dashed. Patience, I tell myself...patience.
Here on the farm, I know the temperatures are dipping when I find Clyde sleeping on the hot tub cover.
Another sign that it's nippier than Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-31718975189714733022014-02-03T03:00:00.000-08:002014-02-03T03:00:00.777-08:00My best girlfriend
My very best girlfriend is having a birthday today.
Roxy Lou, my farm pup extraordinaire, is turning 9 years old.
It's hard to believe that this little bundle of light, joy, and enthusiasm is almost a decade old.
She and I always celebrate this day together doing our farm chores and just hanging out together. She loves the morning routine and very clearly Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-21025269482055807472014-02-01T21:09:00.002-08:002014-02-01T21:32:19.058-08:00Pretty close to an obsession
My thoughts are consumed with my garden this year. I haven't planted one in two years and this has weighed heavily on my heart.
One of the two main garden plots that I have lovingly tended over the years currently appears forlorn and forgotten. It has ripped and sagging deer netting - destroyed by a persistent barrage of deer-bullies last year who devoured the Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-20880612084863223892014-01-28T17:30:00.000-08:002014-01-28T17:30:02.622-08:00So I said to the boys....
"Hey, Boys! Come here a second and see what we're going to do!"
Reggie: "What? What?! Are we going for a walk? Did you bring us goat cookies? Are we off to the pasture with Kai llama? Do you have carrot coins??"
"...or maybe banana peels and peanuts? Mmmmmm. We love banana peels and peanuts...
Wait. What's that?"
Me: "I've brought the clippersDannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-26619036758802941622014-01-27T17:38:00.000-08:002014-01-27T17:39:35.618-08:00It's still winter, but I can smell spring
Beneath the mulch, the garlic has sprouted!
Hi.
I'm Danni, the blogger who hasn't blogged since May 31st, 2012 - give or take about 607 days ago. It feels like it has been a lifetime and, in many ways, it has been.
But I'd like to not focus on all that for the moment.
Instead, if I may, I'd like to think of this as a "Spring is Coming" post and insert&Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-31820579468625693662012-05-31T22:19:00.000-07:002012-05-31T22:19:29.356-07:00Critter Farm is alive and well...
Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com48tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-42136855448129640792012-04-26T21:15:00.000-07:002012-04-26T23:02:14.058-07:00What a difference 1,463 miles make
Yesterday, I was saying goodbye to the 7MSN herd (and Carson) in brilliant sunshine and 80ish degrees...
Today, I'm back home...in torrential rain (blustery wind and a bit of hail, too) with a high of... ((shiver)) merely 53 degrees:
As sad as this sounds, I woke to an amazing sight this morning. You see, when I left Critter Farm six days ago...
these tulips were not blooming:
these Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-69315668044839966372012-04-24T21:45:00.000-07:002012-04-24T22:19:25.830-07:00The rodent story...but I really want to talk about something else
Ok. I know I said I'd tell the rodent story if you wanted to
hear it, but honestly? It's not that exciting of a story.
I mean, so what if Carson and I went out at night... :
armed with flashlights and cameras... :
(embarrassingly, it turns out I was the only one in my
pajamas, heh):
to find the creature that had been bedding down with the
hens at night:
Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845299642721912499.post-7894541298983132962012-04-23T16:19:00.003-07:002012-04-24T10:57:48.562-07:00Yesterday's story isn't finished, you know...Please, won't you allow me to pick up where Carson at 7MSN left
off in her Cinco de Mayo post today?
You know...after the arrival of Morning Bray Farm gang:
... and after the Margarita party hosted by Carson:
... and after said-party was crashed by the unruly equines...:
(some in costume):
(some just really hungry):
It was after all this, then, that SeƱor Don agreed to Dannihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623233206043947281noreply@blogger.com18