An Oregon farm girl returns home

Vacation is over and I'm back home. Back to the state of green grass, big trees and...overcast skies:

My man managed the farm perfectly in my absence; everyone was happy, healthy and wanting to tell me all about it this morning when I returned to my morning feeding routine:

Now, before I jump with both feet back into story-telling about life at Critter Farm, if you don't mind - and before I lose my opportunity - I'd like to share a few final 7MSN Ranch pictures - some of my favorites, actually. These are some that didn't make it into my earlier blog posts for one reason or another.

Just a small warning, though, so that you will really appreciate the blue skies in the photos below: after this set of pictures, I'll be talking a lot about raising animals in rain and mud again. Such is my life during the fall and winter (...and spring) in NW Oregon!

And so... here are a few of my favorite things at 7MSN:

Mornings...and Lucy looking in my bedroom window:

Evenings:

Coffee by the fire:

Watching Smooch fly:

Watching Carson introduce Eugenia the hen to the "big critters":


Witnessing first-hand that Eugenia the hen has no fear:

Snapper, endlessly posing for me:

Seeing Smooch finally worn out from her day's ranch work:

Peaceful moments (see Eugenia in the background?):

Oh, and remember those cow bones Carson and Lucy dragged home?:

Wynonna loves napping with them:

And with that, I turn the show back over to the wonderful animals of Critter Farm. Beau says he'd really like to have the attention back on him again, where it should be:

Promoted to ranch hand

When I visited the 7MSN ranch for the first time last March, I was wined, dined, entertained and treated like a royal guest. This was an incredibly wonderful and amazing experience, but I really hoped to help out a bit during my trip this time.

I am proud and pleased to say that my request was granted and I am now an official 7MSN ranch hand!

What does being a 7MSN ranch hand entail, you ask? Well....

It means helping out when one of the big animals needs to go to his annual vet check-up. Yesterday, it was handsome Hank's turn:

As a ranch hand, I got a back stage pass (and a lead vest):

to observe the x-rays being done on Hank's knee:

Fortunately, neither Carson nor I are either one of these:

Hank makes friends everywhere he goes, even at the vet clinic...:

But he was very happy to get back to the ranch that afternoon:

Today turned out to be the most productive day yet for this visiting ranch hand. George, Alan and Lucy needed shots and to have their ears de-ticked:

Lucy is a star and took shot and tick spray as if it was no big thing:

George and Alan needed a bit more convincing, but - in the end - did an excellent job being poked with needles and having smelly tick liquid squirted into their ears:

And then, well, then there was Eugenia, one of Carson's four hens:

This girl is smart and she is naughty and she has no fear.
(She's also completely obsessed with water, but that's a post for another time:)

Yes, she is jumping up to try to drink water from a hose that hasn't been turned on yet:

I've got a big ol' soft spot for her like you wouldn't believe:

The problem is, Eugenia has figured out how to jump over the fence between chicken coop and Wynonna pen:

And has taken to standing on Wynonna's back and otherwise bothering the poor girl:

This simply won't do.

This beautiful fence is just a titch too short for a jumping chicken who has added travelling to her hobbies:

So, we decided today was the day to take care of this:

This was my value-add:

...providing weight where weight was needed:

Look how much I trust my friend:

Here's me, striking a dainty pose while Carson saws around my feet (I'm like the magician's assistant!):

And she didn't cut or hammer me a single time!

Start to finish, it took us a little over three hours:

Here's the ranch hand again providing weight where weight was needed:

Yeah, yeah...enjoy that one last hop-over, Eugenia, the final fence panel is about to go up:

Fence before:

Fence after:

Upon completion, we high-fived:

and "clinked" beers:

It's seriously awesome being a 7MSN ranch hand!

And on the third day...

We took it a bit slower than the first two days.

Smooch took a nap on my bed:

Carson and I took turns riding Lucy. Here's my turn:

Here's Carson's turn:

Here's the #1 reason in my mind why people in New Mexico wear cowboy boots when riding: Cholla cactus!:

Holy cow, look at the thorns on this baby! It actually embedded itself through my jeans and into my boot:

And speaking of cows, here are some:

And here is what's left of that dead one that Carson posted about when she and Lucy dragged the spine and ribcage back to 7MSN in this post:

Here's Smooch giving me her best "oh-my-gosh-I'm-so-tired face:

Followed immediately by her "is that rabbit I smell?" face:

And this is the face of a woman who loves riding her beautiful donkey:

These familiar faces were waiting for us back at the ranch. Hi boys!:

Recognize this gate?:

Lucy's a total pro at helping to open the famous 7MSN ranch gate now:

I was very impressed.

Back at the barn, Linda was getting ready to halter up Eugenia, the beautiful Delaware hen:

Kidding. But let me say this, I have a feeling we're going to be hearing some stories from Carson about Eugenia...she is one amazing chicken!

Tonight, we watched the movie "Buck", about Buck Brannaman, the legendary "horse whisperer". It was my first time seeing the film, Carson's third. Wow. This movie is so powerful, it hit me like a ton of bricks. If you haven't seen it yet, please, see this movie. Right away. You can thank me later.