misty morning.

woke up to fog everywhere. rolling in over the hills. i dreamt i was on the british moors during lambing season on my way to town for tea and pudding. but then i spotted baby snakes and reality set in.

baby snakes

donkeys in the mist

jeliza-rose

deficient dogs, braying burros, and one cured chicken.

our GLOPs have been bad. well, actually only one GLOP, lil'ann. she's going through a very destructive adolescent phase. you know the dogs that pull all the stuffing out of toys and scatter it across the lawn... well, imagine if they had a furry goat to play with instead. i believe she learned this horrible habit when patrik was sick and his hair was falling out. just recently, she started doing it with our healthy goats. regular scolding has not helped. neither has a tea tree no-bite bitter spray. it is very stressful on the goats, obviously. and very stressful on jeliza-rose (her sister) who finds this behaviour very upsetting. i have been able to salvage most of the hair but we are afraid one of the goats will get seriously hurt. so drastic times, seek drastic measures. a shock collar and a video camera have been obtained. i've been spying on her for the past few days from the comfort of my living room. so far, she has been absolutely perfect. maybe she figured it out. maybe her phase ended. maybe it was the full moon. regardless, i'm waiting here inside with my remote control just in case.

meanwhile, cripple creek needs a new name. she is doing brilliantly. and has grown most of the feathers back on her head. the weather has been exceptionally warm so she has been enjoying being out and about.

and stella loves to holler. especially when there is the possibility of food involved. today's surprise afternoon carrot snack was loudly received.

out for a stroll with cripple creek

oh my god! carrots!

it's raspberry harvesting time...

stella & guido's glamour shots shoot.

yesterday i was walking the fields with my handy canon S3IS Powershot camera hoping to get some definitive barn shots for a children's book i am working on called "porkchop's farm family" (more on that when it is released). but the barn just wasn't speaking to me. the donkeys were. stella and guido were hamming it up big time. they obviously are jealous and want their own book deal.

"is there a vest i can wear?"

"this is what it sounds like when doves cry"

"Now, just imagine you're weightless, in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by tiny little seahorses."

meet guido.

stella finally had her baby yesterday morning! she snuck off to the cedar trees in the fog around dawn and gave birth to a healthy four-legged big-eared little jack named guido. baby snakes and little jim handed out cigars. while the GLOPs vowed to be the best aunties ever.

baby snakes & little jim in the maternity ward waiting room

"we're aunties now!"

friday was...

figuring out that my ball of yarn doesn't go very far. i started crocheting a scarf. didn't even make a full two rows. so i hit the cards again and started spinning more. hopefully, i'll have enough by the time snow rolls into town this winter.

whilst i was busy spinning, i heard a clatter in the kitchen. looks like del ray has figured out how to climb/jump/fly? he was on top of the kitchen table rearranging things.

spent some time with the chickens. they haven't been laying eggs for a week or so. we had to call in reinforcement last week. we moved in 20 baby female chickens. i had a talk with the older hens. explained the situation. i think we came to an understanding.

checked on stella (still pregnant). since i moved stella to the cow field, baby snakes has latched onto her like a parasitic twin. they are inseparable. for better or worse.

tended my garden. picked my first batch of sweet red peppers. looks like i'll be having grilled peppers for dinner.

sweeeeeet!

future egg-layer of america

i've got a llama on my back!

sentimental gentle wind....

blowing through my life again...

there is finally a breeze. and a cool. and a rain. and open windows. and i'm listening to "bare trees" by fleetwood mac.

getting back to getting stuff done. did more barn cleaning. the goats "helped" by rearranging supplies, knocking over trash can, chewing gloves/shirt/everything/anything...

harvested my coriander. picked some tomatoes. worked on halter training/rope leading with stella (still pregnant). taught del ray "give me your paw" & "roll over" - which he has combined together for a unique "roll over salute". or as i like to call it "who wants a burrito?".

and finally got around to my first attempt at yarn. i am learning to card and spin our angora goat fleece into mohair wool yarn. the locks are super fine and shiny and beautiful. and i have no idea what i'm doing so i joined yet another online support group. this one for spinners. and have actually produced my first yard of yarn. i'd attach a photo but it's just not that impressive looking... yet. i'll keep practicing and asking questions to the online cosmos and hopefully i won't get all my groups mixed up and spin stella's tail to the llama's mane while standing in the middle of a pond full of baby donkey's.

who wants a burrito? "i do"

i'm melting.

i'm sitting here typing this post, drenching with sweat. it's just too hot. might have to spring for a window a/c unit. thought i could tough it out. i am really enjoying the next-to-nothing electric bills. i am cheap. but i don't know. today, i got nothing done. it was just too darn hot. and it's hard to get work done when there is no refuge.

i only managed the minimum today. fed the pups. picked some tomatoes. and checked stella's milk sack. i think we may be getting close. her nipples are engorged. praying it's soon. she looks miserable. and i'm tired of feeling up my donkey!

meanwhile, i've joined yet another on-line farm animal support group. i know, i know, i need to get out more, right? but where else does one go to find out why their goofy llama keeps pooping in her pond? yes, baby snakes has taken to relieving herself in the cow pond. it's not natural. it's where she drinks! what's wrong with her?

don't do it, baby!

oh, and i did snap a pic of our new rooster, little jim. no eggs today, though. perhaps the honeymoon is over?

little jim making his move

no excuses.

the sky opened up. rains came and washed away the hot. i was actually cold last night. so i should write, right?

first off, donkey is still pregnant.

secondly, i am at war with bugs. everyday a new insect invades my garden. the latest, colorado potato beetles. they must be terribly disappointed. i am nowhere near colorado. and i don't grow potatoes. still they like to graze on tomato plants. i just can't believe the damage that has been done to my plants. luckily, the bugs only like unripe fruit. so the tomatoes that made it past the cute little baby green stage, have survived. and i do believe i will partake of my first red sun-riped tomato this evening for dinner.

the puppies have graduated from being confined to the barn at night to full-time free range 24-hour guardian dogs. they have been doing a great job. barking, growling and sounding scary. keeping our field free of coyotes during the wee hours. needless to say, they don't sleep much at night. poor things are just downright pooped during the day. but we are very proud of them. our goats now get to graze at their leisure. not just when we open the barnyard gate. freedom seems to make for happier healthier animals.

cabbage loopers like brocolli

future dinner

oooh, the damage done


what guardian dogs do during the day


happy freedom

still waiting...

ever heard the expression "stubborn as a mule"? well, donkeys have that beat. stella is STILL pregnant. holding her foal captive. demanding more grain, a new harness, and possibly her own tractor. so what have i done in the meantime??? something i never dreamed of in a million years... joined an on-line support group for donkey owners. i can barely even type the words. it sounds absurd. but it is helping to pass the time and calm my worries.

our drummer, on the other hand, has held up his end of the baby delivering deal. his wife gave birth yesterday (with his assistance) to a little baby girl named ophelia. looks just like him, minus the beard. congrats to the proud parents.

and here in the hellishly hot rook homestead, our newest little angel, del ray, is on day two of no accidents. yes, we HAVE had him for more than a month and this is only accident-free day TWO. but apparently, mini-pins are one of the hardest breeds to housetrain. no wonder we are his third home in four months! poor little guy. oh well, it passes the time between checking my donkey's ever changing milk bag.

"why do i always make this face?"

the waiting is the hardest part.

our donkey, stella, is pregnant. expecting any day now. thought it was gonna happen last night. i swear she was having contractions at sunset. so, we stayed up and checked on her every hour. from what i've read, predicting when a donkey is gonna foal is difficult. their gestation period can last 11 to 13 months. she was pregnant when we got her and we don't know the conception date. but they usually don't go into heat past july. so we're thinking this is right on track with how she looks..... full as a tick and ready to drop!

stella's big belly as photographed on 7/11/08

donkeys usually give birth at dawn. but it is not unheard of that they will do it in broad daylight right in the middle of a yard sale or family barbeque. so, who knows? what i do know is that her milk bag has dropped. she has waxed nipples (sorry if that's a bit graphic). and today it looks as if she has the classic "pointy belly" which means baby is getting into position to make the big dive out into the world.

i'm a nervous wreck. this will be our first birth on the farm.

mineral area farm.

we live smack in the middle of mineral area, an area of missouri known for it's mining towns. so it only seemed appropriate to supplement our animals' pasture diet with some well needed mineral blocks.

no stella! you can't eat the whole thing!

lil'ann loves her salt.

so does bianka!

it don't look like much...

but yesterday was a huge milestone. we've been spending the last 9 months cleaning out the barn. the previous farm owners had stockpiled the barn up to the hay loft with layers upon layers of trash. big trash, small trash, heavy trash, nasty trash, rusty trash... you name it. endless junk. and during our first months here, it seemed like an impossible task. we started by cleaning the smaller rooms and stalls. setting up the pig pen, the goat stalls, cleaning out the hospital. and little by little, pile by pile we whittled it down to the dirt floor. yesterday we finally opened up the main room of the barn. our animals are free to go in and out as they like and they have tons of space.

stella's grand entrance

barn opening day appetizers

"there used to be a wall here."

meet stella.

traveling all the way from the lake of the ozarks....
stella is the final piece in our farm security project.
she has a black belt in karate, loves butterscotch treats,
and speaks five languages including skunk and bob-cat.