Farm play

I cannot say it is good to be back at the office but it is about time I got back to work. There are a multitude of things happening today and tomorrow that require my attention and it will be helpful to be here to get them done rather than walking into the flurry of activity after it has already begun.

We had a great Christmas and New Year. Nate, Cori and the kids came over on Christmas and stayed until New Year’s morning. It was fun to have the grandkids on the farm. Mama probably enjoyed it above all the rest of us but she often has the capacity to do so more than the rest of us. They helped in every chore she could involve them in; feeding, water and collecting eggs in the chicken coop, filling the creep feeder with hay for the cattle and feeding the dogs.

On the morning that we all cleaned out the nesting boxes I took the time to rebuild the roosts on the nesting boxes and straighten out the other roosts so we could accommodate the flock we now care for. I told Mama yesterday as the chickens scratched and pecked their way around the apartment that they think they own the entire farm. We had not let them out for several days because it was cold and wet so they were making the most of their freedom.

One afternoon while we were letting the kids play in the hay stacked in the barn Mykenzie discovered a nest tucked back between two bales of hay. When we got up to the nest and looked in, we counted fifteen eggs that had been laid in that nest. When I really dug around it yielded twenty five eggs. Mama had been wondering why we were down to six or seven eggs in the coop each day. It took all Blake could give the reach the eggs.

Over the holiday week Allie went into heat and that attracted an older male dog that looked to be an Australian Shepherd mix of some kind. We have not been able to get rid of him. Nate and I tried to chase him away – even using a cane in the effort, but we could not deter him, distract him or dislodge him from the farm. He finally took up residence outside the apartment. For several cold nights he slept in the shop.

He is a very pleasant dog, but he is another male. That has not worked out too well with our Great Pyrenees male. They have fought on several occasions – mostly over who would protect Mama from some perceived threat or just purely out of jealousy. He is gentle as a kitten with the kids. He does not harm the chickens or chase the cattle but he is not fond of Misty. He has gotten her stirred up on a couple occasions – which did not sit well with Mama. We are hoping once Allie is finished that he goes home, but he seems content to hang around.

Sadly, we did not get to do anything very exciting or different with the kids while they were here but they seemed to enjoy the freedom to play, to swing and to climb the “dirt mountain” we have outside the apartment. They also played in the shop. Nate and I built them a ramp to run cars down while we waited to Chase and Makaila to bring the scooters they had bought the kids for Christmas.

Nate made a little go cart out of a couple two by fours and the wheels off of the lawnmower. It did pretty well for the kids but it could not hold up when they took it to the little skate part in Bowie and he rode it down one of the larger ramps. The last thing Nate did was to disassemble all the things he put together for the kids while they were here; a sad but necessary task. Mama and I spent the day yesterday cleaning the trailer and outing away the bedding and toys.

Another sad task.