Life on the farm is unique. What compares? Share your thoughts. We grow our own food, raise a bunch of critters, have a bunch of fun, love the land. Outdoors is best. I’m bias? Yes, I am… May I ask you this—Do you love the land?
How about you? What’s your ‘jam’? Tell us, please! As my mother used to say, “It takes all kinds to make this world, Midy”.
She was right.
We all have more than one name. Think about it. How many names do you have? Mom, Honey, Babe, Aunt, Granny, Mrs., and sometimes, “Hey, you!”
I have another name too. All the animals know it well. Know what it is?
FOOD!
Oh, it is sweet to think when our animals look at me, whinny, moo or follow me it is because they love me so. But it is not. Truth is, they are
HUNGRY!
Yes, in their world, my name is Food.
My husband says I am not happy unless I am feeding something. Guess he is right.
They also have the mistaken notion that every time I come around them I owe them a treat. I do admit these animals are a bit spoiled. Most especially our horses. They are all seniors. In my mind they have earned their semi-retirement. Their treats are their ‘retirement pay.’
But, good grief, must they stare at me with such begging faces? Tell me, could you tell these faces no to an iddy-biddy treat?
Tell me, how can these faces be turned down for treats?
I grew up on a big farm, we now live on a small one. Just the same, animals have been a part of my entire life. They have taught me more than I may ever realize.
I am also a photographer. Though that title seems not to fit me, as I don’t really consider myself a photographer. Yet, I’ve taken photos since I got my first Kodak camera at eleven years old. Many moons have passed since then.
I am also unashamedly a Christian. These three loves of my life have lived together in harmony and beautifully. Hardly a day goes by where these three passions do not meet.
May I prove my point to you and share a few photographs of my love of animals and farm life and beliefs?
May you find your peace, joy and passion in this New Year…I have a thought, ask God. He loves to answer the seekers of life. God bless you.
How about you? Where do you find meaning and direction and purpose in this earthly, ephemeral life?
Faith, love and hope go a long way in this world. Even in the life of a little chicken named Sally Lind.
Chickens and horses get along well together around the barn. Chickens follow the horses around while grazing. They eat the bugs the horses stir up. They help compost the manure in the way they scratch through it looking for worms. It is a good set-up for the most part.
Horses move incredibly fast and sometimes even too fast for a busy chicken. High Hope came tearing into the paddock last week at feeding time, and Sally Lind was busy scratching around. She got stomped by High Hope.
I was in the barn and heard her squawk. She quickly limped into a corner of a stall and sat down. She was hurt.
I gently picked her up. No blood, her wings looked and felt fine. Nothing seemed too wrong, she just limped. I put her in the coop.
I called a good friend and long time chicken owner for instruction on culling her. But held onto hope, faith and love. She would eat when I set her in front of food and water. I kept her quiet and away from all activity and other animals.
About five days later I was prepared to ask my husband to cull her out the flock when I noticed a tiny improvement in her limp.
She steadily improved and now nearly two weeks later, she is fine and out with all of us! Such joy!
Yes, faith, love and hope go a long way in this world. Even with little chickens!
Lesson learned? Clear the paddock of all chickens before calling the horses in!
Our prayers were answered as the kiosk outside our local nursery had posted: Pray for Rain.
We have had the most gentle, lovely rain fall for the past three days. It truly is heavenly, and an answer to prayer. Glory!
I heard we are 8″ short of rainfall. It has felt like a desert here where we live. But not anymore. It has rained. Flowers have opened up, the earth smells good, the horses hooves will soften. We gardeners and farmers are grateful.
I like Benjamin Franklins quote: “When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.”
Though our well did not go dry, our daughter & son-in-laws well went murky. They came to farm to give their well a rest.
All is well now because He waters the Earth. Amen.
That is what my mom would always say. Well, this day belongs to chickens. More specifically, their eggs. They are nearly as hard to find as my hundred pair of glasses I have strewn all over creation here on the farm. Once eggs are found, the price is so high, one would think there was a golden one in the dozen somewhere. Things come and go in this world, and I think it is super that the one animal the whole universe wants for lunch is having her big day!
We have owned chickens off and on for many years. We have had them continuously since moving here. They are an important part of our farm. We depend on them not only for eggs, but because they are free-range, they perform good work around the place. They eat tons of bugs. It is fun watching them follow the horses, gobbling up insects the horses stir up. They are great composters as well.
I leave fresh horse poop in the paddocks for several days. The chickens will dutifully scratch the piles up after a few days looking for just-hatched worms. Great! Worm controllers as well. Want to create a new flower or vegetable plot? Pen your hens in desired spot for new garden, leave them there several days, and voila! They have done the first part of scratching up the ground for a new bed, and have fertilized it as well. Good chickens.
As to be expected, we do loose some to predators during the day. Though dogs and horses help in that department. They help keep wildlife at bay. So far, in nearly eight years of having chickens here, we have not ever seen a snake around the barn. Thanks again to dogs, horses, and cats.
So hurray for the chicken. These current days seem to be hers, and I would say everyone likes to have ‘their day’, would you agree?
Hay fields grew thick and quietly over the Shenandoah Valley in my youth. Tractors and hay making equipment were busy working the fields, dropping hundreds of fresh-baled hay onto the ground and hauled to barns for the coming winter.
Fields full of tractors, wagons, balers, and the best part, young, tanned farm boys, were busy ‘making hay while the sun shined.” It was exciting watching those strong young men toss those heavy bales onto the wagons as if they were handling only a feather!
Baling hay is hot, hard, scratchy work. We baled it on the 1,300 acre farm we called home for many years. At that time most everyone grew their own supply.
But at they say, times have changed. At first it was the equipment that changed. I recall how ‘odd’ the big round balers looked when first they appeared. Boys were not so willing to work in the hay fields anymore, the big round bales covered that lack of manpower.
Slowly big farms got smaller and smaller, then sold. Thus was the fate of ours. The few big farms that remained supplied the need for hay.
I have purchased hay my entire adult life. So when my twinster and brother-in-law, Chipley and Kent Gordon, starting selling hay to supply local needs I understood that. What I did not understand is that they are called ‘hay brokers.’
What started out in 2015 as a small, honor-system, pick-it-up-yourself hay from their small barn has evolved into a busy, local hay supply business. A thriving family-owned and operated business.
Tractor trailer loads of hay are delivered to their new, big hay barn. Built in the Spring of 2019, this large barn holds up to seven semi-truck loads of hay, according to Chad Young, Hay Manager for Colorado Horse Hay, and also the owners son-in-law. Large orders are delivered by a compete staff of men driving their own trucks and trailers. Small orders are available for pick-up yourself.
Hay is kept orderly according to size and type. Chad knows his hay and his way around those huge stacks. Bales are much larger than ones I purchase here in the East. Bundles of Timothy is the most popular. Chad said in the summer they can go through four semi-loads a day!
Their hay is supplied as far away as Wyoming, and surrounding areas as well. He said they serve customers as far away as Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and even Florida! Check out their website: coloradohorsehay.com
Thank you for the tour Colorado Horse Hay folks. Keep up the good work!
“How can you do that?” I am frequently asked this question when people hear our chickens are free-range.
“It does pose a risk,” I concede, “but the benefits outweigh the risks.”
How can that be? How can free-range chickens ever survive? There are several factors that work in their favor out here at our place. We have dogs that keep wildlife at bay. We also walk all over the farm, thus leaving our human scent as well. The horses play a big part too in keeping critters away. Though they can injure and even kill chickens as I wrote in a previous post, Faster than You Think—Ask the Chickens. It does not happen often. A healthy horse will defend his domain if feel threatened, or a ‘stranger’ shows up on their turf.
Free-range chickens are a benefit to everyone. They eat bugs which makes us all happy. I leave horse manure several days in the paddock to ‘cure’ a bit. Chickens peck through it eating the worms, thereby breaking the parasite cycle for the horses. Bonus! They also are my first composers. Manure has been beautifully broken down by their work.
Their hen house is in a stall in the barn. This also offers extra protection for them, and a plus for us as eggs are laid either in their house or feed buckets. Rarely is there need to have a daily egg hunt.
While this works here, it may not work at your place. Which does not really matter. I have seen beautiful hen houses and enclosures to keep them safe, all full of a bunch of happy hens!
So please do not feel bad if your chickens cannot be free-range. I am just answering the question of how it works for us.
No matter how chickens are kept, would you agree that they are fun and #chickensmakeuschuckle ?
Happy chicken farming!
Watching our animals interact with one another is a life lesson in and of itself.
They communicate with each other, and they seem to understand. I have noticed they do need a bit of ‘training’ to learn each other’s language, but they learn quickly!
It has been a while since we have had a puppy here on the farm with us. We got our Pembroke Corgi puppy, HoneyPie, one-and-a-half years ago at eight weeks old. I kept a close eye on her for the first year. She needed to learn about horses and cats from a safe distance. It only takes one determined strike from a horses front leg to break a dogs back. And goodness, the damage a mature cat could give a silly, playful puppy! She also had to learn not to chase the chickens.
She is now nineteen months old. She knows her way around the farm, cats, horses and chickens. Though she takes great joy in giving the chickens a good, quick run! I am teaching her to herd them also.
Our one miniature horse, Clarette, has made it her mission to keep HoneyPie out of the paddock, and fields. The photos below show interesting ‘talk’ between horse and dog. It’s fascinating to watch! Can you ‘read’ their language?
In reality Clarette is only bluffing. She just enjoys her power over HoneyPie! Such is life here at the farm.
“Jehovah Rapha,” is the cry of my heart this sad week. We cry out to God, and He hears us. Oh Lord, heal our land, heal our people.
We are living in an upside-down world of no sense. Wrong is called right and right called wrong. Yet, we all can agree the mass murders that took place this week are wrong and devastating. If only Your people would hear Your voice, You would heal our land. Repentance belongs to us, we must repent of our sins for God to hear us. Dear God, hear those that cry out to You. Comfort our hearts, those families. Spread Your loving wings over our hurting hearts. We need You! This is my prayer this week. To God be the Glory!
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