Category: Critter Stories

Our critters have big personalities, and that gives us plenty to write about. Whether they are making us laugh, cry, or scratch our heads, they are our family.

Critter Stories · Farmtastic Stories

Horse vs. Post

My Farmtastic LifeLeave a comment

It’s been a wild couple of weeks around the farm, to say the least.  First, Yeller Feller spent his designated time at the vet to get his shots and get neutered.  Great news, he is a healthy little guy.  However, he and Nightmare are still working out the pecking order in and around the barn.  There’s been some hopping, some growling, and some swatting. (We are hopeful it will settle out soon, because this farm mamma likes to have happy fur-kids.)

The big news has been with Sweet Suzy Q.  She tested out her karate skills and took out a 4×4 post.  While I didn’t see it happen, I suspect she got in a situation where the fellas were annoying her, she bucked and took out the post.  While she is a black belt, she did a number on her back right leg, requiring over 20 stitches and resulting in two weeks of rest and healing.

Farm Photo - Busted 4x4 post
Horse vs. Post. Suzy beat the post, but the post left its mark on her, too.

As I’ve said before, these things don’t happen during business hours.  And to add a new twist, she not only did this late at night, but she waited until Cowboy wasn’t home.  I guess she just wanted to see just how much her mamma could cowgirl up.  (Thanks for the challenge, sweet girl!)

Once again, we owe great thanks to our amazing equine vets at Peak Performance Equine Hospital.  Our regular vet was out of town, but he called me right back and got in touch with the vet on call.  After exchanging texts and photos (another amazing way technology helps in a not so technical life), we decided the best bet was a night time visit.

Since Cowboy was still a couple of hours away, I called my dad in for some help and an extra set of hands.  As always, Dad came in a snap when I called him.  (Yes, I’m a daddy’s girl. More on that later.) We got Suzy all prepped and ready and waiting for the vet.  What a relief to see the headlights of the vet truck pull into the drive.

Out in the driveway with headlights and barn lights shining, the vet worked his magic and had Suzy stitched up in no time. Great news – the bone looked good and she missed her tendon. (Oh, and thank goodness for the drugs.  Suzy was a little dopey but she stood like a champ. Truth be told, I probably could have used a little something myself.)

Horse Photo - Ranger, Smokey, and River
The fellas keeping watch over Suzy. They don’t love that she is not out with them.

The doc  was patient as I asked lots of questions and took notes on exactly how to take care of our Q so that we could make sure she would be on the mend. We’ve been on the twice-a-day antibiotic regiment, changing wrappings, and trying to give sweet girl some extra loving.  Admittedly she’s getting a little stir crazy, so today I took her out on her lead rope and let her nibble some fresh grass.

The vet comes again this week and will remove the stitches and give us an update.  We’ve been so grateful for all of the prayers and concerns for Suzy.  All is looking great.  We checked in last week with the vet and did X-rays as a precaution, and the bone looked great.  And best of all, there is no pain.

Horse Photo - Sweet Suzy Q in the pasture
Suzy enjoying some munching in the pasture today. She needed to stretch her legs.

So as we keep the adventures rolling here at the farm, we hope they take a turn for the less dramatic.  Right now we’re waiting to see how big the cucumbers in the garden grow, and that is enough drama for this week.

P.S. – Sweet Suzy Q rocked out her vet wrap as we got her teal with stars.  And when I say we, I mean me.  I’ll take the responsibility for this one.  Cowboy is off the hook.

Horse Photo - Sweet Suzy Q
Suzy rocking the teal and star vet wrap. No one says a girl shouldn’t look pretty.

 

 

Critter Stories · Farmtastic Stories

PSA: The Farm Is Full

My Farmtastic Life1 Comment

This is a public service announcement to critters everywhere: the farm is full.  We love y’all dearly, but for the love of all that is country life,  we simply can’t take one more right now.  When we lost our dear sweet Abby girl earlier this year, we were down to 16 beloved fur-kids of all shapes and sizes.  Cowboy and I were content to let the number dwindle on its own over time, but alas the animals had other plans.

Cat Photo - Yeller Feller peeking out from behind the fence.
Yeller Feller peeking our behind the wild verbena, contemplating coming in for dinner.

Enter Yeller Feller.  (Yes, you can thank Cowboy for his name.) A yellow tabby tomcat with  no tail.  We’d seen him from time to time around the farm, but he’d dart away quickly and was clearly a wild kitty.  Until, that is, Cowboy started feeding him.  Yes, you heard me correctly, Cowboy was the softy this time.  He started putting some extra kitty kibble out at night and low and behold Yeller Feller started getting brave and coming around.

He’s not quite sure about us just yet, but Cowboy has made time to sit in the chair outside the horse stalls and get closer to Yeller, and Yeller has rewarded him by letting him get a pet in.  We’ve now progressed to ear scratches, and he’s beginning to follow us around the farm during chore time.  He’s still not totally sure we are not going to eat him, but day in and day out, Yeller Feller is making his life on the farm.

So as soon as we can get his trust a bit more, we’ll be off to the vet for a round of shots and a neutering. Yeller Feller will live at the farm with fresh food and water and lots of pets as long as he wants to.  And likely over time, in the night time hours he’ll find his way into the barn with Nightmare to avoid the boogie man hours in the evening.

Which leads me to the second part of my PSA, people please spay and neuter your pets and don’t just dump them out to fend for themselves.  I’m not sure if Yeller Feller ever had a family or if he is the product of wild kitties himself, but he’s clearly heard the underground animal hotline that says the farm is an excellent place to call home.  While we love our critters here, what breaks my heart most of all is that so many of our critters lost their families or never had them to start with, all because folks did not care enough.

I truly believe that how we treat the least among us is what resides in our hearts.  We owe it to our animal friends to give them the best life we can, and not to abandon them.  It’s not fair to them, and it passes the responsibility down the road.  Yeller Feller, you certainly found a good road.  We’re glad you joined us, but please let the hotline know there is currently no room at the inn.

Cat Photo - Yeller Feller the kitty licking his lips
Yeller says, “Kitty food is mmm-mmm good.”

P.S. I secretly wonder if our beloved fur-kids who have crossed the rainbow bridge lead the next one to us.  Abby was yellow, and maybe she thought we were getting too many grey pets around here and needed to even the score.  

 

Critter Stories · Farmtastic Stories

Free Dogs Are Never Free

My Farmtastic Life3 Comments

Well if you’ve been following the farm’s Facebook page or read the blog regularly, you know that our beloved hound dog and Maybelle’s best pal, Goober,  recently went in for some surgery, as the vet suspected it might be the big C.  Well, thank goodness for an astute vet, as it was cancer.  But the great news for us, and for dear old Goobs, is that our wonderful vet got all of the cancer.  And as far as cancers go, it’s not a terrible one, if such a thing exists. It doesn’t metastasize, so really our job is to watch for more lumps and bumps and get them removed when and where needed.  (We love our vet, but I’m pretty sure he loves us, too.  Wink. Wink.)

This all all leads me to a running joke we have here at the farm, free dogs are never free.  You see dear old Goobs showed up at the farm three years ago now (you can read about his adventure here), and it was love at first site.  That poor pooch was not going anywhere, as he had found his furever home, and both he and I knew it, and we’ve been a bonded pair ever since.

However, in his short time with us, he’s had three surgeries for various lumps and bumps (this is the first cancer, though), and when he showed up he was also heart worm positive, so we had that treated and cured as well.  Can you say cha-ching?  Goober hit the jackpot, and we had to hit our savings account.

 

However, in the case of rescue puppies (and cats, and horses, and donkeys), I wouldn’t take a million bucks for any of them.  You see most of the critters here on the farm are rescues of one sort of another.  Most of our horses are American mustangs, born in the wild and adopted from the Bureau of Land Management.  The cats all just had a way of showing up in our lives; in fact, I’ve never ever gone looking for a cat.  The donkeys were a gift from some dear friends, and the most of the pups are rescues.  It seems we’ve all just found our way to each other.

Speaking of finding their way to us, several of our friends have hypothesized that the animal kingdom has put out a sort of  signal that the farm is a safe place to turn up.  No matter domestic or wild, you’ll find grub, water, and love.  Our vet likes to joke that if he knew our real address, we’d have even more. (Thank goodness for a post office box!)

But I think the real culprit for our population are some very special friends.  Before we moved to the farm we had a sweet pooch named Petey, who we affectionately called Needy Petey.  While I loved that little guy, he had some issues.  He had come from abuse and while he had lots of love to give, his behavior could be a bit quirky to say the least. In fact, he used to love to mark his spot, which often meant whizzing on his sisters.  Poor soul just could not aim.  Friends used to tell me all the time, “He’s sweet, but I wouldn’t keep him.”  Clearly, I’m going to need to write about Petey someday.  I digress …

Petey has since passed over the rainbow bridge, and I firmly believe he and all of our fur-children who have passed before and after him continue to guide new “kids” into our life.  It seems the ones who alway need us most and who are the perfect fit for us find us, and in return we find ourselves needing them right back.  (Check out our Meet the Farm page to see our rainbow bridge fur-kids.)

So while free dogs are never really free, no fur-kid ever is, and that is okay.  What they give back to us is more than we could ever repay them.  They make our lives full, and for me, in many ways, they make me who I am.  For that, I am eternally grateful.

P.S. – If you are looking for a pet to add to your family, please make sure to check out your local shelters.  You could find your million-dollar pal.

 

Critter Stories · Farmtastic Stories

Oh, Sweet Sleep

My Farmtastic LifeLeave a comment

It’s been a busy vet week here at the farm, and our four-legged children are keeping us hopping.  First, we took Maybelle in for the usual round of shots.  Blessedly, that was uneventful, other than the fact that Maybelle loves to get in the car but starts to spin like a maniac when you try to get her out of the car.  Go figure.

And since Goober is Maybelle’s best pal, we took him along for the journey.  Two are better than one, plus Goober had some odd little growths we wanted the vet to double check.  Well as it turned out, the spots all needed to be removed and the vet was concerned it was the dreaded C word, aka cancer.  So like good parents, we scheduled him right away and had those puppies removed.  We need to keep our Goobs happy and healthy.

Which leads me to my sleep deprivation, as I’m sure moms of two- and four-leggeds can relate.  Goober was in and out of the vet in one day, and was super happy to be back amongst his pals.  However, he’s got stitches in multiple places, but mostly on his undercarriage, hence it’s not so comfy to lay down.  Well we thought he had himself settled for the evening, and so we tucked the farm in for a good night’s rest.

Not so fast.  At 11 p.m. I awoke to hear Goober moaning.  Just sad little sighs and moans, as if to say, “Mom, I don’t really feel so great.”  Not helping the matter was that he was wearing a standard issue cone of annoyance in order to keep him from licking away on his fresh wounds.  At first, I thought he was just stuck, as he had his cone wedged under our bed.  (Yes, he really did.) But not so.  He just felt badly.

Dog Photo - Goober with his cone
Goober rocking out the cone. None to thrilled, but reaching the point of acceptance.

So as not to disturb Cowboy, I took the Goobs out to the sofa where we twisted and turned, propped up with pillows, tried with cone on and cone off to get peace.  He’d lay with his head on my shoulder and just about the time my heavy eye lids would finally drift off to sleep here would come another moan. (Not to mention the surgery had given him a lovely case of doggy gas.  Poor guy, and my poor nose.)

I was stuck in that spot between heartbreak and begging for just five minutes of sleep.   Finally sometime between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. he gave it up and finally tuckered out with my hand on his head.  (But not before one of the feline kiddos also decided to upchuck on the floor. Really???? ) Let me just say thank goodness for comfy sofas, tough stain-proof floors, and antibacterial wipes.

I am happy to report, we got some good meds at the vet today and Goober is wagging and feeling much better.  He’s also become proficient in carrying around his cone.  Yes, he still runs into the door frame, but is figuring out how to wiggle around to make it work.  I love my four-leggeds, but this farm mama needs some shut eye.  Here’s to hoping Goobs is up for it too.  Putting meds in a cheese snack now, just in case.

P.S. – Please keep Goober in your thoughts and prayers.  We’re hoping for a good report.

 

Critter Stories · Farmtastic Stories

My Funny Valentine

My Farmtastic Life1 Comment

Valentine’s Day is a low key holiday around the farm. Cowboy likes to say, “Do you want to celebrate love just one day or wouldn’t you rather celebrate all year long?” And it’s true, he spoils me and vice versa. The farm is a pretty lovable place for people and our four-leggeds.

But this year, Maybelle decided to start the day off by getting in on the act. Truth be told, I was a sleepy girl on Valentine’s morning, as I had been up late the night before reading away. As usual, Maybelle was the first to stir and start the morning by dancing at the backdoor so she could go out and greet the day.

I stumbled to the door in a haze, and crawled back under the covers praying for just five more minutes. (You can ask Cowboy, try as I might, I have not yet mastered the art of being a morning person.) After a few minutes of running around and doing her thing, Maybelle came flying back in.

She had something in her mouth, but since this is the land of a hundred toys, I didn’t pay too much attention. That is until she hopped up in bed and unceremoniously dropped this blob of something right next to my head. At this point, the haze began to clear and my thoughts immediately went to, “Oh no, what in the world has she brought to me?”

I’ll be honest, a horse apple was the first dreaded though that popped into my mind. Please Lord, don’t let it be that. But oh no, Miss Maybelle had something even better. Somewhere she had found a small dead baby bird, feathers covered in dog slobber and little feet sticking straight up. Can we just chime in with one collective eeeeewwwwww?

Not only was I sad that we had somehow lost a baby bird, because let’s face it we love almost any critter around here, but worse it was now taking up residence next to my pillow. The cobwebs now completely out of my head, I scooped up Maybelle’s gift and apologized to the little bird as it made its way into a trash bag burial.

Maybelle was oh so very proud of her Valentine’s gift, which I think she really believed she could lick back to life and have as her latest friend. Let’s just say that we do not want to repeat that little gift all year long, or really ever again. My funny little valentine, next time a morning snuggle will do.

Dog Photo - Maybelle with her tongue out
Maybelle – a lovely Valentine all on her own. (Now to convince her of that!)

P.S. – Best Valentine’s present of the day, Cowboy made sure we had nice fresh sheets and pillow cases!

Critter Stories · Farmtastic Stories

Not During Business Hours

My Farmtastic Life1 Comment

We’ve been pretty blessed on the farm, and all of our animals are getting along really well.  We like to think it comes from a lot of love from us and absolutely wonderful vets, both equine and small animal.  On occasion, things go off course and someone gets hurt or injured, and of course when this happens it’s always at odd times.  What do I mean by odd times? Night, weekends, and holidays – when the price and the panic level both rise!

The latest adventure belongs to Ranger. It was once said that Ranger should have been named Dennis the Menace because he simply can’t keep himself out of trouble.  It’s not that he’s looking for trouble or mean in any way, his imagination just always gets the best of him.

On a recent Wednesday evening, Cowboy and I ran into town to grab dinner and groceries.  When we got home, we went out to check on the horses and low and behold there stood Ranger with a horrible gash on the left side his face, hide just hanging there.  Now, for those who know me you know that I have a weak stomach for these things, so I immediately called for Cowboy to take a peek by yelling into the barn, “Come look at Ranger. He hurt himself.”

This got Cowboy’s eyes rolling because, let me just admit this right now, I am a bit neurotic about the critters. I watch them for changes, scrapes, any little thing.  Cowboy is used to this cry from me, and normally it’s nothing or even less than nothing.  So he comes sauntering out with that look that says, “Come on, it’s late.”

Cowboy takes one look, and I hear him say, “Oh man.  That’s not good.”  Which means, you guessed it, call the vet.  Cowboy is a firefighter/paramedic in his day job, so he’s seen a thing or two, and when he votes for medical attention, I pay attention.  After texting back and forth with the vet to share pictures of the injury, it was decided Ranger needed to go to the vet that night

Oh, one minor detail I forgot to mention, this was right after the great ice storm in Texas this past December, which then turned into a mud-pocalypse in our pasture. Cowboy dutifully climbed on the big red tractor and pulled out our horse trailer.  (Oh how I love tractors, but more on that another day.) We load Ranger, lock up the farm and head to the vet.

Long story short, stitches are required, as are drugs.  This is the first time in Ranger’s life he’s been sedated, at which point we learned not only is he goofy when drugged, but he is STUBBORN.  It was great fun getting his groggy hind end back in the trailer for the ride home.  Picture us out in the parking lot, me and the vet pushing on his rump and Cowboy pulling on his front.  Oh what a sight we were!

Back to the farm we went, supplied with medicines and thankful hearts.  Ranger just missed his eye, so we were definitely counting our blessings. Two weeks later, stitches came out and Ranger is on the mend.  The great news is that it looks like there won’t be a scar on his handsome face (because as you know he is my Fabio).

Big thanks to our wonderful vets who always fit us in, night or day or holiday.  We couldn’t live this farmtastic life without you!

P.S. – We found how Ranger injured himself. It was a rogue screw high up on a piece of equipment.  It was an absolute fluke that he found it, but it has been fixed.  Thanks to Cowboy of course, who was up at dawn the next day hunting the source of the injury.  They may be “my” horses, but I know how he really feels about them.

Critter Stories · Farmtastic Stories

Who Said Horses Weren’t Expensive?

My Farmtastic Life3 Comments

I have a confession.  It was not that many years ago that I was afraid of horses.  I’m talking you-would-not-find-me-on-the same-side-of-a-fence-with-a-horse frightened.  Now as an animal lover, I also thought they were beautiful, but just never could address my fear to get near them.  Because quite simply – they are BIG animals!

However, for years my dad has had a sweet quarter horse named Buddy that he  boarded.  And while he paid for boarding and vet bills, he used to say, “Oh, you’ll spend more on your dog to get shots than a horse.” And since I had no point of reference, I believed him.  I’ve also come to learn this was his way to gently poke at my mom for the vet bills for their dogs.  But let me just say, me oh my  have the last five years been an eye opener for me.

In 2008, enter Ranger.  A sweet little yearling that stole my heart.  The thought crept into my brain, “I can do this.”  So we adopted Ranger from the BLM, and our adventure began.  If you are a total newbie like me, you’re in for a royal shocker.  While I loved my little guy, the accessories that he needed were awe inspiring.  Here are a couple of things I learned about my horse and his accessories:

  • A Horse Trailer – You can’t put the horse in the backseat of your car.
  • Hay and Feed – If you are in Texas, don’t count on growing it.  If drought comes, you might as well feed dollar bills to your horses.
  • Halters – Headstalls, rope halters, bits.  Why have one of each when you can have three of each?
  • Pedicures – Not just for you anymore.  Those little horsey hooves need pampering too. Your farrier will be your new best friend, and prepare yourself and your checkbook to see him every six to eight weeks.
  • Brushes – There are SO many kinds.  We humans have nothing on horses in this department.
  • Muck Rakes – Let’s just say, what goes in must come out, and you’ve gotta have a way to clean it all up.
  • Buckets – For feed, for water, and just for carrying stuff.  Trust me, the more the merrier in this department
  • Vet – Oh how I adore my vet.  And I’m willing to pay the fee to have him come to me so that I can avoid the rounding up, loading up, hauling, unloading, reloading, hauling home routine.  Not to mention the times he has to make a trip out for an ailing equine (and just so you know, it will be night time, the weekend, or a holiday because that’s just how they roll).
  • Fences – Building or repairing, there is always one on the to-do list.
  • Stalls – Every horse needs a wind break from north winds, or a place to get out of the rain (even if they don’t choose to).
  • Random Meds – You must have a medicine cabinet for your horse just in case for cuts, scrapes, aches.  Horses are people too!
Photo - 4 Rope Halters for Horses
Just a sampling of our rope halter collection. Yes they are color coordinated, and we have a color for each horse. Is there any other way?

Oh, and around our place just multiply this by four.  Because, like halters why have just one?  All of this makes me scratch my head and say, “Really Dad, not expensive?”

Needless to say, this is one of those instances in life when I think I am perfectly within my rights to tell my dad he was very, very, very wrong.  However, I can also say father knows best.  Horses have changed my life. Taught me so much about myself, and I can’t imagine looking out into the farm’s pastures and not seeing my big, loveable guys and gal.

So if your heart is leading you to the horse, just make sure you know your way to the bank.

Critter Stories · Farmtastic Stories

Cat TV

My Farmtastic Life3 Comments

We’ve got animals galore here at the farm.  There are those that are our pets, and those that are volunteer farm critters like deer, jack rabbits, and birds.  And whether you are a pet or a volunteer at the farm, we try to keep you happy.  (I’m convinced that the animals are spreading the word that our little farm is the best place to hang out – there’s good grub, fresh water, and the people love you!)

One of our favorite volunteers is the hummingbird.  And it’s suffice to say that over the last couple of years we have become a hummingbird destination, think Club Med for those little guys.  They start arriving in late March and hang with us all the way into October.

We go through bags and bags of sugar as we make hummingbird nectar, or as Cowboy calls it “hummer juice,” by the gallon.  Sometimes those little buggers will go through eight cups a day. And you know how small a hummingbird is, right?

We’ve learned that dawn and dusk are their favorite times to flock to the feeders, and since we love a good show, we’ve hung the feeders in front of our living room windows. It’s relaxing to just sit on the sofa with a glass of tea and watch the myriad of hummingbirds come and go.  We’ve got all kinds – some are green, some have purple necks, and some have red necks.  Some are rounder and a little frazzled, and since I identify with that description myself, those little guys are my favorites.

But if you’ve been following my posts, you know that we have cats galore as well, some might even say a cat-splosion has occurred at the farm.  And because I am a neurotic pet owner, I have a fair amount of them inside, for example Shadow and her three boys (Chip, Grizzly, and Bear).  When Cowboy and I put the hummingbird feeders up, it was primarily for our enjoyment, but what we failed to realize is that we essentially created the farm TV network for cats.

Cat Photo - Shadow, Chip, Grizzly and Bear
Cat TV – Shadow and crew are tuned into the hummingbird show.

So every evening you can see the cats gather in the window, chirp and coo, stalk and perch as they watch the hummingbirds. Sometimes it’s like they are watching a well coordinated tennis match as heads bob to and fro.  And the occasional sassy hummingbird will hover just outside the window at eye level with their cat audience as if to say, “Look at me. Aren’t I adorable?  Wouldn’t I make  the most delicious snack?”

So maybe that means we created the Food Network for cats?

Critter Stories · Farmtastic Stories

Puppydom

My Farmtastic Life2 Comments

As I mentioned in my last post, things around the farm have been busy. One of those “things” that is keeping us so darn busy these days is a our latest addition, a new cocker spaniel puppy that I named Maybelle, or as Cowboy likes to call her, Squirt.  We needed a puppy like you need a heater on a hot Texas summer day in August.  That is to say, it’s completely not necessary and may just send you past the breaking point.

The truth is we were thinking that we would just let the doggy population here at Wild Horse Valley naturally shrink over time.  But my heart is often bigger than my brain, and so it goes that Maybelle is smack dab in the middle of it all.

You see, when I graduated from college I used my graduation money to buy the sweetest little blonde cocker spaniel named Madison.  We had that crazy girl for 13 years, and while we loved her to pieces, Cowboy said absolutely no more cocker spaniels.  While they rank high on the adorable scale they rate in the stratosphere on the high maintenance scale.  Madison costs us thousands of dollars with ear issues, eye issues, and just plain issues, but we loved her just the same.  Back in August of 2011, we lost our sweet Madison due to complications of old age.  That was a terribly hard day filled with tears from both Cowboy and me.  It’s never easy saying goodbye to a dear friend, but somehow they gently tell you when it’s time, and you muster all the strength and courage you have in your body to do what is best for them.

Fast forward to a March weekend this year, and Cowboy and I innocently decided to get out of the house on a Saturday afternoon. Considering what happened next, it is amazing Cowboy still lets me out of the house at all.  Anyway, we wound up at a flea market.  Well low and behold we met a family there with a litter of puppies.  They were a sweet family who said their cocker spaniels had one litter a year, and these cute squirmy things were the outcomes.  (Now before anyone gets upset, I do not condone or suggest buying from flea markets, this was purely a moment of heart and memories overloading brain. In general, I am a pound puppy type of gal.)

I reached down into the fur pile and pulled out Maybelle.  The littlest one, red in color, and one of only two little girls.  I could see Cowboy cringe and start to step away as I heard him very clearly say, “No!”  But memories of my sweet Madison kicked in as Maybelle cuddled up to my chin and I was done for.  Because they had no papers, they were very reasonable, and I happened to have just enough cash.  Sold!

Then puppydom kicked into full gear.  I think the brain has some sort of protective mechanism, because if we had ever remembered how much pure work a puppy is, well let’s just say we’d still just have three dogs. Holy smokes … potty training, crying in the middle of the night, chewing (oh the chewing).  If for one minute I was even thinking that two-legged children might be nice, puppydom  knocked it out of me in two seconds flat.

Puppydom has given me a whole new respect for my mommy friends.  The new favorite word at our house is “no,” as in “No, don’t eat that, ” or “No, leave the cats alone,” or “No, you really have to go outside again?” It’s 1/10 humor with 9/10 persistence and a whole bunch of puppy kisses, because let’s face it, who doesn’t love puppy breath?  Quite frankly, it’s a good thing puppies are cute, because otherwise … well let’s just leave it at that!

The good news is that I really think Maybelle needed to come live on a farm.  She is absolutely fascinated with the horses.  She’ll sit in our front yard and just watch the horses in sheer fascination.  If you hold her up to our big fellow, Smokey, she’ll put her floppy paw on his big nose and cover him in puppy kisses.  She loves nothing more than to be outside chasing butterflies, stalking grasshoppers, and tormenting my garden.  But she is our Squirt, and we adore her!

Dog Photo - Maybelle as a puppy
Maybelle on her first day home – already spoiled with love and toys.

Cowboy’s got photos of me passed out on the couch with a worn out Maybelle on my chest, both of us exhausted from puppydom, but someday I’ll look back and smile at those moments as my dear old Maybelle sits in my lap content to just be petted. How long do you think I’ll have to wait for that?

Critter Stories · Farmtastic Stories

Are You New Here?

My Farmtastic Life6 Comments

Horse chore time around the farm is a daily event,  and most of the time it is an uneventful routine, as it should be.  However, like kiddos are often known to do, critters just want to test you.  It reminds me of just one more drink or one more story before bedtime. But with the four-legged variety, there is snorting, blowing, refusal to go into stalls, and running around like crazies.  (For all my friends with little ones, this may not be so different at all.)

Tonight was one of those times.  Our horses know the routine.  We head out to the barn.  Everyone goes in their stalls.  Food is distributed.  Love and neck rubs are given.  Stalls are scooped.  This is not a new event, but tonight you would have thought I was asking them to barrel race at the rodeo.

For starters, Sweet Suzy Q took off running, which only caused everyone to take off into the pasture as well.  Again like the kids, one can sure wind up the bunch.  Once we settled and determined that a lion wasn’t chasing anyone, we slowly worked our way back to stalls.  But still no luck.  Tactic number two – a bribe.  Off to grab the food and see if I could coax them into place.  The thing with a thousand-pound animal is that you just can’t drag them by the arm and stuff them back under the covers.

Success!  Food worked and Suzy and Ranger were tucked neatly in their stalls munching away.  Now for Smokey, my resident jumpy pants.  The little jaunt into the pasture (thank you Suzy) had him on edge.  Snorting and blowing he followed me into his stall. Ears perked at every noise.  Gates swinging, doors opening.  It was like he was new here.  He settled into the goofy pace of eating and going to the end of his stall to check on things and then back to the food.  Whatever works for the big fellow, the bottom line was that he was in.

And finally there is River.  You would think the horse had never seen a stall in his life.  And to make matters more amusing, the donkeys kept right on my tail as I tried to talk and coax River into his stall.  You see the donkeys are last to eat, and they know it.  So the longer River fiddled around the longer they had to wait.  Patience is not something donkeys are experts at (please hold your shock).

Here I am in the pasture, talking to a thousand-pound horse, coaxing him with food all while Sweetie Pie is glued to my backside.  If you were there, you would have heard me yell at the donkeys, “Listen Thing 1 and Thing 2, back off for a minute.  Will ya?”  Yes, you have to talk to the animals to make it through these obstacles.  Finally after sniffing, timid steps, and great leaps of courage, River made it into his stall.  A collective sigh of relief could be heard throughout the farm.  Funny how the sound of horses chomping hay can be music to your ears.

Farm chores are routine and often sort of relaxing as it’s a time to just unplug.  But on those crazy nights when it seems they’ve all lost their collective minds, I find myself looking horses straight in the eyes and asking, “Are you new here?”

River happily munching his dinner in his stall - but not after acting like a crazy beforehand.
River happily munching his dinner in his stall – but not after acting like a crazy beforehand.