January at Cider Bend

Cider Bend Walks:

I walk the animals almost everyday. It's the best part of Reeses' day, and the donkeys love to get out too. I decided I was going to track how many miles I walked them this year. I started tracking our walks on Strava, and we were doing so good (until my stress fracture 😞)! We would go in the bitter cold, or when it snowed, but Mark wasn't there to plow yet. A couple times in January, we went in fresh snow with big drifts that the donkeys had to jump through. I love this part of my day. It is mostly just peaceful; I always get an amazing sunrise, listen to and watch all the deer, geese and trumpet swans, and just feel like it is the perfect way to start the day. We only made it through half of January before I was laid up with an injury, but I'm hoping to be able to start up again soon. I miss this time with the girls, especially Reeses. I know she won't be around much longer, and our walks are our way to connect and spend time together.

Cider Bend sunrises and sunsets are the best!

The sunrise always looks a little bit different, depending on what time I start.

I love our mountain view.

Our frosty apple tree.

Clover and Willow love walking when there is fresh snow. Here they are sharing a trail snack. 😊

More pretty sunrises.

These drifts were deep and daunting for this old girl, but she did amazing. She just loves to be out.

Hooves Trimmed:

We had to get Clover and Willow's hooves trimmed. They have had it done a couple times before, but not since we've had them. I worked with them a lot leading up to it, and practiced picking up their feet and cleaning out their hooves. They were doing so good, so I had high expectations for when the Ferrier came. Boy was I in for a shock! They HATED it! Oh my gosh, it was traumatizing (mostly just for me and Mark). 😅 Our Ferrier is who we got the donkeys from, so he has trimmed them before, and knew what to expect, but I sure didn't! Clover hated it so much! She put up a HUGE fight the entire time. She finally ended up on the ground because she exhausted herself so much. I don't have a lot of pictures and videos of her, because I could hardly watch. I was so stressed! Willow did much better, but she also ended up on the ground. She wasn't as hard to watch, because she's easier to reason with and talk through things. Man, I'm not cut out for this. I just want my animals to be healthy and happy all the time. 😂

Poor little Clover! I didn't film when things got bad, because I couldn't even watch.

Sweet little pumpkin hated it!

Willow was a good girl.

Willow ended up on the ground, but mostly just because it was easier, not because she was exhausted like Clover.

😂😂😂

She would give them a little fight every once in awhile, but nothing like Clover. 

Snow girls:

They love playing in the snow!

We've had a ton of snow, and a lot of bitterly cold days. When we get some mild temps, the girls take full advantage of it. We had to plow them some trails through their corral, because the snow was so deep in some places.

Stall and Corral Clean Out:

I'm very particular about how clean I keep the stalls and corrals. I clean the poop out 2-3 times a day. About once a month or once every 6 weeks, we do a total stall clean out. It takes 4-5 wheelbarrow loads to empty out all the old hay and bedding. Then, we vacuum all the remaining dust off the mats. Next we soak the stall mats in vinegar and baking soda, and scrub them clean. While that is drying, we clean all the walls, feed buckets, toys, water buckets, etc. Lastly, they get fresh new bedding.

Clean toys and feed buckets!

Vacuuming all the dust out.

New bedding is spread after the mats are scrubbed and dried.

Ta-da! So clean!

Then it promptly gets inspected and rearranged. 😂

We knew we had crappy weather in the forecast. We're used to crappy weather in the winter, but this time it was supposed to dip down to negative 40 degrees with the wind chill, with lots of blowing and drifting snow. We already had to plow trails through the corrals so the donkeys could get around easier, so we knew we couldn't have more snow pile up in their corrals. We had one evening to get the snow cleared out of the corrals. I was in charge of the small corral area, and Mark worked on the big area with the 4 wheeler and plow.

It took me 15-20 wheelbarrow loads to clear out two of the small corrals. I did Reeses area, and the one leading from the donkey's stall. SO MUCH SNOW!

Mark cleared out the main corral area the best he could with the plow, and we used shovels and the wheelbarrow for the rest. We left the hill covered in snow, because they like playing in some of it.

I had to do it in fuzzy socks and sliders, because of my stress fracture. I still couldn't push my foot into shoes. 

When we let the girls out, they were so excited to be able to run and play again without the effort of trudging through all the snow.

It was a lot of work, but I felt so much better having it done. 

The forecast didn't lie. We got down to negative 30ish in our area. Areas close by dipped to negative 40. We had to keep the animals inside for a few days. I would wait for the warmest part of the day and open up their doors for a few minutes at a time, so they could go out and get some fresh air. They seem to do really well in the cold, but I didn't want those cute ears to end up with frost bite. 😅

Kissing Booth:

I usually come up with all the crazy, hair brained ideas around here, and then I recruit Mark to help me carry them out. I have had a picture pinned on my donkey Pinterest Board of a little cardboard kissing booth since well before I ever knew Cider Bend was in our future. Once we built the barn and got the donkeys, I knew I wanted a donkey kissing booth. I presented the idea to Mark, and told him I needed him to make me a booth. I needed it to be good enough to be used for other things as well. I had a vision, but I didn't know how to express it to him. I basically just said, "Think lemonade stand." He sketched some ideas out for me, and once he had my vision in his head, he got to work. 

Mark admitted that he was a bit skeptical of my plan, and wasn't sure the donkeys would catch on. Oh ye of little faith. Don't ever underestimate my donkey training ability, and just how smart these cute little critters are. 😂 I just want friendly donkeys who are very comfortable around people, and all kinds of situations. What better way to get them used to people than by having tons of people come over and interact with them. I just knew it would work! And if not, I knew I would have a blast trying.

Mark built the kissing booth of my dreams in the barn. It seriously turned out PERFECT! We would let the donkeys out to walk around in the barn during the phases of building it, so they would get used to seeing it.

We eventually got Willow to go 'inside' of it. She'll do just about anything for a treat. Clover was a lot more timid, and steered mostly clear of it.

We added a coat of oil, and the booth darkened up to perfection!

 

Ahhhh, I love it so much!

We slowly started adding decorations and kept bringing the donkeys out by it. Look at Willow practicing her kisses like a good girl! 😂

This is how the final product turned out. It exceeded all my expectations. Mark is a kissing booth builder extraordinaire! Now I'm super excited to see how my chicken mansion turns out this spring!

The booth is built, painted, and decorated. The donkeys have been practicing going around it, and props were purchased. Now we just need some willing participants. Who wants to kiss my cute little ass? Stay tuned....