February at Cider Bend

Every morning and every evening, the deer cross our property. I know about what time they come through in the evenings, and I love to watch for them. I film them every once in awhile to post on my Instagram story. Here are a few videos we've gotten this month. 

Right outside my front door. 

We lit the barn up for Valentine's Day.

We have an absurd amount of geese and trumpeter swans that hang around. They can get so loud! I love it when they fly over, especially when we get hundreds of them going over at once. Here is a mellow version of what it sounds like.

Sound on!

We have had the craziest winter! So much snow, wind, and ice! My mile trail around the property got demolished this month. Every snow or wind storm covered it right back up. Ugh! We had a Women's Run here on a Monday night, and Mark had most of the path nice and cleared for that. One of the ladies even commented that it was nice to see the grass. The pictures below are what it looked like 24 hours later. It's crazy!

This is what happens in one day! It's impossible to keep up with!

This is the spot that had grass visible 24 hours before this was taken. I hate wind!

We've had lots of days with high wind warnings. Lots of 35 mph days with gusts up to 50 mph. Clover and Willow stay inside when it's like that. They don't like the wind. The videos below are of a particularly bad day.

The wind was blowing the water right out of their bucket!

Poor girls just stand at the stall door wanting to play, but not daring to go out in it.

Don't even get me started about the ice! It's crazy! We keep getting these random warm days where everything melts. Everything gets wet, and we have little ponds everywhere, and then it freezes at night. It's such a mess,

The path I take to empty the wheelbarrow is solid ice the whole way to the poop pile.

The driveway!

Outside the corrals. 😳

This gate has been frozen shut for most of the month. I get nervous to let the donkeys out. 

I can't get over how sweet they are!

I brush them every day, but it's kind of pointless. It does no good, except for the fact that they love it. They usually only stay clean for about 5 minutes. 😂

This is what they look like when they wake up in the morning. 😅

They are so pretty after I brush them!

Not only is Willow clean, but get a load of those big ears. 😍

This is generally the after brushing routine. 😒

When I run on the treadmill, this is my view. It makes me happy!

Breakfast with Willow is always a treat. It's not hard to tell who the problem child is. 😆

This is a mild bucket throw; they usually go flying across the stall. 😅

They were exceptionally good on a walk, so I threw a branch into their corral afterwards. They were big fans.

On one of the really windy days, the girls didn't want to go outside. Willow is a button pusher, and once she gets restless, she pesters Clover relentlessly. They started 'fighting,' and it was so entertaining. I watched them for over an hour. Don't worry, once Clover reaches her limit, she can hold her own. 😅

Hahaha, they look so fierce!

The girls love scratches! Sometimes Clover gets so relaxed that she almost falls over. It's the best!

Mark has the magic touch! 😊

I love how much they love each other. We still can't separate them.

Willow is beautiful! He big ears are the best!

Clover LOVES carrots! Sound on for this little gem! 🥕😂

This has been a heck of a winter for us to decide to become farmers! 😅 We're learning a ton, and having so much fun. We wouldn't trade it for anything.