Cider Bend-May

 Life on the farm has been great. May brought spring with it, and after such a long, cold, snowy winter, we couldn't be more excited!

I'll start by saying, THE GOATS ARE SO FUN! Here are a couple reels I've made of them.

We completed phase one of the goat playground, and it's been a huge hit. The goats love it, and it has led to hours of entertainment. Everyone that visits the farm always asks if they can watch the goats play, and they never disappoint.

Here are a couple short videos of the goats trying it out for the first time.

They love jumping on top of the dog house.

I made the funnest reel of the goats playing on the playground! They are so fun to watch!

Joyce and Phil went on vacation, and we watched their dog, Maddie. When they got back, they gave us this barn bird feeder as a thank you gift. I love it so much! Joyce knows I want to have a bird area in my backyard, and this is going to be so perfect. I can't wait to get it up!

So cute!

As soon as the weather warmed up, we got to work planting our orchard. We wanted that to be one of our first summer projects, because it usually takes a couple seasons before you start getting any fruit. It was a lot of work, but we are so excited with how it turned out. It's going to be so pretty once all the trees grow and fill in. We planted 10 types of fruit; cherry, plum, apricot, peach, two kinds of apple, two kinds of pears, grapes, and raspberries.

Our nursery haul.

We had to put netting around them, to protect them from the deer.

This area will look so pretty when the trees mature and fill in.

Building the grape trellis.

We got blooms!

I'm in charge of watering all the trees, and it takes a good amount of time. I'm usually out there for an hour a couple times a week.

I'm so lucky to have a photographer friend. When Joyce comes out to run, she usually brings her camera, and takes pictures of the animals. I love all the ones she took at the beginning of May.

Roxie & Dolly

Ginger

Dolly

Roxie and Dolly

Dolly

Dolly

Ginger

Roxie

Roxie

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😂😂😂

Roxie

Dolly

Keith, Jeni, and Preslee came out to visit the farm. Preslee was a big fan of the goats.

Jeni and Dolly

Snuggles from Roxie.

Preslee playing peek-a-boo with the goats. They loved her!

Preslee and Ginger.

😄😄😄

Keith made us this super cool log carrier for when our house is done. He hand stitched it, and it is so good. We can't wait until we get to use it!

I'm not sure what I would do around the farm without the help of the donkeys. Below shows just a few of the many ways they help me with chores around here. 😒😅

They regularly empty the water bucket and move it to a new location.

They are always prompt to tip the wheelbarrow.

They love to pull the halters off the stall wall to get ready for their walks.

She is always proud of her efforts.

They insist that I don't clean the corrals on my own. I was literally holding on to the rake when Willow decided she would take over. 😂

And we can't forget when Willow helps me fill the water. Oh wait, I mean when she submerges her bucket in the water so it's hard to get out.

The green sled is back in business! Ginger managed to jump out of her stall. I went down to the barn, and she was just hanging out in the feed area. 😅 I pushed the tool box in front of the gate until Mark could get home to rig something up to keep her in.

😣😣😣

I thought our green sled days were behind us after Willow jumped out, but no such luck.  😅

We did our first full goat stall clean out. We did it at 4 weeks, and realized we can probably go 6 weeks while they are young. They were cute little helpers.

We had our favorite visitor come to the farm. Bailey, Mason, and Nora were visiting Yellowstone, so they stopped by the farm for a couple hours on their way home. It was only Nora's second time coming here, and she was old enough this time to really interact with he animals.

 Clover is so sweet with little people. 😊

Willow wanted to see Nora, and I'm pretty sure Bailey is telling Willow she can't eat the baby. 😂

Willow was a good girl. She is a little more in your face, but only because she's so curious.

Their fist experience with the goats on the playground was Ginger head butting Dolly right off! 😆

Bailey and Nora watching the goat show.

This is one of my favorite farm pictures of all time. Nora was trying to feed rocks to Ginger. 😁

Feeding the goats. Nora kept the goat treats balled up tight in her first, but she offered the rocks up freely. So funny! 

Nora wasn't one bit scared of the goats.

Dolly was such a sweetheart. She just followed Nora around.

Working on making Nora a cowgirl.

Nora wasn't even afraid of a donkey ride.

We had our second visit from the farrier since we've had the donkeys. The first time was pretty rough! They did so much better this time! I was so proud of them! Willow was a champ, and Clover just gave a half hearted fight at the beginning, but then did fantastic after that. Good little donks!

I've been trying to keep the pasture mowed, because it's not good for donkeys to eat a lot of spring grass. Clover and Willow were out there with me, and they got a little bit of pasture sass. They won't let me or Mark get near them just in case our plan is to take them back to their corral. Willow gets a little bit sassy, and it's my favorite thing.

Clover's kick at the end of this video is hilarious!

Willow developed the bad habit of emptying her water bucket (which is no easy task), and then moving it to a different place in the corral. Mark told Willow he was making it so she could no longer dump the water out. Willow stood by watching, and eagerly accepted his challenge. 😂

It's all fun and games to her. 😅

It took her exactly 12 days to figure out how to unhook the bungee from the fence and dump the bucket. Hahahaha, don't ever underestimate a donkey. 😆

Look Mom, I figured out Dad's trick! 😁

I wasn't sure if I should praise her for being so smart, or get mad at her for being so naughty. 😆

We installed a new goat feeder, and everyone seems to really like it! It was especially fun for Mark to install with his three fun helpers. 😄

Good thing he has Dolly there to inspect his measurements.

We got a total bargain, since it's a feeder and a fun new toy all in one!

All three goats approve!

We had the cutest group come to visit the farm; friends from our Idaho Falls neighborhood that we hadn't seen in a while. The kids were so cute and well behaved with the animals. They all got to feed the donkeys treats, and walk them around the corrals. Then we went out to the pasture, and the goats put on quite a show. The goats loved having kids there to play with, and soaked up all the attention. The goats definitely stole the show with this group.

I love this picture. Look at the sweet hug Clover is getting!

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As much as I hate hearing people chew, I love watching animals eat and listening to them chew. The goats are pretty funny.

Roxie just goes for it! 😋

We're still enjoying our sunrises on the farm.

Ginger is starting to play with the ball now. They were all scared of it for awhile.

I still take Reeses and the donks on a walk every morning. This is what my view is like.

We're getting to the time of year when we get afternoon thunder storms, and I love it. We've gotten some good ones lately.

We don't give Reeses many baths anymore, because it's hard for her to stand up for as long as it takes me to wash her. Mark was home, so we tagged teamed it, and washed her really quick. She loved it!

Sometimes I secretly film Mark being the best goat dad. 😁

I think Willow wants to be friends with he goats and hang out with them, but I'm afraid Clover still secretly wants to stomp on them. 

😍😍😍

Clover is sweet with them through the corral, but I'm not sure how she would do if they were in together.

Sawyer and Amanda came for Sunday dinner, and played with the critters. Amanda loves the goats, but is usually a little more timid with Clover and Willow. I think they bonded this time. All it took was some good scratches. 😊

*Please ignore Sawyer in the video. 😆

We've decided that farm life is the best life!