Cider Bend-August

 August was great at Cider Bend. No big projects, and nothing too exciting, since we're in peak trail running season. Just enjoying the warm weather, animals, and life out in the country.

The donkeys really started shedding a lot this month. It seemed like no matter how much I brushed them, the hair just kept coming off. I brushed them a long time one day, and accumulated a lot of hair in the stall. The girls looked so pretty and sleek, but were wondering why all their hair was on the ground.

Clover loved getting brushed, and  just wanted all the nose boops. 😊

She wasn't quite sure about the pile of hair on the ground. She kept her distance.

Willow on the other hand, was very curious about all the hair. She sniffed around in it for quite a while.

The donks are still loving their mornings in the pasture. Every couple days, they get all their energy out by running laps.

The donkeys have been really good about not messing with the goat playground. All of a sudden, they like to be right in the middle of it. They squeeze under the bridges and hang out right in the middle eating weeds. Now they even run between it all. Clover fits just fine, but I always worry that Willow is gonna bonk her head or scrape her back going under the boards, but she seems to know what she's doing.

I still walk the animals every morning. Some mornings are just so pretty and peaceful.

I really just love this piece of land.

Stopping for a snack break on one of our morning walks.

Willow has been trying to dig the goats out of their corral. She made a pretty big hole, and each time we fill it in, she digs it back up. Mark decided to bury rocks in the hole to deter her. The girls were very curious about the cart full of rocks.

Rocks are so interesting! 😄

Willow watched everything Mark did. Probably so she would know how to undo it. 😅

Willow also loves to 'race' the wheel barrow whenever I push it in the corral. It's pretty funny, but I can never get it on video, because I don't have enough hands. She raced the cart too when Mark was pushing it. She gets all worked up. So funny! 😆

It took Willow exactly 24 hours to dig out three of the rocks. 😂

I often get asked if I miss living in town. Would you miss it if this was your view? I don't miss it one single bit. 😄

After living in the barn for a year, Reeses has discovered that she loves sleeping in the hay. It's so cute. I couldn't find her for awhile, and now I know to look in the hay stall. So cute!

It's a little nerve wracking when I find her like this! Makes my heart stop every time, but she's just getting a good nap.

The goats are still as entertaining as ever!

Little cuties!

The goats get out almost every morning when I'm feeding them. I can't latch the gate when I have my hands full of hay. It's usually Roxie that is out the gate in seconds. I've kind of given up on trying to keep them in. Now I just do my feeding, and then herd them all back in when I'm done. I always find them in the next stall eating the donkey's barley hay. The funny thing is that when I try to actually feed them the barely hay, they want nothing to do with it. 😐

I try to clean the hay stems out of their stall about once a week. They don't make it very easy! They try to be the best little helpers. 😳

The cart only has to be in the stall for 3 seconds before a goat ends up in it.

I also try to deep clean all the corrals quite often. I rake everything, and haul all the old hay out. This time I tried to do it while the donkeys were out in the pasture, because they are usually a huge pain in the butt. Turns out the goats are an even bigger pain in the butt! 😅

Dolly would not stay out of the cart!

Dolly used to get scared if the cart rolled while she was in it, so I thought I'd take her for a little ride to scare her and get her to stay out of it. That backfired big time. She really enjoyed her ride, so now she likes the cart even more. 😒

That's about all that's been going on this month. We have a big project getting underway in September. Stay tuned...