Cider Bend-April

 I love my little farm life so much! I probably say that in each of my monthly blog posts, but I just can't help it. It's definitely not without it's challenges and frustrations, but it's the perfect life for me. Spring on a farm in Idaho is busy busy busy! We take full advantage of the good weather to get as many projects busted out as we can. It's still so fun and exciting to see everything come together. We have a long way to go until we achieve our vision, but we've already come so far. It's crazy to look at our place and realize that just a couple years ago, it was just a big, empty farm field. 

Baby Cow:

It's always been on my bucket list to bottle feed a baby cow, and I finally did it! A running friend of mine has a baby cow they are nursing back to health, and I asked if I could go over and feed it. Oh my gosh, so stinking CUTE!

I was in heaven!

Awe, look at that sweet little face! 😍

Goats:

The goats are still just living their best lives. They are happy to have warmer weather, and still enjoy their daily walks around the property.

Watch Ginger's crazy little peel out in this video. 😂

Remember my post last month about buying a bed that was way too small for the goats? Well it's still providing plenty of entertainment. Here is Dolly (our biggest goat) trying to fit herself into the small bed. They seriously love it, so I don't have the heart to take it out of their stall. 😂

Our running buddy brought his son over to see the animals, and his dog ended up being the star of the show. We introduced the dog to all the animals, and then let the goats and dog out in the pasture to see what would happen. Funniest thing ever! The dog chased them, but isn't very fast and ran out of umph pretty fast. At first the goats were a little bit intimidated, so they would run away and climb to the safety of their playground. However, it didn't take them long to realize they could easily outrun the dog, so then it became a game. I was dying! The goats would get off the playground, and sneak up on the dog, and then go running at full speed from it, for like 10 steps. Then they realized they could slow down, catch their breath, and do it all again. They were great play friends, until they finally pooped the poor dog out. 😆

I love this picture! The sweet pup loved all his new friends!

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They had so much fun!

Moose:

We've had moose visiting quite often. I was talking to Bailey on the phone and getting ready to walk out to the barn to feed and let the animals out, when I saw a mama and baby moose out the back door. They hung out in the yard for a while, and eventually wandered to the field next to ours, so I could at least get to the barn. I love watching them, and having them around, but this mama and baby have taken up permanent residence in the area. I've been running the donkeys a lot in April, and I had to take some time off, because we had too many close encounters with them.

This is right out my back door!

They went over to check out the chicken coop progress.

Donkey Runs:

Willow got a little chubby over the winter, and needs to lose a few pounds. I want to start running them more, but it's hard for me to run them both by myself, and Mark is busy with the chicken coop every daylight hour that he is home. I reached out to the women in our running community, and the response I got was amazing! I had so many awesome ladies reach out to me and come out to the farm to run them with me. I had a goal to run them 3 times a week through the month of April, and aside from having to take a break because of the moose, I easily had enough ladies to accomplish that. A lot of these ladies I didn't even know, so it was so fun to make new friends. I love our running community so much! Such amazing people that build each other up, help each other reach goals, and celebrate each other's successes.

The following section is a lot of donkey running videos that I'm documenting for myself, so if that kind of cuteness is not your thing, just skip ahead.

Mark and I took them on their first spring run on April 5th. They loved getting out so much!

I can't get over how cute and happy Clover is when she's running! 😀

Tiffany Johnson was the first one to volunteer and come run with me. She came on Clover and Willow's birthday. 😊 The donks did so good! I forgot to take pictures, but Tiffany has a mini horse, so we want to bring the donkeys out to her place and run with her horse.

Joyce and I do a hill workout on Thursdays, so she came out to run the donks with me right after our hill workout. I loved hearing the one sided conversation between her and Willow. Willow tries to eat the whole time, and kept pulling Joyce over to the weeds to have a snack. I would hear things like this, "Willow, you're gonna get me fired! You aren't supposed to be eating, that's what got you out here to begin with." 😂

Joyce and Willow

Mark runs them with me on the weekends. I record all the donkey runs on Strava and label them 'Half Ass Run.' This one I labeled, 'Half Ass Drag,' because that's what Mark had to do with Willow the whole way back. 😅 I think they are bored with the same road every time, but it's the only place I can take them without trailering them.

I ran with Rhonda next, and was super excited about this one. She lives right down the street from me, and since moving to Ririe, I have had several people tell me I need to meet her. We have a lot in common, and what better way to get to know someone than running donkeys with them. 😆 I could tell on this run that Clover and Willow were starting to get a little stronger. We saw the baby moose on the railroad tracks on the way out, and the mama in a yard along the road on the way back. It made me a little nervous, but they left us along.

Look very closely down the tracks, and you'll see the baby moose.

Rhonda dragging Willow back. 😅

Erin came early one morning to run them with me, and it was quite an adventure. So grateful it was her on this one. She's strong, and she's a horse person, so she was the perfect one to have with me on this day. When I was feeding the animals, I noticed a moose sleeping in the field next to ours, right by where we'd have to take the donkeys. Ten minutes before she was supposed to be here, it was still there. I was stressed out, because she was driving u from Idaho Falls, and I didn't want it to be a waste of her time. I tried to make as much noise as I could while I was doing the morning chores, and it finally wandered off. I was really nervous still, because I was pretty sure it was the baby, so I was pretty confident it was on it's way to reunite with mama, right by where we would be running. I packed my bear spray, warned Erin to be on the lookout, and off we went. We made it through the field, and right as we turned onto the dirt road, we saw the baby and mama. The baby ran off, but mama just stared at us. Willow froze, and was staring at it, so wouldn't even back away. I got Clover turned around, but of course there is no way she would go without Willow. Erin finally got Willow to turn and head back the way we had come. We decided to try crossing the highway and running the other direction down 150 N. It's the paved part, but still doesn't have a lot of traffic, so we gave it a try. The donkeys perked right up because it was somewhere new and exciting. They were cruising right along, until we came to a pasture with a herd of cows in it. The cows liked the donkeys, so they were running and bucking along the fence line. Clover and Willow wanted none of that! They were freaked out. It was a total rodeo to get the donkeys past the cows. I told Erin we could just turn around, but she was all in, and so we carried on until we were past them. Once that was over, they ran on like champs! They even went a half mile farther than usual. Willow is always a pain in the butt on the way back, and needs a lot of persuading to keep her running, but Erin was great with her.

Our cute moose guest.

Seven Runs so far, and we were back to Mark's turn. We went later in the day to avoid the moose, but we still saw it.

When Willow hits the brakes and decides she's done running, it is the funniest thing! It's not even because she's tired, it's because she gets bored. Each time we take her to a new place, she runs like a champ. 

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Mandi came next, and she brought a bag of carrots with her. Needless to say, Willow was a big fan. We did have a dog encounter on this one. Geesh, never a dull moment on a donkey run. I appreciate these ladies so much!

Mandi and Willow

Joyce came again at the end of April. So much exposure on this run! Two dogs ran at the donkeys, a huge propane truck went rattling by, a back-hoe was digging on the side of the road, cows, and people coming out of their houses to see the donkeys. Clover and Willow were very slow, but very good girls considering all that was going on.

Joyce and Willow

That concludes our donkey runs for April. I still have a few ladies that want to come run them with me, so I'll keep going into May a little bit, since Mark is still working on the chicken coop.

Clover and Willow turned two years old on April 9th! They had a fun day. They got to go on a run, eat lots of treats, and play birthday dress up! 😆

Clover and Willow made their debut at the Spitfire Ultra! Spitfire is an ultra trail race where runners go up, around, and through two volcanos. The women's running group in our area does one of the aid stations, and it's always a luau theme. We dressed the donkeys up and took them to the aid station for photo ops, and to brighten the day of hard working runners. Clover and Willow exceeded all of our expectations! They experienced runners coming in from all directions, lots of cheering, cow bell ringing, dogs, trekking poles, gloved hands (which sometimes freaks Clover out), flapping jackets, etc. They did fantastic, and handled it all like champs! Willow especially hammed it up for photos, and was so comfortable, she even laid down for a rest during all the chaos. They were a really big hit! The runners enjoyed seeing them and taking pictures with them. One lady was running through the aid station for her second time, and said, "I've been thinking about these donkeys for the last 10 miles!" That alone made the whole day worth it.

Cuteness overload!

Here's a little bit of fun from my Instagram. 😆

We have 6 kittens on the farm, and the donkeys LOVE them! Willow was so sweet and calm when they met them, and Clover was cute and a touch psycho. 😅

Chickens:

It was a big month for the chicks! Stage 1 was living in a tote in my laundry room. They outgrew that in a couple weeks. Stage 2 was living in a big garden box in the garage. That gave them a lot more space, but within a few weeks we could tell they were outgrowing that too. In April they moved to Stage 3, which is their very own stall in the barn. They love the stall and having lots more space, and a little place to roost. They became fully feathered in April too, so they no longer need their heat lamp. Stage 4 will be their final move to the chicken coop, which is so close to being done! It's turning out amazing!

Watching Nora FaceTime the chickens is the best thing ever! 😁

The ones with the funny feathers on their heads are a big hit. 😆

We loaded all 12 of them into a big dog kennel for a short drive to their new home in the barn.

They are really enjoying their stall. 

The goats like their new neighbors!

This chicken put herself in timeout! 😂

I try to hold most of them everyday so they will be used to people, and be friendly. I never knew chickens would be so fun. I love them! We can already see their individual personalities coming out. 

Kittens:

WE HAVE KITTENS!!!

 Here's the story:

Our feral cat, Stormy, started getting fatter and fatter. I don't feed her very much, just enough to supplement her mice. I quickly realized she was pregnant. She took up residence in the hay barn, so I made sure there were plenty of blankets out there. I worried about where she would have the kittens, so we set up one of the big dog kennels in the hay barn, put towels in it, covered it with a big blanket, so it would be warm, and not be visible to predators, and started leaving some of her food in there. I wanted her to be comfortable enough to have her babies in there when the time came. I was too late on that! The day after I set it up, I noticed that Stormy missed her meals, and the next time I saw her, she looked pretty haggard and much skinnier. I knew she had her babies, but I had no idea where. I searched everywhere around the barn, and just assumed she found somewhere else to have them. I noticed she was gone a lot more, missed more meals, but would show back up every couple days. I assumed she was off taking care of kittens, and just came back for food. Mark was certain the kittens weren't in the barn under the hay, because we would hear them. One evening he was out working on the chicken coop, and I got a call from him, and he said, "You need to get out here right now!" I assumed the moose was back, but then he said there were two kittens. That's all I needed to hear, and I was out there in a flash! There were two little kittens by the hay, and he heard them meowing. We made the assumption that maybe only two survived, and she brought them to the barn. Then we saw two more! They must have been born way under all the hay pallets. We had checked under the pallets with a flashlight and never saw a thing. We eventually realized there were six kittens, but they were scared of us. Mark caught a couple, and as they started coming out more, we could handle them more and more. Now they absolutely love us! We try to keep them under the shelter of the hay barn so predators (like hawks) don't get them, but they chase us around everywhere. They are so stinking cute! We just love them all! Stormy has been a really good mom to them. They are always clean and seem very healthy and happy. She doesn't mind us playing with them at all. She is actually even getting a little braver around us too. She has come close enough to me that I could have touched her, but I don't try. I'm just building trust slowly. I think her seeing us love on the kittens has helped her trust in us. The kittens are getting old enough now, that they can start lapping up stuff, so we are going to try to trap Stormy pretty soon to get her fixed. Hopefully she isn't already pregnant again. We don't need any more kittens. So she had them in the hay barn after all, because even now, when they go back under, we can't see them. They must have just been really quiet. So if anyone wants a kitten, they are about ready to go. We are keeping one or two of them.

The very first ones he found. 😻

First time holding them.

This is a video of how Mark caught them after we held the first two.

Oh my gosh, that face!

I love them!

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That's a big bundle of kitties for Stormy to be nursing! 😅

Kitties for everyone! Sawyer and Amanda love them too!

Random Stuff:

We've slowly been getting some random stuff finished on our house. They finally put the black shutters on, and I think it looks so much better. They also finished hooking up the front lights going up our walkway. The back sliding door was also replaced (it had been shattered since before we moved in). The trim around it still needs painted, but at least we have the door in. We've been very frustrated with the slowness of the process, but there's not really much we can do about it.

Black shutters!

Cute little walkway lights.

We're still getting awesome sunrises!

We had some cute sheep come stay in our pasture for a few days to eat it down. The spring grass isn't good for the donkeys, so we needed it gone. We had friends that needed a place for their sheep to graze for a bit, so it was perfect for everyone. I loved having them here.

We got the rest of the landscaping going! Whahooooo! Sod and sprinklers were placed along the rest of the driveway, and in the backyard. We got four trees planted, but we still have to do all the ground cover and bushes in the front and back, but they aren't stocked at the nurseries yet. That will be a big project for May.

I was so excited when the sod showed up!

I have a backyard!

Getting a jump on some of the planting. This tree is in my bird area in the backyard.

Our field was looking awful! Since we got our entryway pillars put in, the big swather couldn't fit to get on the property to cut the field. We still had dead alfalfa from last year. I couldn't stand what it looked like, so I started mowing sections of it by hand. I spent hours and walked miles pushing the mower. I would just put my headphones in, listen to podcasts, and go to town. It was looking way better, but we soon realized I would never be able to keep up doing it that way. Mark bought me an old riding lawn mower that he refers to as a 'trash mower.' I affectionately named her pearl. She isn't much to look at (yet), but she sure gets the job done much faster!

I mowed all of this by hand, and I hadn't even made it to the main part of the field yet. 😳

Meet Pearl!

I can't reach the brake, but no worries, you hardly have to use it anyways. I just scoot really far forward and stretch as far as I can when I need to stop. 😅

Taking Pearl for a practice spin.

Here's what a weekend of work looks like on the farm.

This has been a typical spring in Idaho. We had the sprinklers on while it was snowing. 😆

Reeses has been doing great! She is eating good, still doing awesome on her walks, and seems to be happy. I think she likes having the chickens in the barn.

That's about all the farm news for April. We are still working on the chicken coop, so that won't be revealed until May. It's turning out awesome! Besides the coop, we have landscaping coming up in May. We'll also hopefully be opening up the AirBnB. It got put on the back burner with all the other projects we had going on. We are hoping for a really big farm surprise in May too; fingers crossed! Stay tuned for all the farm fun that's coming up!