Cider Bend-July

 Summer is in full swing on the farm, and we busted out some big projects in July!

We kicked off the month with a great thunder storm, and a pretty rainbow that went over the farm.

When we have guests in the Airbnb apartment, we bring Reeses to the garage or the house. She barks too much in the barn. She has adjusted well going back and forth, and the kittens love having her around. Reeses likes them, but sometimes they pester her. They always want to lay down with her, and she doesn't necessarily want to cuddle. 😅

We had a cute, but unwelcome visitor on the back patio. We have marmots all over the property, but this is the first time they have been brave enough to venture up to the house. They are destructive, so we want them to stay in their own area. 

We also had a cute driveway snake while I was walking the animals. I actually don't see many snakes on the property, which surprises me. This one was long, but skinny, and I just left him alone.

One of the big projects we got done was to double the size of our barn corrals. The animals have a big pasture, but they needed more space to run around in the corrals because that is where they are the majority of the time. It turned out so good, and the animals love it!

Getting the posts set.

The fence when it was mostly up.

Adding the hog paneling, and the finishing touches.

Another big project we got done in July was to get our landscaping done around the house. We were going to do it ourselves, but sometimes life gets a bit overwhelming, and something has to go. We hired it out, and I'm so glad!

We picked out all the plants, and the landscapers planted them all.

They hooked up all the drip system, and put the ground cloth down.

The finishing touch was to put all the landscaping rock down. It turned out so good! I'm thrilled to not have mud and weeds! I can't wait until the trees and bushes mature and start filling in.

Mark also planted six fast growing, windbreak trees. Slowly but surely, we're checking stuff off the list.

We love our summer sunsets.

We've had some pretty skies at the farm this summer.

We started letting the animals all out in the pasture together, and it has been hilarious. We started with the donkeys and cows. I was hesitant, because I didn't want the donks to be mean to the cows. Turns out the cows just want

 to be friends, but the donkeys are scared of them. 😂 Opal wanted to play with them so bad, so she just chased them around the pasture. So funny!

Watch Opals little  jump on the dirt hill toward the end. 😂

Then we added the goats to the mix, and things got interesting. The goats pester the heck out of the donkeys. Willow tries to be patient, but Clover just kicks them if they bug her. 😅

Airbnb:

The Airbnb was completely booked for all of July! We love how much we get to interact with our guest when we show them the animals. We've met some really awesome people. We've gotten really great reviews, and a lot of our guest say they are gonna come back and stay again. It's been really fun so far. We had no idea it would do this good. I made a little advertisement reel of Yellowstone, so people would want to come and stay to visit the park.

Kittens:

The kitties are as cute as ever and are doing great.

They love to sneak into the pantry.

Floof loves Reeses so much, and always wants to be right next to her. Poor Reeses isn't quite sure what to make of it. And enjoy Mischief watching TV. She loves Sally McRae as much as we do! 😀

Savage! They are hilarious when they play.

Sawyer and Amanda bring Bean over on Sundays, but he isn't a big fan of the kitties. He tries his best to ignore them, but just like with Reeses, they are a bit relentless. They just want to be friends. As you can see, poor Bean doesn't stand a chance. 😆

Mischief was so happy to be snuggling with her new buddy!

Poor Bean just wanted them to go away. 😄

Goats:

The goats are great, and just doing their typical goat things. I think they really like having the cows around.

They still love their daily walks.

Cute little Ginger.

We went on a walk and had such a pretty sky.

I think Ginger is tired of being a goat. She tried to be buddies with all the other animals. She wants to walk with Reeses, graze with the donkeys, and pal around with the cows. 😆

😂😂😂

Chickens:

I'm having so much fun with the chickens! They are a lot more entertaining and friendly than I was expecting. They have been a big hit on farm tours and with our Airbnb guests too. 

I love giving them new foods to try. They usually wait until one brave chicken tries is, and then they all dive in.

We got our first egg! It was from Lola!

I have a lot of chicken stuff pinned on Pinterest, and since it was so dang hot, I decided to try this one. It was a big hit.

Me and Fern! 😂

It's so fun gathering eggs. They aren't all laying yet, and the eggs are still pretty small, but we get a few more each week.

Tillie is such a sweetheart, and a big hit with all of our guests. She loves to be held, and usually falls asleep within minutes of getting picked up. 

Tillie and Jeni

Emersyn rocking Tillie to sleep.

We redid the bricks their water sits on, and they had lots of fun eating all the bugs that were underneath.

Donkeys:

💙💕💙💕

We don't get flies as bad here compared to some parts of the country, so I've never had to do fly masks or fly boots on the donkeys. But, there are always a few weeks of the year that they get pretty bad. Fly spray would do the trick, but the donkeys are terrified of it. Even if they smell it, they freak out. I've been working with them a lot this month. I could finally spray it on my hands and wipe it on their face and legs, so a little bit of progress was being made. I would tie them up and spray them a few times a week, and they slowly started getting better. I made a reel of one of our fly spray sessions.

One of the donkey accounts I follow came up with a super fun idea. Film your donkeys in some kind of Olympic capacity during the 2024 games in Paris, and hashtag #olympicASSletes. There were some dang funny ones! I made a couple of Clover and Willow.

Unfortunately Clover and Willow were cut from the 2024 Olympic relay team. They couldn't quite get the timing of the handoffs correct. As frustrating as that is, they are in good spirits and will be trying out for other events.

Clover and Willow barely missed making the Olympic really team, so they regrouped, made a few changes, and went out for the volleyball team instead! Sadly, they had trouble returning the serves, but what they lacked in skill, they made up for in style. Keep at it girls!

Cows:

I love these little cows! They are so cute and so sweet! It seems like I'm filming them nonstop, so enjoy all the cute cow videos.

Ace loves napping in the sunshine.

They are the cutest little besties!

I love watching them eat! Opal is constantly walking around with half of her breakfast on her head. 😅

Bailey found just the right spot to scratch. 😁

I found the spot too!

He's so dramatic! 😂

I love this sweet face!

July was a busy, and very productive month on the farm. Each month it looks better and better. I hope August is another good one!