Cider Bend-September

 We love September on the farm. Fall is here, and we are in our final push to get projects finished. It's a busy time, but in a good way.

Random Stuff:

Here is some random stuff we've documented in September.

We had a beautiful stormy day!

It rained a little bit, but the temperature was still nice. It was the perfect conditions to rake all the corrals without the dust. I went to work and got a ton done!

This is what the corrals looked like before I started.

This is how clean and tidy I made them.

I was on a roll, so I did the big corral too.

I cleaned out the whole chicken run area.

I just kept right on going and cleaned the inside of the coop too. Here are some before and after videos.

It looks so much better!

 I actually clean the coop at least once a week, because I give a lot of farm tours, and bring people into it.

So clean!

Mark and Phil ran power out to the chicken coop. We had to have that done before winter, because we have to be able to heat their water. Now the coop has a light out front and it looks so cute at night.

I loved this picture of the barn with the sun rising behind it. Sometimes I just walk outside in the mornings, and I'm still in awe that we changed our whole lifestyle and started a farm. I look at my barn, and it's instant happiness.

Mark went and got a big load of straw to use as the cow's stall bedding through winter. That was a big load for his truck. 😅

At the end of last month, Mark got a tractor. We were deciding what to name it, and Nora suggested Honk, so Honk it is! 😂

It's been so great! I spent an afternoon using it to mow the field. That used to take me a few days, and now it takes a few hours. Way to go Honk!

We cleaned out all three stalls in September. That's always a big job!

We also cleaned out the hay barn, and got it all stocked back up for winter. We have pretty bad winters in Idaho, so there's a lot of prep to get the farm ready for it.

Kittens:

Mischief and Floof are still big pains, but they are cute as heck too.

Apparently this was a great nap. 😸

They love destroying the office. If I'm in there working on stuff, they are into whatever it is. They dump the office trash cans out on a daily basis, knock everything off the counter, and run around with anything that is left out. If I'm using my computer, they are trying to attack the curser on the screen. If I'm scrapbooking, they are lying across my page. 

But then they are cute and snuggly, so I like them again. 😁

Chickens:

It's official-I've reached crazy chicken lady status! I seriously love them!

Sawyer and Amanda come over every Sunday, and we always make the rounds to see the animals. Amanda loves the chickens, so she'll go in and hold them with me. Notice where Sawyer is in the picture...outside the chicken run! 😆 He just likes to watch them from afar. He hasn't become smitten with them like the girls have. 😆

Lucy and Freda are two of our favorites!

Cute little Tilly and Fern live in the barn now, because they get picked on too much by the other chickens. But when they were still in the coop, Fern would go inside the coop if she saw me coming to collect eggs. She would go from box to box popping her head out to chat with me. Such a cute little chicken friend.

The chickens love when I put a fresh head of cabbage in their chicken run for them. It's a great boredom buster, and a yummy treat. It takes my chickens about two days to get through the whole head of cabbage. I do this a couple times a month.

Cows:

Opal and Ace are getting huge! They both need to go on a diet. 😅 I'm just learning how to take care of cows, and I'm pretty sure I've been feeding them way too much. As soon as they were weaned from the bottles, they turned into fatties! They are so cute and fun though. I just love them!

Ace is like a giant teddy bear!

Opal is darling, and nearly impossible to keep clean!

Donkeys:

The donkeys had their shots at the beginning of the month. Clover did fine, but Willow didn't handle them as well. She didn't eat for a few days, she was very subdued and just not herself. I was gonna give her 3 days until I called the vet back out. On the third day she started eating a little bit, and perked up. By day four she was back to her old self, and playing with toys again. I knew she was feeling better when I looked out and saw her carrying this towel across the corral. 😁

Remember earlier how I said it rained, so I took advantage of the no dust situation to rake all the corrals? Well this is how the donkeys help me. People often say they can't believe how many hours a day I spend out in the barn and corrals. Well, when I have help like this, everything takes twice as long, to get done.

They are so cute!

The donkeys are little thieves! When I let everyone out together, the donkeys instantly make a bee line for the cow's stall. Then they proceed to eat any remaining hay that's in there. I finally had to start locking them out of the other stalls when everyone is out together. 

I looked out my back sliding door one afternoon and saw all the animals running scared through the pasture. I thought for sure something was chasing them. I grabbed my shoes and went flying out there. By the time I got out there I realized that something was indeed chasing them; it was Clover! 😂 She was totally on one, and was chasing Willow, Ace, and Opal at full speed around the pasture. She was annoying everyone, so they all started ignoring her. She didn't care one bit; she just started making her own fun! She ran lots of laps around the shelter and pasture until she got it all out of her system. I just adore her! 😆 Watch the video with the sound on, because she was too hyper to get out a bray, so just squeaks came out. 

*Ignore the mess in the pasture, the building of the shelter is in full swing.

Goats:

Dolly is at total peace on the farm. She takes the best naps, and looks so sweet.

I put this kennel upright a few times everyday, but they always flip it on its side before they lay in it. I'm not sure why, but it's pretty funny!

The goats are still the most entertaining to take on walks. They are the perfect way for me to start each day.

Maternity Photo Shoot:

We had a request from the most darling pregnant lady to do a maternity photo shoot with the animals. Of course we said YES, because how cute is that! The animals don't always understand what we want them to do, and even when they were a little unruly, and not cooperating, Alivia was patient and had a huge smile on her face the whole time. Willow was very smitten with her, and even tried to climb in her lap at one point. Sorry Willow, at 8 months pregnant, there is only room for the baby. 😊

That's pretty much it for September on the farm. I'm excited about fall!