Cider Bend-December

December can be tough on the farm, but this one was very mild. Freezing gate latches, trying to push the wheelbarrow through the deep snow, frozen corral water, and below zero temperatures haven't hit us in full force yet. I'm sure January will tell a different story, but I enjoyed a mild winter month.

Donkeys:

We kicked off the month with Clover and Willow being in the live nativity in Ririe. It's always a huge event. The donkeys were in the 'Streets of Bethlehem' for an hour before the nativity started, and then they were in the actual nativity. Two hours of nonstop people around them in a strange environment is a lot for them, but they did great. There were a few times we had to walk them away from the crowd, and give them a minute to regroup, but otherwise I was super proud of them (especially considering they are only 2 1/2 years old). They are always a big hit at the event though!

 

They needed a little attention. 😁

I love them!

Clover has been especially itchy since the cold, dry air arrived. Every morning while I'm cleaning the stalls, she comes in to scratch on the wheelbarrow. She doesn't try to tip it over, but sometimes she gets scratching really good, so I have to watch it closely. She's too sweet to ever knock it over on purpose. Willow on the other hand is a totally different story. She walks in, grabs the wheelbarrow by her teeth and tries to fling it over on purpose. 😂 That little naughty pants keeps me on my toes!

Donkeys are just like people; they can feel the magic of the first good snow of the season. They were so cute, and it was like watching little curious kids in the snow. They are also like people and are ready for it to be gone by the end of February. 

Clover and Willow got new blankets for Christmas. Even the smallest sizes have to be tightened up pretty good on them. They look so cute, and extra tiny in them. Willow liked the tail flap on Clover's, and just followed Clover around with it in her mouth, occasionally trying to pull Clover around by it. 😂

Goats:

The goats are doing great. They stay inside their stall a lot more in the winter. They don't love to get wet, and they don't like the wind. Mark installed 3 new scratching brushes this month, and the goats really love the one in their stall.

Cows:

The cows are so much fun! Ace is so playful, and sometimes doesn't realize that he is almost 400 lbs. 😅 Opal is the sweetest, and loves to run and chase Clover out in the pasture.

Mark installed lots of scratching brushes in the corral and inside their stalls, and the cows love them. Opal has been itchy this winter, so these have been great for her.

Ace is my giant lap cow! Someone referred to him as a big grass puppy, and that's pretty accurate. He loves to play and get crazy, but he also loves to snuggle and give kisses. I know I say it all the time, but I just love them!

Bath day is always fun for the cows!

I love when Opal gets the scratch just right, and sticks her tongue out. 😁

I can't even handle her cuteness! She loves to run and chase the donkeys around. Clover and Willow are usually pretty good sports with her.

Cats:

Floof is huge and needy, and Mischief is sweet and snuggly. 😁 I complain about them taking over my house, but I secretly love having them around.

Mischief is a pro at chasing her tail.

I started a project of cleaning out the storage room. I walked in a found Floof up there. He's a nut! 😂

Floof is huge! He's not even fat, he's just very large and fluffy!

Stormy is a beauty, and she attracts all the good looking boys from the neighborhood. This is farm country so there are plenty of feral cats wandering around. Her last boyfriend got hit on the highway. 😓 All of a sudden this cute, orange guy started hanging around. Stormy has a pretty good set up; she has a couple houses and lots of warm blankets in the hay barn. She also gets two meals a day, which is not common for most of the wild, roaming cats. She is super good at sharing her space when a new boyfriend shows up. This fella seems grateful for the food, and isn't as scared as the others usually are. He let us pet him pretty quick! It took a year and a lot of patience until Stormy finally let me pet her. I'm glad she has a friend to go through winter with, and I'm just praying he stays off the road.

Chickens:

I'm a worrier when it comes to my animals. I've been a little stressed about having chickens through the winter. I don't want them to be miserable and freeze. We've done a lot to prepare for winter. One of the things Mark did was put some snow panels up to keep their chicken run mostly clear of snow. It's better for the chickens to be outside, and not stuck in their coop through winter. Being inside a lot increases their risk of getting sick.

This video got lots of saves on social media, so hopefully we're helping other chickens around the world as well. 😆

 We also try to find ways to get the chickens extra protein in the winter. We had left over pork loin in our fridge that dried out a little too much before we could get it all eaten. I put it in the blender, and then fed it to the chickens for a few days. They were big fans! This serves two purposes; it gets them the extra protein they need, and it gets them out of their coop in the middle of the day for a snack.

 

I have a lot more winter chicken tips and content coming up that'll I'll be posting on Instagram in January, and then I'll share that on my January blog posts. Check back if you are raising chickens in a cold climate.

The Christmas Ball:

We ordered the donkeys and cows a big ball for Christmas. When it arrived in the mail, we got too excited to wait, so we blew it up and gave it to them early. They love it! I've been so excited about how much they play with it. Ace and Willow are especially fond of it, and it has caused some street fights. 😅 The possessive side of Willow came out, and it was so stinking funny! We ended up ordering another ball that was a little smaller, and that has helped stop the fighting for the most part. The smaller one is less intimidating for Clover and Opal as well; the 40" one was bigger than them!

Willow showed her colorful side when she wanted the ball all to herself. 😂

Here's a few cute snippets of them using the ball.

Willow wanted the ball all to herself. She is usually pretty good at sharing with Clover, but nope, not with this fun new toy!

Ace loves it so much!

Christmas:

Everyone on the farm got spoiled for Christmas!

The goats got a new bed.

The chickens got beak grinding calcium stones.

A new blanket for Stormy! She appreciated hers a lot more than Floof and Mischief, because she knows first hand what it means to be cold.

Clover and Willow got blankets. They did so good with them. It only took a few minutes until they were comfortable with us putting them on them.

They look so cute in them!

After we put the blankets on, we let the donks go run around to get used to them. The cows were so curious about what the donkeys were wearing, so they chased them up and down the corrals several times, so they could take a look. So funny!

Everyone loved their big ball so much, so we got them another one! They love this one just as much!

When Ace jumps on the 40" ball,  he just kind of bounces off. When he jumps on the 30" ball, he gets himself a little high centered. It's so funny!

😂😂😂

It was a great Christmas for everyone!

Random Stuff:

Like always, the sunrises and sunsets were amazing in December!

My friend was running in the early morning just as the sun was coming up. She texted me these pictures and said my farm looked beautiful with the house and barn all lit up against this gorgeous sky. It was so pretty!

My own little piece of heaven on earth.

😍😍😍

Now that we have snow, the deer are back for the winter. I see them almost every day now.

I was out doing the evening chores, and the sunset made the mountains turn purple! I guess this is why the song says, 'purple mountains majesty.'

We got a couple perfect snows in December. Light and fluffy, and so undisturbed early in the morning.

Once the snow started accumulating, Mark needed to get the poop pile spread out in the field. It accumulates a lot faster now that we have the cows.

Boise State had such a great football season this year! We lit up our house and barn on New Years Eve to show our support for them in their bowl game against Penn State. Unfortunately they lost, but man, what a fun season!

Go Broncos!

💙🧡💙🧡💙🧡

That's a wrap for the year! Farm life was great in 2024, and we have some big plans for 2025!