"One misty, moisty morning, when cloudy was the weather....." I was reminded of this nursery rhyme this morning when I went out to do the chores. A thick blanket of fog had settled over the farm since last night's torrential rain storm.
Fog like this has a way of insulating the farm from the normal sounds of the countryside as it awakens. This morning's quiet was only interrupted by the "who who" of a Great Horned Owl perched in the woods across the pasture. That, and the occasional "cock a doodle dooooooo" of Elvis in the upper chicken pen and the tinny, beginner's "Er Er Er....." of Hank in the lower chicken pen.I set about cleaning up manure in the dry lot (funny name, as it is rarely ever dry these days) outside the barn. My usual helpers were present....Moonbeam and TomTom...

And of course Donny Brascoe.

Donny's "job" is to dump the muck bucket at least once every day. He's such a help. Most days, he backs his butt up against the bucket and uses it as a scratching post....invariably tipping it over and dumping it's contents.

This morning's chores went from peaceful to wild and crazy. After finishing the dry lot, I headed to the goat pens to clean up old, wet hay beneath their hay feeders. Trying to get the Gator thru the gate of the Dwarf Nigerian pen turned into a goaty free-for-all, as all five of the Nigerians escaped and took off down the lane. I was able to lure all but one back with the promise of a second breakfast. However, our dear little Stella had other ideas and decided she was not interested in food or cooperation. After about 10 minutes of trying different tactics, only to be outsmarted by a goat, I headed up to enlist Becky's help. Sometimes it takes 2 humans to outsmart a goat!

Here is Becky with Stella and Star (Stella's Mom). Ritz Crackers are our goaties' favorite treats. Within a few minutes, we had all goats safely back in their yard.

PS: Today is a big day. We are picking up Oliver Twist's half brother and bringing him home to Bee Haven Acres. Stay tuned for photos!