Weekend Fun

This weekend's cold front brought unrelenting winds.

Most everyone sought shelter on Saturday.

However, with Sunday's sunrise came calmer weather and all the animals

ventured back out again.

Hubbs spent a bit of time getting our new garden boxes filled with soil and mulch.

We topped the old boxes with a couple inches of well cured manure mulch,

which I will eventually dig into the soil later this spring.

For now, though, it acts as a great weed barrier and fertilizes the soil.

The pigs were glad to get back outside again...  

and spent a bit of time rooting in the mud, as you can see on Ginger's mouth.

Peace has been restored to the buck pen after last weekend's melee.

Chip and Skip are getting along just fine.

And Smoochie seems much happier in with gentle Fred and our wether, Donald.

I often write about my chickens,

but I have neglected to introduce you to a couple of specific special hens.

Like.... Beatrice who is quite showy...

and Sticky who is my plain Jane hen.

She was born with a foot deformity.

(I fear this is what my hands may look like some day!)

Sticky has managed quite fine these past three years in spite of her poor crooked toes.

She is a silver duck-winged Phoenix....

quite a fancy name for such a plain gal!

Sticky got her name one day as a young hen...

when I walked into the henhouse and found her completely wrapped up in a 

sticky fly tape.  

It took a bit of work to free her, and she held perfectly still while I "unstuck" her.

Since that day, we have a special bond!

While I was out doing afternoon chores,

Sid came over to the pasture fence to say hi.

I love photographing horses!

What a kind eye he has...

And, as usual, he's been rolling in the mud.

PS....T-minus 5 days until we pick up our two little mini donkey gals!!

Oh... the excitement is mounting...

can't you just feel it?