I was a little late heading out to feed the horses this morning. They usually wait by the fence until I come out to grab the buckets. Foggy mornings make the farm look cozy, and it also signals that my favorite season is soon coming!
Of course my helper was right beside me - sock in mouth. He's always got something to carry around.
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| Where is my grain, woman? |
You see, horses like to be fed on a schedule, and if you're late they're going to give you dirty looks. I definitely got them this morning from Hershey!
Don't worry girl, we're coming!
It's starting to mist rain, but we've got a few more morning farm check ins to do, and grain to deliver.
Libby is happy to finally get her grain. This is my dirty girl! It doesn't matter how sunny it is out, or if I was to give her a bath daily - she LOVES to be dirty. I see some cooler night time temperatures ahead so it will soon be time to bring out the blanket for this old girl.
The only shelter we have at the moment is in the side field, so since it's supposed to rain today they're not going to go out onto the big pasture which means everyone gets some extra hay!
The front pasture will soon be open full time to the horses. My husband, with the help of my father have been building this run in shed. It will have a feed room and two stalls. This is where Libby and Hershey will stay. I just had to walk down to check on it. I'm super proud of all of the new skills my husband has learned while living on the farm. While he's working I always walk down and obnoxiously yell "hunny, you're like a professional" just to cheer him on. I also offer any advice that might be needed as the supervisor. He's doing a great job. I'm proud of him.
The other two horses, Glimmer and Holly have the old tobacco barn to go into. They don't do as well on grass full time so this field is a better location for them until our full barn is built and I can better limit them to the grass.
The rain is starting to pick up, and more fog is rolling in. We've got to go check on the chickens next and collect morning eggs!
This summer we had a hen go broody. She sat and sat on a clutch of over 20 eggs. Only two of them hatched - one is an Americana/Leghorn mix and the other is a full Americana. I'm excited to see if they're hens or roos, and what color eggs they will lay if they're hens.
Back up at the house we've got 8 more Americana hens. When the others didn't hatch I decided to go ahead and pick up a handful from the farm store. These are fully feathered and ready to head to the outside coop. Raising babies in the fall/winter to me is the best time, because most hens slow down production a bit in the cold weather and pick up egg production in the spring. These babies won't lay their first eggs until about 18-20 weeks, which will be just in time for springtime.
The pigs are no longer here on the farm - which makes the farm checks a lot quicker, and easier. We usually only keep them from March to October. They're cute when they're little but when they're 400 pounds, knocking into you, biting and going through a 50lb bag of food a day - well, it makes it easier for them to fulfill their farm duties.
The rain has picked up, so I'm heading back inside to put a boston butt in the crock pot for pulled pork sandwiches tonight. It will be perfect for our evening of carving Halloween Pumpkins!
Of course Raleigh had to check out the only bloom currently on the farm before he heads in for his morning nap.
Happy Halloween! I hope yours isn't getting rained out. Ours isn't looking too good!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Phil. 4:6-7
