Can’t Take Another Day Like That

Saturday started out like most of the last couple of weeks in self-isolation.  I have been off the farm only to deliver milk and get Popcorn back from my mom since March 19th. Pretty routine working for the off-farm job and farm work.  Of course, it was another rainy morning.

a wet, cranky Odie

Then I saw the girls out in the field again.  I had to put them in, and then I decided to pour all the goats on that side for lice since the rain had quit. I had checked them the evening before, and it had to be done. The weather was horribly sticky out there in pasture.  I mean oppressive humidity, and I really worried we’d end up with more storms in the afternoon.

Hera, Moira, Bubbles, and Penelope

When I got back inside I was ready to do more work for work. Believe it or not, part of my work in the morning included trying to make a brain out of noodles.  Really. Don’t ask. Anyhow, in the early afternoon, my phone popped up a tornado watch for my area.  It wasn’t too long after that my phone alert sounded for a tornado warning.

noodle brain failure

I called my mom to make sure she knew, and as we were talking, the warning finally came on the television, and it was headed right for my farm and the town just north of my farm.  Looking at the warning, she decided to come out to my place because she doesn’t have a basement.  In the meantime, I grabbed my Bob cat and shoved him in a pet taxi and took him to the basement.

“She shoved me in a pet taxi. Sure, I was irritated, but I’m always irritated. Whatever.” -Bob

Then I tried catching Rocky to take down, but Sky was going crazy by this time and chased Rocky upstairs.  I finally caught Rocky and took him to the basement and threw him in the Kill Room (don’t ask–it’s a Criminal Minds reference).

“The dog chased me; the human chased me. Then she took me to the basement and threw me in a little dark room with the big roaring monster (furnace) and called it the kill room. Of course, I was traumatized.” -Rocky

Then I got the harness on Sky just as my mom arrived, and we headed for the basement.  I could not get that dog to go down there.  He fought me until he slipped out of the harness.  Then he stood at the top of the steps and whined as my mom and I tried coaxing him down.  I never did get him to come downstairs.

“The weather was crazy; the human was crazy. She wanted me to go down the long, narrow passage to a place I’d never been. I was terrified. And then she abandoned me in the upstairs! How could she?” -Sky

Then the electricity went out.  It was nice to see my mom though.  We did our best to maintain our social distancing.

photo was cropped; she was really farther away

After the warning expired, we came back upstairs, and it was all fine.  We went outside, and it looked like there was nothing but a bit of rain.  Since she was here, I took my mom out to meet Astra’s triplets, and then Mom went back to her self-isolation.

Astra feeding Jester (in front) and Avril (in back)

She did call me just a short time later to say that my nephew saw a tornado just to the northeast of my farm on the edge of town.  It hit the Catholic cemetery and really damaged the trees and some headstones.  Since I had to charge my phone in the car because my electricity was still out, I decided to drive to the cemetery and check it out.

While at the cemetery, I did run in to some people who shared that my neighbor to the south had taken a picture of a tornado right on the edge of his property.  You can see the video my neighbor took HERE (but be warned there is profanity) and another video of it HERE.  It was an exhausting day. I am so grateful that we made it through without damage after seeing so much devastation in other parts of the country.  My heart goes out to them.

I Need Sunshine

For the last what seems like forever, we’ve had snow and rain and fog and gloom.

robin in the crab apple tree during snow showers

I think we’ve had an hour of sunshine here and there, but otherwise, it’s been pretty yucky.

Goats at pasture in the fog and drizzle

That means the kids are mostly playing inside.

2TC, Scooter, Butterscotch, and Flora

I kind of feel like Cutie–just staring outside wishing the mud and fog would disappear.

Cutie

I’m really ready to move past mud season.  Sky needs to learn to wipe his paws before coming in the house.

Sky

It’s also hard on the goats’ health.  Poor Trace ended up with pneumonia, but after banamine and antibiotics, she’s feeling much better.

Trace and Quatro

Here’s hoping to better weather soon.  In the meantime, I just keep planning my garden.  I actually have some seeds that have already sprouted!

okra sprouts

Some are to be transplanted outside, and some are my experiments in container gardening.

green bean sprout

I also spent a day making these feed sack garden bags.  I have a dozen of them ready to go!

I had the bags in the garage all neatly stacked to make my tote bags that I sell, but you might remember Antigone was in the garage for a while over the winter, and she was horrible about playing in them and throwing them on the floor.

Wanda in Antigone’s mess

That means I can’t use them for nice tote bags.  The mice might have played in them too.

mouse provided drainage hole

I plan on planting potatoes and other veggies in them.

I have my big pile of compost behind the Love Shack, so it seemed like a good plan for putting both the bags and the compost to good use.  We’ll see how it works.

Chores When It’s Really Cold

The really cold (but not quite stupid cold) weather we are having right now adds another level of challenging to doing chores.   Part of that is because the animals went from pretty mild temperatures to really cold temperatures.  They have to have time to adjust, and they didn’t get that.  Even Odie is acting a bit cold.

Odie

I worry about Wanda with her fur not completely grown back.  The greenhouse is a bit warmer for her than the main barn.  (The hazy look is my breath steaming.)

Wanda and Aphrodite (and Athena’s body)

Caroline is her typical brat.  Not even the cold can change that.  You’ll notice Anubis on the shelf below her because Zeus is still kind of pushy.

Caroline (Anubis below and Zeus’s back)

I’m glad it did this over a weekend when I was home to check everyone more frequently.  I’m also giving them an extra feeding of hay.  This would be easier if we hadn’t had the ice that froze my door down.  At least I can open the top and throw my bale of hay out and then climb over.  It’s just another level of fun.  Although, I have gotten it chipped away so I can open it enough for me to sneak through now.

Moose

This extra feeding helps me check on everyone.  If someone is not getting up to eat or is just standing there shivering and not eating, they need to be moved.

Cupid and Cutie

That’s why Stormy got moved to the garage on Saturday.  She was lying in the barn shivering, refused to get up and wouldn’t eat when I put hay right in front of her.  She’s doing much better now.

Stormy

Sunday, Dolly joined them.  I have a couple more old ladies and the young kids that I’m keeping a close eye on.

Antigone and Dolly (Pistol across the front)

The front door to my garage is also frozen shut, so I have to carry hay through the milk/soap rooms, or I can climb the fence and go through the buck room.

Xerxes and Hilda (the door that will open between them)

Poor Xerxes still is the biggest chicken on the farm, but he’s also hoping I bring him lots of grain.

I’ve also been breaking the ice off my cattle tank.

Penny

The heater is working, but it is warm and the steam freezes, and it just keeps freezing until it’s completely iced over.

Luckily, the cold is supposed to break tomorrow, and I can put my old ladies back out of the garage.  Of course, with the warmer temperatures comes the threat of more rain, ice, and snow.