ClaireAnna and Brad
This blog is a place for me to share pictures, tell stories and write about our family, our farm in Dover, Arkansas, our Faith in Jesus Christ , and our love for nature, animals and people. I hope it often makes you laugh, sometimes causes you to think, and sincerely gives you insight into who we are as we travel this amazing journey.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
First Trail Ride Together!
ClaireAnna and Grinch had a great lesson today with their trainer, Brad Palmer. He took them on their first trail ride together. Dayna got to come along since she had just finished her lesson and was already saddled! It is the first time Claire has been on the Grinch outside of a round pen or arena. Brad says, “Grinch was solid as a rock. No issues at all.” They crossed a road, saw a car, crossed water and were followed by dogs. ClaireAnna said, “That was AWESOME!” Grinch will now be Claire’s main trail mount! I’m so proud of both of them! She’s yet to lope him. That will be their next goal!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Rickie and Ichie
A couple of weeks ago, Ted surprised the girls with new kittens which is really weird since he hates cats. Claire named hers “Rickie” (from TedRICK.) Kate named hers Icharus from some dumb book she’s reading. We call him Ichie (rhymes with Ricky) for short. They were tiny scrawny things and have barely grown since we got them. They are brothers.
Ichie and Rickie
Rickie
Ichie
Ichie and Rickie
Rickie
Ichie
Post Script: Saddly, Ichie failed to thrive for unknown reasons and had to be euthanized a month or so after this post was made.
Post Script: Saddly, Ichie failed to thrive for unknown reasons and had to be euthanized a month or so after this post was made.
An Early Morning on the Farm
Every year we have to move what ever square bales we have left over from last year out of the hay barn in preparation for the new year’s batch. There won’t be many this year due to the drought. Never the less, we have to clear the space for them. 
We got started early to avoid the heat and moved about 200 bales from the hay barn into the horse barn. We are very blessed just to have these 200 bales left from last year’s cutting. They will help to make up our deficit for this year. Ted and I have vowed to never sell another bale of hay as long as we live! LOL Sorry, folks, but I really don’t think he’s kidding!
It’s stacked on both sides.
And even some in a stall at the other end.
Here’s my favorite resting chair! No chicken poop!
(See previous blog post on the new Chicken coop!)
And my halter racks! No chicken poop!
I LOVE my horse barn! Especially when it’s full of hay!
So, while we’re unloading hay, a guy comes onto the farm looking for his dog, which we tell him we have not seen. As he turns around to go, he drives right off the road into a drainage ditch and gets stuck.
Ted and his tractor pulled him out.
When we finished our morning job, we went home and did this!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Lessons Learned From a Lamb
Here are some of the things I learned today while trying to clip my first ever wool lamb.
When the weather forecast is 111 degrees actual temperature, you worry about the well being of your animals.
When you are worried about the well being of your animals, it is difficult to sleep.
When a friend agrees to swap a goat kid for a wool lamb, back out at the last minute! Don’t do it!
Don’t procrastinate: When your wool lamb is small and the weather starts to get hot and the wool isn’t all that long, SHEER IT!
6:30 A.M. is as good a time as any to sheer a lamb.
It’s not easy to get a 100 lb. reluctant lamb up onto the stand by yourself. But you can.
You can not sheer a lamb with a $10 hair clippers from Dollar General, although it will shave a goat quite nicely.
This is how far I got with the clippers when it quit cutting all together.
A 20 year old pair of Pampered Chef kitchen sheers (here to fore known as “the barn sheers”) works great to sheer a wool lamb!
Wow! Look at me go!
Lambs don’t like to be shorn. They are very noisy about it.
Lambs bleed. Sorry Mr. Tumnus.
The lamb will eventually shut up and stand still.
Using a kitchen sheers to sheer a wool lamb by hand will cause pain in the shoulder, forearm, wrist, thumb and hand and irritate your carpel tunnel.
A right handed person CAN operate a scissors with her left hand. Just go a little slower. I clipped most of Tumnus’ left side with my left hand.
If you feel like giving up and you don’t think you can finish the job, just keep trying. Stick to it. Slow and steady wins the race. You can do it.
God made some really cool stuff! Do you KNOW how thick lambs wool is? Do you think God knows how many wool fibers are on each lamb? I clipped off 2-3 inches in length. Most of the wool left on him is still about an inch long. The fresh, clean wool is amazingly soft, bright golden yellow (from the corn I feed him?) and greasy! What an amazing creation!
Lambs are the opposite of people. They are covered with wool all over their bodies EXCEPT their armpits. Seriously! There is a giant spot right under each front arm that is completely hairless! Who knew?
It takes a little over an hour to clip about 80% of the wool off of a large lamb by hand with a Pampered Chef kitchen sheers by yourself.
Pretty is as pretty does. Mr. Tumnus may look hideous, but he will feel much cooler today and I will be able to sleep in tomorrow!
(p.s. I do care about his pride. Later this week, I will get ahold of a decent pair of clippers and make him all beautiful!)
When the weather forecast is 111 degrees actual temperature, you worry about the well being of your animals.
When you are worried about the well being of your animals, it is difficult to sleep.
When a friend agrees to swap a goat kid for a wool lamb, back out at the last minute! Don’t do it!
Don’t procrastinate: When your wool lamb is small and the weather starts to get hot and the wool isn’t all that long, SHEER IT!
6:30 A.M. is as good a time as any to sheer a lamb.
It’s not easy to get a 100 lb. reluctant lamb up onto the stand by yourself. But you can.
You can not sheer a lamb with a $10 hair clippers from Dollar General, although it will shave a goat quite nicely.
This is how far I got with the clippers when it quit cutting all together.
A 20 year old pair of Pampered Chef kitchen sheers (here to fore known as “the barn sheers”) works great to sheer a wool lamb!
Wow! Look at me go!
Lambs don’t like to be shorn. They are very noisy about it.
Lambs bleed. Sorry Mr. Tumnus. 
Horses don’t help at all when sheering a lamb.
Go away Woodrow!
The lamb will eventually shut up and stand still.
Using a kitchen sheers to sheer a wool lamb by hand will cause pain in the shoulder, forearm, wrist, thumb and hand and irritate your carpel tunnel.
A right handed person CAN operate a scissors with her left hand. Just go a little slower. I clipped most of Tumnus’ left side with my left hand.
Go away, Woodrow!
If you feel like giving up and you don’t think you can finish the job, just keep trying. Stick to it. Slow and steady wins the race. You can do it.
God made some really cool stuff! Do you KNOW how thick lambs wool is? Do you think God knows how many wool fibers are on each lamb? I clipped off 2-3 inches in length. Most of the wool left on him is still about an inch long. The fresh, clean wool is amazingly soft, bright golden yellow (from the corn I feed him?) and greasy! What an amazing creation!
Go away, Woodrow!!!
Horses never listen.
One lamb has a LOT of wool!
Lambs are the opposite of people. They are covered with wool all over their bodies EXCEPT their armpits. Seriously! There is a giant spot right under each front arm that is completely hairless! Who knew?
It takes a little over an hour to clip about 80% of the wool off of a large lamb by hand with a Pampered Chef kitchen sheers by yourself. 
Lambs really have a LOT of wool!
Pretty is as pretty does. Mr. Tumnus may look hideous, but he will feel much cooler today and I will be able to sleep in tomorrow!
(p.s. I do care about his pride. Later this week, I will get ahold of a decent pair of clippers and make him all beautiful!)
Monday, August 1, 2011
Chicken Coop
Ted likes chickens. I hate them. Why? Because they poop on everything I own. Even my favorite lawn chair that I keep in the barn to sit in when I’m taking a break from my work is ALWAYS covered in chicken poop. And why do they have to roost EXACTLY above my halter rack? Well, I’ve had it. For several years now, we’ve allowed our chickens to free range in the barn yard. That was nice for them, I guess, but not for me and my sanity. So, we finally made them a coop and in the coop they will stay!
Our barn overhangs are supported by big posts about every 11 feet. The new “coop” fits perfectly in between and underneath. I found this 10 X 10 dog kennel on Craig’s list for $100! Big score considering they run almost $300 new. 
We put a tarp on top to keep them in and a tarp across the front for shade and wind and rain protection.
They’ve got food and water. 
They’ve got their nesting boxes. 
They’ve got a roost.
Here’s from the inside looking out the door.
And from the inside of the coop looking over into the next pen where we are currently raising ClaireAnna’s market goats, but which, in the spring, houses ducks.
Here is from the goat pen side looking over at the new coop.
I LOVE IT!
Now, there are five little banty hens that are still free. They had better mind their Ps and Qs or they will be snatched up as fast as you can say chicken poop and plopped right into this pen with the big girls. Eventually…..a long, long time from now, we will see if we can’t teach these chickens to go out for the day and come back into this coop at night. I’m not all mean and I’ve love for them to have their freedom during the day if at all possible. But for now, I’m a happy girl. Give me a duck, any day. They poop on the ground.
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