Let me introduce you

Home Sweet Home. That's how I ended my last blogpost and I'm still feeling it. It's sweet whenever I get home, and it's because of many reason of which I'll share a few here.
Our animals are our loves. For those who ask me what it's like to start the day off going to the barn (in the cold, or rain, etc) and what a chore that might be and how hard it is to get up early enough to include that in your morning, I say: It feeds my soul. It calms me, and reminds me of what life is really about.
As we continue to right-size here on the Graves Farm, we have gotten to a comfortable holding position. Our two donkeys Mama and Papa are enjoying their time together more than ever. Sometimes I think they replicate David and I. They are in love, and love each other. They are so bonded with each other, yet are able to do their own thing and be themselves.
We have three sheep/lambs, yet the combination of who we have has slightly changed. Belle and Eve are our 1 year old ewes, and we now have Sam, a 3 month old lamb-ram who was bottle-fed (like Belle was). Sam The Ram will ultimately mate with Belle and Eve to hopefully give us a couple of new lambs, when he's old enough to do so. Until then, the dynamics of this herd is fun to watch. Belle is easy going, loves to be loved, comes when you call her, and is excited to see us just like your dog would be. She knows what she wants and lets you know. Eve is our ewe we bought from a farm that was a triplet who was the third-wheel and literal outcast who got just enough nutrition to stay with her mama in the pasture. Her small stature when she was young, due to less feedings from her mama-ewe, has developed into a full-size sheep whose healthy and happy. And tame. She loves to be brushed, and will stand there all day while you do so. She's the herd leader, and our "beauty" of the bunch. Sam is small and growing rapidly! He's exerting his will in the group in regard to his fair-share of feed and love. He, like Belle, wants to be touched and petted at every opportunity. He calls out to us when he sees us, and is cute-as-a-button. He's a perfect addition to the herd. Cotton was a ewe in our herd of which we traded for a sheep-debt we owed the local feed store for "giving us Belle at 1 day old". Our barter deal at the time was that we would give him Belle's first baby, and we would take Belle and raise her and keep her. Instead of giving him a lamb, we gave him Cotton. He was really just looking to replace a lamb with a lamb, and welcomed Cotton because she could start breeding for him immediately. So Cotton lives a couple of miles away at Preston Trails Feed Store and we get to see her when we go there for feed, etc. We in turn wanted to breed Belle and Eve, which is why we purchased Sam. So we are back to three sheep. It's a herd full of love. They are all tame and friendly towards people. They welcome you to step into their pen and brush them, and of course, give them treats.
CatLand has not changed since we last spoke. Our community of cats is amazing. They get along, they have clicks, they do their thing, and they are everywhere. There's Kitty, Finn, Fi, June Bug, July, Preston, Sweet Pea, and Smokey. Smokey and Sweet Pea are best buds. Fi rarely "shows" herself to others. Preston has colitis. June Bug is my heart. Finn is Lauren's cat who we acquired when she moved, and is one of the most adventurous "in-door turned out-door" cats we have. July is the boss, and is the true boy of the bunch (yes, they are all neutered or spayed though). We also have some  stray cats who lurk around the barn and garage area. Boots and Blackie are often seen and not heard. They are fine here, and don't bother anyone - or any chickens - thank goodness. Just not sure where they came from, but exist on our cat food and water. We welcome them.
Our chickens are another story. What started out a few years ago with a flock of 2, and it's now a flock of 14. To recap, Ginger and Butterscotch are two of our Rhode Island Reds and our first chickens ever. They are the lead hens, and everyone bows to them and knows they are silently in charge. They are not aggressive, just strong women. Then, we added 2 Plymouth Rocks (Pebbles and Pepper) and 2 Orpington's (Sunshine and Butter). They transitioned into the flock well, and then we had 6. After that, we accidentally got two roosters who live elsewhere now. The Sheriff (David) does not allow roosters on the farm. Then, I bought two unknown, but a beautiful breed of chickens, who we named Peaches and Cream. They joined the flock wonderfully as well. The addition of any chickens here on the farm have all been very smooth and easy for the most part. Adding new chickens to a existing flock can be difficult, from what I hear. So far, we have had great success with transitioning chickens into our community. We have a process we use, and it starts with isolating the "new" chickens in a cage/coop near the others who are free-ranging. With time, and depending on our intuition, we analyze when to allow them to join the flock to free-range. There's a period of time where the pecking order is apparent, then before we know it, it's smooth sailing, and everyone settles in.
Okay, so that makes a total of 8 chickens up to that point. Then, we had a friend (who lives in Celina) that had a flock of chickens of her own. Turns out, predators ended up 'getting' her chickens over time and she was left with one. She decided to move, and at that time asked us to take her one last chicken she had. It was is a Rhode Island Red, as well, and according to our friend, the chicken (hen) is a "bit bossy". Turns out, she was right. We incorporated her chicken as we normally do, in a fenced area near the flock. The bossy chicken, who we named Ruby, fought (through the fence!) any chicken that approached it. Well, she lost, and succumbed to the pecking order of the group. Once we did let her out to officially join the group, she fit in perfectly. Ruby actually loves being petted and is sweet natured. It just took her a few days to find her place in the flock. All the chickens love her now, and so do we. Then, it happened. I saw two Polish chickens for sale at a local feed store. Have you seen a Polish chicken? OMGoodness. Fancy, I say. Poofy feathered heads, smooth body feathers. It's as if they are a chicken wearing a fancy hat. I fell hard for them. There were two, one white and one tan (we named them Sugar and Spice). I'll take them! And so I did. In a previous blog, I wrote about us losing one of them to Merrick's disease. And we were left with one lonely Polish chicken (Spice), as those two were best friends. It is heart breaking to see any animal suffer. It was our first chicken loss, and was a learning experience for us. In the meantime, after Sugar passed, Spice was not wanting to blend in with the flock. Everyone got along, but she would not participate in free ranging or sleeping with them. It was then I knew we would need to get her a new friend.
I started looking around for a Polish chicken to buy, but it wasn't as easy as I had thought. I did find a similar breed, Silkie chickens, more readily available to buy. The silkie is also a fancy chicken with a poofy head, but also with super-soft feathers, feathered feet and just a all-around attractive breed. They are a small (bantam) breed and lay the tiniest eggs. I drove all they way to Burleson to go buy one, and it just so happened it was a white one. Really, I could not have planned this better. I passed on the name Sugar to her, and she blended right in with our flock (she's 6 months old) and become best buddies with Spice. Now, Sugar and Spice free range together. She was meant to be with us......and Spice. Those two do free range, but seem to be perfectly content with hanging out in the barn together as well. They are much smaller than all my other chickens (even grown up) and are the "lap dog" of chickens. Therefore, I must get more. And I did. I found a Silkie breeder not far from my house! I went and bought 3 more Silkies who are 3 weeks old, and super tiny. They live in a cage in the house until they are fully feathered and can go out to the barn. We named one GiGi, one Freckles and the last one we have yet to name. Now, we have 14 chickens! I'm super excited about that. I am a chicken lady. A sheep lady. A donkey lady. A cat lady for sure.
While walking around the other day, filling water buckets, and doing things around the barn is when it hit me. This is where I'm meant to be. Exactly where I'm supposed to be. I thank God for allowing me this opportunity to find my place in life. I have never been so settled, so content and so happy.
Another new, yet unexpected, addition on the farm are a couple of ducks living at our pond. This is the first time this has happened since we've lived here. I don't know much about ducks and how they decided to take up residence, but I'll need to look into that. And with spring coming, so are the Purple Martin's that will nest in the birdhouses we have up at the pond, high in the air. Those wonderful birds eat flying insects and keep our mosquitos at bay for us. So many "spring" things happening. The rye grass is booming, the weather is mild, and it's easy to stay outside and enjoy all that is around us.
The weekends may never seem long enough, but I always enjoy every minute of them.

Happy Stay-Home Day! (that's what Lauren used to call Saturday's and Sunday's when she was a little girl. "Is it a stay-home day, Mommy?" she would ask.) And a Stay-Home day is always the best kind of day,

Cyndi