The love you need starts with you

 

This is probably one of my favorite sentences: the love I need starts with me. And if you know me, you probably know that self love is something I've been working on. And then it just extends out from there. I'm blessed to have so much love here on the farm and I'm going to do as I usually do, and share all this crazy love with you until you can't stand it anymore. 

** There are likely repeat photos in this post (from other posts) sorry bout that ahead of time **

I goat this

When I moved to Wolfe City, it was here that I allowed the goats to free range on the property. Although not intentional, it was just that CoCo and Pearl could get out of the fencing around here and I'd yet to make them an official pen to stay in. But they are no longer 'free' to roam which makes for alot less work for me as they are always getting into trouble when allowed to be 'on their own'. Kind of like setting a 3 year old free around here. It's just asking for trouble. Let me be honest and candid: life is so much easier when my goats are in a pen. 

These guys. CoCo and Pearl are looking great! 

It's CoCo who needs to be up on something most all the time.

I've again expanded their pen, and I think that's all they will need for the meantime. I seem to have this need for them to have plenty of room to roam around, all without myself having an innate ability for true fence building. But I try to try - yet I am quite the expert at moving portable fencing though. 

I love that CoCo and Pearl's coats are gorgeous, lush and shiny. I love their diverse personalities, curiosity for life and consider them absolutely adorable. Even though they see me and think of food. I'm okay with that.

They love fresh lettuce, green beans and
bark off tree branches. Well, actually,
they'll eat just about anything.

And they are such curious and fun creatures that I really do want to set them free on the farm again. I love giving them the freedom to run all around on farm, on their own accord and cause havoc, I really do. But thats just the little kid in me saying that. The adult me does not want the extra work of what that mayhem brings. Chasing me down the drive in my car/truck, constantly knocking things over, trying to get through the doggie door, eating all the chicken food. It's just not a healthy lifestyle for a goat or me.

The Niceties of Donkey Life

I cannot begin to explain how lucky I am to have Poppy, Pippa and Emerald (Emmie). They are the literal best of the best that donkeys are and can be, and somehow I have them as my own.

Side note: I think I've posted this video before, but I just had to again. All three of these girls have a sweet and kind personality. They are all engaging, fun and loving each in their own way. They are old girls, no doubt and I love it that they will live out their life here, while I get the absolute enjoyment of watching their daily antics. With the exception of Emmie, who has about 35 more years ahead of her. 

These 3 sweet mini donkeys are a close herd. 
And a fan of oranges 🟠

They really do love staying in the barn 💟
as they are very social folks

Yet they do make their way out to graze a bit, but 
always head to the barn when they see me - or at night.
There could be treats you know.

The donkeys are doing amazing, and Emmie has weaned from her mama, Pippa. They are officially a threesome herd who also happen to love Dora and Hope. 

Let's horse around

Dora and Hope are the bestest of best friends. Tried and true. Attached at the hip. And can't stand being separated or away from each other. Love these two girls. They both came to me with different life stories and bonded together over time. They are each other's ying to the other's yang. They give to the other what is missing in them. My favorite thing about them, esp Hope, is that she remains open to healing. Her growth over the years is such that when I look into her eyes, I can see into her soul. She shows me daily what healing looks like. She, too had lost her mind and yet found her soul. I feel you, my sweets. You continue to show me the way.

My challenge with Hope is to keep her weight 
down. She's a good eater. 

Dora is so patient with Hope, as Hope can be a food hog
at times. I try to manage her free range time as best as I can.

Where there's Dora, there's Hope. And Hope's favorite thing is to be out in the pasture which is not good for her for long periods of time as she'll eat too much. So I do keep the my girls 'managed' when it comes to grazing on the sweet springtime grass. When it comes to mini horses, their food has to be rationed otherwise they can colic or founder. These are bad things. I know better so I need to always do better for these minis, esp when it comes to nutrition.

Yet they do get out to eat in particular intervals and
enjoy eating out just like I do.

 

So while I have way too much pasture for my animals to graze, that's a good problem I suppose. With my acreage, I am looking to do one of 2 things at this point: 

First, I might end up with cattle on my property, but we'll see if that works out. Buddy said he'll bring cattle to my land eventually, but not sure what the timeframe of eventually (for him) is. And secondly, I'm having a guy come over to evaluate the possibility of cutting for hay. It seems one of those 2 options should work out....with time. For now, the grass is growing and it's gorgeous and lusciously green. So I'll keep you posted if it'll be hay or be eaten by cows. It's just taking a little time to iron out these options. I'll get there though.

The New Cluckingham

I can't help it, I love my chickens. They make me smile.

This side of the barn is mostly where they eat and sleep.
My girlz are all so happy that they are laying more 
eggs than they ever have. 

Paul The Turkey is SO loving his new farm 🦃
And the chickens have sooooo much more area to free range
and eat all kinds of bug and grass. They love it here as well.

I'm getting around 3-4 dozen eggs a day

And believe it or not, my 2 ducks are thriving in a way I've never seen before. They are everywhere. I look up and they are in one pond, then in my other pond, then the pond in the vacant pasture on the other side of my fencing, and then around the corner in the neighbor's pond. They are literally everywhere. They are boy and girl, a fun and adventurous couple - and it's sweet to watch them. Heaven forbid something happen to one of them because they are close as close gets. 

Sometimes, I have so many chickens it even 
scares me 

It's surprises me how they have grown to want 
to sleep on these steps (in the back of the barn).

Excuse the messy barn, but this is my life 😮

Speaking of..... in the back of the barn, this is also where the kitties reside when they are not out cattin' around.

Kitty and June Bug hang out in their area quite a bit.
July, on the other hand is often out and about.

Sometimes Lacey is in Kitty's favorite spot

Tell your dog I said Hi

I actually got a license plate holder that says this on my car.

Anyway, the doggos are all doing amazing as well! Still no sign of Whisper, unfortunately. I am extremely grateful that everyone else (talking to you Penny, Dutch and Levi) has the understanding that we live here now - and they seem to have settled in very well. Mia is truly an example of an indoor/outdoor dog. She's my hybrid girl who takes advantage of the flexibility to be in and out and picks outside much of the time. She enjoys sleeping inside though, on her very own comfy twin mattress. 

Fortunately, everyone has developed their own routine(s) here, where they like to be and how they want to do things around the farm. I love watching how they decide to make their way in the world here.  

Char and Theo enjoy fussing with each other
about who owns this chair

I had a new garage installed around the
weird cinder block wall (that was here already). 
And the dogs love it!

And who doesn't love Penny 💝

The Littles and I frequent the 
NorthEast Texas Trail that runs through
Wolfe City. Love this trail! 

Sweet Maybe is 14 going on 15 
and she's showing us all how to age well.

When I move their dog beds here,
it becomes a popular sunning spot

I think that's about everyone. Let's see.....my goats, donkeys, horses, chickens, Paul, the kitties and the doggos. Yep, that's it! Wait.....

There may be silkie chicks.
Not sure yet.

I may have chicks on the way but I'm not certain. For awhile, I had Lauren and Ryan's silkie rooster, Jonas here and I'm thinking he bred with a couple of my silkies before he moved away. We'll see!

This is my splash silkie, Suzie Q along with a black Frizzle, Georgia who are both sitting on a clutch of eggs underneath the big fan in the barn. These girlz were hard to see underneath there, so I'm not sure how long this has been going on, but I caught a glimpse of them and was surprised. I then candled a few of their eggs - and it looks like there could be chicks in them. How fun would that be?!

We have all settled into our new farmland here in Wolfe City and have been here for about 2 1/2 months now. There's more exciting changes happening out here soon, but I'll save that for next time. For this moment, I wanted to spend a little time showing off all my loves. 

Feeling like I've right-sized my life,

Cyndi