Lovely Iowa

I returned late Tuesday night from a wonderful trip to Iowa and found the temperature to be 93 degrees at 9pm!! Who ever heard of that here?! So while I'm glad to be home, it certainly would have been far more comfortable to stay in Iowa!


One of the first things my kind hosts took me to see was a produce auction. Produce grown by the Amish was brought to the facility by horse and buggy or wagon. Sometimes it was just a mom and kids, like shown here, but there were also a few bigger rigs pulled by draft horses. It was so hard to decide which pictures to show!


There was a nice loading dock under cover where the horses/buggies could stop to unload. The produce was put on rolling carts and lined up for the auction. We saw a lot of green beans, onions, tomatoes, summer squash and a little bit of several other items. When I went back the following Monday, there was far more tomatoes that just 3 days before. I don't know if you can see the corn on the back of the buggy shown above, but we bought 10 dozen of those ears and after giving a bunch away to friends and family, we had a feast of fresh sweet corn. YUM.


The auctioneer would stand by each cart and people would gather around and bid. They did usually make the bidders buy the whole cart full of stuff, but if you didn't want the whole amount, you could turn around and sell what you didn't need/want to others. For example, Ange wanted a few hardy hibiscus plants but the lot was for 6 of them. The bidding went higher than she wanted to pay, especially for six of them, but the winning bidder turned around and sold three of them to Ange. I saw that happening a lot.


There were a few baskets for sale that had been put together in such a beautiful way that I had to take a picture. If I had been home, certainly I would have bid on this lovely collection of lots of good things to eat: potatoes, onions, peppers, beans, tomatoes and an eggplant.


My hosts, Ange and Jerry, have friends with a wonderful, well-broke team and they were willing to let us come over and maybe even let me hold the lines for a little while. These mares were being driven nearly every day in anticipation of the up-coming Iowa State Fair, so we took them out and I DID get to drive them. That was a wonderful experience! I really thank Ange and Jerry and new friends Randy and Peggy for giving me this opportunity. It was a blast.


Back at the home of Cottonwood Percherons there was plenty of good times and relaxation. I had such a good time playing with the barn kittens. I really would have brought my favorite little gray boy with the white mittens back with me if I didn't have such a cranky old mouser at home. I must have 30 pictures of these guys playing all around Ange's lovely garden. She also had a wonderful swing in which I spent much time reading and watching thunderstorms roll by and lightening bugs come out at dusk. It was truly enchanting.


Here is Jerry with his two blue roan percheron mares. These are such wonderful horses. Anyone would be proud to look out and see them in their field, that's for sure. This was taken in the morning after they came in for their grain and fly spray before heading back to pasture.


The days I was in Iowa were not too hot (maybe the highest was mid-80's) so the girls enjoyed standing up by the fence and watching the world go by. I like how they've set themselves up here, with the gray in the middle and arranged in a line like that. The clover must have been coming on good as each time I went out to say HI I got a shirt full of slobber. They are sweet, friendly girls and I enjoyed getting to know them.


On the last day we had to take the pony to the farrier for a trim, and this Amish family also kept goats for milking....160 of them!! We spent quite a bit of time in the milking parlor with their two older teenage children who were in charge of the goats and the milking. They use a machine for milking, but they did let me try to milk one by hand, which needless to say didn't go too well! But we had a great time. I love the look on the face of the white goat in the middle of this picture. Too funny!


Back home again, I spent plenty of time with my new buddy Kona, their mastiff. He was so well behaved and sweet, anyone would be proud to have a dog like him. Whenever I went in and out he was on my heels, so I felt I needed to have a picture taken with him to capture our time together. What a sweetheart!

One thing I haven't talked about and didn't get any pictures of was all the good food that they made sure I had. I tried catfish for the first time, had some authentic mexican food, and Ange made a roast and veggies in the crock pot one night and Iowa pork chops the following night. Those home meals were accompanied by lots of fresh summer veggies and iced tea. It just doesn't get any better than that.

So huge thanks to my hosts for letting me come and experience what it's like to live in Iowa. I had an amazing time and look forward to going back again. Maybe they'll come visit our fine state of Washington some time soon. I sure hope so.

Frank had taken wonderful care of everyone on our little farm in spite of the terrible heat and humidity which is so rare for this area. The little chicks are over three weeks old now and growing like weeds! This heat has claimed the life of one of our old hens and we hope that's the last of that. I had my stall bedding and beetpulp delivered just today, so I am prepared for whatever the winter might throw at us. I'll update with farm pictures again soon!

Off to Iowa!

I just wanted to put up a quick note to let you know I'll be gone for a week to visit my dear friend Ange and family in Iowa. Frank is dropping me off at the airport at 5am, so we'll be up and out quite early!

Frank will be holding down the fort here while I am gone. I am thankful that he is so good with all the animals. He'll have an even harder time of it as the forecast is for record heat so he'll have to be watching to make sure everyone is doing OK. I'll have it cooler and rainier in Iowa!

I hope to have some neat pictures when I get back. In the meantime, I sure hope I don't take a wrong turn down this road:



Oh, just a couple of little chicken updates: the baby chicks are just over two weeks old and growing like weeds. They are a little crazy too and cover every inch of that 12x12 stall, driving their momma hen nuts. Also, our new little hen Sylvia is doing well trying to integrate into her new flock here. She still hasn't figured out quite where to roost at night, but she is good about coming back to the coop after free-ranging every day. Good girl!

A little chicken story...

A couple of weeks ago I was looking through the Farm and Garden section on Craig's List and saw an ad for a Silver Sebright hen for sale. So I clicked on it, and what I saw was quite sad: A beloved little pet hen had begun to crow and while they loved her, they lived in the city and her noisiness would not make her a good neighbor any longer. Well, I wrote to these nice people, only to commiserate, in that my own little Sebright hen crowed as well. I gave them a link to this blog so they could see our Sophie and the rest of our little farm.


I got an email back from the mom and her 7 year old daughter saying that they needed to find a home for their beloved Sylvia and that if they could not find a good situation for her, could she come live here at Red Pony Ranch? I replied that they were welcome to come visit and if they felt this was a good place for her then she was welcome to stay.


Well, these pictures are testimony that Sylvia did, in fact, come to live at Red Pony Ranch and she is getting along quite well! No one appears to even notice she's here (maybe they can't count and think she's Sophie?) and, in spite of the mom's worries, dominant little Sylvia doesn't appear to be trying to assert herself with the big hens, at least not yet!


I was a little nervous of letting Sylvia out of the run on her first day here (that's her to the left of center in the picture), but I felt that she would stick around her own kind and so far that seems to be the case. She is happily rooting around for bugs and tender shoots, and already has learned that when I call "chick, chick, chick" that means that a treat of scratch is coming if they come running! So welcome Syliva to our little flock!


Of course I had to take them around to visit everyone else on the farm and of course Daisy was a big hit as usual. Here is the daughter and Daisy mugging for the camera. I had such a good time with our visitors and I think they had a good time too. I know Daisy was sad to see them go!


I just wanted to put one last picture of what's been happening in the nursery...these little chicks get more precocious every day and their latest antic is to play "King of the Mom!" Seems that there are always one or two chicks vying for space on top of mom. The winner gets to nap up there. Too funny!

A few random things

Some of my faithful blog viewers have might already figured out that I am using the blog to keep Frank connected to the things (albeit mundane) happening here on Red Pony Ranch while he is in Wisconsin. Hard to imagine that there is still another week yet to go, darn it!


I ran through Safeway yesterday looking for a couple of cucumbers, and as usual, I toured through the meat department looking for bargains. Boy did I find one! Here is a whole, bone-in, pork loin that runs over 10 pounds. I put the jelly jar there so you could better judge the size of this thing. It's BIG!


I might be one of the only bloggers ever to take and post a picture of a price tag on a side of pork, but here it is! You can see that, regardless of the probably inflated original price, I got an amazingly good deal. So good, in fact, that I bought two of these. Once I got it repackaged in the size for two person meals, I put 16 packages in the freezer and even left out two pieces for me to put on the grill! Nice to find a bargain like this!


Tomorrow is the little peeper's one week birthday (or would that be hatchday?) and I wanted to show how they're already growing in wing and tail feathers! These guys are growing so fast and are more bold every day in venturing further from momma.


Now they might THINK they are bold, it doesn't take much to send them scurrying back to momma and burrowing into the safety of the feathers of her soft underbelly. She is such a good momma and actually shows them what to eat, even breaking up pieces she thinks are too big for them. A favorite treat is when I take in some bread which she'll take bites of right out of my hand, then put it on the ground and tear it up for her babies. It is so sweet to watch them! I wish everyone could see it.


Every year we get a few hanging baskets for our carport. This is the nicest one so far. We've had hot (for here) weather and I think they've been a little stressed, but we've been feeding them and keeping them watered so hopefully they'll stay nice for another 6 weeks or so.

We finally got a bit of rain today and I am very thankful as we really needed it. Maybe the lawn and pastures can perk up a little bit now. I did buy extra hay just in case we have a particularly dry summer and the pastures don't keep everyone fed as long as we like. Living on a farm has taught us that it's good to think ahead and have a Plan B. I guess that's a good lesson for just about everything!

An evening walk around the farm - for Frank

Hi Sweetheart! I took the camera around on my evening tour of our little farm tonight. The sun was at a low angle, so they're not the best, but you get the idea!


I got most of the garden weeded today (didn't get IN the corn or potatoes). Everything is coming along great except the beets that I planted a little late in the season. No worries though, because they can grow well into fall, unlike some of the other veggies.


Walking and watering behind the house, I got a picture of those bad donkeys in the back field. Look how deep it is!! They're going to be disappointed when it's mowed tomorrow.


I can't believe those baby swallows are out of the nest already! I caught two of them taking a little break on the grape arbor. They still have some of their baby fuzz and white beak edges. What brave little babies!


The flowers are growing fairly well in the side garden. The Miracle Grow you put in the waterer seems to be helping. Plants such as these that like shade don't seem to grow as fast as those in full sun. The grape vine is growing like crazy though!


Katie was sitting out on the driveway so I snapped a quick picture of her. She really had a good time helping me weed the garden this morning. She's a good shadow just about every where I go (except she's not allowed with me in by the baby chicks!). Jake was being cagey and wouldn't let me take a picture of him. No surprise there, but he is still alive, I promise!


Sandy was laying out under the plum tree and right when I went to take this picture the chickens had to come see what was going on. Needless to say, this is sure documentation that Sandy is a chicken safe dog. She misses you and your long walks together.


The branch holding all those heavy plums hits me fairly low on my chest now. It's going to be a while until they ripen, though, as they're still as hard and green as can be. I've already alerted the neighbors to prepare for this record crop!


Maddie and Yakki were giving me the cold shoulder because I wasn't quite ready to bring them in for the night. I'll go get them in a minute, the spoiled babies!


The last stop on my tour was to take a picture of the boys. I went down and scrubbed their trough today. I had good pony help, of course. This picture also shows the reason that people with black show horses don't leave them out in the sun of the day. This is the worst sun fading I have ever seen on him. It's been a bright summer I guess!

So that's it for tonight. I'm heading out to feed them their vitamins in a little bit of beet pulp, put the chickens away and turn off the water on the garden. Thanks for all you do around here. It's especially obvious when you're not here doing it! We miss you!

These guys are adorable!

Let me tell you...watching these guys is 10 times better than any show on TV! Momma already has her hands full trying to keep all five of these precocious little fluff balls within a comfortable zone around her. It is so adorable when momma wants them to eat...she lowers her head to the food and makes this specific clucking sound and they all crowd around her beak and look at what she's pointing at. I had the food in a nice little pan, but momma got in and scratched it all out. The babies must have been watching, because later I saw these two day old little peepers scratching the food like the big chickens do! Sooo cute!


I was a little concerned because I had seen them eating but had not caught them drinking, but early in the day I was watching them and momma had them close to the water and told them all about it. Look at this little cutie on the left learning to drink! I swear I change that water like 5 times a day, but with them scratching and throwing stuff all over the place, they are making the water dirty as quickly as I can change it. Darn little peepers!


Yesterday, the first day after everybody had hatched, momma already had them out of the dog crate and exploring a small part of the stall and finding the food and water. I was kind of concerned what they would do at night, but when I did the last check on them, she had them all back in the dog crate so I locked them in for the night. I like that as they are doubly safe. I was hoping she'd do the same tonight and, sure enough, she did. So it seems like we have a routine already. I tell you, this is addictive. If I had room for more chickens, I'd do this more often! Frank is now breathing a sigh of relief that I will control myself!

Counting to FIVE or First Day Out!

New baby chicks!

I was hoping this day was coming, but wasn't sure until I saw evidence that the eggs under my broody hen were going to hatch. Yesterday afternoon the eight eggs under black momma chicken started to peep and show signs of the little ones inside trying to make their way outside! Luckily, momma hen is letting me check and now I can tell you there are five fluffy white chicks hatched, two chicks (one black and one white) that went to chick heaven, and one egg yet with no signs of hatching so it might be a dud. The 5 little fluff balls are warm under momma, but I caught this little face peeking out:


The eggs were from another farm where they have a rooster who actually can fertilize the hens (unlike tiny little Colonel Sanders here!). On that farm they have white, red and black hens. They also have two white and one barred rock rooster, so any combination of parents is possible. It's funny that all the chicks are white, especially since all the other hens on our farm are colored. We'll always be able to tell which ones were new in 2009!


Keep your fingers crossed that we get at least two or three hens from this hatch, and that any roosters we get will be sweet enough to keep around, at least for a while. Of course I will post many more pictures as soon as momma gets them out and about, but I think that will still be a day or two as they are so tiny and there is that one egg left she's trying to hatch.

It's not always fun on the farm...

When you have as many lives here on the farm, inevitably there is going to be some loss. When we got back from Oregon, we found that one of my favorite hens was dead in the coop. I picked her up and she was nice and heavy, not dehydrated, her comb was still bright red and she was not egg bound or had any evidence of parasites. In fact, other than the fact that she was dead, I couldn't find anything wrong with her. She looked like she was sitting down peacefully and had not been gone for long at all. Poor sweet girl. You would think with a dozen chickens, that losing one would hardly be noticed, but this hen was quiet and calm and a wonderful layer. I am definitely missing her.


She was always interested in what was going on around the farm, including what might be going on in the house as well! The australorp hens (and Sophie) are more assertive, but you would always find this one just behind them, waiting to see if anything good was coming.



Any time the minis were staked in the yard, this chicken was almost always by Yakki. Maybe she was waiting for him to scare up some bugs or worms. This hen was only a little over three years old, and while reaching the end of her steady egg production, she could still have given us a few eggs a week for a while yet.


I hope to have an announcement of some new additions on Monday or Tuesday, but I'm only about 50% confident of the outcome, so I'll keep it to myself for now. This picture above (off the internet) might give you an idea what we're watching and waiting for...oh, and it's not the puppy, although that would be fun too! So stay tuned!

A trip to the beach

Most of you know, but in case you don't...Frank and I spent 12 years living at the Oregon coast prior to living in Arlington these past four years. There was a lot to love about living there and even a few things that were not that great (Oregon politics, the remoteness). My mom still lives there so we took a long weekend after school got out to go visit her and enjoy some time on the beach we so loved.


This is the approach to our favorite stretch of beach in Seal Rock, Oregon. We have spent many hours here gathering mussels, razor clamming and just plain soaking up the wonders of the ocean on long walks. There is also a good agate bed about 1/2 a mile down that I spent many hours looking for little treasures.


While these beaches have plenty of sand, there are also big rock formations just off shore. These rocks are so beautiful, especially when the big waves crash over them. Unfortunately, that is hard to catch with a digital camera, but even with this little bit of water flowing over, you can get an idea of how beautiful that is.


Vacationing children (young and old alike!) at the beach often build forts and other kinds of structures out of the log debris that has washed up past the high tide line. I thought this shelter was particularly well thought out with its thatched roof. Bon fires can also be seen in the evening scattered along the beach. What a good memory to have...sitting around the fire, listening to the crashing waves, the clear, starry sky, and good times with friends and family.


Here is another picture of the rocks just off shore. Vistas like this can be seen all up and down along the Oregon and northern California coast.


Here Frank and Sandy take one last walk on the beach the very morning we head back home to our little farm. Frank walked the dogs on the beach almost every day we lived here. I am sure that is mostly responsible for Sandy being a very healthy 13 and a half. Carly was not quite as athletic as Sandy, and, knowing where it was the right spot, sometimes she would plunk her chubby butt down and wait for Sandy and Frank to walk ahead for a while then turn back toward her. We're not sure when we're going to be back at the beach again, so we are glad we got this picture to remember all the good times on the beach they had together.

Now that we are back home, there are lots of things going on. Hay is IN for the winter, with 300 bales of good local hay jammed in every space possible. It is so good to have that taken care of and know that I have enough hay to keep them happy all winter regardless of how rough (and last winter was ROUGH) it is. I still need two tons of Teff hay for Maddie, as well as two tons of pelleted bedding. I'll have that delivered in late July, although I have no idea where I'm going to put it!

Frank and I went to a U-pick strawberry place yesterday and had a lot of fun, but of course forgot to bring the camera! We had such a good time finding those little red jewels hidden in the greenery. We kind of went nuts and picked more than we needed for fresh eating, so we've already given some away and will freeze what's not eaten in the next day or so.

We're off today to Vancouver, Brittish Columbia for a bike ride around Stanley Park, and to eat some sushi at a new place we discovered. We love being so close to this cosmopolitan city and visit it quite often. The camera is kind of big to bring on the ride, so no pictures today. Talk to you again soon!