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| Giant Tortoise at Reptile Gardens |
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| Lunch with bison |
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| Dinosaur Park |
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| Feeding Prairie Dogs |
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| Bear Country, USA |
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Normal Vacation Fun Part 1
So not all of our vacation was crazy but it was pretty fun. Here are a few highlights in photos.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Eggs, Glorious Eggs!
Our chickens started laying eggs today! I am so excited! Sure, there were only two eggs and they were pretty small but it is a start! I am not sure which of my birds laid them either. Hopefully there will be more tomorrow! 
Friday, June 27, 2014
Some kids are more helpful than others
Jon tried to work on the chicken coop this week. We found out that our newest kids are not the most helpful. They enjoyed playing on his work table and on the shelf he was building. But they had a really great time and it was hilarious to watch them play like crazy!
Our other kids, on the other hand, can be helpful sometimes. My eldest helped me with farm chores while my husband was fighting off goats.
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| Not helpful |
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| Not helpful |
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| Not helpful |
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| Not helpful |
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| Not sure if helpful or not |
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| Helpful |
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Trip Adventure
So apparently crazy isn't just reserved for our life here on our faux farm. Crazy seems to follow us wherever we go. I'm not sure I appreciate the implications but at least it keeps life interesting.
Early in June, we took a family trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota. I remember going there when I was six years old and had so much fun but I had forgotten about the beautiful scenery. We rented a small house in Rapid City for our stay and our first night there started out with adventure.
I was just finishing tucking the girls in for the night (not an easy task considering we were in a new, exciting place) when Jon came in and said he needed my help. While he was trying to fix a door that wouldn't close properly, a garter snake slithered by him into the house. He unsuccessfully tried to shoo it out but ended up trapping it under a garbage can instead.
We took a newspaper and slid it under the can and I made Jon carry it outside while I took pictures. He is just lucky that I am not afraid of snakes. Not that I want loose snakes in my house but when I worked in a zoo, I was in charge of the snakes for a time. That meant I fed them and cleaned the cages. I also led many programs in which I taught about snakes. I even had to work with rattlesnakes (not for the programs though!) so needless to say, snakes don't bother me much.
Even though I took pictures, I did help by poking the snake's tail back under the can while Jon was sliding the newspaper underneath. I think the best part of this adventure was that we turned it into a running joke the entire trip. Every time we left the house, the girls would shout out that Daddy needed to check for snakes before we went out the door. It was hilarious!
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I was just finishing tucking the girls in for the night (not an easy task considering we were in a new, exciting place) when Jon came in and said he needed my help. While he was trying to fix a door that wouldn't close properly, a garter snake slithered by him into the house. He unsuccessfully tried to shoo it out but ended up trapping it under a garbage can instead.
We took a newspaper and slid it under the can and I made Jon carry it outside while I took pictures. He is just lucky that I am not afraid of snakes. Not that I want loose snakes in my house but when I worked in a zoo, I was in charge of the snakes for a time. That meant I fed them and cleaned the cages. I also led many programs in which I taught about snakes. I even had to work with rattlesnakes (not for the programs though!) so needless to say, snakes don't bother me much.
Even though I took pictures, I did help by poking the snake's tail back under the can while Jon was sliding the newspaper underneath. I think the best part of this adventure was that we turned it into a running joke the entire trip. Every time we left the house, the girls would shout out that Daddy needed to check for snakes before we went out the door. It was hilarious!
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| Don't worry, I opened the door for him! |
Sunday, June 22, 2014
One of These Things
As you can see, now that the chickens are bigger, the cats are no longer interested in trying to eat them. In fact, Smoky climbs in their cage all the time and they mostly ignore each other. I'm not sure why she goes in there but sometimes I think it is because she is jealous that we are giving the chickens attention.
Friday, June 20, 2014
Just Kidding Around
Goat pictures. Just because.
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| Just another day on the farm |
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| Tulip is very friendly. |
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| Wetherby is a bit more shy. |
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| Butting heads |
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| They like playing on their balance beam. |
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| Me and my goat |
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
'Scape Goats
There is a saying about goats: "If your fence won't hold water, it won't hold goats."
We made it four days before our goats escaped for the first time. I thought that was pretty good. But then they escaped again. That same day. And then again. Three times in one day! I think they were making up for not escaping sooner.
We had just had some friends over to meet the goats. In fact, they were just pulling out of the driveway when my daughter yelled that the goats were out. I raced over and, sure enough, the goats were out and seemed pretty proud of themselves. Of course they wouldn't let me get near them but they did wander over to our fenced garden. I opened the gate and they wandered in. Then the fun of catching began. I caught Wetherby first, with much trampling of the garden, and carried him back to his pasture. I then had to catch and carry Tulip, who was very unhappy being separated from her friend and was very vocal about it. I just hope the neighbors weren't watching (though I'm sure they would have been thoroughly entertained)!
I found a gap in the fence and I realized that if we weren't outside with the goats, then they could not be left out in the pasture as they would just escape again so I put them in their barn stall to stay until Jon came home and could fix the fence. Little did I know, that they could get out of that too!
So...I understand the first time that they escaped. They found a gap in the fence. Of course they will get out of that. But the barn stall?! Tulip got out of there and I still have no idea how she did that! It is quite tall so I doubt she jumped it. My best guess is that she somehow climbed out. This escape occurred when Jon was just, ironically, heading to the store to get some supplies to keep the goats from escaping the pasture when I looked out and saw Tulip standing in front of the barn. So more goat-catching ensued. At least I had help this time!
The third time happened while Jon was actively fixing the gap in the fence. The goats were back outside but he walked away for a moment to get some more tools and they saw their chance and went for it. I think they were just mocking us at that point. Now that gap has been fixed so hopefully it will be a while before they get out again. I may have gotten into some poison ivy during this chase but I really hope I saw it before I stepped in it! I don't want to go through that again!
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| Good thing the goats are cute! |
We had just had some friends over to meet the goats. In fact, they were just pulling out of the driveway when my daughter yelled that the goats were out. I raced over and, sure enough, the goats were out and seemed pretty proud of themselves. Of course they wouldn't let me get near them but they did wander over to our fenced garden. I opened the gate and they wandered in. Then the fun of catching began. I caught Wetherby first, with much trampling of the garden, and carried him back to his pasture. I then had to catch and carry Tulip, who was very unhappy being separated from her friend and was very vocal about it. I just hope the neighbors weren't watching (though I'm sure they would have been thoroughly entertained)!
I found a gap in the fence and I realized that if we weren't outside with the goats, then they could not be left out in the pasture as they would just escape again so I put them in their barn stall to stay until Jon came home and could fix the fence. Little did I know, that they could get out of that too!
So...I understand the first time that they escaped. They found a gap in the fence. Of course they will get out of that. But the barn stall?! Tulip got out of there and I still have no idea how she did that! It is quite tall so I doubt she jumped it. My best guess is that she somehow climbed out. This escape occurred when Jon was just, ironically, heading to the store to get some supplies to keep the goats from escaping the pasture when I looked out and saw Tulip standing in front of the barn. So more goat-catching ensued. At least I had help this time!
The third time happened while Jon was actively fixing the gap in the fence. The goats were back outside but he walked away for a moment to get some more tools and they saw their chance and went for it. I think they were just mocking us at that point. Now that gap has been fixed so hopefully it will be a while before they get out again. I may have gotten into some poison ivy during this chase but I really hope I saw it before I stepped in it! I don't want to go through that again!
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Time to Vent
How do you remove a squirrel trapped in a sewer vent? That was the question we had to answer the other day.
The girls and I were at home and I kept hearing a strange noise, a sort of scratching and tapping. At first, I thought it was one of our many woodpeckers that occasionally mistake our house for a tree but when it persisted, I decided to chase it away. I peeked out the window and saw no bird but the noise was still there. And from where I stood it sounded as though it were coming from INSIDE the house.
Searching for the noise's location, I ended up in the main bathroom and, sure enough, the noise was coming from inside our walls! Lot of scratching and chewing sounds and it sounded like it was much bigger than a mouse. Fearing that it would chew through something important, I informed my husband of the situation and he came home a bit early.
We went to the roof and looked down through the sewer vent. Peeking back at us was a very unhappy, soggy squirrel. We called a plumber, animal control, pest control, and the police to see if they could help us remove the critter. They all laughed and said it sounded like we had a problem but they wouldn't help.
Thankfully, my husband is very handy. We realized the squirrel was close to the clean out so we just had to open that and fish the squirrel out. Ah, if only it were that simple! But alas, we didn't have a wrench big enough for the clean out so Jon went to the store and bought one. Then, the clean out wouldn't budge so another trip back to the store (where the workers recognized my husband as the "squirrel guy") to buy a new clean out. This time Jon sawed through the pipe and I climbed to the roof in the dark and light rain to shine a light down the vent so he would know where the squirrel was stuck.
Wouldn't you know it but the squirrel was gone! Well, we figured it hadn't gotten out so Jon went squirrel "fishing" with a drain auger. And he caught one, seven hours after we first began this rescue effort. Unfortunately, after being trapped in there all day and being doused with toilet water occasionally, the squirrel didn't make it. Now the next step is to get a cover for the vent so this won't happen again!
The girls and I were at home and I kept hearing a strange noise, a sort of scratching and tapping. At first, I thought it was one of our many woodpeckers that occasionally mistake our house for a tree but when it persisted, I decided to chase it away. I peeked out the window and saw no bird but the noise was still there. And from where I stood it sounded as though it were coming from INSIDE the house.
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| Can you see the poor squirrel in the vent? |
We went to the roof and looked down through the sewer vent. Peeking back at us was a very unhappy, soggy squirrel. We called a plumber, animal control, pest control, and the police to see if they could help us remove the critter. They all laughed and said it sounded like we had a problem but they wouldn't help.
Thankfully, my husband is very handy. We realized the squirrel was close to the clean out so we just had to open that and fish the squirrel out. Ah, if only it were that simple! But alas, we didn't have a wrench big enough for the clean out so Jon went to the store and bought one. Then, the clean out wouldn't budge so another trip back to the store (where the workers recognized my husband as the "squirrel guy") to buy a new clean out. This time Jon sawed through the pipe and I climbed to the roof in the dark and light rain to shine a light down the vent so he would know where the squirrel was stuck.
Wouldn't you know it but the squirrel was gone! Well, we figured it hadn't gotten out so Jon went squirrel "fishing" with a drain auger. And he caught one, seven hours after we first began this rescue effort. Unfortunately, after being trapped in there all day and being doused with toilet water occasionally, the squirrel didn't make it. Now the next step is to get a cover for the vent so this won't happen again!
Sunday, June 8, 2014
New Kids on the Block
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| Wetherby and Tulip |
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