Rufus has a Chicken

Yesterday, after work, as I was puttering around in my corn crib barn, I peaked through the window into the goat stall, and laughed out loud.  Ha!  Rufus, hold still while I grab my camera!  

Rufus, there's something on your back!

Huh? 

He was totally chill, and allowed this little hen to walk up and down his spine.  I've noticed that this chicken hangs out in his stall, but I didn't realize they were so close!  This little hen is the last one to be hatched here at home, and I kept her locked in the brooder when she was small, to protect her from the other big birds.  Once she was big enough to leave the brooder she decided that the donkey stall was her new safe place.  She's unconcerned that she will get stepped on, and spends her time scratching for tasty bits on the floor and taking dust baths.  Apparently she also perches on patient Rufus!  

I'm glad Rufus has a chicken (and goats, and me), because he doesn't have Hattie to be his companion any more.  The vet made a visit last week, to look at the tumor that grew back on her eyelid, and we had to make the hard decision.  It really wasn't hard to decide once he showed me the ulcer on her eyeball that was forming because the tumor was causing her eyelashes to rub her eye. Another surgery wasn't possible.  Successful chemo treatments were unlikely.  I walked her to the grass near the driveway, and then I went in the house to wash the dishes, and before I had the dishwasher loaded the vet was gone, Hattie was covered with a tarp, and a man from the county was scheduled to come for her body the next day.  He came with a big truck with a chain wench, loaded her up quickly, and I handed him twenty dollars and didn't ask where he was taking her.  

Caring for Hattie's leaky eyes has been part of my daily summer routine, but Rufus and I are adjusting to life without her.  He's going to need another equine companion, for sure, but in the meantime he'll have to make due with a barn full of goats, a chicken on his back, and lots of extra nose kisses from me.  

Adventures and Dollywood

I checked the date on my last post, ten days ago, and wondered for a moment what I've been up to.  Then it all came back to me - I went to Dollywood!  It was Kathy's idea to take my two eldest nieces to Dollywood, the amusement park nestled in the Tennessee mountains, near Gatlinburg.  The end of summer vacation was fast approaching, so we set a date, and made our plans.  My plans included shopping for some water resistant shorts and a fanny pack.  My last trip to Dollywood, when I was about fourteen, taught me a lesson about the transparency of white shorts once wet and the embarrassment of underpants with flower print.  With my quick drying short pants and brand new fanny pack for holding phones and wallets, I felt prepared for anything, even the water rides.  

Since Dollywood wasn't open on Thursday, we traveled to a place called Greenbriar in the Smokey Mountain National Forest.  We visited a beautiful boulder strewn stream and had a picnic under towering trees.   We waded and splashed in the stream and watched tiny fish nibble my toes.  As we left, I had to drive slowly through the forest as the road was full of ruts that rattled my little car.  Kathy and I admired the surrounding forests and wildflowers and kept our eyes peeled for bears. The kids were occupied in the backseat by their technology, and asked, "Why is it taking so long to get out of here?" Ha!

We traveled into the town of Gatlinburg with no more of a plan than to find ice cream.  We parked the car right off the main street with all the touristy shops and hoards of vacationers, and I looked around at all that stuff and wondered where to start.  Not to worry, as soon as the kids saw the big sign for Ripleys Haunted Adventure, they pointed with excitement.  Really?  Kathy and I were game, so we bought our tickets and took the ticket sellers advice and splurged on hand held lights to hold while we crept through the most intense haunted house I've ever been to!   Creepy people jumped out of secret doors, a ghoul performing an autopsy splashed us with guts, and puffs of air from secret places would make us scream.  Actual monsters chased us down hallways.  The darkness was so complete at times that we were glad for those lights.  I wasn't sure we would make it out of room made of a spinning light tunnel, but once we escaped the haunted adventure, we were all giddy with adrenaline.  What's next?!

After some refreshing lemonade, we found a tiny photo shop manned by a friendly young lady photographer that understood we didn't want to look like a bunch of saloon girls, and had fun trying on costumes, selecting our props, and posing for our old time picture.  The picture is propped on my mantel right now, and makes me smile every time I see it. 

I took our old time photos back to the car while Kathy and the kids booked us seats on the chairlift that took us to the top of a mountain overlooking Gatlinburg, where the largest swinging bridge lives.  

A bridge that long swings quite a bit in the center, and we watched several people change their minds and turn around.  The views were fantastic. 

Near the center of the swinging bridge was a traffic jam, and weren't sure why the line was stopping. 

Until we got to the center of the bridge, which was made of glass!  It was cool to stand above the trees.  The ride back off the mountain on the chairlift was very enjoyable - breezy with beautiful views of the mountains.  

When my eldest nieces said that if she could eat any food in the world, she would choose chicken pot pie, Kathy knew just the place!  We barely made it to the restaurant in Pigeon Forge before closing time, but had no trouble ordering so much food we had leftovers to take back to our hotel.  

The next morning we were up, hair in french braids, cooler refilled with ice, and enjoying waffles before our short drive to Dollywood.  We parked in C for Cotton Candy, and caught the trolley into the park. Once inside, we used our dollywood map to find the nearest roller coaster, and we were off!  

I thought I gave up roller coasters years ago.  Not so!  I didn't ride them all, but some I rode more than once, including the Wild Eagle, which lets your feet dangle while doing loopty-loops!  The kids got giant sugary beverages in cups with bucket handles and bendy straws, and could get refills throughout the day.   Everyone one was high on sugar and roller coaster speed!  We saw a bird show,  with a giant golden eagle and a bald eagle that was nearly as old as I am, and gave dollars to a funny crow that hopped around on the stage and asked for donations.  Chicken tenders and french fries fueled us all the way until the evening, when we attended one of the shows in an air conditioned theater with comfy seats.  For an hour Dolly Parton sang to us on a giant screen, while her brother, aunt, and cousin performed live on the stage with other musicians.  It was a strange show, but I was happy to let people in sequined suits sing to me while we rested our weary legs.  

After the show we found a sweet shop, and got scoops of moose tracks ice cream in chocolate dipped waffle cones, then went shopping in the gift shop before we caught the trolley back to our car.  Wow, what an adventure!

Exciting Tractor Things

Saturday was an exciting day.  It was the day that we got to bring home our new tractor!  Our new tractor is actually our friend Farmer Joe's old tractor, which I think is about thirty-five years old.  It's a fifty-horse power tractor with front hydraulics, which means it's strong enough to run a hay bailing machine, and comes with a bucket and a spike for moving big round hay bales.  It's scary powerful.   

The first challenge of the tractor was that it needed new front wheel bearings, which Joe helped Brandon replace.  Don't you think buying a tractor from a friend means that friend is obligated to help you fix the tractor for the rest of his life?  The wheel bearing replacement was a success, and then it was time to drive the tractor from Joe's farm to ours.  This meant that Brandon had to drive in the safety lane for about two miles on a major road, while I drove our truck with the flashers on in the slow lane to block any giant semi trucks from hitting him.  Yikes!  

Then he drove the tractor for another five miles on the small winding roads all the way to our little farm.  On the way, we passed three other tractors, and I think Brandon was embarrassed that none of the other tractor men were being followed by their nervous wives.  

Wendigo barked and barked at the tractor until she realized that it wasn't the scary hay man.  Once we were safely home, Brandon tried out the front hydraulics by raising and lowering the bucket, and a swarm of wasps came out of the tractor and we had to run for safety!  After that, my nerves were shot, and I was glad when it was time to park the scary machine.  

The next day, Brandon was anxious to test out our new capabilities.  I haven't tried to drive it yet, but he tells me that it's different than a car, because it does't have a gas peddle.  You control the speed by adjusting the gears, which is a lever on the dash.   There's also a trick to getting it to start.  I'm not surprised that a thirty-five year old machine has a few tricks to it.  

We tried using the bucket to lift an old roll of hay that we would like to move to the garden, but only succeeded in rolling it around.  We'll have to try the hay spike once we have it in hand.  

I was worried that the bush hog that was given to us years ago had rusted into the earth through neglect, but it worked with the new powerful tractor just fine!  Brandon mowed a small field and cut a path along our nature trail in a jiffy.  This thing is pretty handy! 

Brandon is already shopping for used hay making attachments, and I keep thinking of all the fence posts we could put in with a post hole digger attachment.  So many exciting tractor things to plan for! 

New Amazing Buckling

Look what we got - a new buckling!  He's a Nubian buck, with paper work and everything.  Brandon and I drove north, through the bluegrass region of north central Kentucky, on roads cut through the knobs to expose the limestone, along a stream, and over a railroad track to a pretty farm on a steep hillside.  A herd of glossy brown and black Nubian does and all their kids were winding along a path through the fields accompanied by a big white dog, just like our Wendigo.  

The goat farmer and her husband helped us put the buckling in the back of our truck, and we joked that we had rolled out the red carpet for him since we used a piece of red carpet in the bed so he wouldn't slip around on the ride home.  He was a little nervous to be going on an adventure, but loves animal crackers, so he cooperated pretty well with the goat farmer.  

Brandon carried him from the truck to the fence that contains all the boy goats, and set him inside with Little Buck, the River Brothers, and Nibs.   

Everyone was so excited to meet the new buck that they formed a butt sniffing congo line, and walked round and round with their noses in each others backsides, sniffing and making funny noises.  Goats are so strange.

I was given some paperwork so I can register him with the American Dairy Goat Association.  His mother is Kentucky Hills Amazing Grace, and his grandfather is Wingwood Farm Amazing Adonis.  I didn't have a name picked out, so the goat farmer suggested Kentucky Hills Amazing Donovan.  I think we'll call him Donny.  I hope he is amazing! 

The end of his nose is amazingly cute and pink. 

He has a very nice hump in the bridge of his nose, which is supposed to be characteristic of the breed.  I think it makes him look very noble.  

This is my Nibs, Peaches and Little Bucks son, who isn't much older than Donny, and has horns.  I see a difference in the shape of their faces, for sure.  I got to see Donny's mother, Gracie, and she had a huge udder with really big teats.  The goat farmer said she milks by hand, and milking Gracie was a dream because her teats were so nice.  Hopefully Donny will pass on some of those easy milking traits.  

Donny is very loudly protesting his new situation, which makes for some funny Big Lebowski jokes.  I give him separate piles of hay, so he doesn't have to fight for a place at the hay basket yet.  I also bought some goat pellets, so he can continue to eat what he's used to, but we haven't figured out how to feed them to him yet without Little Buck scarfing them down.  I have some goat wormer that the goat farmer suggested on it's way, since moving to a new farm is stressful, and that's when worms get out of hand.  He's such a pretty goat, all fat and glossy.