SNOW & Ice-Skating!

 It finally snowed!  It was a light one, but it snowed none the less  :-)  Very good for the pastures!

Last night, we took a field trip and went ice-skating with some good friends of ours.  I didn't do very well on the ice...slipped and fell a lot, and bruised my knee.  

Me skating.

Josiah, my brother, skating.

Gracie, my sister, putting on her skates.

A few bruised knees later, and it was over  :-)  It was fun!

Photo of the Day:

{Reece's isn't too amused by my camera flash}

Goodnight!
~Hannah

2 Families = BOOM!

It happened again last night!  Two families, the Young's (us) and the Fish's (really good friends of ours), got together again and. . . BOOM!  We are almost always up to crazy stuff, and in this case, it was learning two new dances at Liberty Ranch  :-)

On the way there

Line-dancing madness!

The pomegranate massacre!

All in all, it was a great night!  Praise God for these fun times  :-)

~Hannah

Chilly Day

Today, we had about 2-3 inches of ice in the animal's water buckets.  Talk about hard to crack!

Draining the hose is a daily chore for us right now.

Yep, we gave into our old dog, Gabby, and let her in the house.  She was cold  :)

Forgot to post pictures of our new LGD pup!  She's pretty good with the goats thus far...but she still needs to learn that they're not toys  :-)

Judah, the gentle giant!  He's a big baby.

I am very thankful for our stove!  Wood heat is the way to go, especially out here in ice-storm country!  It keeps this little house nice and toasty  :-)

Last pic of the day.  One of our Muscovy ducks, at the water trough.

Have a great day!
~Hannah

Linked up to:  Cool Clicks Thursday

Winterizing a Shelter

It was a very pretty day for working outside!  So I decided to winterize a shelter for our bucks that was in dire need of a makeover.

Here the shelter is before anything was done to it.  It was like a wind tunnel.

Always keep your hay rope! Comes in handy for projects like these.

First, I hung a thick quilt on the open side, cutting 4 slits in the top, then stringing hay rope through over the roof, and attaching it to the other side. Yes, it's pretty okie-looking, but it works :)

Attached hay rope.

Then, I cut two slits in the sides, and wrapped the blanket around the poles.

The side is done.

 I started on the wall by digging about a 3" trench, then setting a board inside the trench. Then I attached wire to the inside of the board, and nailed a piece of metal on the outside of the board, leaving a space in between the wire and metal wall. I used the little space to put insulation in (junk blankets and fabric). Then I added a support beam at the end.

Another view of the wall.

I added a coroplast board to finish the wall. I put a pallet on the side behind the quilt, and leaned a pole up to secure it.  Done! It's pretty warm inside already :)

Jasper, already enjoying the shelter

Stay warm!
~Hannah

Photo Friday: The FALL Season!

Goodnight!
~Hannah

Sunday Project: Planting Rye Grass

Yesterday, my two brothers and I planted about an acre of rye grass by hand.  It was pretty fun and only took about an hour and a half.  We walked in a line and spread out the seed by hand, sprinkling it as evenly as possible.  After the seeding was done, we took a piece of chainlink fence, and folded part of it on itself, making it heavier at the end for dragging on the ground.  Dragging the fence spreads any uneven seed out and helps bury it a bit.  Now we just wait for rain and growth!

Rye grass seed

Some photography from today  :)

Goodnight fellow bloggers!
~Hannah

New Ranch Project: Miniature Donkeys

Yep, so I decided to buy a mini jenny (miniature female donkey) yesterday as my new school/farm project!  The front pasture is getting quite tall and we needed a cheap way to mow our lawn, and she's a perfect choice!  My brother bought a john (castrated donkey), and together, we're working on halter training them both.

Josiah with his miniature donkey

Mini jenny

We've only had them for a day and already have halters on them.  They're leading quite well for how stubborn donkeys can be  :)

That was pretty much it for today

Cheers!
Hannah