Meet Aeon Clux.....& See What's Been Happening In The New Year!!

Meet Aeon Clux. She was saved off the busy Hwy 72 after she had apparently fallen from a poultry truck. There was bloody evidence all around her that other chickens had already been run over and she was just sitting in the middle of the highway waiting for whatever was to become of her. Then along came Lauren.... she stopped her car, stopped the traffic and put this little chicken in her car. She is a sweet little thing and we hope she gets to live out a good life here at the farm. You can't really tell from the photos, but she has beautiful blue eyes. Right now she is being kept in her own little 10x20 grass-filled kennel until she is strong enough to be with the other chickens. She was weak when she got here, I assume she hadn't really had the opportunity to take very many steps OR even knew what grass looked like, but she does now AND she has already gained strength and is walking and eating very well! Yay for Aeon!!

 So the 2012 is off to a good start and all the animals are healthy and happy. Things at the farm have been pretty slow...lots of rain, hay shopping, waiting on eggs, goat lovin', and SEED SHOPPING!!! I am starting to get the plans together for my second year of gardening. I learned a few things from my very first experience with it last year, and hope to get better with experience every year. Last year I did very well with tomatoes, strawberries, beans, peas, carrots, cantaloupes, watermelon, peppers, herbs, and cucumbers. This year my hopes are that I WON'T kill the potatoes [again], I can ward off the squash bugs somehow, and I can keep whatever started eating my strawberries - away. I am gonna really focus on companion planting this year as well as neem oil. The weather has been unusually warm and even spring-like some days with tornado warnings and massive amounts of rain. These things paired with the blue sky of winter have been great for photos!

Eli is so big and strong and has really been enjoying himself in the cooler weather.

Baby is always up for finding new sticks in the field. I think she is under the impression she has found the goldmine of sticks out in the pasture. Nothing seems to make her happier than running with a stick (or small tree) in her mouth. The only bad thing is when she gets a really big one, she seems to always catch me in the shin as she is flying by....

Milly is so strong. It is a struggle now to put these wraps on her. She fights and squirms and gives me a hard time, but this makes me happy to see how far she has come - back in October she barely had the strength to walk! Now if I could just get her to stop licking and chewing on herself.....

Misty has the pinkest nose with no freckles!

Eli's freckle-y curious nose.

Speckles nose!

I love Eli hugs......it makes me proud to know what condition he was in when we got him and how he looks today!

It is so funny to see goats standing on two legs. Their bellies stick out and they just look so unusual! Eli does it quite often to reach the cedar trees, pine trees, and cypresses.

Peek-a-boo!

Eli's horns are getting so big. I love these photos with the sun making its way through the horns.

Misty is challenging Milly here - again, the goat on two legs always cracks me up. 

Sweet baby Ellen.

One of my favorite surprises this winter was growing broccoli!! I planted the seeds last March and got nothing but leafy plants, but this winter I had this!!

Baby is wearing her Christmas present from my mom...Baby DOES love raw goats milk. She drinks a small bowl every morning!

I still keep the babies (they were all disbudded) separate from Ellie and Eli when I am not around. When I AM around, I get to witness a lot of butting heads between Ellie and Misty. Misty is determined to be the most dominant one, and refuses to leave Ellie alone....so Ellie gets returned back to the adult side of the field so that no one gets hurt!

Misty and Milly have the sisterly bond. They are inseparable.

Chomp . . . chomp. . . .chomp. . . .chomp.............

One day I was able to catch all the animals in a super playful mood when the weather outside was PERFECT. Below, Forest is acting like a baby lamb again!!

Everyone was chasing everyone.

Ellie, Misty, and Ellen.

Baby doing her daily count of the chickens to make sure everyone is still here... (;

Forest & Speckles chowing down!

Sweet & dainty little Misty.

Milly and her cute freckles on her nose!!

The sheep are always challenging Baby. Baby loves the attention and the games. She has gotten her feelings hurt a time or two with a buck from Speckles, but for the most part, they all have fun!

The chickens are absolutely gorgeous after molting! So beautiful and vibrant! Now if they will just start laying regularly....C'mon, girls!

This is Swirls. He is the protector against those pesky farm mice (;

He has a really stressful job. He basically has to pretend to be asleep all day (you know so he can catch those sneaky mice), and in order to be ready for attack, he must stretch out regularly....

Puuurrrrrrrrrrrrrr.........

"Relax" because that's what the sign says....

We had some visitors all the way from Okinawa out to visit the animals! Keiko, Kellis, and Ariel had so much fun playing with the goat girlies and the chickens. They had never been so close to farm animals before, and the goats just LOVED all the attention. When they first arrived, Ariel was a sleeping beauty and Misty couldn't help but be curious about her....

Kellis was an immediate hit with the goats! They were showering her with lots of hugs and kisses!

Then Ariel woke up! She was a little confused, shy and and maybe a little scared at first, but quickly overcame those reservations and was so free and independent among the goats! I have never seen another child so "at home" and comfortable with them after such a short amount of time at the farm.

Keiko was amazed at the goats - how they would look right into her eyes and smile!

I love this picture of Milly - she looks like she is so proud here. She really loved the attention.

Free kisses!!

Kellis is holding Lucky!

Who's "Queen Of the Mountain" ?