Hospitals and Storms, and Floods- Oh MY !

  There was a LOT happening this past week. Firstly, we got storm watches for a fierce tropical storm that was moving up the coast.... So I was busily preparing for that- winds, rain and perhaps a higher than normal creek. Well, it was MUCH more than just that. Little to no winds, but the rain- Oh the rain. ( we got close to 9" of rain !!) It began in earnest Tuesday evening-just as I was driving home alone from the hospital. Glenn had been not feeling well Monday (which was Labor day and a 3 day weekend for him) so we didn't do much at all. By Tuesday, he was Miserable;complaining of stomach pains again- so I called the Dr's office to get an appointment. No, the Dr was off for a few days, so we went straight to the emergency room. Turned out after a Lot of tests, he had the same problem of before. They admitted him, and that's why I got to drive home in the storm alone. By Wednesday, (thanks to Megan, I had some help that day)  it had really hit us hard.... I had wet stalls in the front half of the barn, and thank goodness, that was ALL. There was rain- no thunder, no lightning- so the horses went outside as usual. I think they enjoyed the cooler temps and being soaking wet as no one acted as though they wanted to go inside. Thursday found me alone again. My poor working student had called to say she wouldn't be there because her basement had flooded. I felt SO terrible for all of their losses ! I couldn't get out of the county to go visit my husband because of the flooding. This road was closed/ flooded... that road was closed.  Whew- Major flooding- when the great river running thorough this area gets full- she goes over her banks and to the houses beyond ! Harrisburg was under water in certain areas, Hershey Park was under water - so badly that they had animal deaths at their zoo america.  It was BAD. I'll add some photos of some of the flooding below.
   While my hubby was getting better, I had found a little peep in the horse stall where the hens were staying. ( one of Pearls' chicks) I thought it was sick, and would die, but nope- it just needed to be treated gently and be allowed to heal- and eat, and drink and Poop.... That's alright- all of that is Healthy. So now, I have TWO little best friends in chicken clothing. One in a Cosequin bucket, and one in the little dog kennel cab. Lucky is growing like mad- has almost all of her/his feathers in now, and Loves to sit in human laps. I thought I'd heard Lucky attempting a crow this morning, so I Sure hope it was NOT. Been calling the little one in the tack room bucket " Widget" which can be either hen or rooster names.
   The horses all survived the storm easily- but for looking at their damp but clean stalls like they had mistakenly gone to the wrong barn. They Were all quite clean too- till the rains slowed down and the mud looked like fun to roll in. Mud is alright- when it dries, it brushes right off.
 Now, today- the farm is drying out, the stalls are doing Much better, and all is well at WoodFinn once again. The little widget peep is having trouble making her/his toes/ feet work correctly- but I pray that time will heal that. Otherwise, Widget is a happy little chick. Lucky likes to visit the Percherons when they are in their stalls during the day. I think they like the company.
  The other hens- Pearl, Starlight n' Easter- are outside today for the first time since they got here. The peeps ( now 8) were having the times of their lives pecking grass and finding bugs. Alli, my old Appy, had walked up to the barn to get a drink, and was standing there watching them, ears perked forward, head tilted so she could see them. I'm glad my horses are so good at getting along with all the other species living here ! Now for some photos :

This is Lucky- notice the "Shrek" ear like feathers on the sides of his/her head ?

And this is 'Widget'... the little chick living in the Cosequin bucket in our tack room.

This is our road past our house...

Below is the front of the barn- 

AFTER scooping out one helluva lot of water.

Buffalo Creek- Wednesday

The creek is normally a few inches deep- by Wednesday, it was easily 6' deep

Those trees are a good 10' back from the creek banks.

These are photos I took on our drive home on Friday- of the Susquehanna River

Another shot- of City Island- from the Harrisburg Hospital.

See those small houses across the river ?

And last but hardly least- this is 322 and Clarks Ferry- almost flooded under.

Saturday was a gorgeous day- hot,but the humidity dropped some as it wore on. I hope we are going to have a taste of Autumn later on this week !

Working Student Program 9/3/2011

Glenn came out of the house to snap some photos of one of our working students having an 'earned' lesson.....  This is Sam, and her favorite guy " BoJangles. She's just had a very few lessons in riding- so she's still learning the many basics.

There's SO much to remember !

walk on !

A little better turn here...

getting some tips....

                                                               Much better !

She's gone :D

 Irene has moved on.... didn't leave anything but a stiff breeze and some showery rain.  Now it's just beginning to clear up . All is fine here- nothing damaged, dry chickens and happy horses out grazing in the fields !  The new chickens - thanks Heather !!!-  are doing fine. Starlight has decided perhaps being w/ her " peeps" is alot better than galvanting about the farm all by herself.  I had to herd her into an empty stall in order to capture her and return her to her friends .  The little peeps are ADORABLE- teeny little things , all colored differently. Lucky- Emmi's only chick is growing by leaps n' bounds- and oh wow, she is SO friendly. She follows my shoes, and loves taking dirt baths in the stalls- Yes, WITH the drafters in them too.  Here's some photos I got today. Also- one of a very soggy squirrel in our barn's parking lot and one of Scarlet .

Mama hiding her peeps

 Getting some brunch...

 back to scratching for bugs,etc

 this pretty girl is named Starlight- with Easter behind her

The hen below is Easter- one of the other hens.

closer shot of the teeniest little peepy

 

Low clouds over our mountain- Irene is leaving the area !

 This is the only survivor of Emmi's little family- Lucky

More of Pearl & her chicks

 

  Scarlet outside, enjoying the cool temperatures

 Our soggy squirrel....

Hello Irene !

We're awaiting our first hurricane of the season... She is right on schedule, according to all the weather maps... LOTS of rain, LOTS of wind and Luckily we are on the outer skirts of it all. Back where I grew up is going to get more than here, so I am Glad to be living here now !
Right now, all we have are dark threatening clouds, and every once in a while, rain.... She's not supposed to arrive here in PA til tonight.... stay tuned.

Sad Times ...

8.21.2011

 I walked to the barn yesterday morning to feed the chickens and see if all the horses were okay. I had some helpers doing all the horsey chores, so I could have an actual day OFF.  It was oddly quiet.... no hens bustling about to be fed, no Emmi and her peeps.  No one.  

 I looked up at the hen house, and there was one lone chick, standing outside kind of like it was lost.  That was weird- Emmi Never left one peepy alone like that. So I called my hens to come out for breakfast. I'd left the side door on their house opened the night before because it had been do humid, and figured they might be inside still . (Odd for them to do that even) Nothing.... no hens, no Emmi and her peeps- but for that one little one standing up there peeping its' fool head off.  WAY to quiet.  

  I asked my two helpers if they'd seen the hens or the peeps this AM, and one said that one red hen had been around, but that was all.  I am the one who cares for the chickens, most times the kids never hardly pay any attention to them when they are here.  Lucy, and Silverwulf were down at the manure pile- and I started to get worried. Where were the others ??????   I caught the one lost peepy, and put her in the little kennel cab I'd fixed up for Emmi and her peeps to use at night. NO sign of the other 4 hens and the little ones. It was so quiet, it was eerie. So, I figured 'something' had stolen my hens- no feathers, no big signs of dead chickens, nothing at all but dead quiet. I cuddled the little peepy who was so lonely and lost, and cried for my dead hens. I kept thinking of their terror as what ever it was killed them. Poor Emmi- all she wanted to do was be a good mama to her little brood.  They're gone..... all but two hens and one little lonely peepy.

Later on, Sadie n' I went for a walk and behind the row barn, in the tall grass there, I found signs of a chicken being held down, and another one on the back of the manure pile. 

 I know about predators- and most likely this was a mother fox teaching her young how to hunt. Well it wasn't hunting- these poor chickens were in their coop, asleep. I understand ALL to well about the survival of the fittest, and how nature runs it's course, and when one has a farm, things are going to be killed or die.  It STILL makes me want to cry for those chickens though- it was My responsibility to keep them safe, and in being kind, I let them be killed in the most terrible manner.

Rest in Peace, Emmi, the'littles', Skarlet, Devon and Roxie....  never forget you were loved.

Fun and Fotos 8/7/11

I have some cute photos of kids n' horses and other animals around here that I think need to be here.
 Sooooo- enjoy !

This is BoJangles- VERY VERY Dirty !!!

  From this spring- thanx Shanna.  That's Jaide, Shannas' daughter holding Bo for me   2011

One more... ugh

BoJangles getting a wonderful massage from Dianne Schoenfelt-he loved it    2011

A little dandelion ready the shed it's seeds... 2011

 

Queen Anne's Lace  spring 2011

A SUPER Full moon ! 2011

Rainbow over WoodFinn   2011

 

Kelby riding Scout in the ring... 2011

Abby waiting for breakfast  2011

Kissa coming under the gate... she's one of our Barn Kitties 2011

 

Our American Bulldog,Sadie, playing chase with her leash- it's an odd game to humans,

 but is wonderful for bulldogs ! 2011

Shanna after giving her best buddy a bath ! 2011

Mmmmmmmmm, treats ! Bo n' Shanna  2011

hey- gimme that hay, kid ! Bo n' Jaide 2011

A little gal all dressed up and goin' the county fair with her dad n' mom. 2011

BoJangles trying to convince AJ and Jaide to let him go into the barn  2011

Awwwwww, come on, kids !

 

Pondering the Past....

   Boarders I have known have been sometimes wonderful, kind people, and then some ?  Amazingly odd- and their horses were almost as odd.  I find that horses tend to pattern themselves after whomever they see as "boss"- and so often it's a human. In this day of highly domesticated equines- they turn to us as an example of what is 'normal' in their lives. Sometimes they are absolutely nutty- like their owners are.

  Being high 'flight or fight' instinct ruled, horses will look to someone else to 'see' a monster coming.Or they'll rely on themselves to see 'danger' coming. Be it a wild goose, or Heron flying over, a baby bunny or a piece of paper fluttering across a trail... the horse is ever on the alert. 40 million years of being 'meals' for predators have created a very watchful animal.

   Thus horses, when being ridden or handled by us, look to us for guidance. If a human is lacking confidence, the horse will be too. If their human is confident and knowledgeable, then the horse attempts that too. Ever see a horse who's scared of his own shadow when being led by one person- yet, relaxed and easy going when led by another ? 

 A prime example...was one person who boarded at my barn one year. She was scared of the horse she owned.As a result, her horse, when being handled by it's owner, looked for things to be scared of. What the owner Didn't realize was that her horse was feeding off her emotions. He didn't know it was He that she was frightened of, only that she was frightened, so he was being ever watchful . And oh boy, did he ever find some scary things around the farm !

I have seen scared, spooky horses handled by confident trainers eventually behave as their humans do. It takes time to build that inner confidence in a horse, and you have to know HOW to correctly- but I have seen it happen over and over again. I have one mare living here now who came here scared of anything she didn't understand. She would run/ kick/ bite and ask questions later. Just last night, I was letting her pasturemate go into her stall, and this mare stopped to visit with one of my Percheron mares while waiting to enter her stall. Well, this big mare was eating her dinner, and we All know how important FOOD is. The Percheron mare squealed, stomped her foot- ears back,etc.... General  negative posturing : " Get outta here ! THIS is MY dinner !!"   The little bay mare squealed right back in surprise and fear-- and threw a Big kick out behind her.  I had to yell at her for reacting as she did and that next time, NONE of that behavior. 
Will it happen again ? Sure will because this bay mare was used to being low horse on the pecking order of her former herd. She had to fight to protect her hay, and was so thin when she moved here. She's getting better with each mishap, and she's learning that I (being the Boss Mare here) won't tolerate that kind of thing.

  So we have to try to have confident animals who are learning to not rely so much on those 40 million years of ingrained instinct, but to stop and consider if that bunny really IS going to attack them......

Peeps outside...

 They had their first day out, and have been out ever since. Mind you- in a small enclosure so the horses don't step on them and the cats don't have tasty little snacks, but out just the same. These little chicks are incredibly small- being Bantam chickens... so I'm protecting them till they get a little larger.

Below are some pics I took:

So far, they're all healthy, happy little babies and Emmi is doing a SUPER mama job !

Peep Patrol

Today I was unloading a truck ( chick feed/ rat poison) when I heard a loud
'PEEEEEPPPPP!!!'   Coming from the hen house. I dashed up there, well as fast as one can dash in 95 degree sunshine, and found that Emmi had chosen today to take her family for a walk. It was working real well. There were peeps in other nests ( lord knows how they got There) , peeps on the floor of the hen house and one peep sitting quietly , waiting for it's mama to decide what is happening....  I didn't quite know What to do. If they went outside, horses might squish them, or something ( barn catz) could have chicks for dinner. That's when Emmi decided it was to crowded in the hen house, and stepped through the small side exit.
 Peeps panic all Over the place !
 " omg- mama has disappeared- NOW what do we do !?!?!" Emmi sticks her head back in , clucking to them. I never knew little teeny 2 day old chicks could leap as these did. They all ( peeping all the while) climbed up to the big step, and hopped down to be with their mama. Now there were 7 chickens wandering about under wild violets, in tall grass, and one of them didn't quite know how to be a chicken mom.

I began trying to scoop up little bantam chicks, trying NOT to squish any under a blade of grass.. Emmi was all upset, and kept clucking to her babies, who peeped back Loudly ! Finally we all ended up in the front of the hen house. They all settled down as mama took a dirt bath. < whew>

Got some small holed chicken wire, fastened it to the chick pen I had originally used for Emmi and the hens when they were a week old. BIG difference between 2 day old Bantam chicks n' week old ' fat farm hen' breeds. The little buggars slipped right through the big holes where I hadn't hadn't had time to attach the smaller wire to.  Finally got That done just as Emmi was getting done with her bath in the dirt. The little baby pen was looped around the front of the hen house, and all was well with mama and her babes. Got them a teeny waterer, and some chick feed ( remember- I was just taking that into the tack room ?) and tossed it out for them to eat. Little teeny chicks sure are super fast at copying what mama hen does. It wasn't long til they were all tuckered out , all but falling asleep in the chick starter.....

This evening, I took the small dog crate up, filled with fresh hay. I added the old nest where they had all hatched on top. ( No clue if that made a bit of difference at all, but dogs like that. ;) With a plastic square, I herded the babies out of their corner ( scared babies- I must look like a Giant to them) and held them down to Emmi's height, so she'd see where they were being put. Not a problem at all- she walked over, checked out the four already in there, and stepped in, turned around to wait for me to place the other two in with her.

Now they're safe and secure, and nothing will bother the little ones . Tomorrow- they can once again go outside in their little "playpen" and explore. Emmi might enjoy some cucumber skin, as the rest of my hens will, I am sure.

This is the first time I've done this with hens- and don't plan on doing it again. Whew.... Lots of work being an Gramma.

A new family at WoodFinn

Emmi's eggs have hatched !  All but one is now a fluffy little bantam easter egger. Healthy and happy- full of peeps and staggering about. I went up to check on Emmi this AM when I was feeding the horses, and there was a chick. I almost couldn't believe it !  But there it was.... I checked the rest and there was another one " pipping" ( working it's way out of the shell)

 So by this evening, all but one are done. The last one is still working on getting born. Emmi's being a wonderful mama hen. It amazes me time and time again, how living creatures seem to Know what to do. Instinct is a great thing to have- and use.  Humans so often don't.... but chickens ?  Sure enough, THEY do.

Be prepared for lots more updates on Emmi & her new family. In the meantime- here's a couple of photos I took this evening.  But first- this is the very first chick that hatched this AM :

Emmi and her new family....