A Horse, a Sheep, and a Goat

 

 Over the weekend, my hard-working farm boy finally finished our new goat yard. We've been working on it for a few weeks, but the heat has been so oppressive it's been slow going. The new residents, Goober the goat and Hero the sheep, love their new home. Spirit is a little jealous, but she's not allowed around the smaller animals. She tolerates Goober, but everyone else she tries to kill. She even chases the chickens out of her yard, stamping her front feet at them as she runs. We've been having a problem with this one coyote coming around, and we've actually witnessed Spirit chasing the coyote out of her pasture. She's a great guard horse, no need for a donkey, we just have to be careful with her and the smaller animals.

She's so curious, always has to check everything out.

Isn't she pretty? I just love her.

 On a different note, I made my first sale on Etsy today! I'm so excited! It makes me feel really good knowing that someone liked something that I made enough to buy it, I'm so flattered. I've been working on a lot of new stuff for the store that I'm really excited about, too. Last night I was up until 2am finishing this guy up...

Sharktastic! Tooth from a sand tiger shark.

I'm pretty proud of it, if I do say so myself ;). I may keep this particular one, but I'm definitely going to be making more for the shop. I gathered the teeth myself from the bottom of the shark tank at SeaWorld, back when I was a diver for their aquarium. We would spend 4 hours a week in the shark exhibit, vacuuming up shark poo and scrubbing fake coral. We wore normal SCUBA gear, the only protection we had from the sharks was a 3ft pole shaped like a T, made from 3/4" pvc pipe. It wasn't really any protection at all, definitely not going to stop a shark, but we used them to gently nudge the sharks away if they swam too close. During those countless hours on poo-duty (ha), every time I saw a stray tooth I would tuck it away in my wetsuit and vacuum on. I gave most of these teeth away, however I do still have a small collection left. I think making jewelry with them is a great way to use them, I'm going to have a hard time deciding what to keep and what to sell, though!

Turkey Stew

Turkey stew, anyone?

Man, is it HOT outside! Like many places around the U.S., we have been experiencing record heat this summer. I've been coping by hiding away inside during the hottest hours with the a.c. on full blast, and taking care of any chores that I need to do either before the sun is up, or after it's down. The animals have been coping in anyway they can. Today, the turkey took a nice cool dip in the water trough. I don't know if all turkeys like water or just ours, but she just loves going for a little swim. I think it's the cutest thing. :) 

Keepin' cool.

  

Getting Started on Etsy!

 

Hey everyone! Since quitting my job I have finally been able to spend some time crafting. Mostly, I've been making jewelry. I have quite a few necklaces that I've made, and yesterday I finally took some time and got a couple uploaded to Etsy.

 

Right now, I'm working on getting my "Butterfly in a Bottlecap" series uploaded, and then I have some other stuff, too. I'm super excited, I hope I can get some sales so I can have an excuse for more crafting. My shop name on Etsy is AGirlandaFarm, go look! :)

I made these necklaces using resin, you mix it and then pour it into anything you want. You can also paint it onto items. It dries hard, and looks really nice. It's pretty neat stuff. I'm also experimenting with some really fun paper mache stuff, but you'll have to wait a little for more info on that...

Potato

Potato is getting big! Her bad dreams have stopped, and she's so much happier. She has stayed very emotional and sensitive, so we have to be careful not to hurt her feelings. If you do, by not giving her enough attention or raising your voice at her, she'll go lay down and cry. It's the saddest thing to see her laying there, whimpering and sighing. When the other dogs are short with her or ignore her, she does the same thing. It takes a lot of hugs and love to cheer her up again. What an emotional little puppy. Those little things above her left ear are stickers, Potato loves running through the weeds and always comes out covered in them. Luckily, they aren't the painful kind of stickers that really poke you, these ones are more like Velcro; they just stick to everything. They also have a tendency to get into the most annoying places and irritate the crap out of you, like in the ankle of your sock. They don't seem to bother Potato much, but they sure annoy me.

The Itty Bitty Toad

Day 4

I found this little guy floating in a water bucket this morning during my rounds. Good thing I came along, he wouldn't have been able to float there for too long. We have a lot of these toads around our house, the chickens can sometimes be seen tearing one to pieces. I found him a nice safe spot to live though, so no worries for him. :)

 My Husband HATES frogs and toads, they really freak him out for some reason. I've never really understood why, he loves every other kind of reptile. Sometimes, when I feel like being mean, I'll catch one and try to make him touch it. He gets so mad, but it's hilarious to see him squirm around like a girl. That sounds a little cruel... But it's damn funny. If they pee on me, as they often do when caught, he will actually gag. Usually, this game ends with both of us doubled over. Him with dry heaves, and me with laughter.  

My manly husband.

His biggest fear.

The Littlest Lizard

Today is day three of my photo-a-day challenge, and I have some cute ones. I found this little guy on a hose when I was out watering the dogs. He's a green anole, the smallest one I've ever seen.

 We did a little photo shoot before I let him go in a more suitable area... My chickens love eating lizards!

I just love this little guy, so cute!

Day Two- The Dog Cave

Like a lot of dogs, my furry brats like to dig. They have ugly holes dug all over the place. About a year ago, I discovered the biggest hole yet, now referred to as the dog cave. The dog cave is a hole about 3ft by 3ft and about a foot deep with a deep cavern located in the back of the cave. The cave was carved out under a pallet that now acts as the roof, allowing in plenty of light and fresh air. I gave up long ago trying to keep it filled in, it just reappears every time. Our dog, Puppy, is the one who did most of the work and it's her favorite place to hang out. She lays in her cave all day, barking through the pallet at anyone who passes by.

Puppy at the entrance to the dog cave.

The cave with the pallet roof removed.

Iorek renovating the back cavern. 

The dog named Puppy.