Gentle Giant Meadows Ranch
  • Home
  • "Almost" Daily Diary
  • Maureen's 60th Birthday Trip to England
  • Gertie and Quest: A True Story - The Book
  • Foresaken Love
  • The Gentle Giants
  • Photo Gallery
  • WWOOFER Program
  • John & Jean Hudson Wedding Nov 2013
  • Lambs
  • Poo Time
  • Memories of a New Cattle Rancher

Autumn, beauty and mud !!

11/3/2012

1 Comment

 
It’s Saturday again and the rain is still with us. The creeks are high, water rushing over the gravel and stones on the creek bed, splashing over broken branches and working it’s way under and around the rotting corpses of fallen trees. The trees, gnarled with age, covered with algae, bright green moss and colonies of orange mushrooms form waterfalls, diversions and bridges over the swollen creeks. The leaves are floating gently in the still air, gold, yellow and red falling from the trees, branches growing increasingly bare and stark against the grey skies. It’s Autumn ….and it’s beautiful.

Nature is preparing the livestock and horses for the oncoming Winter cold. Little Mojo-Anne, only 3 weeks old is growing a thick curly red coat and docile little Misty Moo the Jersey heifer calf is changing colour. Gone is our honey coloured sweetheart, Misty is turning ginger and her coat is becoming shaggy. The strange weather has been very wet but very warm. The horses waterproof rugs remain idle on stall doors and rug stands waiting for the cold wet wind storms that we know are coming but wet horses mean muddy horses. Why is it that Charm NEVER rolls when the grass is dry, the sun is shining and there is no mud holes. Starbuck returns from his pasture head to toe brown, mud covering his sleek, shiny black body and Roman…ah Roman. I swear that horse has an identity crisis, he is black but everyday we have to hose the heavy, sticky mask of mud from his coat. Today, rugs are going ON.

Some local children came by the ranch to visit little MoJo-Anne and just happened to arrive as the calf’s bottle was being prepared in the warm barn kitchen. Clearly, it was difficult to work out who was more excited, young Cole,  pretty little Natalie or the little red calf.

Some emergency measures had to be taken in the chicken shack. The forty tiny red and black chicks are no longer tiny. Entering the chicken coop is vaguely reminiscent of Hitchcock’s “The Birds” as the pullets are becoming frustrated with restraint in the chick house. The word “temporary” usually brings me out in a cold sweat, images of baling twine and duck tape give me sleepless nights but yesterday, any measures were more than welcome. Greg and Carla paddled around in the chicken pen, catching chickens reluctant to be evicted from the new chick zone and scrambled back and forth over the new fence divider, risking life, limb (and falling into smelly poo) as they made safe (hopefully) the new pen. Forty eight week old birds are now able to flap their wings and fly, scratch and mud bathe…oh yes and I will no longer have to fight them off when I enter the chick house.

Time to go, I believe it’s still raining, I’m sure it’s even more muddy but the red gold and yellow leaves will still be falling and it will still be beautiful.

Take care, keep safe and dry, M 
1 Comment
Annie x
11/3/2012 05:54:14 am

What a luvly pic of the farm, so beautiful. We miss it so much....

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Its me, Maureen, (the Boss)

    Archives

    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.