Well, it has been a sad couple of weeks around the farm.

We lost one of our Miniature horses, Prayer, a couple weeks ago. He died naturally, just laid down and passed. He was the smallest of our Pint Sized Posse and the sweetest as well. He was always willing to do anything you asked, no matter how silly. He also LOVED pulling his cart, he loved having a job and it gave him a purpose.

Then, yesterday, my husband called me on his way to work and told me my Peacock had been hit by a car. I got up immediately and went out. He was in rigor and had been hit sometime early in the morning. Our farm help came down to the house and helped me bury him next to the woods in our back yard. I sure will miss him. He was becoming part of the family and I thoroughly enjoyed him hanging around the backyard and herding my ducks and geese. I am sad that he is gone, but I don't regret letting him free range, he was the happiest he had ever been with me and I am so glad that he was able to have that!


They say these things come in THREES, but I hope not. I really don't want to loose another animal this month. I guess it is just a reminder that life is short and we should appreciate every minute we have!

Have a wonderful night dear followers!

Well, I realized tonight that I haven't updated my followers on my lovely Peacocks in a while... so here is the latest, including some photos of Mr. Handsome Houdini, as I affectionately call my Peacock.

In case you had no idea I have a Peacock, here is the short story on how I got him: I went to an auction and bid on two peachicks and a turkey (they were in the same lot). I won and was giddy to bring home my new peachicks, that was about 2 years ago. About a year after I figured out that I had a matching pair of Blue India Peafowl. I was SO excited to have a pair and was excited about hatching eggs in the future. (You can read a little about my Peacocks in these other posts!) One night a predator got into the coop and killed several of my chickens AND my peahen. I was devastated but relieved to still have the peacock. I put him in a more secure location and he faired well, until this year.

I made him a nice outside pen attached to his coop and he would come out for about 10 minutes a day. I figured since he was so shy I would open the pen an let him roam to yard for bugs...

Well, he took off on me. He went MIA for about a  WEEK AND A HALF! Then, then about a week ago I spotted him walking down the road in front of our house. I ran out and caught him (Side note: I got REALLY bad poison ivy/oak from chasing him into the woods, but oh so worth it). I put him in his coop pen and he attacked the sunflower seeds and Flock Raiser that I had set out for him. It was like he hadn't eaten the whole time he was gone (I know he ate, but he sure did miss his normal feed!).

Well, I had to run to town and shut him up in the pen. When I got back he was walking around the yard. It was dark so I didn't want to chase him to catch him and then loose him in the woods, so I herded him towards the coop and he roosted on the roof for the night. Then next morning he was gone. A day later I herd him in the trees down the road. I tried to get him but he was too far up. So, I left him alone and left his food out next to his old coop. The next day he was back in our yard hanging out.

It's been about a week since he came back for good and he enjoys relaxing by my turkey's pen by the woods, he seems to have taken a liking to my Royal Palm Tom. He will walk around the yard and eat bugs and weeds around 5:00PM every night and go down to the area around the coop to get his feed and then up in the trees he goes for the night. I was sure that he was GONE for good the first time he left me and now I am SO excited that he has stayed with me even though he is loose. I am planning a LARGE (more secure) coop and flight pen for him and I can't wait to get a couple peahens for him. I know he misses the peahen I lost a year ago.

I am SO thankful to God that he came back. I was praying that he was safe the entire time he was gone! I know it sounds kind of silly to pray for a peacock, but he is proof that God does answer prayers, even the silly ones! I hope to have MANY MANY more years with him, he is by far my FAVORITE bird that I own!

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Have a wonderful day dear followers!

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Well, I just can't take it anymore! My digital camera is dead! The flash went out a couple months ago and I've resorted to either using my cell phone which doesn't take very high quality photos and produces mostly blurry pictures of my babies because they move around so much OR borrowing my mother in laws camera, which she uses on a regular basis so that is problematic in itself. I haven't been in the market for one for a while and I've never really researched digital cameras very much. Here is what I need in a digital camera:

1) The ability to take good quality photos indoors and outdoors.
2) The ability to take photos of moving objects (my kids) without parts of the photo coming in blurry.
3) The ability to take good quality videos with sound.
4) A camera that isn't going to break my pocketbook, has to be reasonably priced.

Anyone out there have any suggestions? I'm getting desperate! Little Sister is already 4 months old and I don't think I have even 1/3 of the amount of photos of her as I did Big Sister! There are so many moments I want to capture and right now I'm just SO limited! Please give me ideas!

Or if you are from a digital camera company or sell digital camera and need a reviewer I would be MORE than happy to test one out! PLEASE help me!

On a totally unrelated note, something has been killing my birds! I've lost all but 2 hens, a rooster, a Peacock, a Royal Palm Turkey, an African Goose, a Pekin Drake, and a Rouin Duck.  This is So not fair! I need to build again and make them varmint proof somehow! Ugh, this has been a rough Spring/Summer for my birds! To top it off, my Swedish Duck was laying on 11 eggs, they are all "half baked" and I put them in with my Goose hoping she will adopt them, but we will see. I'll keep you posted. After we lost our farm dog Joey, it seems like my birds are just not safe anymore! Good farm dogs are hard to find and hard to replace! RIP Joey we miss you!

Thanks for the help dear followers and have a GREAT weekend!
Kelsey

On another note, Project Pete is doing great. Every day he seems to have more and more personality. He went from just existing to living with purpose. Tonight he was even pawing the ground while I was putting his hay in the hay net (I had to start using one because he was spreading it all over his stall and pooping on it). The hay net is working out great and he isn't wasting the hay anymore.

Went to the office at the big barn today and bathed some horses, what an adventure. Ponies are not my thing normally. Miniatures, I love, Mustangs, I love, Regular Horses, I love, Ponies, not so much. They just seem to want to give you a hard time on purpose. The all seem to have bred to be mischievous! Anyways there were ten to bathed and move and ten were bathed and moved.

Well, last night I was really bummed. I had REALLY wanted to join the Twitter Party #GetRealDiapers hosted by @EcoMomMedia and several others. I was hoping to win some cool prizes or at least learn something new about cloth diapers. Well, I get everything set up and and ready. I figured out the Twitter Grid and everything was great. THEN the internet decided to hate me. For whatever reason it started bouncing from connection to no connection. I tried for over an hour to get connected to the Twitter Grid. Finally I gave up and went to bed... but it was SO disappointing! So, I'm hoping to be able to at least do the next Twitter Party... we'll see...

Today is my Wedding Anniversary. So far its been, well, pretty good... I can't complain. I feel good, I feel right where I'm supposed to be with the man I love and our perfect little baby girl! Life is Good! Life is Great! Thanks be to God! ;o)

On that note, I'm going to head to bed, its been a    l    o    n   g    day dear followers!