Great Horned Owl

For months we have been hearing an owl "hoot" on our property.

We have tried and tried to locate the owl so we could identify it.

We learned that there are only 4 owls that call Florida home

and they can be identified by their call.

But, we hadn't learned the different calls yet.

Then one day as I remarked to Ranae that I heard the call again,

she became determined to find him.

And she did.

She was able to spot him as he swooped to another branch.

Now, my binoculars are more magnified than my camera lens

but you may be able to spot him in this picture.

He was so big.

I was so surprised.

It was a Great Horned Owl!

He had some fierce looking orange feathered "horns".

And he was looking straight at my chickens.

Yes he was.

And I don't wish him any luck on that front.

But I do love so much that my children are able to see all

these wonderful creatures that God made, 

right in our own backyard.

Thankful

Thanksgiving went something like this.....

Yea!  Alex is home from college.

Let's eat!

Okay!  Let's eat on the porch.

It's not too cold.

Time to get back to school and work.

Time to say goodbye to Alex.

Study hard for finals and we'll see you next month!

Goat Feeding Frenzy

Have you ever heard that goats will eat just about anything?

Well, it's true.

On our farm they especially like to eat pine tree bark.

That's why my husband has personally wrapped every pine tree trunk

on our small farm with chicken wire.

When we planted these 5 young pine trees in a corner of our pasture

he built a fence to keep them out.

If you look closely, you will notice that today, 

there was a breech.

And in just a few minutes time they had eaten one young tree,

and stripped the bark off another.

I guess you could say they had a little feeding frenzy.

They are lucky I like them so much.

And it helps that I can fix a fence too.

Panther Volleyball

The Panther girl's volleyball team is ready to play.

Ranae is loving this sport in eighth grade.

Last year I couldn't convince her to try-out.

This year volleyball is one of her favorite sports.

It helps that there is awesome teammates

and an awesome coach.

Do you hear what I hear?

Said the shepheard boy to the little goat,

Do you hear what I hear?

I think it's distant Christmas bells.

Or it could be the dinner bell.....

On the Mend

My 24 year old horse, Star, is on the mend.

I let her out during the day in a small side pasture.

Unless it's raining.

Or.....it looks like rain.

Or.....it's predicted to rain.

Because after keeping her injured leg dry for over 2 months.

(Doctor's orders)

I am not willing to take any risk.

Or let her, either.

Guess Who's Pregnant?

Right now, it might not look like anyone is expecting.

But, I assure you, breeding season is in full swing on our farm.

Ballerina has been bred for the first time

with our blue-eyed buck Amadeus.

Amadeus is handsome and

for Ballerina it was love at first sight.

And I am also excited that America is bred.

This will be her first time to kid too and we paired her with

our buck Jericho.

This is Jericho.  What a stud, huh?

And Arella might get in on the action.

What can I say?

Love is in the air.

Election Day

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