» Farm Chores

Trying to Keep the Lawn Mowed in Between the Raindrops

Annette Johnston — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:04:44 +0000

We’ve had a lot of rain lately, which sure makes the grass grow green and tall both in my yard and the pasture too. It’s great that the pasture is looking so good, and Dollie Llama, Robin, and Hershey really enjoy that. I do have a hard time keeping my lawn mowed, though. I am very glad I finally got a mulching mower on my John Deere tractor that chews up the higher grass. No more raking the grass for me!

We Farmers Like to Read the Newspaper Too

Annette Johnston — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:40:33 +0000

Allow me to let off a little steam today. I have read the Detroit Free Press for at least 30 years, with the last 20 years’ worth delivered to Frolic Farm. Now the Free Press will only deliver 3 days per week, so I called to see if it could be mailed to me. The kindly customer service person told me it was no problem and would start mailing the daily paper on March 30th. Three days passed with no newspaper in my mailbox. I called back and spoke to another nice customer service person, who told me it was supposed to be mailed to me. He gave me a name of the person in my area who was supposed to be handling mail delivery. So I called this very nice lady, who told me that my area was not eligible for mail delivery, so I would have to read the online edition! I don’t like the online edition. I want to hold the paper in my hand and read it while drinking my coffee in the morning, so I called USA Today. They said they will deliver it in the afternoon, so I figure I can just read it the next morning. So far, I have received the Wall Street Journal for the last two mornings! I never requested it; I already read it at work during my lunchtime and really have no need of it at home. I will wait and see if the USA Today ever starts. It is getting discouraging.

Weather-wise, we had a snowstorm today!

Happy New Year from Frolic Farm!

Annette Johnston — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:51:34 +0000

Let’s hope 2009 gets off to a swimmingly good start for you and everyone here at Frolic Farm. I am including a picture of some warmer times at the farm. Aren’t the geese beautiful? The ganders look like swans swimming in my pond. I have 2 pairs of African geese. They don’t eat much and are pretty to look at. They also keep the weeds down around the pond. The geese aren’t very friendly, so you can’t pet them. They threaten me with bodily harm everyday when I go into their pen to feed and water them (if the pond is frozen). They haven’t bitten me yet, though, so I just ignore their threats. I bet if I turned them out into my yard they would deter any burglars!

Visitors at Frolic Farm

Annette Johnston — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:09:33 +0000

On Saturday, a friend’s family came out to visit Frolic Farm and all the critters. They sure had a good time, and the critters enjoyed the treats they brought. The kids especially liked giving carrots to Hershey the Mini donkey, and then brushing her. Robin the horse rolled in the mud as the kids came up to the fence, so he was nice and dirty. The kids curried and brushed him, then I saddled him up so they could ride. Robin stayed pretty calm and steady for the kids, then their aunt mounted. My dog Kandi ran up behind Robin and startled him. Their poor aunt almost went flying off! Lucky thing she’s athletic and managed to stay on! I told her she would have had a soft, but muddy landing anyway.
The kids also enjoyed helping me with little Liam, who needed his hooves trimmed. Liam is my Icelandic sheep, and is small enough for me to handle easily.
The kids also fed treats of bread to the chickens, who rewarded them with 3 farm-fresh eggs, one for each child! The eggs were still warm when the kids gathered them. Dollie Llama enjoyed being brushed and combed by the kids, but liked the carrots treats even more!
We spent a lot of time with Smoky the bunny, who needed to be combed, toenails trimmed, and fed his Petromalt medicine for furballs. It was fun having the kids and family out for a nice visit.

Winter Hits Frolic Farm Early This Year

Annette Johnston — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:32:30 +0000

Well, it’s almost Thanksgiving, so it’s time to take my 5 lovely (and giant) turkeys for processing. They won’t feel a thing, but it does make me sad. I sold them all, so at least I don’t have to eat one this year.

It’s been very cold already, and I have to break ice in the outdoor water buckets. The hens have cut back on their egg-laying. Little Liam (Icelandic sheep) has such a thick coat already, that I’m sure he doesn’t feel the cold at all. The pond is frozen over, so I have to carry water to the geese. I’m feeding extra hay now to keep everyone happy.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Typical Morning on Frolic Farm

Annette Johnston — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:52:47 +0000

Here is what a typical morning down on the farm looks like. I have all kinds of chores to accomplish in 1 hour, before I go in to work.

With my faithful dogs, Skipper and Kandi, at my side, I walked out to the barn to feed everyone. Unfortunately, some of the geese got out again last night, so I had to run out to the pond to open the gate to let them back in. Those rotten geese turned on me as soon as I let them in, hissing and threatening me! Spoiled brats. I got out of there quickly. Surprising how fast I can move, when motivated!

Then I went back to the barn to let in Dollie Llama and Robin the horse. They came into the barn and went to their stalls, where I put their grain. Meanwhile, I could hear the crying of my mini donkey, Hershey, who gets left in her stall all night because she’s on a diet. She ate so much grass in my pasture, that she got too fat and is now on a strict diet. I only allow her on the pasture during the day. When Dollie and Robin finished with their grain, I turned them back out into the pasture, with Hershey too. I made sure they have plenty of fresh water.

I could barely get in the chicken house, because the greedy hens were clustered around my ankles as I walked in. I fought my way to their food dish and filled it, and their waterer. The peacocks and pheasants were very well-behaved, and waited patiently for me to fill their food containers and water dish.

The dogs and cats were happy with their food, and gobbled it down quickly.

The turkeys were ready and waiting for breakfast. I gave them plenty of cracked corn and turkey chow, and all 5 attacked their food dish with gusto. I gave them a large bucket of fresh water.

Next I had to feed the 3 sheep, which is a tricky task. Temporarily, the 2 Jacob ewes are living with Lambchop, to help him trim his paddock. Lambchop was letting his grass grow too high. I needed to separate them from Lambchop, so they can eat breakfast in peace. I opened the gate to let Lucky and Lassie out, but had to keep Lambchop inside so he wouldn’t polish off their food too. Lambchop is on a diet and only gets a tiny amount of grain. Once Lucky and Lassie finished eating, I needed to put them back into the paddock with Lambchop. So, I called on Skipper and Kandi to bring the sheep back. They tried valiently, but Lucky is very good at using her horn on them if they get too pushy. Finally, the sheep decided it was time to go back in.

After all that fun, I still had to water my flowers before I could relax with a cup of coffee and eat my breakfast.

This was a typical morning at Frolic Farm.