» Farm Chores

Winter has Arrived

Annette Johnston — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:55:34 +0000

The wet weather gave way to cold and a little snow this week. The deep mud has a solid crust on top, which makes things a little easier. It is not pleasant doing chores in the mud. Dollie Llama hates getting muddy. Robin the horse doesn’t seem to mind too much, and appears to have rolled in the mud. Little Hershey (the donkey) has mud up to her little knees. Now that things are firming up, they should be fine. I have lots of grooming to do.

Rough Winter Weather at Frolic Farm

Annette Johnston — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:04:31 +0000

It has been 0 degrees in the morning when I am doing chores. Even in the barn it is in the teens. Yikes! Fortunately, my water pump is still working, due to the heat tape. The critters are fine, but I have to keep the bunny inside the barn in his cage rather than put him in the outside pen. He won’t get in the doghouse, so he tends to get coated with snow/ice and I worry about him. It will be nice to get a break from the weather.

Lawnmower Conspiracy

Annette Johnston — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 22:12:14 +0000

I believe some of my farm equipment has a mind of its own, which is very spooky. This latest incident with my smaller lawnmower really takes the cake though. Last week, I had trouble with my smaller mower, which is the type that you have to pull very hard to get it to start. This mower is temperamental, in that it seems to decide whether it wants to start that day (or take a rest!) I finally got it started, and pushed it toward my ditch. (I use a big riding mower for most of the lawn.) As soon as I got to the ditch, it started spewing black smoke and quit on me. It refused to restart. A few days later, I borrowed my dad’s old mower. It started right up, and as soon as I finished mowing the ditches, it conked out too. So I decided to try my old mower one last time. After threatening to put it out with the trash if it didn’t start up, my old mower started on the first pull, and did some really heavy duty mowing around my pond. I guess my old mower decided not to retire after all.

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!

I can’t wait for spring, and neither can the critters!

Annette Johnston — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:06:42 +0000

The winters sure seem long here in Michigan. The frozen water buckets, trudging through snow and ice to feed everyone, doing chores in the dark, what fun we have! Then when we get a warmer day or two, we sure enjoy that. The critters are all fine. The sheep’s fleeces are huge, and Lambchop feels his is a prize-winner for sure. I’m not sure if we’ll show at the Armada Fair this year, since the Michigan State Fair has been canceled. I have ordered my vegetable seeds, and am looking forward to spring planting of the garden. Dollie Llama wants me to plant lots of carrots for her this year.

Happy New Year from All the Critters at Frolic Farm

Annette Johnston — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:20:05 +0000

The holidays were very busy on the farm. Dollie Llama, Hershey, Robin, and all the others hope this year will be much better than last! With this cold weather, they are glad for their nice stalls in the barn, so they can sleep in comfort. During the day, they go outside, but still have a run-in shed where they can get out of the elements. They don’t spend much time in there, however. Dollie and company can be seen foraging in the pastures most of the day.
On Sunday, I brought out my deworming medications for Dollie, Hershey, and Robin. The de-worming went well, except Dollie ended up wearing some of the dewormer.

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!