The weekend farm

Although you all think we're on a ranch, we're also on a very small "farm". Aside from about a half dozen dogs living here at Squaw, Gareth and Maura also have 3 pigs, and Firman and Lindsey have a dozen chickens, a baby lamb, and a dairy cow and calf. (and by the number of dead mice we discard from our mouse traps each morning, you'd think we were raising a herd of them too).

Over the weekend, Firman and Lindsay went home to Montana for 4 days, and we were their animal's caretakers. Luckily, the calf did a good job of keeping the cow Josie emptied out, so we didn't have to do any milking. Taking care of chickens is pretty easy, and we collected a batch of fresh eggs that we're still working through. That baby lamb however.....geesh!

At first, the lamb was cute. It needs to be bottle fed with a rich formula three times a day. It sucks with an incredible aggression, requiring 2 hands sometimes to hold the bottle still. However, it also pushes on my legs hard enough to almost knock me over, and its hooves completely demolished my toes the first time I fed him with sandals on.

I figured it out pretty quickly though, and started wearing boots, jeans, and keeping the dogs around to control him a bit while I fed him. The little guy has become a nuisance though since after 4 days of feeding him, he now comes running when I'm around, and often makes a bed on the steps of the cookhouse just in case I might come out with a bottle in hand.

The well/pump/watering trough project is complete, and we've been going out to the pump a couple times each day to start the generator and build up a water supply there. A few cows have unofficially relocated themselves there already, and the guys will be moving several hundred more pairs into that field sometime next week.

In the mean time, Brian has been spending some quality time investing in his hammock. We brought this one back

from Honduras with us, and it makes a great place to rest in the evening. (thanks Sean and Steph!)

Brian turned 37 this week, and we plan to go into Elko tomorrow after work for the Silver State Stampede/Rodeo for a little celebration. I don't think he'll try and enter any events as a wildcard, but you never know!

I can't remember if I've put this sunset up yet or not.....but its worth seeing again either way.