Friday, October 29, 2010

Life in Pictures


Been fairly neglectful on posting pictures in a timely manner.  I'm just now posting chick pictures and they've changed SO much in the last 2 weeks.  They're now at that ugly duckling stage where they're losing the baby chick fuzz and getting their big bird feathers.  Kind of comical.  But here are some cute fuzzy chick pics...


chicks exploring the hay bedding

at the feeder


Chicks are funny when they fall asleep.  They do that head-bob thing and just CRASH -- face first in the ground if they're laying down... the one standing in this pic is also sleeping.
 

This is "Waldo" our "free rare exotic chick" that we received with our order.  No clue on breed or sex.

One of our Arcauna chicks.  We've been referring to her as "Hawk" due to her facial markings.  Quite striking really.


Proof that chickens are NOT vegetarian by nature.  If picking at worms and bugs doesn't convince you, here's one of the hens (at one point there were 4 of them huddled around) pecking at a MOUSE!  Not sure if they killed it or found it dead but they were having a good time with it.


Almost done!!!  This is the farm sign that is going out by the road.  A little touch up (where the screws are), some poly for protection and a coat of white on the posts and it will be done!!

And finally... this is Jewel.  A 3yo femal Australian Cattle Dog mix (we're pretty sure with Basenji).  She's currently "on trial" from an Indiana herding dog rescue, but after a week, she's probably staying.  Great running partner, good ratter, and wicked smart.  She's just never allowed in the pen with the rabbits.

Friday, October 22, 2010

The race is on!!

1 week to go in the Name the Tavern Contest (and 50/50 Raffle) and we have a new leader!

1. The Shindig
2. The Withers Tavern
3. Kookyduke's Tavern
4. The Browncoat Tavern
5. Old Nelson's Charge
6. The Bascule Tavern
6. The Prancing Pony Inn
6. The Stirrup Cup Pub
9. Airs Above the Ground Tavern
9. The Shiny Oxer Tavern
 
Remember, you can vote as often as you would like between now and 10pm next Saturday (October 30th).  The official name and the winner of the 50/50 Raffle will be announced at 10:30pm (although probably not posted here until Monday morning).
 
In other news, it's been kind of a rough week chicken-wise.  Monday morning we lost one of the Rhode Island Red chicks and Monday night we lost one of our great Barred Rock hens.  Everyone else is doing really well so we're not looking at anything contagious.  There is the probability that our egg production ... slipping from 1 egg per hen per day to occasionally all BUT one hen is due to simply the shorter days.  Still looking forward to spring when all the chicks start laying.  Will be posting current pics of the chicks soon... they've started to lose the baby fuzz and are turning into beautiful birds.
 
Received 10 Eastern Red Cedar tree seedling transplants in the mail yesterday from The Nurseryman.  They're planted in various locations on the north side of the property along Old Dayton Road, hopefully to grow up quickly and act as a wind/sound/noise break between the farm and the road.
 
We've also started "interviewing" for another dog here at the farm.  Gypsy has made her preference for running the long distances with Chris pretty well known so one of the jobs of the new pup will be to be Chris's running partner as she continues to work towards her goal of eventually running a marathon.  Will post information and pictures as soon as a dog is selected.  We're primarily looking at cattle dogs or cattle dog mixes since Gypsy is such a wonderful girl.
 
Bella the cow is on hold til we determine for sure if she's been bred.  She'll be here eventually and we've started making preparations for her arrival (fencing, hay, etc.).
 
Still have horse boarding available.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The chickens are home!!

The 26 chicks we ordered arrived this morning.  Went to pick them up at the post office at 6am.  They were in a box that was smaller than I thought it would be, but all were chirping away -- probably half from the jostling and half from the chilly morning air.  Brought them home and got them all settled in their new room, complete with feed, water and a heat lamp on a bed of pine shavings.  They seemed happy enough when I left.


12 Arcauna hens, 13 Rhode Island Red hens and our 1 currently bright solid yellow mystery chick (or as the company puts it -- our free rare exotic chick).  I swear he/she is like waldo in that picture... but easier to find.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Catching Up

First, finally have pictures and results for the Kelly Day (Trail) Race held on October 3rd.  Congrats to our 4 division winners and thanks to all our runners and walkers (and parents) for coming out to the race.  It was a great success (as mentioned in a previous blog post) and holding a trail race is something we definitely want to look at doing at least annually (maybe spring and fall?).  All of the recap information can be found off the Calendar of Events page, but if you want to jump directly -- check out the Event Recap page for final placings and times and the Race Day Pictures page for pictures of the winners, the race and the trail.

The whole family drove over to Columbus to attend the All-American Quarter Horse Congress at the Ohio State Fairgrounds.  It's a great show but we were heading out for the shopping... and drooling as they always have quite a few truck and trailer dealers in the area.  It is of course MUCH less crowded during the week than it is on the 3 weekends that Congress runs.  Managed to do quite well with our shopping list which included several items for the barn.  Came home and laid out the interior fenceline of the upcoming Paddock Paradise.  We're getting quite excited about being able to offer this setup to potential boarders.

Speaking of which, we do have 1 potential boarder but would love to have 1-2 more (so the horses wouldn't be out by themselves).  Horses are of course herd animals and prefer to have company.  If anyone is interested, please see our Boarding page for details or contact us to discuss or schedule a tour of the farm.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

First trail race, tavern updates and impending new arrivals

Sunday we held the Kelly Day Race.  This was a simple trail race on our running trail (just over a mile in length) for the kids and parents of the homeschool group (WILC).  We had 23 runners participate and several other visitors.  A bit chilly but great for running.  Afterwards, the kids entertained themselves running around the farm or playing air hockey, while the adults congregated either in the lounge area or in the bar itself (mostly in the bar as we have a couple kerosene heaters in there).  Hopefully we'll get the pictures downloaded from the camera soon, but it was definitely a success!

With several runners in the family, we hope to make a trail race at least an annual event, and eventually our goal is to be able to host a 5k trail race around the property.  Look for more trail updates as they happen.

Friends stopped by the tavern last week and a suggestion of writing on the bar our favorite, funniest and most poignant quotes from Firefly was mentioned.  We love the idea and have started putting it into place.  So next time you're at the Tavern (chilling or perhaps voting for a name), you'll have some reading material on the bar itself.  It's looking really nice so far.

We have 2 impending arrivals at the farm.  First, sometime next week we expect our day old chicks to arrive!  There will be 26 -- 12 arcanas, 13 rhode island reds and 1 mystery chick (could be of any breed and either sex -- here's hoping it;s a hen or his name will be Broth).

Also this weekend, we learned that we should be the proud owners of a Jersey cow in the near future!  After speaking with a farmer on the topic several times, she has agreed to sell us one of her cows.  Soon there will be no more sleeping in... but the fresh milk will definitely be worth it.  Watch for more details!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Welcome to October - now open for business!

It's hard to imagine that it's already October.  Wow. 

Yesterday our first ads went out for boarding.  Need to get a couple flyers made up so I can post them at a few places but the ads are out!
Small family farm recently purchased and have renovated to accommodate 2-3 boarders. Partial to full care available. Stalls available as needed but primarily 24/7 access to large run-in and paddock/pasture. Will be creating a Paddock Paradise configuration – great for older horses, ponies who shouldn’t have access to a lot of grass and IR horses – proven that horses move more (great for getting and keeping horses in shape as well as legging up after injuries)! PERFECT SITUATION FOR A RETIREE OR INJURY LAYUP! No riding facilities but within 30 minutes to over 100 miles of trails (and within 3 hours to over 650 MORE miles!) – including less than 4 miles to Sycamore State Park’s horseman’s camp and trail head. Over 15 years experience in all facets of horse care and management, references available upon request. Monthly board starts at $150 for partial care (you supply feed). Happy to negotiate additional services as needed/wanted. For more details see our website at www.SerenityValleyFarmOH.com (under Boarding). Call 937-687-7777 or email SerenityValleyFarmOH@gmail.com to make an appointment to see our farm and discuss how we take care of your horse!

Also been spending a bit of time updating/renovating the website.  Really liking how it's coming along.  Still more to do of course... there always will be, but it's a very good start if I do say so myself.  If you are reading this some other way than coming through the website, check it out at http://www.serenityvalleyfarmoh.com/

The weekend is a busy one -- judging a horse show on Saturday plus getting trails ready for hosting the homeschool group on Sunday for the Kelly Day (Trail) Race.