A Shocking Development

A few months after we bought Farcical Farm we had most of the property fenced, which is an expensive proposition. The "fence" that that came with the place was a mishmash of different materials and appeared quite unconvincing in its purpose. One exception was the line we share with our neighbor to the west -- the posts are smaller than I would like, but uniformly shaped and spaced with five strands of barbed wire, just a bit saggy in places. This is not ideal horse fencing of course, but it is covered with page wire along the back acre, leaving only 300 ft of danger zone, about one third of which sits behind the manure bins. Tonka and Raven aren't wild in the pasture (there are more important tasks at hand) and they don't challenge fences, so it's really a problem from our equine perspective.

Goats, however. Have you ever considered the root of the word "capricious"? It comes from "caprine" and means "goat like". Pygmy goats are the most contrary animals I have ever had the dubious pleasure of knowing. Their sole motivation in life seems to be getting to places where they currently aren't. Five strands of barbed wire might as well be five strands of air where pygmy goats are concerned, meaning that we could never leave Timbit, Morsel and Roland McNugget unattended in the pasture. But that changed last weekend when we finally cleared the fenceline enough (hence the blackberry removal) to establish three strands of hot wire at 12, 24 and 36 inches. Now we can toss them out there with 80% confidence that no one will go wandering (which is much better than 0% confidence). These photos were all taken from the deck with my iPhone because I was too lazy to (1) find my camera or (2) actually leave the deck in the 30+ degree heat.

Tails of Woe

This post has been a long time brewing, but it has been brought to the forefront by Andrea's recent link to a news story about horse tail theft. We also have tail thieves at Farcical Farm -- their names are Timbit, Morsel and Roland McNugget.

Last month we noticed that Tonka's tail was unmistakably shorter than it had been, and several days later we caught the goats in the act of eating it. Raven's was normal at first, and we thought she was safe because she is so mean to the goats, but once they harvested Tonka's low-hanging fruit they started sneaking up on her from behind. Now both horses look silly at best (thank goodness I don't show), and their ability to protect themselves from insects has been compromised at worst. I guess we should be thankful that the goats are so short.

We could stop turning the goats out with the horses, but that would be boring for all parties. The goats love their big buddies, and Tonka loves the goats right back. He and Timbit spend a lot of time eating and playing together -- you will often see Tonka knocking Timbit with his nose to get a head butting in return. The better solution is to protect the horse's tails when the goats are around, but how?

Last week I put grommets in the tail flaps of all the horse blankets so that we can tie tail bags onto them, but even that doesn't provide Tonka with enough protection. He lets the goats stand with their hooves on his hocks to reach the hairs around his dock (he also lets them chew on his chestnuts, by the way -- we think he lacks some gene for equine dignity). I hope that I can find a full-tail wrap that will withstand their...er...attentions. Yesterday all three were playing tug-o-war with his tail cover while he had a nap in the sun.

Little Goats vs. Big Snow

More snow last night, it has been snowing all day, and they are calling for another storm tonight. I couldn't see a single pile of manure in the paddock today, so I didn't even bother. We have lots of propane and lots of food, so we are assured a pleasant holiday tomorrow as long as we don't lose power (we lost power for about three hours just after I typed that).

The Farcical Farm residents most affected by the snow are Timbit, Morsel and Roland McNugget. They only measure about 16" to the shoulder, so maneuvering through deep accumulation is challenging for them. Thick winter coats and a well-bedded home keep them warm, but I fear that they are very bored. On the other hand, David and I got each other a Wii for Christmas so we won't be bored at all. Happy holidays, everyone!

I Want a Bulldozer for Christmas

Tom showed up with his Caterpillar bulldozer at 08:00 and he left at 10:30. During this period he excavated six inches of top soil from the area around the horse shelter, used it to even out some rough areas of the paddock, put aside three large rocks for us to move into the goat paddock, and spread four loads of crusher dust. Even if I got a bulldozer for Christmas I think it would take me longer than 2.5 hours to do all of that.

The goats have been cooped up in their little paddock for the past three days because of the severe weather (heavy rain, big wind). Once Tom was on his way I transferred them to the horse paddock to get some exercise. They went pretty nutty in the new crusher dust -- I guess they like how it feels under their feet.

Picture Perfect

The meteorologists keep calling for rain and we keep getting sun, which is almost unheard of on the west coast. After last October this feels like a real treat, so I took David's camera (Nikon D50, compared to my Canon PowerShot) to document the day.

The Ruddy Beast with some fall colours in the background. Most trees on the BC coast are coniferous, meaning that we get pockets of spectacular fall colour instead of vast expanses.


One such pocket is right outside our neighbor's front door. Poor old Don died in the spring, but his daughter is doing a great job keeping his property neat and tidy, just the way he liked it.


Closer inspection of Don's property revealed a mama deer and her youngster grazing on his lawn. They both spronged off once noticed. Most folks around here have multiple dogs, so it is rare (and lovely) to see deer in these parts.


Turning eastward I see a fat horse bum and some mountains. Sometimes I wonder if Tonka and Raven appreciate the view from our plateau.


Turning southward I see my shiny black beauty and her dull black shadow grazing under sunny skies. The cut on her leg is 90% healed now, so I will take her for a ride if this weather lasts through the weekend (they are calling for sun, so it probably won't).


Titan and his shadow are keeping watch over the horse paddock. These pictures were taken before noon, so that should provide some indication of how short our daylight hours are getting. Under the old regime we would have dropped out of Daylight Savings Time by now (meaning this picture would have been taken just before 1pm), but under the new rules we don't fall back until the beginning of November.


The three stooges on their almost-daily trek from the goat paddock to the horse paddock. Herding three bad pygmy goats is akin to herding cats, mostly because they like to snack en route.


I am very fond of this picture. It captures the essence of bad pygmy goats perfectly.