Towering tales

Ok. I’m finally writing a post (not just Mom).

Living on a flower farm in my opinion is a little different then a farm you would find in Montana. You need to understand that this farm does not own horses. I had a little kid from school ask me if I had my own horse because I live on a farm. It was disappointing for both the kid and me when I had to say no. We don’t have all of the horses, cows, barn cats, and chickens you need on a working farm.

Instead, we have flowers. Just boring old flowers. 

Nah, we have the chickens. And baby chickens. But the chickens we have are not the ordinary chickens you would think of when you think of chickens. As is everything else on this farm. We have black chickens with feathers on their feet, ones that look like turkeys, ones that look like crows, and darn rosters. There are two rosters. One of them is fine. The other? Not so much. I don’t know what is wrong with that roster, but it decides to be loud and cock-a-doodle-do all the time. Working on getting a barn cat…it’d give the mice a run for their money. Yes, mice.

So there’s this cow that the farm doesn’t own but is right next to the property. Again, like everything else on the farm, the cow is not a normal cow. Her name is Isabell and I am partially afraid of her. Hey, her massive horns with long hair covering her eyes is very scary. She looks like she has long hair that you braid more than the short black and white short hair that is normally on a cow.

Next is the alpacas. That was not on the farm animals list I made above, but they are there. The neighbors own the alpacas just like they do with the cow. There’s 6 of them. I think. They look like llamas but they have yet to spit in someone’s eyes. As far as I know.

Then there are the ducks. 3 boys, 2 girls. We had 2 other girl ducks (one of them named after me) but they were eaten. I don’t really know much about them except for the fact that the girls spend most of their time running and hiding from the boys.

Also on the farm, bees. Honey bees to be exact. My Dad and farmer Lindsey “manage” the bees. And by “manage”, I mean, my dad has been stung four times and they haven’t figured out how to keep them alive through the winters yet. BUT the honey is SO good and they love flower season on the farm. Round 3 of bees starts this Spring. Anyone have any tips to keep them alive through the Winter? Asking for my Dad, haha.

Let’s not forget the wild dog named Hoss. He is officially 1! But still acts like he is 1 week old. Hoss is a black lab that has a lot of energy. We have also found out that this dog can not die. Things he has eaten? Fertilizer, toner, printing paper, highlighters, chocolate, chicken food, peanut butter cups, and many other things. It’s shocking for all of us. But he has his moments when he’s sweet and will snuggle with you on the couch.

Now these are the animals that we don’t claim. We don’t want them, yet they just keep coming back: Racoons. These things are the worst! They sneak into the chicken coop and eat the ducks (rest in peace duck named after me), and chickens. You apparently find bones and bloody chickens parts that have been ripped in half with feathers everywhere. I have seen the aftermath of our own chickens when they were caught by racoons back before we moved, but I haven’t seen the farm chickens die yet.

Ok. To summarize this blog, I don’t own a horse and I really wish I did.

P.S. Oh yeah, there’s flowers that grow here…flower season is August-October…dahlias, peonies, filler flowers & greens. The dahlias are pretty cool. Planting season is coming soon around here!