Sunday, January 11, 2015

Sunday leftovers

The temperature reached 40 a few times this week, so most of our snow was replaced with mud.
The tradeoff was worth it, if for no other reason than the frost-free hydrant at the barn finally thawed out.

The winter has taken a toll on Lady Mary's and Edith's good looks...


...but it hasn't affected their self-esteem, nor their egg production.



A very large pack of coyotes continues to visit us nearly every morning around 9:00. 
We must be on their regular rabbit-hunting loop. 
Smooch sounds the alarm, I run outside or to the window to watch...


...and Johnny and the chickens stay in their safe spots until the danger passes.



This time, Alan and Lucy took it upon themselves to escort the pack from the property.



I love having bodyguards.



I received my first-ever purchase from ebay this week. I've always been a little leery about that site
but took a chance when I found the $12.95 camera monitor covers I normally buy for sale there 
for $1.30. The seller was in Hong Kong but was "top rated with the highest buyer ratings."
Skeptical me said the price was too good to be true. Frugal me said go for it.
I went for it and am glad I did. I used PayPal for the transaction, thinking that might be
a little bit safer than giving my Visa card number to a vendor in China.
If my credit card information was ever hacked or my identity stolen, 
I might have to give up online shopping, and what fun would that be?


Smooch and I slip-slided to town yesterday to pick up the canvas prints I'd ordered for the dining room.
They turned out exactly as I had hoped, and I'm starting to come to terms with the new wall color.



36 comments:

  1. i love the new canvas prints. but then i loved the photos on your blog so why not on the wall.. have never heard of a monitor cover.. or seen one. i do hope JCC stays away from the coyotes.. a blogger 2 weeks ago had their miniature donkey that was attacked by coyotes and the donkey got caught in the barb wire and is going to lose its eye..

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  2. I am always amazed how donkeys are able to chase off coyotes. They are incredible body guards. I've seen them in action and they are very quick with their back legs. Lucy didn't join the posse? Things are poppin' at your place.

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    1. That was Lucy with Alan chasing them off this time...George must have been too busy eating.

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  3. Glad that Alan and Lucy are on the job.
    I like the wall colour- it's a good backdrop for the beautiful canvases.

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  4. The prints! Fabulous and I still like the wall color.

    Question: Adorable donkey pastured with cattle at a nearby farm. He's a small standard donkey who mainly stands & stares at the ground. He's well cared for, looks very healthy, but kind of sad & bored. I don't know the farmers. Tried with some carrots to entice him to the fence but he wouldn't come close enough to check them out, though he did talk to me one time. The cows have large horns & I'm sure avoiding those is an acquired skill, lol. They are very happy to snuffle carrots & take them from my hand. Any suggestions as to how to pet the burro without tromping around getting gored? You'll tell me to forget it & be right, no doubt. This little guy is irresistable, though!

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    1. To be on the safe side, you might want to just wait until the donkey comes up to the fence. But that could take a long time. I walk through herds of cows all the time without problem, but you never know when there will be a rogue bovine who might charge you. Maybe the path of least resistance is to befriend the farmer?

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    2. I've thought of that -- would love to if I ever saw anybody around there. It's such a tidy little farm but I think gnomes do the work at night. Have never seen a human there at all! I may just put on my cow-pie resistant boots & sashay through the herd. If I get hollered at, it's one way to meet the farmer, right? Then he can introduce me to his burro.

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  5. So nice to see chickens :)
    We have a real winter in here Finland, so our hens doesn't want to go outside at all.

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  6. --- the "frost free" hydrant finally thawed out --- You're hilarious. Your new photos on canvas are spectacular!

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  7. I really really like the new wall color . . . it's a perfect neutral-but-interesting backdrop for all kinds of things. Your pictures look great there!
    Your equines are multi-purpose, aren't they? I know that llamas are supposed to be excellent coyote-repellers too. And how small those western coyotes look from here in NYS! We have the ones with big long legs. They stand tall and stare back.

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    1. If I saw a coyote any bigger than these, I'd be tempted to move. Yours must be huge!

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    2. There are many coyote / wolf hybrids on the east coast now - maybe it's one of those.

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  8. The wall color looks great! And I love the canvas' you hung in the room-good choice all the wall around! marsha@tubbslanefarm.com

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  9. First time on Ebay, really?????????? Wow. I'm one of those " how did we live before we shopped on Ebay?" Great choice. Welcome to hours of browsing.

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    1. Really. It seems intimidating and confusing to me with all that auction stuff. Wait - aren't you the one who just discovered Etsy?

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  10. Good job boys and make sure you keep Johnny and the chickies safe! I love the color of your wall and I absolutely love the canvas prints. Great choice! Martha Stewart has nothing on you!

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  11. how did you get your pictures on the canvas? What website did you use? I'd love to do that with my farm critters here. The canvas really does set the wall off so the color actually works. I love it. We noticed coyotes cutting thru our pasture here lately too during the day, they were keeping an eye on the horses who could've cared less as they were eating they're hay. Good thing my cats and little jack Russell was in the house because she has a napoleon complex. lol

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    1. I used pictureitoncanvas.com. Their list prices are ridiculous, but you can almost always find huge sales there, on the order of 65% off. Check retailmenot.com for coupons, too.

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  12. Forty degrees in January - heat wave and wonderful. The chickens do look a little pitiful. And JCC is so good at keeping his cool and watching out.

    Photo canvases look great on the wall. If you don't fall in love with the color soon, repaint. Even though it is a pain in the patoot. Your wall, your happiness.

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  13. I would like to recommend some rosecombed Dominique hens next time you're in the market. There are breeders in Colorado and South Dakota who have them with no problems. Down side? They are incredibly tame and into everything.

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  14. Now the coincidences are just too many! I live 7 miles east of nowhere. The little town lost its grocery store a couple of years ago. Your concrete floors look stained the same color as mine. I turned 60 about a month before you. And now you dining room walls look the same color as mine. I like yours better. I need some great pictures. Now I just need to mule to ride and I would be set. How would I go about finding said mule?

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    1. Lucy is a mammoth donkey - I found her by placing a "wanted" classified on Meredith Hodge's website, http://luckythreeranch.com/classifieds/. I see alot of good-looking riding mules on the facebook group "Mules, Donkeys, Mammoth Jacks" - https://www.facebook.com/groups/302437319766631/.

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    2. Thank you for the information. I have checked out both.

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  15. I would love to see the coyotes but am so glad I don't have them here on a regular basis. My chickens roam free all day. Love, love, love that photo wall!

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  16. When I lived on my little farm, there was a coyote who used to lie down right beside my alpaca on a little rise of land - sometimes they were less than a foot apart, both calmly staring at me staring out my kitchen window at them. I called the coyote Brazen, because none of the other coyotes in the area acted like he did. When any other coyotes (or bears) trespassed on the property, Martin the alpaca sounded the alarm, but not if it was Brazen.

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  17. I have enjoyed your site for quite a while, coming "out" to tell you about these amazing LCD covers I ran across. I have had my D7100 since July with these attached. I'm impressed, they still look new, were easy to place and I've had no problems. Keep in mind I haven't tried to remove them, but the reviews are good. Definitely no match for the price of your eBay purchase though. And speaking of eBay, I had one problem with an individual many years ago. My husband and I have both bought and sold in the past, mostly purchasers now. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DH7WP9W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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  18. fat coyotes! beautiful sun and your picture wall is a hit! just missing one canvas of the hen girls...

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  19. Ok, I now have to make a comment on the paint color...I think it is washed out and is really boring.
    Ok, now I said it....Sorry if all the people have commented and said it looked great...UGH....I still
    think it doesn't look good....Like someone commented today, you can change it if you don't fall in love
    with it soon.....LOL
    The pictures are great, tho...
    And I love the body guards.....
    Love from NC

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    1. Thank you, Sandy. I needed that. I've got one other big change to make to that room before I start over. Stay tuned.

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  20. I used to like bright colours on my walls (Argh, the disaster of glaring bright yellow in a north-facing room in an Australian summer!) then I moved into a house with all antique cream walls, and I liked it and found it very nice as a backdrop for my paintings. Now I live in a stone cottage made of brown, red, orange and cream laterite, with pine boards everywhere else, and I have learned to love earth tones a lot. Now i feel like those bright colours I used to love are too jangly. It's alright for visiting a restaurant or something, but for home I want calm. I must admit I'd prefer mildly warm tones to the cool green, though.

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  21. An American in Tokyo1/12/15, 5:49 PM

    I never knew that burros could be so territorial that they would chase out the coyotes!
    Where is Hank while all this is happening? Is he hiding in the barn?

    I love your prints and your new wall color! It makes me look forward to spring! =)

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    1. Hank was busy eating.

      If you get a chance, go back to this post - it's my best burro/coyote story ever.
      http://www.the7msnranch.com/2009/03/herd-meets-packand-kicks-butt.html

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    2. An American in Tokyo1/13/15, 5:01 PM

      How cool!! They even stand up for the local bunnies!! Thank you for another wonderful story. =)

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  22. Don't be afraid of eBay, I sell there! Just pay attention to the sellers feedback and you'll be OK.!
    The nice thing about paint is it is easily changed!
    The prints look wonderful~

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