Hearts Are Broken...

COMPLETELY!!!

Our faithful friend, Bandit, has been missing for 2 days now.

We are sad!

He has been with us for 8 great years.

Never kenneled, never chained.

Our "porch" dog.

And... if you know this boy,

you know this is a GREAT loss for us.

IRREPLACEABLE!!

Come back... Bandit Boy!!

To Market. To Market.

It all started back on a hot July evening 

when Hudson paid $5 to chase a greased piggy at the Buckaroo Rodeo.

Who knew we would be bringing a pig home that night?

So little and so cute.

Hudson fed him.

And fed him.

4 months later -

He is HUGE!!

He is SOLD!!

Yesterday, we attempted to move him.

Talk about hilarious. 

 Something learned:

The more you pull on a pig, the more he pulls.
But he pulls harder! Much harder!!

After I took this picture, Hudson grabbed the other ear and the pig took off. 

Hudson held on to both ears and his feet were dragging. There was no stopping the squeally pig. 

I wished I had kept taking pictures but I was kinda scared for Hudson and I was laughing.

Hilarious!

All to say, the pig won and went back to his pen.

 Later that day, the trailer arrived.

Hudson was gone.

Caleb was gone.

Me: "Abbi, how are we going to get him loaded? I saw what he did to Hudson earlier."

Abbi: "Hmmm. How about a bucket of food?"

Me: "He just ate and is not interested."

Abbi: "I know! Milk!"

She ran into the barn and quickly milked our goats.

The trailer backed into the pen.

Abbi put the bucket of milk in his nose and he jumped right into the trailer.

Done!

GONE!!

I Almost Forgot About...

Hamlet!!

our little piggy

Our "little piggy" is not so little anymore.

Remember when we first brought him home?

He fit in Hudson's arms perfectly.

And the little girls could love on him.

Now look at him!

He is hue-mongo (huge)!!

 Just about ready to sell and take to market.

He is a fun addition to our little farm.

He will be missed :-(

Down on the Farm

We LOVE our 4-legged furry friends.

Toby - the Spoiled One

Coco - milking goat 

Patsy - the FAT milking goat 

Rodeo - the "clown" dog

Ty - the speedy barrel racer 

 Ranger - the King

Cash - the Sweet One

Merrylegs - the Fun One

Tally - the feisty one

Ty - the Teddy Bear

Bandit - The Protector 

And of course,

Dolly - Llama

These animals keep us very busy and very happy. 

Seesta...

I LOVE MINE!!

We finally made it to my sisters house.

Yay!

My children were so excited to see and be with their cousins.

We finally got to meet the newest cousin -
Isaac
He is soooo yummy cute!

Cooper and Naomi

The storm we drove through was headed their way the next day so the children harvested the garden in preparation for the snow.
David and Weston

Sarah and Elizabeth

What a harvest of yummies!

Savannah

So beautiful!

Naomi talking to Cooper

Tessa and Sammy painting

More painting

Oh, my very cute nephew.

Our time with cousins was way too short but we loved every minute of it.

What a Pig!

Hudson's little Hamlet is eating "like a pig" and growing.

He sure is cute in his own little piggy way.

A Clutch?

YES!

We have ourselves a "clutch" of ducks.

Mama and Papa Duck spent a few days finding and preparing the nest for their future generation. She laid her eggs in this nest until there were about 7. 

Then she sat.

And sat.

Sat through the rain.

Sat through the heat.

Sat 24/7 for 28 days.

And now she has 3 ducklings, so far.

She is still sitting!
And we are still waiting...

Boy Meets Horse

Boy

Meets

Horse!

Cooper, the future Cowboy

This Little Piggy

Well, I guess our farm was not complete without a pig.

NOW - it's complete!

Hudson, Abbi and Dani Rae competed on their horses at a local Little Buckaroo Rodeo.

Abbi got third in the Keyhole and Barrel events.

Hudson and Dani didn't place but did an outstanding job.

One of the side events during the evening was to catch a greased pig.

Of course, all of my children wanted to chase that little piggy with the end goal of catching him and getting to bring him home.

There were so many kids, I figured our chances of catching him would be small.

Boy, was I wrong.

Hudson was the first one to get hands on that slippery little oinker.

And Abbi was right there if he had not caught him.

I guess our chances weren't as small as I thought.

After I saw that Hudson was definitely the winner - 

I started yelling to him,

"We ARE NOT taking him home. Hand him to somebody else!"

He looked at me with a smile that told me he was going to keep him.

He was very proud and very excited.

He said this pig would be his "project". He will care and pay for all of his needs.

Done.

OK.

This little piggy has a home.

Our Faithful Friend

and Dog!

This is Bandit.

He is a 12 yr old Blue Heeler - Aussie mix.

He came to us (rescue dog) a few months before we moved to the mountain - 7 years ago.

He keeps the coyotes and foxes "at bay" - protecting our farm critters.

He lays on the back patio ready to go at a moments notice if "his boy" (Caleb) needs him to accompany him on a hike/hunt/whatever. 

Oh, he loves "his boy".

He is also available to the rest of his when we need him.

The one job he does not particularly like, but tolerates, is raising the babies.

Every spring - duty calls!

He is enjoying his afternoon on the patio watching the children play.

And then comes along one of those "babies"...

OK. Here is your kiss.

Now, go on!

OK. One more.

Seriously. Enough. 

Go do, and do, what goats do.

Fine! - have it your way. 

Have my bed.

I'm outta here!