Strange Thing

Yesterday, I found Hope on aisle 9 at Target. You just never know when and where Hope will show up. It was instant sunshine.... lovely, hope.

Everyone needs one......

When you have a really rotten day at work, and you know you want to frown..... everyone needs one (we'll talk about how good Donkey Boy is at giving donkey hugs sometime soon):

When your life feels stinky, and you feel worthless as a pinky (toe)......everyone needs one (or a handful):

When you think no one cares......everyone needs one:

When you need a smile, you should come visit us at Ararat Acres. It's hard to be down for too long when you have animals that can make you smile no matter what. And that's a fact.

Cutest Donkey on the Block

Eight days ago we adopted again. How do you say no to such a cute face?

Especially when it's attached to such a personable little donkey attitude. All 29 inches of him. Welcome Diego! We were going to change his name to "Don- key ote", but Diego is the name he came with, and it just fits him. We call him Donkey Boy most of the time. Neither one of us can imagine Ararat Acres without him........ Good thing, because there is a good chance we'll both be in our 80's when he dies. Anyone (younger than us) interested in inheriting a miniature donkey someday? Stay tuned for updates on the newest (and darn cute) kiddo in the pasture.

Two Nights (not for the faint of heart)

Sunday night. Bad news: Foster is bitten on the muzzle by a copperhead. Good news: If you are a dog and are going to be bitten by a poisonous snake, get bitten by a copperhead. It's painful and swollen, but rarely life threatening. Thank God.

Monday night. Bad news. A snake invaded the chicken coop.....again. Good news: Three golf balls, Leo the Wonder Kitty (aka "the snake avenger" on behalf of his buddy Foster), and a husband who doesn't mind killing snakes later, said snake is dead. Ding dong..... No, it is not the same snake, but it felt good, just the same. A little victory in defense of our kids.

Later: Yes, it's clear, we do live under the rainbow.......snakes and all (This was tonight too, and too beautiful not to share). Nobody can say we lead boring lives out here in the country.........

We trust OUR "Weathermen". Do you?

This has been a crazy crazy weather year so far in North Texas. First, Winter swore she would never pack her bags and leave.

When she did, Spring sprung quickly, briefly, and then poof....we had hard core Summer. Summer started dry, with the heavy threat of a drought: an event that makes anyone who has to grow or buy hay (in copious amounts) cringe. Now, we've got the oddity of heavy scattered showers (in July!!!!) for the last two weeks.

I'm hoping it's enough to take the edge off the aforementioned drought. I bring all this up to give well deserved kudos to a couple of our farm "weathermen", who are right about rainstorms oh.....pretty much 100% of the time (can your weatherman make that boast?).

I was given some Rain Lilies about 3 years ago. A "little old lady" gave them to me from her homestead. She said, "You watch. They will only bloom when it's going to rain." These plants are dead on right, even when the tv weatherman is wrong. I have since learned that this plant might actually be called a Crinum. Or maybe it's in the Crinum family. The common term Rain Lily suits them tho. The only time the plant makes this fast growing shoot (no kidding. It grows about 18 inches in 24hrs, and then pops out blooms very quickly after that.) is right before a rain. Amazing. If they say it's going to rain, it IS going to rain.

Our other weathermen are a couple of our dogs....but especially Kelly. Sweet Kelly is our "formerly feral fido" who is about as sweet as you can get. Kelly was truly a wild dog who ran with the coyotes in our area before he decided that life on the farm might suit him after all. I will post about Kelly and his "Muttley Makeover" someday (it is a story that is worth telling). All this to say, Kelly mostly prefers to be an outside dog. Oh, you can ask him to come in, but he will probably politely decline the offer. Unless there is a storm coming. In the event of a storm, Kelly is most happy laying on the floor (or in his bed) in our bedroom. He will ask to come in, and he will trot down the hall, and he will settle in for the long haul. Sweet Kelly B is a fine specimen of a weatherdog. When the storm is over (even if in the middle of the night), Kelly will go to the door and ask to be let out where he can resume his position as night watch dog.

Living in the country away from the constant thrum of city life, I can see and hear and smell things I may otherwise miss. I love how often looking to nature for answers works. God so often gives us clues to help us solve the questions.....if you only know how to look.

IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME........

...... Hopefully, that is!

Yes, you could say we're going batty here at Ararat Acres (in more ways than I care to count sometimes). When it comes right down to it, bats are an all around good idea for environmentally safe flying insect control. Did you know that a single bat, on average, will eat roughly 1,500 mosquitoes per hour? For more interesting bat facts, click here .

***This Public Service Announcement was brought to you by my personal "Bob the Builder" sweet husband, Charlie.....who has built dog domiciles, horse homes, bee buildings, kitty condos, chicken coops, a turkey townhouse, and now bat bungalows (not to mention a pretty nifty place for yours truly to live as well :). ****

If anyone is interested in their very own batville, Charlie is open for business!