Today Ohio State plays Michigan and since I'm an Ohio native and Ohio State alumna I root for the Bucks! Well so do the farm animals and today Agnes and Myrtle showed their Ohio State team spirit by annihilating this Michigan pumpkin! It didn't take long for them to realize that this golden gourd was theirs to enjoy: ​

Then they got to work on that ugly block "M" (this version made with blueberry jam): ​

Once all evidence of the team from up north was gone we broke the pumpkin open to reveal some of their favorite treats: apples and flax meal: ​

This is Myrtle, one of our miniature donkeys, and Agnes is the other one in the background. These were our first animals on the farm and they were almost the first animals to leave the farm. I got them to live with the alpacas but this fall when the pasture started to wear down and I started feeding hay I quickly discovered that the alpacas and donkeys didn't speak the same language. The donkeys got a little kick happy and I had to move them out of the alpaca pasture. I decided that even though I love them (and I really do love them - they are so sweet!) I had to be practical and we just didn't have the resources in these early days of farming to house them elsewhere on the farm. I found them a really good home and then... I changed my mind!

If you keep reading this blog you'll discover that I am often very serious, literal, and practical (I am a scientist by training after all!) even though I am really very fun, silly, and a bit of a dreamer (I am human after all!). But this time I decided that I didn't have to be 100% practical all of the time. Everyone needs happiness in their lives and these little donkeys make me very happy.
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This story is pretty typical of my first year farming. I've read all sorts of books, talked to people, scoured the web for information, and planned like crazy, but until you get boots (or hooves) on the ground you just never know how things are going to work out!