The Javalenas are driving me crazy

Okay, the family (I have counted four so far) of Javalenas (wild pigs) that have been living on our f arm, @ night, are beginning to drive me crazy. First of all, they hide in the trees/bushes (near our side pasture), but I hear them rustling around in there. And, when they come out, they run so fast past me, that they are a big blur.

These animals can be very nasty, so you have to be careful with them. I understand that they are also on the trails, in South Mountain, which I hike all the time, but haven't come across them yet.

I can always tell when they are on the property, our horses go to the back of the pastures, to avoid these beasts. They run around the farm, knocking over all of our cans, which are supposed to be animal-proof, with feed. The last straw was when they knocked over, for the 12th time, the pot-bellied pigs food, and ate it all. I know they are hungry, as well, but geez, leave some for the pot-bellies, at least.

I had to purchase 3 new bags, of the Pot-Bellied pig food, but this time, I put the can on carport. Now, if I can get the pot-bellies to leave it alone, I will be happy.

Each morning, when I go out very early, to feed the animals, I have to pick up after the messy critters. It was near freezy, the other morning, that I read in the newspaper, that it was the coldest it has been, here in Phoenix area, since 2003. And, let me tell you, it was so cold, that I had to use a knife to break a thick layer of ice on the horses water troughs, and the dogs. When I went to turn on the water, for one of the pasture water troughs, it was frozen, so they had to wait until it warmed up, to get water out.

I was wearing normal riding gloves, which do no good, in the freezing weather. In fact, my fingers were so frozen, that I had to run into the house to use warm water, to get them unfrozen. My fingers, of course, after warming up, begin tingling.

Well, that's my farm story, for now. I will post our family pictures, of all the animals, very soon.

Please note: The picture of the Javalenas (above) are not from our farm. I haven't been able to convince them, yet, to stand still.

Thanksgiving Day

Well, it's Thanksgiving day, and you wouldn't know that it was a holiday, around here. Got up early, to feed all the animals. The mornings are nice and cool, so it's definiteely a change from the summer heat.

My niece, Beth, brought her new dog, "Rocky" to the farm, for the weekend. My dog, "Max", isn't impressed. He knows he is still the Alpha Dog around here.

I will be heading out for a Pet Sitting consultation, (yes, as a pet sitter, we work holidays), before I head over to mom's for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I will not be there for very long either, since I have pet sitting assignments this afternoon. I will probably return to mom's, so I can hike the "Sunrise Trail", in McDowell Mountains, in the morning. I will then head out for more pet sitting assignments.

What I have learned living on the Farm

• What I have learned, living on the farm for 9 months:
  
  That our collage of animals:
  8 horses (Rusty, Mayday, Forest, Toby, Mary, Witchiepoo, Casper, Lacy); 2 pot-bellied pigs (Millie & Tammy Faye-due to her long black eyelashes); 1 cow (Suzy Q); 5 dogs (Zoë, Pickles, Max, Poco, pop-a-la); 1 cat (kittie) and 2 roosters that we have inherited from a neighbor, do not care if I am sick or just tired from running around all day, they want to be fed NOW!!!!!


• That living on a dirt farm, your car never, ever stay clean. And, you have to deal with dust storms. I can wash it one day, and come out the next morning, only to find that a dust storm has blown through, leaving my car look like it went through some type of natural disaster.


• When you get up in the morning, to feed the animals, you normally have to pick up the cans of food, or trash, that the Javalenas or coyotes have knocked over, in the middle of the night. In which one evening, when I went out to feed the horses, it was very late, and I heard a lot of rustling around. At first, I thought it was our normal herd of Coyotes running through the pastures. Well, when I saw two of them run past me, into the pasture, I turned on my flashlight and shined it on one of the bushes (where the noise was coming from). And, low and behold, my light beamed on a pair of glowing eyes. They weren’t coyotes; it was a family of Javalenas.


• That no matter how much I try to stay clean, when I am out working the farm, that it does not work. So, I give up, and normally walk back in the house, with dirt on my clothes, and hay in my hair.


• That when I try to give the horses a bath in the dirt, since we have no cemented area for that, that the water just splashes back mud on them, as well as me. So, when I enter the house, it looks like I just returned from off-roading, in the mud.


• One day, my brother-in-law, David, announced to me, that since I was going to be a farm girl, I better learn how to drive a tractor. Of course, I just laughed at him, and thought he was kidding….he wasn’t. He asked if I have ever driven a standard (I hadn’t), and told me to hop on. This tractor is a large farm tractor, mind you, and he showed me what to do. I was to run over the large bushes and smaller trees in the pasture, and crush them up. Well, at first, it was hilarious seeing me running over this stuff, and hoping that I would not run into one of the fences, or worse one of the two horses out there. It took me awhile, but I finally got the hang of crushing up the bushes and trees and turning them into mulch. It ended up being quite fun. David took a picture of me, driving this thing, which I will share with you all.


• That no matter how much I sweep, and sweep inside the house, or outside on the carport, there will always be dirt on it.


• That when I feed the horses, in the large pasture, that they are always acting like toddlers, and I have to separate them into feeding groups. Otherwise, they try to fight with each other, by kicking and biting, and then steal one another’s food. This is why I call the Queen Horse out here “Witchiepoo”, because she acts like a witch. One of our horses, which I am always watching out for, and protecting, is Lacy, who is one of our older horses. She has arthritis, and doesn’t walk very well. So, when we feed her, we normally have to bring her out of the pasture, or take her food to the end of the pasture, where she can eat in peace. Otherwise, the other horses will steal her food, and since she has a hard time walking, she can’t defend herself, and normally just walks off, not eating. I have fought many of her battles for her.


• That living in a old farmhouse, with 6 bedrooms, you will encounter a lot of crawly, creepy, spiders. The only bug I truly loathe. Believe it or not, I would rather deal with a rattler than a large spider. I have already had to kill 2 humungous Wolfe Spiders (they are the ones that are hairy, and have very large, creepy eyes). The first one, I just closed my eyes, and stomped on it. Once looking down, I saw that his legs actually were wrapped around the top of my tennis shoes. Or, the second time, when it was so large, that I had to use a big, heavy box to kill it. I thought I was going to throw up. Oh, and did I mention the time that my sister went to take a shower, and she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, and looked down into the shower & saw a Scorpion. She then, of course, screamed for her husband to come kill the beast. When living in the desert, one should always check their shoes, before putting them on. You just never know what creepy, crawly thing might be lurking inside.


• You will come across snakes. My first encounter was a large Rattler. However, it wasn’t in our yard, but across the street. I ended up trying to keep the neighbors dogs away from it, until they return home. It kept trying to strike the dogs, as well as me. But, to be honest, I rather deal with a rattler, than a spider. The owner finally returned home, corralled the snake, and I hoped that he turned it loose, on my suggestion, instead of killing the creature. We are in fact, living in their territory. And, the sad thing is, I forgot to take a picture of it.


• That when you are hiking, up in South Mountain, that you deal with a lot of critters, including coyotes, and I hear Javalenas live up there as well. Someone did tell me that mountain lions live up there, but I have yet to come across one.


• That living with your sister and brother-in-law is more of a challenge, than dealing with all the temperaments and moods, of the various animals living here on the farm. But, all in all, I have a good life here. I enjoy the farm life, have always loved the country more than the city. I have been riding horses since I was 15-years old, and I have started my pet-sitting business here, and it’s going fairly well, especially this holiday season. I also offer Horseback-riding lessons, as well. I also do merchandising. So, with that I am very grateful to God for giving me the opportunities that He has, and that I look forward to more farm life stories to share with you all.