Farm Fresh Blog

The hurricane missed us, but we still got 13 inches of rain in two days.  The roads were flooded. I had to drive my Monster Truck to work last night.

From time to time I have complained about how tall Monster Truck is, and how it is difficult to manuever in tight spaces.  Well, shut ma mouth!  Last night I learned exactly what that sucker was made to do!  It not only got me TO work yesterday, but it got me BACK HOME last night when other vehicles were stalled beside the roadway. While most folks may not need such a Monster in the driveway, if you are considered "Essential Personnel" by your employer, it is nice to have a vehicle that will climb tall buildings (or at least curbs) to get you where you need to go.  So I will stop complaining about how big Monster is now.

But . . . singing the praises of Monster Truck was not the point of this blog.  The POINT is that we got 13 inches of rain in 2 days.  Good grief!  I came home last night to find that my 5 stall barn had flooded. The concrete aisle was still wet from where the river of water rushed through the barn, into the stalls, and out the back doors. Unfortunately it left 4 of the 5 stalls under water.  EEGaadssss!  (Actually, that's not what I said.  At 2 AM I used OTHER words, but this is a family-friendly program, so I won't print those.)

Add to that problem the fact that since I had combined some livestock before I left yesterday, I put Briar (gigantic Livestock Guardian Dog Puppy) in the back yard since I didn't want her hurt by a horse.   (and I forgot her)

  That was my first mistake.

I returned home last night to find that Briar has FINALLY figured out how to use the doggy door.  That is a BAD THING!  Briar found herself IN the house, but couldn't figure out how to go back outside.  Thus, there was a large pile of dog poop on my bedroom floor . . . and pawprints tracking the poo down the hallway.  She was very happy to see me. It was 2 AM.  I was not amused.   I was not nearly as happy to see her.

So I threw everyone outside with what was surely every frog in southern Texas. My back yard was a lake.  The pond was no longer visible underneath all the water.  My back yard had become the Florida Everglades.  I am certain there were alligators lurking out there.

Still in my uniform, I pulled on rubber boots and sloshed to the barn.  It was bad.  It was really bad. No sheep or goats had drowned though. They had all managed to find high ground.  The horses were standing in water.  Since it was up to Ruffy's knees, I turned the ponies into the back yard and cautioned them not to fall in the pond.  They would graze up by the house and be fine.

 The stallion was moved in with the goats. Poor Ona and Montoya were left to find the highest ground possible until the sun came up and I could assess the situation a little better.  As I left for bed, while Ona stood on a patch of high ground, poor Montoya insisted on standing in the water by the fence, waiting for me to save him. If I could have bundled him up and brought him into the house, I would have.

When the sun came up, the ponies were happily sloshing around the back yard. Montoya and Ona had found drier ground.  Border Collie moved the sheep into higher ground, with the goats.  The goats are wretched roommates, but in weather like this, beggars can't be choosy. 

It's raining again. They are calling for rain until Monday.  The good news is that since the barn has already flooded, that's one less thing I have to worry about.  This is just the first hurricane of the season.  Oh my . . . it promises to be a looong summer.