Alpaca Shearing Day - Click to Watch Video

Today was alpaca shearing day. All three girls got a new hairdo and look even more like Dr. Seuss characters than they did before! I can't say it's something they enjoy, but it was over fairly quickly and they will definitely be happy when the first 100 degree day of summer rolls around. I have to keep reminding myself that as we are not in the Peruvian Andes, here they are much more likely to die from heat stroke than from a chill.

Now we have three more bags of fiber, so it's encouraging me once again to find a class or local teacher who can show me how to spin to transform this beautiful fleece into yarn and begin knitting. 

The goal is that one day everyone will get scarves and throw blankets for Christmas. I'm just not sure yet which year that will be!

Pia and Percy in the Mud - Click to Watch Video

Today was the first day we let Pia and Percy out of their pen for a few hours. We think they enjoyed the excursion! They had a little mud bath, a nap and then we lured them back home with a rice cake. Success!

Dirty Little Secret - Click to Watch Video

This is one of my favorite BLOG posts because it is where we get to show some of the works in progress here at WHF.

Websites and social media tend to focus on what is beautiful and idyllic rather than expose what is unfinished or perhaps even problematic. But the photos and videos displayed don't show the whole picture, leaving out images of roads, neighbors, cars, telephone wires, objects needing repair, and incomplete projects, etc.

We think it's just as important to share those images of our farm to show that daily life is as real for us here at it is in other places.

At WHF we have many projects that are in various stages of completion or have not even begun (such as a koi pond and vegetable garden) despite the many years that have passed. And though we try hard to minimize it, right across from a beautiful space or tree you might find an unsightly storage spot for basic job-site materials.

Above are some photos of piles of work tools, building materials and not so beautifully landscaped spaces to prove it! 

We are also human, like everyone else, and have neighbors who adore us, neighbors who like us, neighbors who tolerate us, neighbors who don't know we exist and neighbors who would happily provide an earful about how not so great they think we are and why. In other words, we are normal people too!

So even if it goes without saying that we have challenges like anyone else, it makes us (me especially) feel better to express it in words, as I feel that posting so many images and videos of beauty and joy in today's modern world of computers and social media can be so misleading and only tells a partial truth at best.

At worst, it can make people feel that their lives are not as good as what they are seeing on their computer screen.There have been studies done on the reality of this new modern problem, and as it's not a healthy way for people to feel, it's clearly not something we wish to encourage here either.

Alas, please enjoy our not so perfect video. And thanks for being my therapy session for the day!

Bird Feeder - Click to Watch Video

I love bird feeders! They are so much fun because they attract a myriad of birds and their different songs. Today I just sat and watched them come and go as I stepped outside while cooking dinner. Listen closely and you can hear a woodpecker and the peacocks who live across the canyon too. So beautiful.

Welcome Pia and Percy! Click to Watch Video

The farm additions for the month of April are two new piggies, Pia and Percy. They came to us rather unexpectedly, as many of our animals seem to do.

Sadly, Fleur, our first pig had to be placed in a new home away from lots of people as her biting escalated in the past few months and we began to worry that she  might cause someone (especially a child!) serious harm. Her last unprovoked attack on a friend left such a large wound and bruise that we could no longer run the risk.

 The very same day we made the decision to let her go, we received a phone call asking if we knew of a home for two black pigs, an older female who is very sweet and was fed way too much pizza as a piglet, and a young six month old male who is shy and cute as can be.

Synchronicity yet again! 

So yes, we cried a lot of tears saying goodbye to Fleur Piggy, but we were also very happy to be able to say yes to these two pigs and give them a new home here.

Spring and Snakes - Click to Watch Video

So it's officially the first day of Spring. And with the blossoming of flowers and the spreading of pollen also comes new animal life. Namely......rattlesnakes!

Each year we see more than our fair share here in Topanga, and this season isn't likely to disappoint as we have already seen at least four babies and Spring only just began today. One dry year revealed as few as three in our yard, while the following wetter year heralded thirteen slithering throughout our property. 

A few days ago one of our neighbors sent us this video of a decent sized snake moving towards the grass under the olive trees at the top of our driveway. And perhaps, he was the very same snake who already bit Chai, our sweet Labrador Retriever, on the snout!

Yes, sadly Chai came to the door three days ago with a very swollen face, and because she was bitten by a rattler a few years back we knew exactly the cause of the swelling. $3K worth of anti-venom and a three night hospital stay later, she survived the first bite. But this time, on the advice of a vet who has treated many bites successfully, we opted to forgo the typical treatment and give her pain medication and antihistamines here at home.

And it worked!

She has now lived to tell the tale of surviving not one, but two rattlesnake bites in her 12 years here on Earth. And hopefully, there will not be a third.

Thank Heavens....and go Chai!

Going, Going, Gone - Post

We had high hopes that Lakshmi and Krishna would eventually acclimate to their new surroundings by living with our chickens for a few weeks, and then choose to stay here walking the ranch by day and sleeping in our trees by night.

Sadly, that did not come to pass. While feeding the chickens this morning, Lakshmi accidentally escaped in a flurry of feathers, and then in a panic to reach his brother, Krishna pushed forcefully past my husband to exit out the coop too, both of them flying straight up over our heads into the bushes. 

We tried to coax them down, but they took flight again and cruised directly over the road and over our neighbor's house, honking as they went! Their flying ability was no match for our search and rescue effort. So now, I'm sorry to say, they will be living anywhere they choose. 

There are two or three wild packs of peacocks living in Topanga and another neighbor directly across the canyon from us has quite a few who, if I am guessing correctly, might be getting some new additions very shortly.

Lakshmi and Krishna - Click to Watch Video

Peacocks are magnificent looking creatures, and so it is no surprise that we decided to acquire a pair of young males to add to the farm with their beauty. But.....they are also very noisy! 

They honk in the at first morning light and again at sunset and make a yelping cry (sounds like HELLLLLLLLLP!) multiple times a day from April through August to call for a mate. Hopefully our family (and neighbors!) will not be disturbed by the noise but rather enjoy another unique sound of nature.

Lakshmi and Krishna are approximately one year old so they have not yet grown their magnificent tail feathers. But they are trying to display them anyway! Eventually, they will each have a train between 4-5 feet long. 

We plan on keeping them both in the chicken coop for a few weeks so that they become acclimated to their new home, and then will release them to free range where they will most likely sleep in the treetops at night. Peacocks are fabulous flyers!

Lakshmi and Krishna will also be territorial making good watchdogs, as they alert the neighborhood to the arrival of a guest or possible intruder with their honking call. This is a plus to help keep coyotes at bay. They eat bugs, lizards and even small snakes. 

So we are very excited to welcome our new exotic guests! (They are originally from India and Sri Lanka - hence the sanskrit names). And we will value them as harbingers of good fortune, beauty and grace as was done in India in ancient times.

Goats in the House - Click to Watch Video

Call me crazy, but Sean and Luke were home sick so I thought it would be a nice treat for them to have Cocoa and Peanut come in the house to visit. They did some exploring and then got a little curious, goat-style. Day two was a little longer inside play but ended with a squabble! This time I introduced them to the dogs as well. Progress!

Golden Paste

Why do we always have yellow lips around here? Because we eat Golden Paste!

What is that you ask?

Well, Golden Paste is a remedy which is highly recommended to reduce inflammation in both human and animals. It contains turmeric, giving it a very distinct bright yellow-orange color, and is then mixed together with coconut oil and black pepper. Both of these secondary ingredients help to increase the bio-availability of turmeric's curcumin).

We make a batch every few weeks and keep some in a large container for our older dog and horses and in a smaller glass tupperware for ourselves.

Amazingly, we feel that Golden Paste really does help to soothe our achy joints and muscles....and supposedly it works wonders against preventing Alzheimers and dementia too!

So here is a link if you feel like making your own:

Cocoa and Peanut! Click to Watch Video

My phone just keeps ringing regarding adopting animals so our little farm is happily expanding! This week, the two animals needing a new home happened to be dwarf goats. They are young females and very friendly. Being nervous in their new surroundings, they prefer to snuggle with humans above all else. I hope that continues! Here is a video of their first hour here.....

Alpaca Alarm - Click to Watch Video

Alpacas make the funniest noises when they are on alert. Usually they make soft humming sounds through their nose, but occasionally they sound a louder alarm when they see a new dog or other potential threat. Yesterday, Soria decided that Pigletta (whom she sees every day I might add) might just be in cahoots with the local mountain lion.....so she gave what we call, the alpaca cry.

Summer! Click to Watch Video

Question: How can you adopt one mini, when the opportunity arises to have two? Answer: you can't! We are so very pleased to announce that Sarafine (we are calling her Summer) arrived today from the same caring family as Sweetie. It was endearing to see Sweetie's reaction to her pal's arrival and the two have been inseparable since that first moment. The other horses also did remarkably well with the "newbie" this time and the energy of the barn stayed so calm that when the preschoolers came for their weekly visit, we were able to bring both minis out for grooming and socializing. All the kids adored their new pint sized friends!

Mustang Maddy

We are often asked who our teachers are in the horse world. While we derive inspiration from many different sources and people, a few stand out as beacons of light. Mustang Maddy is one of those people. She is a young horsewoman from Colorado who rescues mustangs (as well as other animals like zebras) and trains them for the annual "Mustang Millionaire" competition to show the general public what these wild animals are capable of learning in only 100 days. The results everyone in the show achieves are absolutely astounding, and Maddy is certainly someone we will be following in the years to come. Check out Mustang Maddy's website and Facebook page to see for yourself!

Sweetie! Click to Watch Video

We officially adopted our first miniature horse today! Her name is Sweetie and she stands 31" tall at the withers, making her a division "A" mini as she does not exceed the maximum allowable height of 34". She is double registered with the AMHR (AmericanMiniature Horse Registry and AMHA (American Miniature Horse Association) but much more importantly is friendly, kind, playful and just plain cute as a button! She came from a lovely family who is now going to focus more time and energy on the noble cause of adopting and training BLM mustangs to eventually re-home into other caring families. So it's a win-win! We are excited to expand our herd and bring more opportunities for little children to be around horses and they are following their passion to aide in the healing of the plight of the wild mustang. These videos are of Sweetie's first week here and soon we will be adopting her friend Saraphine (Summer). So stay tuned.....

Alizée Froment - Click to Watch Video

There are so many amazing horse whisperers in the world, but one of our very favorites is Alizée Froment. She is a wonderful, young French dressage rider who gives shows throughout Europe and demonstrates high level dressage moves on her horses while riding bareback and bridleless. Her horses are also fabulous at liberty. We ordered her new DVD on Amazon.com, which she released around Christmas of 2016, and we LOVE it!

Simi at the Dentist - Click to Watch Video

Twice a year the equine dentist comes to check the horses' teeth. They feel the molars to check for sharp edges, and if they find them, take out a very large electric tool and file away. Needless to say, the horses do not enjoy this process at all (who would!) and so must be given a horsie sedative to take the edge off. Some of them look like they might just fall down, but so far, no one ever has. Phew!

p.s. A horse's age can roughly be detected by the front teeth and incisors......hence the 19th century saying to "never look a gift horse in the mouth".

Freedom vs. Safety - Click to Watch Video

A recurring problem in our farm life is finding the right balance between FREEDOM and SAFETY. On the one hand, it is our responsibility as animal owners to ensure our animals health and safety as much as possible. But on the other hand, nature intended animals to be free to roam, so how much should be permitted and encouraged even though this increases their risk of peril? Many horses spend 23 hours a day in stalls, chickens live in small coops, rabbits spend their hours in tiny hutches, pigs in pint-sized pens, etc. etc. All of them are safe in these man-made homes, but are they truly happy? This is where we step outside the bounds of what might be considered normal to many people and say freedom is sometimes worth more than a safe and secure life. It is still a work in progress, and we have certainly lost more than a few chicken and bunny lives (as well as destroyed some of my husband's precious garden from trampling hooves!) to bobcats, coyotes, raccoons and even a mountain lion, but we are constantly working on our system and ever seeking the best balance we can strike between the two ideals. 

From a recent Post on the Local Topanga Facebook Page:

Hello everyone,
I just wanted to give an update about Fleur Piggy as she has been posted here more than once! She lives in an enclosure with rabbits and sleeps fully tucked away at night, but we do let her out for a few hours each day to roam the property and stretch her legs, mind and soul. Usually, she sits in the driveway waiting for rice cakes or grazes on patches of grass. However, as she is female and not spayed, we have since learned that once a month for approximately three days she comes in heat and feels the urge to wander to look for a boyfriend piggy. When we see her leaving (or read about it), we keep her in her enclosure for the next three days, which makes for a grumpy girl, but a contained one. It's not a precise art to guess her "schedule" and we try our best. We also know this isn't everyone's idea of good parenting to allow her to be loose at all, but we believe that quality of life is important and means giving Fleur a bit of freedom rather than living safely in her bedroom and staring at the same four walls day in and day out. Thanks always though for everyone's concern!

Stretching their Legs - Click to Watch Video

A routine afternoon of Simi, Sequoia and Sovereignty getting some exercise in between storms.

Mud, Mud and More Mud!

People often ask me how the animals like the rain. Generally speaking, they seem pretty happy with wet weather, often choosing to stand outside in the drizzle rather than taking shelter. The alpacas especially stand outside as they originally come from the Peruvian Andés mountains and cold weather is standard fare. However, the mud factor around here in winter is pretty daunting. Hence why most pony rides are postponed until spring...!