Wilamar Farm: To Answer A Couple Of Questions...

Originally I was going to post the pictures of the house tonight. But then some questions were asked and I want to at least get those questions answered before I post the bazillion pictures.

Carol asked if I was planning on getting more animals. It is my hope to be able to get a couple of cows. Also I really wanted to look into getting some more sheep, this time dairy sheep in particular. At this time I'm not looking to get a large herd of 20 cows or big flock of 40 sheep.

I would like to start off with one or two cows. As for the sheep they will definately have to wait until the spring or even summer because the fences here are not suitable for sheep right now. I am hoping to start with three to five ewes, similar to what I was used to handling in Bakersfield.

I most definately will have chickens again, but those will also have to wait until the spring when I can build a suitable enclosure for them.

This brings me to a question from Patti regarding other wild creatures.

The neighbors behind us visited my husband while I was enroute from California with the bull. They told him of a collared wolf sighting not long ago. The wolf was not a loose pet, but had a tracking collar placed by Fish and Game or whichever organization does that sort of thing. The neighbor said his son had seen the wolf on the north boundry of our property. He had scoffed at his son until it was confirmed in the paper just a few days later.

Otherwise there is literature that says coyotes abound and there are possibly rattlesnakes in the area, though we haven't seen evidence of either. Yet. And hopefully won't.

The only wildlife we've seen on our property are rabbits and mule deer.

This is a large herd that crossed the property last week.

There were about nine does, all very healthy looking.

Two days ago we saw two bucks, one a spike, and the other was a decent four point.

Another question asked was how the animals were taking the quick change in the weather, from the upper 80's in Bakersfield to the sudden freezing nights (and the snow) here.

I got the horses blankets so they are nice and toasty warm. They had started growing winter coats but probably still not enough for here. I'm sure they appreciate their blankets.

The bull on the other hand has been on his own. The Dexters are a hardy breed and regularly have babies in the snow. I've been keeping an eye on Dakota to make sure he isn't suffering and it is surprising how fast his hair has grown! If it looks like it's getting to be awful weather then I will build him a quick three sided structure and stuff it with straw for him.

And here we are with some sort of skeleton. We were walking the property line when we found this. Our guess is it's a road-killed young deer.