Since I was a child I have loved animals and nature. My parents lived on a farm back in Indiana so it must have rubbed off on me. My love for farms began one Christmas morning as I opened the door to the living room and saw a beautiful play farm under the tree with a big metal barn and silo, pigs, sheep, goats, horses, ducks, and geese. It even had fencing you could put together to make pens and corrals for the animals. That was 1958.
Fast forward to today. My love for farms and animals and nature brought me here to Little Utah Farm with my husband. I took a video of my morning to share with you to give you an idea of what my mornings are like. When I watch it it makes me so thankful. This video is 1 minute and has sound.
Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm,
Until next time, remember to believe in your dreams because they do come true.
Thunderheads are the tallest clouds on the planet. Little Utah Farm When The Thunderstorms Come
Summer the monsoon season is here. The clouds rise up over the surrounding mountains and grow into giant clouds that reach thousands of feet into the sky. Thunderclouds are the tallest clouds on the planet reaching upwards to 75,00 ft. The higher the top the more severe the storm.
I went out and took photographs of the big clouds rising high in the sky. I have the slide show with soft music for you to watch below.
We love the monsoon season as it cools us down on a hot days. Almost everyday these past two weeks we have had rain with lightening and thunder. Here is a video I put together to share the beauty of the thunderclouds that formed.
Watch Video
Thunderclouds by Deborah Moen-Little Utah Farm
These clouds are mighty and beautiful. By afternoon they merge into a grand thunderstorm.
When it rains the ducks are happy. They love the water.
Here is a little clip of them playing and enjoying the rain.
The rain got more intense. We could hear the thunder pounding like tribal drums across the valley. Closer and closer it came and the winds began to blow.
We rushed to get the young chicks back into the coop. It took several trips across the big yard to bring in the water and food. The cold rain fell in big drops on my face. Lightening flashed and thunder crashed above me. The rain fell harder. I could barely see for the water running down my hood. I got this image of a scene from the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy and Auntie Em are frantically getting those baby chicks in a safe place before the storm.
We had finished getting everything inside the coop where it was dry. The hard rain sounded like bullets on the tin roof and the thunder exploding above us. Paul and I were moving as fast as we could and it was so loud we had to yell to hear each other. Exhilarated, breathless and dripping wet we smiled and laughed. It felt like a scene with Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart in the movie African Queen.
The thunderstorm continued traveling south. I ran to the back door and watched it go.. It sounded like a giant stomping the ground as it moved on into the distance.
Paul and I talked about it throughout the evening how fun it was to be in that storm. We hadn't had a rain like that for a long time.
Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm
Deborah Moen of Little Utah Farm
Until next time,
“Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain.”
Spider Migration Over Little Utah Farm October 29 2021
Another phenomena happened my way on Little Utah Farm. Of all things a magnificent migration of spiders. I know it sound creepy but it was actually quite beautiful.
I was outdoors at just the right time to see it. I was walking our cat, Harley McFarley in the garden. I swept my hand through a few webs hanging across the garden gate. I hadn't been through the gate very often since Jack Frost visited. We we walked, Harley and I, onto the gravel yard in front of the barn and noticed a silky strand of web with thick cottony areas floating over the side gate vertically towards me like a ghost. It reached 12 feet high. I watched as it floated by me and across the alfalfa field until it caught on the branch tip of the cottonwood tree on the edge of the property. That was odd.
I continued walking with Harley towards the back pasture and out of the corner of my eye I saw long shiny webs flowing out from the trees and the wires. The sunlight was just right to catch the silky threads. Thoughts of spiders up above me entered my mind and headed for home. I hurried as best I could to the back porch towing a very upset kitty. We reached the porch and before grabbing the door knob I took another look towards the midday sun. It was then I saw an exodus of webs sailing high on the air currents across the sky to the east. I rushed into the house to get my camera.
Husband came home just then. I went out the kitchen door and greeted him under the carport with camera in hand. I pointed to the sky and that was the moment I found the perfect place to video the event. Right under the eves of the house. The sunlight was blocked just enough to help my lens see the fleet of sailing webs traveling east. After shooting the video, I watched a single strand floated above my head with a small spider dangling on the end like a parachute rider coming down to land. The spider made a soft landing on the roof of our carport.
FASCINATING !
I went out to feed the chickens and ducks in the late afternoon. I swiped my hand through a web that draped across my back door. I did not see any more in the sky. The sun had moved west. There were a few souvenir webs draped across the wires and tree tops.
The phenomena left me feeling bitter sweet. What a blessing to have seen it and then I thought of how full of faith or how in tune with nature the spiders are to leave on such a journey not knowing how it ends, to sense just the right time to ride on the air currents and prepare for take off. To know it is time to leave.
Video description:
Spiders migrating . Conditions on October 29 were just right for the spider's journey. These long strands of silk come from spiders that are migrating. It is called "ballooning or kiting" I have my camera zoomed in 25 power. What you see are long strands of silk 10-25 ft floating east across the sky. Some touch down to gate and carport, trees and plants but most were high as clouds. They kept sweeping across the sky like a parade. I did indeed see some adult and juvenile spiders riding these magic carpets. The insects swarming in the foreground would make a nice snack as the spiders drift by. Here is a video I took of the event.
It was only 7:30 pm. The clouds were so dark it looks like night time. You can still see daylight as the sun sets in the distance. A very frightened large bird (unidentified) squawks and I have captured the bird with my camera as it made it's way across the sky. You can see the bird above the house in the medium dark clouds at the top of the photo. You may need a magnifying glass. The lightening was flashing one after the other even lit up the front of the house. Here is a short video which I took.
This storm lasted all night and into the early morning. There was lightening, thunder, wind and rain with some snow up in the higher elevations.
Deborah Moen
of Little Utah Farm
Thank you for visiting us at Little Utah Farm Until next time, Enjoy your life, gather your blessings, and cherish each day.
The coop door opened and 8 hens ran for the corner where the soil was warm and sandy. Must have felt so good. It was one of our first warm days since winter. They stayed in that dirt for some time soaking up the rays and dusting their bodies and feathers.
Dust baths are a way for chickens to keep clean. It also keeps those pests at bay. The dust will clog the pores and suffocate any pests hitching a ride. It is a natural pesticide. Watch video: Here is our hens inside the coop taking dust baths.
Dust baths are a kind of self-care for chickens.
If your chickens do not have a place to take dust baths you can create one for them. You can use, for example, an old apple crate, 14" plastic tub, galvanized tub or just dig out an area and fill it with the following base. A good base is: Equal amounts of
dry clean dirt ( fertilizer, pesticide free)
clean builders sand
That is enough but You can also add:
ash/charcoal ( NO Lighter fluid !) -Charcoal has vitamin K for blood clotting and also calcium and magnesium. charcoal is a laxative and helps remove toxins and the ash and charcoal also absorbs toxins.
dried ground lavender, mint, and rosemary are good insect repellents
dried yarrow is an anti-inflammatory and clears up respiratory issues as do thyme and rosemary.
If your dust bath area is outdoors think of adding an umbrella or canopy to keep it dry.
Chickens taking a dust bath are fun to watch. They peck at the ground to loosen the dirt and maneuver their wings to fluff the dirt up over them. When the are done with their bath they will stand walk away and give a big shake shake, like a dog shakes off water, and a big cloud of dust will come off of them.
You do not have to have a formal dust bath for free range chickens. They will find a place and make it suitable for their dust bath. Here is our hen, Angel, settling down on some bare ground to have a dust bath. I had music playing on my phone and wind chimes in the background. Made it kind of like a spa atmosphere.
Watch video of Angel take her dust bath
DeborahMoonMoen
Little Utah Farm
Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm (pageviews 14,984) Until next time...
image by Paul de Bruin
Freeimages.com
Two little girls are talking 1st girl: Does your family pray before you eat dinner? 2nd girl: Nope my mom knows how to cook.
Back in 1959, Mom showed me how to make a heart cake using an 8 inch square pan and 8 inch round pan. The process fascinated me and Mom helped me put together a presentation on how to make this heart shaped cake for "show and tell" in my first grade class. I had the round and square pans and used the chalk board to demonstrate how to make them into a heart shaped cake.
How To Make A Heart Cake
This video shows how to make a heart shaped cake the way Mom taught me.
And this video below shows a different way.
Mom taught me how to make butter for "show and tell" and here is the link to that post. We Made Our Own Butter!
DeborahMoonMoen
of Little Utah Farm
Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm ! (page views 14,638)
Until next time,
Life on a farm is a school of patience; you can't hurry the crops or make an ox in two days.~ Henri Alain
Llama Sounds At certain times llamas make distinctive sounds that express their emotions.
A mother will hum to hercria or baby llama, to assure it and show affection.
A young llama and adults will make a worrisome hum when they are anxious or bored or hungry.
The clucking sounds are like making a tic-toc sound with your tongue on the roof of the mouth. Clucking means stay away from me, I do not want you in my space.
The high pitched alarm sound is a squeal warning of a predator or some kind of danger or uncertain event, like a heads up.
My llama, Starbuck, cries out like a pterodactyl, when he does not get his way. It is a definite Jurassic Park sound.
Pronking
Pronking is a hop up and leap forward on all fours. It reminds me of the cartoon Pepee Le Pew, the skunk. Boing* boing* boing*
In the video below you will hear the high shrill alarm sound, see how tall the llamas are when they stand on their hind legs and see them running and pronking ( a bounce on all fours)
Many people have asked where we get the brush shown in the video. The llamas use the big blue brush for self-grooming, scratching a hard to get to itch and they also massage their upper palette with the bristles. A street sweeper brush can be sought by inquiring at street sweeper companies, city or county road departments.
DeborahMoonMoen
of Little Utah Farm
Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm (page views 14,522) I hope you enjoyed the video of my llamas. Llamas are very entertaining. Until next time, please check out our store Little Utah Farm on Zazzle. We just made some 1/2" black llama with a red heart, tattoos on a whole sheet of 72. Just cut out a llama and follow the instructions. Put one on your face, make a string of llamas around your wrist or ankle or a parade going up your arm or over your shoulder.
I really would rather have Googled this event before it happened. It is times like these I am thankful for Mother Nature's help.
Ricky our grandson, came in and told me to grab my camera and get out back. "Grandpa says to hurry!" he coaxed. "Well... just a minute" I said." "No Gma, Grandpa says to come NOW!" I was thinkin' it was a cute pose with one of the dogs or an egg laid in an unusual place. As I walked across the back yard I felt something quiver in my solar plexus. I saw Paul at the gate of the corral, looking inside. "Deborah, come look at this" he said calmly.
I looked into the corral and Gaia our new female llama had her back to us and what did I see but what looked like to me shiny black rubber tubes coming out of her. I was blank. I just didn't have a reference inside my brain to figure it out right away. Waaaa ! It finally kicked in. Gaia was having a baby!!! A baby llama was arriving to Little Utah Farm.
I was as shaky as Ricky, Ethyl and Fred on the I Love Lucy show when Lucy comes out of the bedroom to announce "Ricky, It's time." Everyone runs around dropping clothes out of the suitcase and in a state of panic.
This was a complete surprise. We knew not of her pregnancy when we bought her at Ron Harding's Farm. The herd she lived with was wild and free roaming around in 80 or more acres. . Gaia was very young when we got her last December. She was around a year or or year and a half.. No way to tell. Our 4 boys are gelded and so we had no idea we would ever have a baby. We did give it some thought but dismissed the idea.
Shouldn't she be laying down? Will the others llamas hurt the baby? Wonder if something happens? Waaaa ! Then I gathered myself and called my llama friend, Christina Dunlap, in California. She owns Not Home Alone Pet, Livestock and House Sitting Service. "I need you" I spoke into the phone trying not to scream. She reminded me to take a deep breath and assured me usually nature would take it's course. She is really smart and kind with animals and also teaches first aide for pets. She continued to give me an outline of what to expect. I am thankful and appreciative for my friend, Christina, who by the way, was one of the two women who introduced us to llamas at the Pomona County Fair in California about a decade ago.
It seems to take forever for the baby to be born. It will present itself usually feet first then head. Whew * This is exactly how it went.
Llamas do give birth standing or in prone position.
Check to see if the baby's nose is obstructed by the membrane. Check * The baby was breathing freely and the head was dangling as Gaia walked around the corral.
We did separate the boys from mother and baby. We easily herded the adult gelded males into the corral. Mother and baby were in the nice green pasture.
Gaia sat down a few times and each time the cria ( a baby llama) gradually slipped out more.
Once the shoulders come out the cria hangs at the flank or hips and as she hung we held our breath. Then we all watched in awe as the cria plopped out onto the pasture floor.
In moments the baby was moving and wiggling about and Gaia saw her baby.
Llamas do not lick or dry off their babies. The babies thrash about to stand and the membrane is rubbed off. In 30 minutes baby was standing and falling....standing then falling... standing.
In the wild the female llamas all gather around the mother during the birth to protect the baby and mama from the intact males. Llamas are ready to breed once they give birth. After the birth and when baby is standing and nursing the `aunties` step away for mother and baby to bond.
The placenta was delivered in an hour. it was interesting like a giant hunk of liver. Paul buried it deep in the back.
Babies need to have colostrum in the first 24 hours of life which they get from the mother's milk.it has antibodies to protect the baby. Udders on a llama are so tiny they are difficult to see. Many people give the crias colostomy from goats milk kept in freezers for this purpose. There is also a wax plug in the teats which some people remove to make sure the milk is flowing. Llamas give only 2 oz of milk at a time.
Our new addition to our farm was born on the day of the Harvest Moon, September 30,2012. We named her Luna Llena ( pronounced loona yena) which means Full Moon in Spanish.
Watch Video: 7 minutes: of the mother, Gaia and the birth of her new cria llama, Luna Llena. Baby and mom had a good experience and are doing well and fine.
