The house was perfect. The cow barn was ready for Fiona, but the fences were not tight enough for the goats. Fiona would need a friend soon. The three sided shelter provided electricity for heated water buckets (which we bought locally that first day) and shelter for the large animals. The two horses had been professionally shipped to boarding barn here in Minnesota a week before our trip, so they were comfortable until it was time to get them. Meanwhile, I built a temporary pen out of the wind for the goats and mini donkey and put together the corral panels under the open shed for the horses to come home to. A roaring creek flowed on the property in a beautiful ravine surrounded by forest. Wood duck nests awaited inhabitants. Winter was two weeks longer this year, the locals said. They apologized for the wind as well. No need. It was welcome after 15 years of stifling heat in the South.
One unanticipated surprise was that there were already some barn cats. Two pregnant female barn cats, to be precise. They were wily, but somewhat tame. A third, gray tabby was feral. A fourth orange cat was spotted, but disappeared before we could determine if it was male or female. We had brought Ralph, our barn cat, but he didn’t know this new place, so he was locked up in the workshop (heated) until he was ready to explore. I started looking for ways to trap the barn cats and planned what to do when I did.
I found a weanling heifer to purchase locally as company for Fiona and to start building a cow herd again. Fiona was thrilled with her new friend. We named her Violet. She was an early calf born when it was still very cold. As a result, she is missing the tip of her tail from frostbite.
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