Halfback Holler & Hobby Farm

Breaking ground on one of the cabins !

One of the gals laid their first egg !

Howdy friends !

Last few days we’ve seen some bear action right in our own back (and front) yard !

Two different bears, same day. Just a few hours apart. From what we’ve heard and have learned from our neighbors, is that we’ve got a daddy bear and juvenile that have made a path through the neighborhood with our house being right in the middle of it. Theres been no news of any aggressive behavior, so that’s refreshing to know.

We also learned that surrounding our holler, we’ve got neighbors with a bear call to alert oncoming visitors ! To be exact, we heard “beeeeeeear crossing” through the woods by a neighbor.

Little update on our furry, feathered, and finned friends here on Halfback Holler !

when we came home from the tractor supply a few weeks ago, we were very confident we had selected three female ducks.
However, time would tell and we realized we in fact had two males and a female (Harriet and Ida soon became Harry and Gordon). Which is a big no go. Males are aggressive enough as it is when it comes to mating, add in a second male with only one female. It wouldn’t be pleasant for our sweet Gertie.
Needless to say, we unfortunately had to rehome one of the males. Since Gertie and Gordon (Gordie) had bonded, we had to say bye to Harriet (Harry).
Scott was able to find a sweet lady who has pet chickens and ducks. Her duck recently lost its mate and she was looking for a male to hopefully bond the two. And from what we’ve heard, it’s been successful.
On our end, it’s been a hard transition on Piper from going from three to two ducks. She has had some moments of tears stating how she misses Harriet. But, we’ve been working through it.
Gertie and Gordon love walking the bridge to their little oasis and love snacking on meal worms. They also enjoy watermelon !

As for our golden girls, all six are thriving and loving their new space and room to run ! We’re about two weeks out from their estimated age for laying eggs !
They love their giant log to climb on and visiting the duck house. They also love peas and watermelon !

Something tells me we haven’t reached our max capacity on ducks and chicks yet .. so stay tuned !

It’s been so fun with the season change and noticing all the wildlife in our own backyard ! From fireflies and rollypollies, to chipmunks and field mice. Bears and fox. Coyote. Neighborhood outdoor cats. Hummingbirds and woodpeckers. Giant turtles and rabbits. Multiple bird nests throughout the property. It’s been so much fun and learning for us all.

The koi pond is also growing. We’ve got some new greenery sprouting up all around giving the koi some nutrients and shade.

We’ve added about two dozen bluegill into the pond. They’re joining an orchestra of frogs, toads, some turtles and lord knows whatever else is in there !

And of course, the dogs are loving all this property to run around. They particularly love lounging on the front porch !

The girls got upgraded to a new pool ! And they’re enjoying some pea enrichment !

The girls are loving their pool time. They get little treats while swimming for some enrichment. They love frozen peas, minnows, banana.

Gertie (grey), Ida (black), & Harriet (gold)

Ida, Harriet, and Gertie took their first swim this afternoon ! Piper even had friends over to enjoy the fun ! The duckies really enjoyed their time in the water ! It was so fun watching them explore and put their swimming skills to use !

All the kids are doing great !

For those asking, we have finally picked our names for our three new ducklings !

Ida, Gertie, and Harriet !

Ida has the darker black
Gertie has the mixture of grey and white
Harriet has the golden

I’m a sucker for older generational names. And since Scott and Piper got to pick the names for our six chicks, I got to finally put to use three of my favorite lady names !

3 ducklings have joined the family ! Welcome home, ladies ! (Names yet to be announced) !

The gals have relocated to the coop ! It’s so fun watching their curious little minds as they wander and discover their upgraded chicken condo !

The coop is finished. The staining and porch are complete ! Like a whole new house !

The chickies home is in process of being built ! They’ve got about 2-4 more weeks before they’ll officially be out of our house and into their own !

A little side-by-side action of what was and what will be ! So excited for the updated look !

Last bit of the kitchen remodel ! How do you style your floating shelves ?

We’re excited to announce that our first batch of chickies have arrived !

Welcome home !

Dorothy, Sophia, Blanche, Rose, and Julia and Suzanne Sugarbaker !

Some updated paint progress on the outside ! This green/black combo with the dark wood shake is giving me all the feels ! Next will be the front and back decks and the new storage space under the front deck.

The basement was a full on project. It was much more basement/garage than living space. Orange walls, drop down ceiling and large white tile floor. We removed the drop down, brought in new floors and paint and our living space is almost complete. We’re still deciding on what to do with our support poles but for now we all take turns dancing on them.

We knew we loved the koi pond but also knew it needed a facelift. We met some amazing koi and pond specialists through our friends and the project is almost complete. The small rocks were removed and large boulders we brought in, the long waterfall shoot was replaced with a more natural looking water feature and the bridge was replaced with a massive rock. We were told our koi were a little closer to carp and goldfish so we should consider upgrading but we have always been a mutt family, so they will do just fine. Hybrids r us. I’m working on a rock wall behind the waterfall to finish it out.

It’s happening ! They’re starting to paint the outside of the house !

**updated with new progress pictures

Work is underway on our koi pond !

The old arch bridge was taken down as well as the old waterfall feature.

The new boulder bridge was put into place. And the mound and boulders were put in for the new waterfall. Still waiting for the water to be connected.

Don’t worry, the koi are doing fantastic with the updates.

Scott is also thrilled with the new changes !

IYKYK …

This pretty girl finally made her way out of storage and out onto her mantle.

I can rest easy now.

Welcome home, Bess. Welcome home !