30 Days of Giving Thanks - Day 7 - My Brother

Today I thanked my brother, Jim, as part of the 30 Days of Giving Thanks challenge by sending him a thank you note and some pictures in the mail. I've been meaning to thank him and Melissa for a birthday gift they gave me some time ago. (A thank you note should have been sent much more promptly.)

The other reason I wanted to send a note was to thank my brother again for the chicken coop and indoor fencing in the barn he built many years ago (around 1996).

Originally, the fencing was used to keep the sheep away from the lawn tractor, rakes, and other other tools. Now, it keeps the horses away from the rakes, pitch forks, shovels, and other tools I have hanging on the barn wall.

Some of the sheep I use to raise.

The chicken coop was home to over 40 endangered and rare breed chickens at one time. In 2003, with the adoption of Montague, I had to sell the chickens because his goal was to chase and try to capture the chickens (he's a golden retriever). It was not a good situation for the chickens.

Mother hen with her flock of chicks.

Now, the chicken coop has been changed to a place where I store grain and a few bales of hay for the horses. (The rest of the hay is in hayloft on the second floor of the barn.)

Having a separate room for these items helps keep the horses safe. They can't get into the feed or hay and overeat - a potentially dangerous situation, especially for a miniature horse.

Bailey and Hoss resting in the pasture.

My brother's help is reflected in other ways at the farm as well. He and my dad planted the Austrian pine tree that is in the front yard right by the driveway.

Olivia standing by the pine tree that

Jim and my dad planted over a decade ago.

They both dug up the small tree from another part of the farm, brought it up to the front yard in a wheelbarrow, and transplanted it so it could be seen and enjoyed each day. I think about my brother and dad each time I walk or drive by the tree.

My brother, dad, and nephew.

(Photo taken on October 9th.)

(This was also linked to Homestead Revival's Barn Hop.)