GEE Funny Farm Thanksgiving

Hi, I've been remiss in keeping up with the blog, but now with Thanksgiving just yesterday, I feel the need, as owner and operator of GEE Funny Farm, to list some of the things for which I'm thankful!

1.  I'm thankful to all of the people who trusted GEE Funny Farm to be part of their lives this year.  We had a great year and we owe it to all of you.  We had fun at your open houses, your assisted living residences, your preschools, and your birthday parties!!  Thanks to all of you!


2.  I'm thankful for my new assistants this year, Sarah and McKenzie.  We learned a lot as we worked together and I'm thankful they were there when I needed them -- and hope they will be again once spring rolls around!


3.  I'm thankful for new animal experiences this year:  5 emu chicks, 1 hedgehog (Prickly Paul), 1 short-tailed opossum (Levi), 1 Richardson ground squirrel (Ammon -- he is still a work in progress), 1 flying squirrel (Lydia), and one miniature pig (Neum)! 

We also had kids (baby goats), chicks, and ducklings on the farm again and that is always a treat. (Hmm, need to get pictures of the short tailed opossum and Richardson ground squirrel...check Facebook soon)

Two of our emu chicks. Taken by Sea J Photography.

Prickly Paul, our hedgehog. Taken by Sea J Photography.

Lydia, our Southern flying squirrel.
Taken by Sea J Photography.

Neum the Juliana mini pig practicing a 'sit.'
 Taken by Sea J Photography.

Two of our six kids --
taken by Sea J Photography

4.  I'm thankful for our new, awesome, wagon for hay rides, complete with steps!!  We were so blessed to have such a handyman in the area who refurbished it and that we found him!

5.  I'm thankful for USDA requiring a written emergency preparedness plan.  I wasn't so happy when I first heard about it, but I am grateful that I have equipment, food, water, and a plan in place for emergencies now -- it is still a work in progress, but I'm feeling good about it.

6.  I'm thankful for the Yahoo group, Animals4Kids2, which has professionals who have petting zoos, educational programs with animals, pony rides, and other animal related activities.  I've lurked a lot over the years and learned a lot from them.  I'm grateful for their experience and advice.  I avoided a lot of mistakes I might have made as our business has grown.


7.  I'm thankful for the photo opportunities GEE Funny Farm has had with photographer Christine Strzalko, owner of Sea J Photography in Sussex, WI.  She has captured a lot of wonderful pictures of my animals.  I'd recommend her if you want a great photographer for your visit to the GEE Funny Farm.  You can see a few of her pictures on this blog and on GEE Funny Farm Facebook page. Check out her Facebook page for more examples.



8.  I'm thankful for my wonderful husband who acts as my assistant when he is available.  He doesn't love animals, but he loves me and he works for free, so I'm grateful for him.  (He does love people, so he has a good time interacting with them).

My better half, David.  He is outstanding in his field -- whatever he does! 
Taken by Sea J Photography.

9.  I'm thankful for the Internet and companies like Gigsalad.com and Partypop.com where our website is easily found.  They have really helped our business to grow.  I'm grateful for Facebook where I can post everyday happenings, if I think you might be interested....

10.  I'm thankful for opportunities I have to meet with professionals, like

•  Kristi Smith and Carol Lowrey, Parelli Natural Horsemanship instructors and Lori Blush of Blush Acres -- she has a fabulous facility and my horse, Porthos, and I have learned a lot from going to clinics there.
• Luci Williams, a master spinner and owner of Sheeping Beauty Fibre Arts, in Hartford, WI.  I bought a spinning wheel from her and took lessons.  I learned a lot and she is always willing to help me when I get stuck.
• Dr. Richard Loof, a veterinarian from Sullivan Veterinary Services, my primary veterinarian who makes house calls, even when I'm out of town (my animal caregivers had an incident with one of my goats, after hours and still Dr. Loof showed up - he's awesome!!)
• Gary Pfeiffer, my farrier, who visits about every three months to trim up the hooves of my equines (3 horses and a mini donkey).  I've learned a lot about horses from him over the years.  
• Dr. Dawn Barksdale, my USDA inspector.  I'm not crazy about government rules, but I'm lucky to have Dr. Barksdale.  She is fair and reliable.  I almost look forward to her visits!

I know that there are many other wonderful things and people who are connected to the GEE Funny Farm.  I hope I didn't miss YOU!  We had our best year ever and we are grateful to all of you.

Thanks,
Kathy Gee

What is this GEE Funny Farm Anyway?

Seeing how I didn't get into enormous trouble for posting previously, I've decided to take up this whole blogging thing as my latest hobby. After all, my cage is protected against my favorite hobby: Houdini escapes. I realize that Houdini escapes are a much more unusual hobby, and blogging is being tried by everybody and their dog, but I would venture to guess that I might just be the first bird to try it. Thus, I still think this is a pretty unique hobby for someone of my class.

As the first order of business, I think I best clarify what the deal is with this GEE Funny Farm. You may have noticed the website link on the side, and you may already have checked it out, but you'll also have noticed then that at the top of the page it says "Coming in 2010 to Waukesha County and surrounding areas." Well, here's the problem. Here's why we haven't already started this business thing in 2009 in Waukesha County and surrounding areas: You humans make everything so ridiculously complicated!! Why can't a human be more like a bird?

First, there was this business of getting a USDA license. That is something required by some people that work for the United States Department of Agriculture-- hence, all those letters-- who wants to say "United States Department of Agriculture" all the time? There's just all these things that they want you to do to make sure your animals and your people are safe. Build high enough fences. A bit of electrical fencing here. A bit of extra space there. A couple shots every year from a veterinarian for all the animals on the property. So some cat (not literally a cat, but speaking colloquially to mean a person) came and checked things out and after some little moderations, this whole USDA license business was taken care of.

And now, there's this thing called insurance. Animal protections I get (after all, I think we ought to be protected), but money stuff I'm not so sure about. What I do know is that not everybody is all that keen on insuring animals, both domestic and exotic. So that means we just have to sit here and wait and wait.

We'd hoped to have this insurance business all done by the time Christmas came so that we could go participate in some live nativities. Okay, I admit it, I'm not invited to those events because, well, as far as anybody can surmise there wasn't any critter even remotely like an Umbrella Cockatoo or even a parrot of any kind in Jerusalem at the time of Christ's birth. (This seems like an oversight in planning on the part of angels or, um, whoever it is that plans things that take place here down on earth, but then nobody asked me.) But some of our crowd were hoping to be part of such events because they have reason to believe that some ancestors of theirs or at least very distant relations of their ancestors may, possibly have been there. Unfortunately, no go, even for them.

In any case, this should be taken care of shortly. It better be taken care of shortly. I'm on the edge of my seat to see you people. (Please, no comments on bird's roosting instead of sitting. Because after all, I'm a bird and I can call it whatever the heck I want.) So keep riding aboard this old blog of ours to keep your eyes on our progress. When we're all good and set, you will be the first to know it. After that, you can be so lucky as to set your blue or brown or grey or black or hazel eyes on yours truly . . . and all the other two- and four-legged creatures who belong to this menagerie of ours.