Do you guys see this hole right here? It's situated directly beneath the greenhouse, the current winter residence for my ducks and geese. And well, I happen to possess this rather intriguing endoscope, which I can carefully insert into the depths of this mysterious opening to ascertain, with a degree of certainty, what manner of creature might be dwelling down there. So, in today's installment of farm life adventures, that's precisely what we intend to do. But first and foremost, we must "release the quacken!" My start to the farm chores is significantly delayed today, compounded by the fact that we're experiencing an unseasonably warm November day. I believe the high is predicted to reach a balmy 74 degrees Fahrenheit or thereabouts. Unfortunately, this endoscope of mine is one of those budget-friendly models, and alas, it lacks an SD card reader. Consequently, I'll have to resort to the somewhat rudimentary method of videotaping the live camera feed with my phone so that you, my curious audience, can witness whatever subterranean secrets we might uncover. What more could one realistically expect from the cheapest endoscope procurable from the vast online marketplace of China? Now, I must also confess that the creature I most dread discovering in this hidden cavity is a rat. While we haven't historically had issues with rats here on the farm, earlier this year we did have a brief encounter with a lone rat, whom I affectionately (and perhaps unwisely) named Templeton. Despite his seemingly superhuman rat-like abilities to evade capture, I eventually managed to apprehend him, and since that fateful day, I haven't observed any further signs of rodent activity. However, the age-old adage, "if you see one rat, you likely have a hundred," is a rather unsettling notion that lingers in the back of my mind. One rather useful feature of this endoscope camera is its integrated LED light, which will allow us to illuminate the dark recesses of this hole and hopefully shed some light on its inhabitants. Hold on, the dogs are barking. Toby dog, what's the matter? What's got your attention over there? I don't actually hear anything, but it certainly has Toby's unwavering focus. Alright, let's embark on this journey into the very heart of this hole. Well, would you look at that? It's not actually showing me anything discernible. It appears I've encountered a dead end rather quickly. Based on the depth I've managed to insert the scope – only about this far – I'm really not seeing much of anything. So, I suppose two conclusions can be drawn: firstly, I'm not entirely convinced of the overall utility of this particular camera, and secondly, I remain completely in the dark regarding the potential inhabitants of this subterranean space. However, there are a couple of other intriguing locations around the farm that I intend to test this out on today, so please accompany me as we continue with our farm chores. Well, I suppose on the bright side of things, we did manage to collect one, two duck eggs this morning. Scanning the area, I don't readily spot any others. I, unfortunately, cannot partake in the consumption of these duck eggs due to a rather inconvenient allergy that I discovered after the somewhat impulsive purchase of forty ducks with the primary intention of raising them for their eggs. A rather significant oversight, I would call that my very first, and hopefully last, major farm "oops." So, while I won't be enjoying them myself, these eggs will either become a nutritious addition to the dogs' diet, a tasty treat for my wife, or a thoughtful offering to our neighbors. So, they will indeed be utilized, just not by yours truly. How are my goatie otis doing this fine morning? How are you doing, boys? Huh? I have treats for you! You know how much you adore these right here. We'll start with the specialty. You can see right here, I've left this pumpkin out for the goats. Okay, okay, I know your primary excitement revolves around the alfalfa hay, but you also have a fondness for pumpkins. This past summer, I cultivated a whole patch of pumpkins in our greenhouse. Please get down, Barnacus, you're being rather impolite. These pumpkins were primarily intended for animal feed. What's particularly beneficial is that pumpkins act as a natural dewormer for goats, and indeed, for many other animals as well. So, over the past couple of days, I've been providing them with a pumpkin a day as part of their parasite management plan. When you have goats residing in a confined space such as this, they face a significantly elevated risk of parasitic infestations. Alright, guys, let's see if I can coax you inside here, and I'll use the human door. Yes, I've been diligently trying to train them to come inside. It seems Baracus and Telemachus have grasped the concept of entering here, but Linus is still in the learning phase. I suspect that his larger size compared to the other goats might make navigating the ramp a bit more challenging for him. I even attempted to install some cleats to provide better traction, but I don't know, he still seems to be struggling. Can you figure it out? Come on. He was up there for a second. Let's see if we can't gently encourage him. Hey, Linus, come here! Come on, Linus! Come on! Come on, Linus! Excuse me, Linus, you can't even figure out how to turn around now. Come on, you've got it! Hey, good job, Linus! Come join your brothers! I think that he's going to eventually get the hang of it. I'm still in the process of acclimating them to this space and to living in here, but I must say, I believe it will make a perfect cozy home for them this winter. So, I'm just trying to get him accustomed to coming up and in here, particularly for when we experience inclement weather, because this will be their sanctuary from the snow, the wind, the rain, and all the unpleasantness that winter can throw our way. These weather-sensitive creatures are not exactly built for harsh conditions. I just came out here to do a quick check on the chickens and noticed that one has managed to escape. But even more concerning, I've spotted baby B, my heifer, wandering loose in the permaculture orchard. And that right there is a prime example of how so many of my precious trees end up getting damaged. You can see that chestnut tree right near where baby B is; she has a penchant for rubbing against them and potentially knocking them over. So, we're going to have to persuade her to go back inside. First, let's catch you. Come on! Let me catch you! Come on, girl! Back with everybody else! Now that she's safely back where she belongs, I can hop in here and feed everyone. Excuse me, guys! Food, food! Now, I'm going to hook you guys up with some fresh water. Hold on, let me first rinse this out. Come on, chill out here. There you go. Yeah, given the warm temperatures, I'm still keeping the chickens out here. I'm in the process of fully integrating my flock so that all these birds form one cohesive unit, and for the most part, they've all settled in. You can actually see our new rooster; he still doesn't have a name. Maybe Brewster? I kind of like "Brewster the Rooster," I think that's amusing. But if you guys have any name suggestions for this Barred Rock rooster right here, who is actually a very friendly fellow – he's the one who came from my friend Danny over at Wicked Awesome Gardening – please let me know your ideas down in the comments. Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! It's showtime! And now, we must go catch baby B. This should be relatively straightforward because, out of pretty much all of my cattle, with the exception of Macho Man, baby B is perhaps the best trained. So, I should be able to coax her to come with me quite easily. By the way, would you guys just look at this magnificent chestnut tree? I planted it back in 2017, and I was actually anticipating getting chestnuts from it this year. I had three distinct burs, like little chestnut seeds, developing, and then suddenly, one day I came out here, and they were gone! I'm fairly certain some sort of bird pilfered them, which was incredibly frustrating. But I know I'm going to get more chestnuts from this tree next year, so fingers crossed! By the way, I'm planning a big tree-focused video probably next week, so stay tuned! Alright, let's see if I can call her over. Hey, baby B! Come here! Come here, baby B! Come here, sweetie! Yep, she's coming. You can see her; she's slowly but surely making her way over. Come here, baby B! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy girl, easy! I know you're excited. I actually prefer it when she approaches slowly rather than rushing at me like that, as that can be a bit…terrifying. I feel like you guys haven't had a good chance to check in with baby B lately, so this is your opportunity, even though you've been a naughty girl. So, she was born on our farm last year. She's a heifer, so I kept her separate this year to prevent breeding, but next year will actually be when she gets the chance to be bred with Macho Man, as she's not related to him. Now, before I get you moving, can I give you a brush? You love to get brushed, to get some of these cling-ons off you. You're a messy girl back here. And in case you're wondering, her actual full name is Beatrix Potter, named after the author. Her mom is Amanda Hugginkiss. Next year she'll get bred, which means in, I guess, the spring of 2026 is when she'll have her first calves. Oh, you're such a sweetheart! Yes, you are! Alright, let's walk her up. Come on, baby B! Convincing her where to go actually isn't that difficult. I actually have this stick more for my own safety, in case she tries to get a little too close. Back up! Easy! Not too fast! Nice and slow! Nice and slow! Nice and easy! Come with me! Good girl, baby B! You're now back exactly to where you're supposed to be. You are a good cow, or heifer, I should say. Now, the one thing I am wondering is, where is your best friend, Alice B. Toklas? I love you, Alice B. Toklas! Let's see if we can find her. Oh, baby Alice! Baby Alice! Oh, there she is! She's way in the back there, doing her own thing. So, while baby B might be my friendliest bovine, other than Macho Man, I think Alice is probably my least friendly. She's very standoffish and doesn't seem to like me very much. And I can also see that one of my other cows has escaped, and I'm going to have to go catch her in a couple of minutes. I can see Belinda Carlisle on the other side of that fence. I think she's happy to be reunited with her best friend. So, it seems like baby B, who hasn't really spent much time with Belinda (maybe a little bit last winter, but she doesn't really know her that well), but she and Alice are best friends. She's just curious about who else is here. Pretty soon, like, I don't know, two or three weeks from now, I'm going to be putting both of these girls back in with the rest of the herd, right around the time that I'm pulling my bull out. It's just how I manage my breeding cycles to keep them within the right window of time for next year. Why are you three weirdos so fascinated with my side-by-side? Come on, go back in with your Moms! Come on! So, here you have actually three of our four calves that were born this year. You can see our fourth calf in the back there; her name's Betty White. We have Betty Rubble, Bill, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We actually had two male calves, or bull calves, born this past spring as well, but unfortunately, they both died a few weeks after birth, which is one of those things that goes on my list of farming bummers that has happened this year. Now, right around this time last year, baby B, who you guys saw earlier, was basically about the same size as these guys are. These guys are starting to get a little bit more used to me; they're still not completely there, but we're getting closer and closer. Unfortunately, I think I forgot my brush back down the hill, so I won't be able to try to brush them again today. But I've been working with them slowly but surely; they are a lot more friendly than the Charolais cows. The Scottish Highlands are the ones with the horns, the Charolais are the big white ones, and Buffy is actually also a Charolais, she just has some of the buff genetics in her. Buffy, what are you doing? Come on, go back in with everybody else. Yeah, Kels, come on! Kels, fresh grass, fresh grass! Come on! Come on, Macho Man, lead the way! Hey, Kels, fresh grass, fresh grass! Come on! Hey, Kels, come on! Fresh grass, fresh grass! Come on! And actually, Belinda, who you see right here, one year ago she was about baby B's size. Two years ago, she was about the size of Betty and Belle, and now she's actually breeding size. You can actually see her sister, who's about the same age, right there; she's also of breeding age and breeding size. So, they've been spending a lot of time with Macho Man, my bull, and so hopefully the girls will produce some babies this coming spring. Allison's cousin is getting married this weekend, so we're going to have to leave the farm for a couple of days starting tomorrow. So, I'm actually giving the cattle an extra-large paddock for grazing right now. I'm going to show you in a second what that looks like. So, it's actually about four times the size. So, it's only like two and a half days' worth of grazing; basically, this is about as much as I would give them over the course of four days. And I just do this to make my farm sitter's life easier, so they don't have to move the cattle; all they have to do is make sure nobody got out, as well as make sure that everybody's got water. Honestly, when it comes to the farm sitting, if it wasn't going to be cold this weekend (and I think it's going to potentially drop down below freezing again), I could in theory just leave the cattle for three days in this type of setup. And I might be a little bit nervous, and I'd want to have somebody on standby to check on them, but I wouldn't necessarily have to have a regular farm sitter if I really didn't want it. That feels really stressful because I would just be constantly wondering, like, was there a problem with their water? Was there a problem with the fence or the charger or something like that? And so, I don't think I'll ever do that, but in theory, that would be something that works. Hi, Abby dog! What have you been up to? You got more burdock on you! I know, it's just burdock, it's just burdock. I took off the burdock. Wait a minute… was Abby the one that got skunked? So, last night, Allison and I actually went out to dinner with some friends, and when we drove back home and got home, we noticed, like, as soon as we got into the door yard, that it just stunk of skunk. And my first concern was actually Pablo barn cat, because Pablo has gotten mixed up with skunks in the past. But it wasn't him, and it wasn't Jenny. And I checked around, and I didn't see any evidence of, like, any real problems. It was just somehow a skunk sprayed like around the farm somewhere. Like, I'm just noticing Abby has, like, the tinge of skunk, like not strong, like she got hit, but yeah, even up here after petting her, I can smell just a little bit of skunk. So, she probably didn't get a really direct spray, but she was in the general vicinity, and she might have caused that grodus to spray her, which is, yeah, why she might be just a little smelly. But the truth of the matter is, if you have an animal that gets sprayed by a skunk, you will most definitely know it. Okay, this is one of the things I was looking for. So, do you guys see this hole right here? It was pretty much a hole like this that I broke my toe on back in September. Yeah, I'm actually curious. There's actually a second one over here too. You can see it, like, it goes down here. And in fact, if I was going to give you a full-on origin story, back when I was resting up from my injury, one of the ideas I had was to get one of those endoscopic cameras and try to use it to see what's inside these holes, which is precisely what we're going to do right now. So, come with me, my friends, as we journey into the center of the earth! Oh, wow! I'm able to get really deep in there, but I'm not seeing anything. Of course, part of that might be because the camera is covered with mud. Well, you can see I'm going in deeper and deeper. Well, it doesn't look like I'm finding the woodchuck that broke my toe. This is kind of interesting to look at. I think the biggest problem I'm having with this camera is the fact that the lens keeps getting covered up with dirt, and so it actually makes it hard. Abby looks about how I feel about this entire experiment. Abby dog, what are you doing? You just tapped out? Yeah, you're like, "Look at me, I'm so smelly, come give me love!" Oh, poor smelly Abby dog! Yeah, yeah, no, you definitely at least got a little bit of tinge of skunk, not really bad, like not enough that I got to give you the tomato bath, but Allison would definitely not let you live in the house right now. Well, I guess this was a total bust. So, today is actually the day that I go back in, and I get to check my trail cameras and see what's been