Baby Goats in the Snow

Computer crashes and other interruptions

I can hardly believe it's March already!  Where has the winter gone?  Don't get me wrong; I'm thrilled to pieces that spring is getting closer, but goodness, the time is slipping away quickly.

So, by way of excuses for neglecting my blog, my computer crashed in dramatic fashion in January.  I had been forced to keep it plugged in most of the time because the battery was going.  However, one day I thought, "You know, I should look into backing up my computer.  In case it crashes."  Yeah, just when I started to download the software to back it up, it shut down.  Completely.  As in, won't stay on for more than a minute or two before just giving up.

In the meantime, I've been using my husband's computer, but it's just not the same.  My plan is to get a new computer this month.  I'm not sure what I'm going to get, but I'm saving my pennies and hoping I can get something that works for me.

Also, I spent a lot of time getting ready for the Carolina Craftsmen Spring Classic craft show in Columbia, SC.  That was this past weekend and, although sales were a bit slow, I had a great time.  It has become a nice tradition for me to spend Friday with the wife of the Cousin-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.  She's a fellow homeschooling mom and I admire her courage in marrying my cousin.  She says we should have warned her, but I say, "No way!  We like you and didn't want to scare you off."

The second day, my daughter helped me in the booth.  She loves it and we had a fun day together.  Sunday, my sister-in-law went with me.  She can decorate a booth in her sleep and it looks fabulous!  Love to have her eye for detail!

On to farm news, Huey the Rooster is doing well.  I love to hear him crow.  He's gorgeous, a lilac Orpington.   We are also planning to add some new chicks this spring and possibly retire the older girls to the pasture with a chicken tractor.  That's not a plow pulled by chickens.  A chicken tractor is really a movable chicken coop.  That way, the chickens can have the protection of a coop while enjoying all the bugs they can eat on fresh grass every couple of days.

There are also two new baby goats in the pasture.  We were hoping for girls, but both are little boys.  They are just too cute!  I love watching them play and jump around in the grass.  We will probably buy a few girls this year, to help build up the herd. 

That's the quick-ish update.  How have you all been?

More Adventures Around the Homestead

We had a frost warning (or advisory or whatever they call it) for two nights this week. It's not unusual to have a cold night or so in April, but we've had such a warm winter that I had hoped we were done. Not quite!

So, what do you do with tomato plants that have been in the ground a mere few days? You cover them with anything you can find--half bushel baskets, buckets and sand castle building forms. I think we saved the plants, but time will tell.

Also, Timmy (the new baby goat) is doing well. He and his mother joined the rest of the goats on Thursday. He's discovered the salt block.

And he hasn't learned to escape the arms of a little girl who thinks he's the cutest thing EVER.
Anything new at your place?

New baby goat this morning!

The children came running back to the house this morning, after their usual chores, to tell me that there was a new baby goat in the shed. This one was a bit of a surprise since we weren't sure if the mama goat was pregnant.


We had not moved her into our kidding pen, so it was up to me and the two younger children to move baby and mama out of the big shed and into the separate kidding area. It was an adventure, trying to get mama to follow me. I finally picked up the baby and sort of tempted her with him. Once we got them settled, I took a few pictures. Isn't he a cutie?

At least, I think it's a "he".

Look what I found in the goat pen!

I came home last night around 6:45 from a run to the fabric store and look what was in the goat pen! Andy, my husband, had checked on Mama Goat around 4:30, but no babies. Lo and behold, when I came back by two hours later--kids! They are adorable and our children are in love. They are walking around, sort of, and getting plenty to eat from their very sweet mother.

I'm completely smitten.

They're Here!

As of Saturday, just after noon, we are goat owners. One of our cousins, who keeps a couple dozen goats himself, brought us a male and two females.

They are spending their time checking out their new surroundings, which include an open pasture as well as a wooded area.

The billy is the one with a brown and black head. The other two are girls and are creamy white.

I'm not sure the boy is happy with the new situation yet, based on his expression. What do you think?

My Morning Routine

My morning routine is getting a bit of a rhythm to it these days. I try to get out of the house as early as I can since it heats up quickly. Abby is my companion for chores, although she can be fickle. Today my son came out and she left me to get a rub down from him.
First on the list is feeding and watering the chickens. I head to the coop and say good morning to the girls. There are 19 others, but these two ladies posed nicely for me this morning. The first one is a Rhode Island Red (RIR). The one below that is a black sex-link, which is a RIR cross. They both are reliable layers of large brown eggs.Here's the waterer, waiting at the faucet to be filled. Later, I'll turn on the sprinkler to keep the chickens cool while it's so very hot outside. Chickens can't take the extreme heat. Last summer, we lost two on one day, so this year I'm determined to keep them cool. Next, I move on the the goat pasture. There's a shocking lack of goats there. For now, I just refill Abby's water and food bowls. But as soon as the goats' shelter is built, there will be more chores to do up here.Last, I water my container plants outside. The lantana is enjoying the hot weather, both in containers and in the butterfly garden. At least somebody likes the heat!


Do you have a morning routine?

Our Weekend

We had a busy weekend. My husband and a friend spent part of Friday and much of Saturday working on the fencing for the goats. So far, they have an area for Abby the Ginormous Dog and a bit for the goats.


We also had an Easter sunrise service, with our home church group, at the top of the hill near our house. My husband sang and did a brief message on the meaning of the day. After that, we all headed back to the house for breakfast.


The children colored eggs and had an egg hunt (not the same eggs, in case you were worried).


Nothing quite like a little girl hunting eggs in a homemade dress and rubber boots.



Finally, we went to visit family for a late afternoon meal. My brother-in-law makes the best ham (pun intended). When we got home, the chickens had been busy making eggs. And they colored them nicely too.

Another Busy Saturday

We kept busy, pretty much all day yesterday. The morning started with a trip to town for goat fencing supplies and a light fixture for the new mudroom. The girls stayed home and I got to join my boys for the trip. I think they just wanted a girl along while they were riding in the Tinkerbell truck (it's nicknamed that because our college-girl drives it to school and has Tinkerbell accessories.)

So, while the boys worked on getting the fence started (above), I dug up a few hostas to share with neighbors.

And the mudroom got closer to being finished.

How was your Saturday?

The Goat Adventure Begins...

We've been talking about getting goats for a while now. I'm not sure exactly how we got to the point in our lives where we have a serious discussion about having goats, but here we are.

So, we've bought fence posts. I mean, we can't just rush into this, right? Anyway, we're starting by putting in a fence. I'm not convinced that this fence will hold goats, but I'm no goat-confinement expert. I've heard that "if it won't hold water, it won't hold goats". Or was that "sheep"?

I'll update you when we actually get the posts in the ground. Now that I think about it, getting actual animals may have to wait.