Goats, Doggies and Birthday Cake

Earlier I hinted that we were expecting a newcomer to our fold and true to my word, they have arrived. Zanzibar and Asha (sisters) are Diary Goats on loan and will be living at the school farm. Raquel is pioneering the Diary Goat program there and Diana, the owner of the goats so generously loaned them to Raquel ...only after meeting with her several times and teaching her about milking, feeding, vaccinating, trimming hooves and fur, drawing blood and generally everything else...

Oh yeah, did I mention they are both preggers...kids due in late Feb and late March. Did I mention that Raquel is over the moon? The same day they came just happened to be Josh's B-day party and honestly....Raquel didn't want to leave these two to go to the party....we did and we had a swell time but she was up early the next day and at the farm taking care of her new girls....and Smalls the steer..remember him?

Milking Zanzibar....easy peasy..

Settling in...Asha

and Zanzibar

This is Bo, Diana's Scottish Terrier (which she also raises and shows) and will be ready to breed in about 1 and a half years...I'm thinkin' it'll take me that long to work on Eric




...and then, we go to the party and Josh's Aunt and Uncle's Blood Hound had babies...and they brought them to the party...Can you say puppy heaven?

This gal "Harley" was babysitting. Seriously she stood over the pups all night.

We had lots of fun and Josh got everything he wanted

and Eric and I will be talking about puppies in the near future....I want one!

Peck of Red

I visited a goat farm the other day...more of that later~

...and on this farm there was some chickens...

here some red

there some red

everywhere some red red

The North Ten

There is a space in my backyard that is about 12 feet by 10 feet that I was not happy with. It contained Ice plant in the center and rose bushes all around. This area sat right outside my dinning room and breakfast area so that, when you sat in either room and looked out the window, that's what you saw...it wasn't the prettiest view. So being the ambitious bunny that I am, I proceeded to rip everything out...EVERYTHING! It took me a long while as I had and have a few ailments besides being just plain old that kept me from working fast....ie: sore knee, bad back, gall bladder attack..you know, the usual. It must of taken me about a year to complete just the purging itself. What was left was a dirt lot...I even managed to get rid of most of the larger rocks and stones. I worked the soil, I added this and that and even added soil softener as our soil is kinda like clay. When I was finished, I envisioned a Crape Myrtle tree in the center...not just any Crape Myrtle, but what is called , a Petite Crape Myrtle, one that wouldn't grow so wide and tall, one that was a vibrant lavender and I also envisioned cosmos and giant Gerber daisies and anything else that would grow in zone 8.




Isn't it just lovely? Imagine sitting in my dinning room or eating breakfast or lounging in the patio for that matter sipping wine or even a cup of herbal tea and gazing upon such loveliness. This vibrant yet delicate tree surrounded by an assortment of bright and cherry floral and fauna. Hey! Let's throw in some humming birds and lady bugs and butterflies while were sittin' back takin' it all in.


....and then, when I was all done with the demolishion and I started to look again for this elusive tree, there were non to be found. Apparently there hasn't been a good crop in a while and my window of planting was March, April and May. So what do I do? Do I wait a whole year with a dirt square smack dab outside my windows? Eric told me to throw some wild flower seeds in there, which would make it very pretty...but I want my tree and I'd just have to rip everything out ....AGAIN!

I don't give up very easily, as I said before in another post...I'm like a dog with a bone...sometimes I just can't let it go, BUT, I did this time. Perhaps I'm tired or maybe I'm just mellowing out, but all Raquel had to do was ask if she could grow some veggie there and I gave in. She asked me what kind, I told her I don't know...go for it! And so...SHE DID!



Corn..lots and lots of corn...





I have nothing to do with this...I take no responsibility nor do I lend a hand. I told Raquel, "It's official, we are now white trash", "Nope, not yet" her response, "we'd be white trash if it was planted in the front yard"...lol hhhmmm...wonder what she meant by "not yet"?


So, anyways, we are all amazed at the rate of growth and even the fact that it is growing at all. So we sit and have breakfast and the first thing we do is lift the blinds and check on the crop making sure that no critters have partaken in any nocturnal hanky panky or that mysterious corn circle don't mysteriously appear....except for these two..


Cleo likes to nibble at the leafy stocks that hang over the sidewalk as she walks by...




and Ginger likes to lay in the middle of the corn and roll back and forth


I will keep you posted on the progress of the little plot and hopefully the city's AG. Dept. doesn't catch wind of this and cite us for illegal growing of a substance or something like that. The funny thing is, is that I can't eat corn... I'm just sayin'

New Fleece on Life

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are proud to introduce the newest addition to our family. He came to us on St. Paddy's Day, therefore, his name is Cormac the magnificent. He's a little skittish still and he eats like no tomorrow, but Rogue likes him....she better, they're neighbors! They're like sheeps passing in the night, hope he doesn't turn into little sheep of horrors and let's hope for lots of sheep thrills. Ok, I'll stop before I have to go on the lamb. Anyways....







So the other day I sang to him and I taught a couple of the FFA kids this song...


Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy, a kid'll eat ivy too, wouldn't you? (sing it fast)


Yeah, I know I'm strange but I'd like to think I'm expanding narrow minds...BTW, not only do my daughters know this song, but my 3 squirrely grandson sing it too! Thanks for mutton...

piggie heaven

The sow at Raquel's school farm had babies unexpectedly over night and Raquel was the first one in the morning to find them. They were struggling in the cold of the concrete pen and a couple of them we're barely hanging on. Little by little with the help of her fellow AG and FFA friends, they transported the whole family to the warmth of a snugly and appropriate pig condo.


Aren't they the cutest little piggies you've ever seen?




There are six all together...5 males and 1 female and they are 2 days old.
I wanna take them all home ~