Febe's kids and the winter market.

Please meet Spring Peeper Steel Magnolia. Her nickname will be Maggie.

Today was cleanthegoatpen day. I'm bushed. I cleaned all of them. Not just one or two and they needed to be done in the worst way. I put the kids in the nursery and I sent the mom's outside. They needed the exercise.

Ok goat! That's far enough.

Cindi's kids are just nursing on one side, so I have to milk her. Our calf doesn't mind. He gets the spoils. Febe's kids are doing the same thing, they will occasionally nurse on both sides, but most of the time it's only on one side. So I have to milk one side of her also.

Cyril Lunney is on the left and Maggie on the right. I'm in the middle. These are Febe's kids.

Well J.'s hockey team is walking on cloud nine. The were third from last in the standings and this Sunday they're playing for the gold medal. How? I have no clue. The last game they won meant that they were guaranteed at least the silver. Their coach was freaking out after the game. We were all so proud of them. The game was 3-1. J. made 2 assists and one goal.

Hika Wagner's folk art.

Yesterday we had our first winter farmer's market. It was held at the Rendez Vous . I love this place. The best coffee and chai tea lattes.

Yummy jams and jellies

It went well. I brought my camera along and took photos. Silly me...I never took a photo of my own table. duh!

Two very satisfied customers.

There was about a dozen vendors. I bought lots of jams and jellies. I also bought a tiny little purse made from recycled sweaters. The chocolate lady was there. I would have taken a picture of the chocolates, but I ate them. Sorry. Needless to say they were goooooood!!

I bought my purse from this lady whom I cannot remember her name for the life of me.

Native art by my friend Klaus

We even had music to entertain us. It made for a real lively feel.

Unisson

Well that's about it for today.

Have a Blessed Evening

Lisa

The Continuing Saga....

I went to the barn this morning and all was well.

Then right before J. goes to the bus stop he wanted to go check on the babies again. So he runs to Cindi Lou and the Louettes and I stop at Febe's pen. There stood a kid! We were all excited. I didn't think she was done. So I stick around a bit longer (was late for work) and then pops another one out! A boy and a girl. The boy looks like Febe and the girl...well I think the milkman got to Febe. lol. She's unique in her markings. I'll post pics asap.

Then we went out for supper tonight and when we come back I go check on them.

Well the commotion in the barn. Holy Goat! Febe's babies are freaking out and Febe is trying to kill Stockings in the next pen! I'm not sure the babies got to eat all day. She udder was full. I had to milk her out. Then I tried to get the kids to latch but she wouldn't stay still for two seconds because she had an imaginary bone to pick with Stockings. So we moved Tundra to another pen and put Stockings in Tundra's pen. That wasn't working either because Tomi is on that side. The poor buck was fit to be tied. So that wasn't going to work. Stockings would have had a nervous breakdown by sunrise.

So we returned her back to her pen. Dave got a sheet of plywood and blocked the view between Febe and Stockings. So far it seems to be working.

Something had to be done because Febe was pawing the ground. Once she stepped on the boy's leg, then she stepped on the girl's head. She was going to be goat jerky if she kept it up.

Finally I got her calmed down and the girl got to nurse a little bit. Then I bottle fed the boy. I might end up bottle feeding them after all.

Cindi Lou is doing well for her second year, but the girls are only nursing from one side. The funny thing is, that it's the opposite side that Prince was nursing last year.

So this year, it seems like I'm going to be needing lots of prayer and patience with these goats.

I'm going to bed...I smell like goat. I wonder why?!

Have a Blessed Evening

Lisa

What a weekend.

Antonio not happy to being ignored

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times....these goats are going to be the death of me!!!

The first and biggest girl twin

But you gotta love them. Between us and our friends at Two by Two farm we are going to be pretty much vets by the time we are done being goat farmers.

It all started when Febe was due on Feb 12th. Cindi was due on Feb 14th. By this Sunday Feb 19th, Febe was waaaaaaaayyyyy overdue. So I called up the vet on Sunday. These were my options

-I got my dates wrong (which was highly unlikely since the buck didn't get out after that week and I saw him mount her)

-She had a dead baby in there.

-She wasn't pregnant.

The smaller girl twin in her new goat coat made by Texan.

The last one was not an option I wanted since breeding season for Alpines is done for this year. If the baby was dead from natural causes (umbilical cord wrapped around the neck) she could be left like she was for up to a month before the vet would have to come and induce her (as long as she didn't show signs of fever). If it was dead from infection then it needed to be done asap. She wasn't acting sick so if this was one of the reasons then we didn't have to panic too much yet.

Then there was the option that she wasn't pregnant. Really the only way to make sure was with an ultrasound. I wasn't going to get the vet to drive 2 hours on a Sunday to diagnose that. I'm not that crazy. But he said since I was so sure on my dates that if I went and checked her teats for milk that could decide if it was a false pregnancy or not. If liquid came out clear or like apple juice, she wasn't pregnant. If it was whitish she was. I went out, one teat was completely dry...the other clear. I was devastated.

This meant we had to induce labour for the false pregnancy ( faux fardeaux as it's called in Acadian French), then wait awhile and then induce a heat. So that meant babies in August.

So the vet said he'd be down sometime in the next couple of weeks.

I went to the barn to check on the gang and Cindi Lou had had her first baby! That quick. Not like last year when it took forever. So I went inside to get the supplies and when I got back there was the second one!

They didn't look overly big, but when we weighed them, one was 11lbs and the other 10lbs! Both girls!! We've never had twin girls before. Yay Cindi!

Tonight I went to check on them, when Dave says, "Uh...Febe's udder is mighty big!" I'm like huh? So we get her on the milking stand and don't ya think!...there's milk in them thar udders!!

So either this is the immaculate conception of goats or the buck got her at the very last minute (and I'm talking seconds here) I separated them.

Goats...I'll never understand them.

Have a Blessed Day
Lisa

Update

Cindi Lou gave birth to twin girls tonight. Pictures to follow soon.

Live and Learn

These goats are going to be the death of me!

Holy smokes! Febe was due on the 12th of February. Cindi Lou on the 14th. Well neither one has kidded yet. Last year Cindi was 7 days late, but Febe has never been more than 5. I'm starting to wonder if they're just not FAT!

Mind you, they have been acting weird for the last 7 days! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Getting off the subject of goats for once...our little Gretzy made his 20th goal today at hockey!! We were so excited. They also won their first game of the playoffs! 2-1. He made the first goal.

Gretzy and Simone.

I cannot wait for spring!!! I got my Vesey order last week. That is an evil place. My order came to 56$ and I cut it down some. It was originally 78$. Yikes! Seeds are so expensive. But I really can't wait for spring. Did I mention that? Tonight I couldn't handle it anymore. I replanted all my houseplants. The dirt in my hands and under my fingernails felt sooooo good. Sigh...

I've been making soap regularly these days. I've made a new one Blackberry Wine. It smells wonderfully sinful. I also figured out the painful and expensive way that YOU DON'T PUT SOAP MOLDS IN THE DISHWASHER!!!

Because this is what happens!!

Self Explanatory.

Oh well, live and learn.

I used our dehydrator again. This time fruit roll ups!! I had to make two batches. The first one didn't last long enough.

During the drying process.

The finished fruit rollups

Before I log off for tonight. I want you all to pray for some friends of mine. Her daughter lost her 3 month old baby to SIDS. It's a really hard time for them now and I cannot even imagine what they are going through. I've just praying all I can for God to wrap them up in His love.

Have a Blessed Day

Lisa

Tundra the Great!

Sometimes you wonder if your emergency plan would actually work. Yes, you hope that you never have to use it, but at the same time you'd like to test it.

Well we got to test out our farm EMO yesterday.

A friend of ours came to visit and he brought his dog.....not a smart move. When they say that Great Pyrns hate all dogs that they weren't raised with...well they're right.

I wasn't there but Dave said it was amazing to see. Tundra was growling at the fencing to get to the dog to "save" her goats. Stockings would go up to the fence to investigate and Tundra would put herself between her and the fence. Dave had never seen Tundra growl.

Dave warned our friend to put his dog in his vehicle. So I guess our guardian really works. So maybe that's what's happened to our chickens. She was protecting her "girls".

Speaking of the girls. Febe is due Sunday and Cindi Lou Tuesday. Dave finished the new stall to move the dog into and we're going to use the dog's old pen for the kids. I'm going to attempt the CAE prevention program. That's if I can catch Febe in the act of giving birth. Like I've said before she's sneaky when it comes to giving birth. She's quiet and fast. Which is good if you're not trying to get to them before they start nursing. But.....

Have a Blessed Evening

Lisa

Giveaway!

I've just become a follower of a new blog (well to me anyway) this lady is giving away a fantabulous necklace. Go see quick!!!!

Giveaway

Jerky.

Dave made beef jerky. It was pretty good. It also didn't last very long.

Before...

After....

But this has gotten Dave on the thinking band wagon.. Not always a good thing. Since we are getting a new buck this year, if we can't sell Tomi he wants to make him into goat jerky!!

..... I DON'T THINK SO!.....

He is not going to be made into goat jerky! Well for one thing he'd be full of buck taint. ANNNDDD.... he's our friend! You don't make friends into goat jerky. He's even thinking of making Febe into goat jerky when the time comes. No. It's wrong.

Well we kinda got a bit of snow last Monday. At 1pm there was nothing. When they called me at 10am from the school to say they were coming home early, I asked the teacher, "Why? It's beautiful out." The sun was shining, not a breeze to be felt anywhere. She said they were expecting a storm. I'm like...where?

But sure enough within 30 minutes the clouds started to show up and little snow flakes began. Nothing serious but it began.... We left around noon to go grocery shopping and the roads were clear. When we left the store the snow was going over the bumper of the car. It was so fast. It was beautiful, but scary. Within a few hours there was a couple of feet of snow....and this is what my magnolia tree looked like...

Mind you...after it cleared up around 4pm I had two excited kids. The day before we had picked up our International student at the airport. He came from Columbia. Imagine the shock he had. But he and J. had fun in the snow.

Well I have to sign off and go make my Vesey seeds order. Yeah, yeah...I know. I said that I wouldn't be planting this year. Guess what.....I lied.

Have a Blessed Evening.

Lisa