Gettin' A Snow Storm

Today is a BUSY day. We have a significant snow storm coming in tonight and running through Sunday night. We've had snow on the ground for a few weeks and have been getting a bit but nothing like what is coming tonight. What's coming is the snow that one has to prepare for. It's also going to be the snow that stays and continuously builds up til we hopefully get a January thaw right at the point I'm really into cabin fever!

Yesterday I made a trip into town to stock up on feed and get a few grocery items that were on sale. So I need to finish unloading the van and have it back up to the house so it doesn't get snowed in and stuck out back.

Today I drag the hoses out and top off the stock tank, give water buckets and tubs a good washout, make sure there is adequate bedding, shelter and wind block for the poultry and 3 goats in the buck pen, outside. There's a bit to do inside but that's mostly done and protected by the barn itself. I had 2 round bales delivered Tuesday so the convicts in the buck pen and my cherished mare have adequate hay to keep their systems running well and providing body heat. (The chickens and turkeys are REALLY into hay. I've always given them chaff to pick in, but this bunch likes to pick long green stems out of the hay I give the goats, which is fine with me.)

I've looked and looked and looked for my purple plastic "tobogan" sled that I use to move stuff around, and no luck. How it has disappeared I don't know and the searching has been a time waster! So, yesterday I grabbed a new one at the dollar store. This one is a pretty blue and will slide along better. The purple was starting to break up so it was about to need replacing anyway. The wagon has gotten hard to drag in the snow we have so it's time to switch "wheels". I also got my 2 wheel hand cart up to the house to use for fetching wood.

I also want to pick up a couple more buckets of twigs, bits of useless wood, etc that I collect and use for fire starting. Buckley was really into bashing the pallets that are the compost bin so there's still more I can collect.

I've also drug my boots out and now have to give up my garden muck shoes that I prefer wearing because they are so easy to slip on and off. They also have great traction which I dearly need with my balance problems.

I'm almost ready for this and today is my last chance to get it done before it's much more difficult to accomplish. Everything has been freezing down so it's a daily billboard type of sign for the impending difficult period. Plus it's COLD out so it's hard to stay out too long without coming in to warm up some and catch my breath.

One thing about this outside work on a farm, one keeps finding other jobs that could be done so the work NEVER ends! I'm at that point. I'll also throw a roast or something in the oven so I don't have to "fuss" with getting dinner ready.

Yes, it's a busy day, but one with a huge purpose that will affect everything for the next 3-4 months! Off I go! So much to do and so little time!

(By the way, go ahead and copy this graphic if you wish. It was a snag from a graphic sharing group.)

This That and the Other Stuff

Bummer. We've already had snow a couple days, but then we've had a bit over a week of really nice weather again. It has been nice and I've really enjoyed it and tried to make good use of it. Now it's raining which wasn't to start until "sometime after 9, after dark". It started about 4 while I was outside getting more pre-winter stuff done and chores.

The goats are pretty well set for winter. I have moved Nipper and Bandit (bucks) into the barn. I have 2 large pens in the barn for the goats which use to be my huge, double foaling stalls. I still have the turkeys and chickens in the one but put Bandit in one with Macey and Mo'Nique for company. Nipper is in the other with the ND does, his 2 doelings and the 4 Alpine does. The 2 doelings need me to take them to their new home real soon.

The rubber buckets and tubs for winter watering are almost all in place. I hate having my good buckets bust from the water freezing and expanding. I'm almost done covering the top of the buck pen so the owls and hawks can't get my chickens and so the chickens and the turkeys won't be able to fly out either. Now I need to move more chickens out there as soon as we have another couple days that will be non-raining so they can get around and adjust a few days. I'll move the turkeys out there at the same time. I need another roll of chicken wire to finish the top of the pen and hope to get that this coming week. I think I can get the larger chickens all moved out before the top is finished though.

I have almost all of the destructive mess cleaned up from Buckley, who's major source of enjoyment was trashing anything he could while rubbing his itchy horns and head on it. Some of that was frustration because he wanted out with the does and couldn't get to them. I do hope he'll be happier in his new home as he was to have some does of his own. He's really a nice boy but was frustrated with does in heat and knowing the other 6 boys were all "with" the does in his thinking. All that is left is some broken up pieces of wood to bag and keep dry for starting the wood stove over the winter.

I still need to get the chain link fence that was given to me moved so it's not mangled in snow plowing over the winter. I have finally decided where I'm going to use it. I have a spot behind the barn that is only needing 2 sides fenced to move the turkeys too for next summer and I'm going to use it to do that. Then I'll only need a cover over it to keep predators out. It's also in line with the electric fence so I can have a couple hot wires for coons, possums, coyotes or such to get the message.

I'd like to get half dozen pallets moved out by the barn so if I need any over the winter I'll have some close instead of trying to get them moved so far from where they currently are. Every winter it seems I come up with a couple uses for a few. Then if I don't use them they'll be there for a new compost bin come Spring.

I still need to move the glider and a couple things outside the back door around the corner and cover them with a tarp for winter.

I need to get the electric cord run out to the stock tank for the horse and her heater in the tank. I need to put a couple stakes in to make sure the plow knows where the cord lays so it's not plowed up. I heard that Lowes has some solar driveway lights that work great in a chicken coop and such and are only $18. I'd like to get a couple for out by the barn and buck pen. I'd like one of their led hats too. That would sure be handy! It also has me wondering if there is any type of a solar pack that has an electric outlet attached that could have my stock tank heater plugged in and not use electricity. It would sure be handy to have the tank where I'd rather have it (not under a walnut tree)! I need to fill the tank again soon too.

An the last of the bigger projects left is to move the gate out the front door to it's new spot, move the older fence out, and pull the 2 fence posts. Then if hubby is laid up again this winter (needs more surgery at some point) I can get him in and out of the house a lot easier as I'll be able to park within a few feet of the front door to load and unload him.

We also have some wood that is split and piled out back that needs to come up from the woods yet. That can be worked on soon as the bow hunter who hunts on our property will be done hunting until musket season and he's the one who so kindly has helped up with wood cutting and splitting the last couple of years.

I think I'm about ready. It's a good thing too because I'm sure worn out! Are you about ready for Winter? Do you get a lot of snow? Ice?

Fall Farm News & Update

About that news I wanted to share the other day....

I finally have slowed down enough to have time to share it! I've soooo many outside chores, things to do ASAP, and Winter preparation, that I've been very much over whelmed. Add to that the house (inside) is a DISASTER; and hubby now has a couple more sores on the foot that is going through the bone disintergration and amputations, I had to do something and it had to make a difference. So, it was time and I did know and acknowledge it.

First, my problem was the size of the goat herd was paramount. I was milking 6 does a day and was feeding most of that to the kids (old enough to be weaned) and poultry. I was only saving enough for my morning milk and anything else planned that needed some of that lovely milk.

My 2nd problem, and a huge one for me, was who goes! I had a few I knew were going but I was ready to cull the herd much deeper and into my favorites and upcoming doelings I REALLY would like to have kept another year to see how they develop. One of the reasons is a doe normally has aprox. 6 kiddings in her life time. (I sure hope I have the above average who can go 10 or more!) That's not a lot.

So to breed with good goals and ethics, I feel responsible to know what my doe is going to produce and how that udder will develop! There's a lot to be determined in breeding well. I don't want to just breed, I want to breed well and do the very best I can for the goats involved and especially the offspring! I want them to be the type of goats that one insists on keeping when they down-size their herd! I want them to be favorites and have enjoyable personalities too.

That being, I don't have a lot of kiddings to use and to learn what they will produce so I need to keep a few kids for a while to know. I did learn a lot about what Kendra and Claire now produce by having Raquel, Danika, and Cinnamon on my milkstand. The similarities were interesting and distinguishable. They were sired by Arthur, a Nubian, with an outstanding personality. I didn't know what he did for his offspring in the udder department and wasn't pleased with what I got. The 3 DID get the production and also good personalities from their dams. There were similarities to their dam's in udder conformation but enough of a backwards step to know that Arthur wasn't a buck to be considered an "udder buck"! I also learned my 2 does will produce producers but need help in the udder attachments! The capacity came along, but I want better attachment for an udder that is producing 3+ quarts of milk a day the first kidding! That udder needs to stay suspended on their 6th lactation (6 being the average # of kiddings for a doe)! If not, the teats will be dragging on the ground and stepped on! NOT good at all. I did also learn that my does will put good teats and orifices on a kid and all 3 FF's (first fresheners) had GREAT teats that were easy to hold and milked out quickly and easily due to good orifices. I sure learned alot!

The only problem with not keeping any of this year's doelings (and they were NICE) from Nipper (ND buck/first kid crop) is I won't know what he adds to the kids in udder development, production, etc. His kids were NICE. I REALLY wanted to keep at least one, with that being Jolene! But, I HAD to make some decisions and I had to lighten my work load significantly. So I decided I had to "grin and bear it"!

My decisions ended up being I put 15 of them up for sale on Craigslist. Some were my dairy kids and the 3 FF does, and some from my Boers. I cut into the herd DEEPLY! I also decided to part with Daisy. She had a difficult kidding last year as far as engorging, dropping tooo much weight (she had trips so not surprising), foundered (I blame myself), didn't regain good weight upon weaning, and I just plain don't know enough about dealing with foundered goat feet. Hubby had been doing her trimmings and I missed noticing the laminitis flare-up quickly enough. Daisy has always been a lazy gal and she has always taken over her feed tub and laid down to enjoy her dinner! It's hard to see feet in a herd and then when they settle down if one is going to lay down to eat. (Macy & Monique do the same and are her 3/4 sisters.) She developed those "elf feet" and I kept trimming on her weekly but was get down to very near to bloody without getting them short enough. I was told by a few seasoned goat folks not to make them bleed, just trim and "let them be". I'm not happy with the outcome at all. My decision was to find someone who knew more than I, and I would give her away (which I did). (She didn't go on the Craigslist ad as I wanted to do the best I could for her.)

I ended up with a great opportunity for Daisy (who is a sweet gal)! The guy who bought the 15 I had for sale seemed to know more about feet than I do (he's a cattleman) and thought he might be able to turn her around over time. He also has a young guy near him who was wanting to learn to trim goats, etc. as income. So this seemed to be an ideal situation for Daisy. She'll be a pet and have a couple people working on her feet who should be able to do much better for her than I can. I've learned a whole lot about triming feet but I've learned to trim healthy and "good" feet. Daisy never has had "good feet" from the time we got her. I do find it much easier to trim horse feet as they don't have the 2 "claws". You balance THE foot and only have one to work on at a time which is 4 parts and not 8 plus balancing them together! The angles are also quite different for goats! So Daisy is in a better place for her well-being. The 16 went together so had "moral" support and their buddies to keep them less stressed.

I also enjoyed meeting the guy who bought them. He's just getting into goats, still has cattle and horses. He seems VERY nice and I feel they have a great home.

There was a down side in this though and I have been very upset over that! Danika had a teary eye the day he came to see them. I checked her eye and saw nothing but it was tearing. I started her on othalmic antibiotics and thought she probably had gotten a bit of a poke from a weed. Goats love the browsing in weeds and brush and she had come in with several cockle burs/burdocks that afternoon. I kept her on the eye drops to make sure she was doing ok. Her eye did get a blue hazy look but the eye drops seemed to be clearing it up well. I did show it to the guy and had pointed it out when he came to see them. Unfortunately, Danika has lost her eye. I was very upset to learn that upon buying them that the guy had a vet bill. She will be fine, but I was upset that it looked to be improving and there was a piece of burr that had entered her eye and gotten in deeper than my eyes could see. She's now doing great but I'm still embarrassed and upset with the situation evolving during a sale from me.

That being, I'm now down to less than half my herd!

I have a new home for Lady Bug's 2 doelings. These are also Nipper kids. Lady Bug, June Bug and Nipper are staying. They were a gift I GREATLY cherish and all 3 are such nice goaties to have and be around. They are sweet natured and just plain well-put-together. Lady was VERY easy to milk when she kidded and continues to have a very well conformed and attached udder. Her doelings are adorable as kids and NICE.

Kendra and Claire are staying of course! Spirit and Becca are staying. Those are my Alpine milkers.

Nipper and Bandit are staying. They are Nigerian Dwarf and Alpines.

Macey and Mo'Nique are still here. They are 75 or 88% Boer and the other 25/12% are Alpine. I really like these 2 does a lot. A goal hasn't been set for them but if all else fails, I can milk them. I have milked Macey. Hubby isn't sure he wants to part with all the Boers so these 2 will stay while he's debating. The only thing I don't care for about them is that Macey is a screamer and Mo'Nique a "bawler" when they see me step out the door. As soon as they get fed, they are quiet again. They are very personable and cooperative. Macey's twin boys are really nice. Mo'Nique never kidded. She'll get another chance as Bandit broke into the barn and their pen when they were in heat. Those chaos moments were just that - CHAOTIC! He sure got a lot of "on-the-practice" in his several escapades! I guess I named him right! That boy can jump from standing still onto a 5+' ledge to break into the barn without blinking!

That will leave me with only 10 for the Winter. I'm now only milking only 2, Kendra and Claire.

Spirit is drying up. Becca is the only 2010 doeling I have kept back. She's Spirit's daughter and from a buck at Udder Paradice. Becca's a BEAUTIFUL doeling and her twin, Bandit, is a very handsome buckling. I changed my direction slightly for mini Alpines. Spirit and Becca will be Nipper's does and Bandit will have Kendra and Claire. Becca has spent the night in the buck pen with Nipper. I'm afraid Bandit may have "done the deed" with his dam, but I'm hoping with low odds that she didn't settle. I won't hold my breath on this chaotic, bad-boy moment!

So, it's been a very difficult decision to make and difficult re-evaluation of my goals and breeding plans. I said good bye to a few goats who I'm going to miss greatly. That being, in the decision making, I did a head count and realized that if Bandit has bred all the does he broke into pens with, I will probably have 16 kids coming the middle of March! I highly suspect almost all the does will kid within a week of each other in cold, wet weather unless my "wishes" come through and he wasn't able to settle them all! I have NO doubt that he'll have brought a lot of really good genetics to my breeding program (thank heavens) so it may get chaotic again, but at least he's a high quality buck! (I would really like to take Nipper and Bandit to a goat show as I think they both have the potential to do well. I'll have to see how things are going in the spring and IF the shows will have buck classes for them with enough entries to make it worthwhile.

I'm still going to miss Latte, Coffee Bean, Jolene, Justin, Burglar, Mason, Clifford, Chelsea, CarrieAnne, Daisy, Buttons, PattyCake, Raquel, Danika, Cinnamon..... and just maybe that rascally Buckley a bit! I wish them well and hope that their new owner enjoys them half as much as I did. I hope they do well for him with his plans. He said he's keeping them all and they will be pets. He has someone who is milking the 3 does and wanted some goat milk. And, yes, I told him that Bandit managed to break into their pens also and have a romp with them as they came in heat.... He laughed.

Completely Random

It's turning out to be a busy day so I'm going to add a few random things for today's post.

*What luck this am that while I was all gloved up and sterile so I could get hub's IV running and then his foot treated and rebandaged NOTHING interfered! As I was pulling off the gloves in drives UPS with the new supplies of more IV's, etc. PHEW! It's such a waste to glove up and have to keep washing my hands and regloving and restarting what I was doing! Nurses must be saints to do this day in and day out! Hub's foot is looking better, but it's just really gross to see the bone. Bloodwork was drawn yesterday so hopefully they can tell us next Monday that the antibiotic levels are suitable for killing off the osteomylitis (bone infection which hub called osteoMileyCyrus) and blood infections are working! I know surgery will need done, but I hope it's a more "minor" one when it takes place!


*I had an escapee and one of my Corgi's found a way out of the dog pen to herd the UPS truck. She was herding it's "heels" and didn't get hit. PHEW! She wasn't chasing it, but rather running along waiting for it to stop. We use to have a UPS driver and a meter reader who use to bring dog treats. I have a doggy who is sure she might get a treat if she's right there when they stop. I called and fortunately she came. Some days she would rather attend her own agenda than mine. I told her she's going to have an underground condo with her lights out if she thinks she can get around moving vehicles!

*Then Jerry (BIL) brought out a trailer for me to use to pile wood in and to go out back to get his hunting items from the woods. He's been sick and decided to skip black powder hunting and just try to kick the germs. We finished up outside just in time for me to come in and finish off hub's IV so he could be unleashed. The electric company had a company come through and cut around the power lines. We had a HUGE HUGE tree that was interfering with the lines by the transformer and it was dying that they cut. The wood is sitting in the fence row out front where the snow drifts so it's often quite deep and near impossible to walk through. So I want to get as much as possible up near the house. The neighbor said he was coming to help cut it but can't do it til January. I'll appreciate the help but I also know I can't "waller" through snow that deep carrying wood where it drifts. IF we have a January thaw, that area is on the opposite side of where it floods and I don't want to have to slosh through that and be wet and cold. My ole bones can't take all that any more!

*The weather has turned damp, cold and it's snowing. :( I'm NOT ready! I still have several pre-winter projects to finish off on my list. It seems everytime I start I end up with things not on the list that also need done. Typical of farm work, there's an order for these projects so that work is done more efficiently and the loose ends are accounted for and complete. Farm/homestead life sure does have an ebb and flow and we build up a momentum in doing the work!

*Fuzzy has returned to "stalker cat" mode for the winter. Everytime I sit down she's THERE and expecting to occupy my lap and take a long nap. Poor kitty, she gets short naps! She really does stalk me! She was ready for me to crawl into bed last night. She beat me to the bed and then was trying to climb on me to settle in faster than I could settle down. Winter has arrived and she's in winter mode!



*The cardinals and chickadees beat me to winter feeding. I was trying to wash my milk jars and they were at the feeder spot looking for food! Being I enjoy seeing them out the kitchen window, I got one of the bird feeders I make up out for them. I did take some pics as I want to post my directions with pics for you all and then took it out to hang. It wasn't 10 minutes and I had birds in after the bits of moldy bread I tossed on the ground and the feeder! I don't usually start feeding this early in the year but I'm going to this year. I just decided I'll bring my window flowerbox stand over and I can sit it near the hanger and put some corn out on a board on it for them too as they don't all fit on the feeder and it gets quite crowded below. Then they can spread out a bit to eat. It makes winter dishwashing more enjoyable and I can do the February backyard bird count again.

*Frozen water bucket season is here. I'm now having to bust ice out of the goats' buckets and take some hot water out for them. The winter heater is in the stock tank for Summer, my horse, but the water there wasn't warm enough to keep open water in the 3 goat pens long enough. Kendra and Clair are still milking so they need their water and they like it tepid to warm, not with huge ice "cubes".

*I have soooo many things I want to get done and the time just flies! I need to "fly" too as I've taken a long enough break! I'll try to have something more interesting tomorrow. This is how homesteading goes at times.... always work to do and things I'd like to do.

Have a great day and thank you for being here!

Thursday Things

Today isn't a good day to be posting much if anything as I have so much to get done. I'm in the middle of canning applesauce, it's hubby's birthday and winter is coming so the outdoors work is heavy on my mind. I still have a couple big projects to finish and need to GET THEM DONE! ButI have this driving urge to write something.....

So here's a tip for cooking corn that I found on a recipe group (thanks to Russie).... I have some frozen corn so I'm going to pull some out for supper and give this a try! What we had last week was a tad dry so maybe it can help!

SWEET TENDER CORN EVERY TIME

Just add a pinch of sugar and a splash of milk to the corn's cooking water.

The lactose in milk helps tenderize the kernels,

while sugar enhances the corn's natural sugars.

Save the salt for the table, as it will toughen the kernels.

I'm also going to be making fried chicken. I don't do a lot of frying due to cholesterol levels for both of us but it's a special day and it's one of his all-time favorite meals. I also have a tahini butternut squash with a bad spot forming so will roast part of it (the rest can go in the fridge for the weekend) so I don't lose it. The hens will enjoy the spot I have to cut out so it's not going to waste. ;) Smashed potatoes would be good..... and gravy.....I guess the nuts need to be jarred so I can use the cast iron fry pan today!

We're having a sunny day and it's up to 52 degrees and I'm not going to get much done outside due to canning and a big dinner. I'll do chores and milk of course as that's a must. I'm still trying to get a couple decent pics of the new goaties to share. They sure are cute and SWEET SWEET girls who LOVE attention. That's life, isn't it!?!

Have a good day and thanks for stopping in to read my meanderings!