Arlo's Worldview

"Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday to Arlo!" ( I'm singing) "Happy Birthday to me!"

Anne and Nancy came over to celebrate my birthday. They brought banana peels and strawberry tops, yummy! It was so much fun, we went outside the corrals and played. I visited with Kendal and Stewart (even shared some of my birthday food). It was a beautiful sunny afternoon - spring is here (now I'm dancing- no it's not a snow dance).

Note from Mom Lori - I was supposed to post this last night, but it was to late.

Brigitt

Yesterday we mourned the loss of a life. Tonight we celebrate the birth of two new ones. Brigitt just gave birth to twin bucks, I was there for the whole thing. She did fine even though they are her first kids.

A Life Too Short

Today Nelsen passed on. About 3 weeks ago he was having trouble breathing, we tried steroids which helped some, but then last week his breathing got worse again. He had a heart attack today as they tried to drain the fluid from around his lungs. The diagnose - lumphoma. He was probably born with it and his body has been able to fight it off for these 4 short years.

Nelsen was wonderful peaceful cat who came into my life on a whim, when a friend found him as an alley cat. Originally the plan was for him to live in the barn - but Bernadette had other ideas. She beat up on him, thus the move to the house. Horace and Sage accepted him - no big deal. My Dad called him "The Admiral" after Admiral Nelson from the battle of Trafalgar - do you know your British history??

There was a kittenish side to Nelsen occasionally, he was still young after all. He loved to grab my feet when I walked around in wool socks. And the morning ritual of rubbing my legs while I put the fresh goat's milk away after chores. He often followed Wendy and I outside in the mornings at chore time, although he usually didn't come to the barn. He just waited for us on the back porch to finish and then came back inside when we did.

He was only about 4 years old - I had expected him to out live Sage who has lived for 2 years with a tumor that we continue to remove. Sage shows no signs of being ill.

As with all our furry friends, we must out live them - I had just not expected this so soon.

We will miss you Nelsen - someday I will see you again.

Brigitt

Brigitt is due to have kids on March 31. This is her first time, so I'm paying extra close attention - as of last night no signs that birth is beginning yet. I need to dig a drainage ditch from the front of her house, so the muck and water that is accumulating there will flow away. Don't need a baby to fall into that mess!

Hmmm ............can't seem to get Brigitt's picture to load.

Spring Snow Storms

Remember last year when we had the heavy April snow storm and the chicken pen collapsed - refer to the posting 5/3/09 - well I'm happy to report that the two - 2 foot heavy wet snow we've had this past week have NOT damaged the newly built pens/coops. Even the flight netting is doing better than chicken wire overhead.

Thanks Trish and Nancy for helping build a great chicken home last summer!

Coop under construction.

Flight netting is great to pull over the top of the pens.


Now for this spring projects we need to fix the gate between the large hens and the bantams so that the netting doesn't get caught ever time you open it.

Also Anderson has been making holes in the netting where it drapes into the goat pen. It seems to be great fun to rub your horns around in the netting and then tear... hope the foxes don't find these openings!

Herbie

I want by portrait in the blog too!

Fiona

Yikes! How do you know my name???

The Frizz - in full feathers!

Arlo's Worldview

I'm going to be 2 years old on March 30. Mom Lori says I should be full grown soon. Here's a recent picture of me. My coats a little rough - guess I need deworming....

Darby's Worldview

Hiiiiiiiiii!!

Arlo said he has posted on the blog - so I want to too!!! But mostly I just want to hang out with the people. I had my 1st birthday on Mar 3, didn't do much, but the weather was nice.

Goat farmer?

Someone asked me yesterday "Why do you call yourself a goat farmer not a goat rancher?" Interesting question. Well people that have dairies usually are farmers whereas people with all meat animals ie. beef cattle, are ranchers. So if you have mostly dairy goats you are a farmer, if you have mostly meat goats you are a rancher.
(I grew up with grandparents that were dairy farmers and cattle ranchers)

Amish Worldview

Another Amish reflection on time from the book "Amish Peace" by Suzanne Woods Fisher - "One Amish man joked that if he were meant to plow at night, God would have put headlights on a horse. The Amish respect natural limitations: sunlight and seasons, hunger and fatigue." pg 86

I guess I follow these natural limitations somewhat. For example I hate to go somewhere at night. After I put the goats to bed I just want to stay in. I do need to work on the fatigue area - don't usually quit when I'm tired - that is unless it is 8:00 at night.

Goat Time

I think the time change is the dumbest concept. "Daylight Savings" doesn't save daylight it only moves it to the evening. For those of us that have animals (even just dogs), you live at least partially on animal time. The goat's looked at me like I'd lost my mind this morning when I showed up an hour early. This evening won't be a big deal to them, as I'll be down there working about an hour and a half before dark - only for me I'll have to fix supper before chores rather than after. Around here chore time revolves around daylight hours and the goats know it. We follow the nature daylight of the changing seasons - now if we could just get the rest of the US to realize how much they are manipulated. Our bodies all feel the shift - there are more car accidents the first few mornings after a time change.

The Amish and other plain people like them have it figured out - they run on "slow time" - "the preservation of the natural markers of dawn, noon, and dusk" page 70 from the book "Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology by Eric Brende

Lars and the nail game

So Lars the Oberhasli buck has a new game. Every day he is removing the nail that is used to secure his door at night. Sometimes I can find the nail, other times it has vanished into the ever growing manure pile outside his door. This started last weekend when Anne was goat sitting for me. I wonder what his plan is for all these nails......

The Frizz

Well the weather is wamring up - should be in the 40s all week. The glacier under the corrals has has turned to glacial mush. And yesterday I took the Frizz rooster back outside. He has fully regained his feathers and I believe was getting tired of his small yard in the sunroom.
I carried him out in the cat carrier and set it down outside te chicken yard. He could hardly stand it and until I could open the door for him. In the chicken yard he burst out the door and started pecking around. I let the others out and they were more interested in the straw from the carrier.

So last night I had planned on bring him in, but he was all snuggled into a spot, so I just left him with the rest of the bantams.
I'll kind of miss the loud crowing coming from the basement every morning.