Even more cute goat pictures

Goats love kisses


And shiny things

Everyone look over here for the Christmas card picture.
Perfect!

Spool fun

Our neighbor brought some spools home from work and said we could have them! You know how much goats love spools.

Their favorite thing to do is push each other off. Here is Aurora pushing IO off the middle spool.

They also like to pose and show how cute they are. Aren't we cute?

Aurora thinks she is cuter than Orion and is going to prove it. "I'm cuter!"
Aurora wins, she is cuter.

Logan, who thinks he is a goat, doesn't want to miss out on the pushing fun. He also thinks he is pretty cute.
Aurora still can't get IO to admit she is cuter.
Orion and Eris battle for big spool supremacy.
Eris wishes she could claim this victory, but Orion fell off all on his own.

Thanks neighbor!

Good news and bad news

First the good news. Look who is out with the rest of the flock! Yes, it's Calendula. They've accepted her with no problems. She loves being out and follows us around everywhere when we are out there. She also likes being petted and held. She is a sweet girl and quickly becoming a favorite.




Here is Calendula with her boyfriend Dusty Miller, our beautiful roo that we just adore. Now the bad news, even though this picture was taken yesterday, Dusty Miller is not longer with us. He got eaten this morning (not by us).

We are heartbroken! It seems silly to be this upset about the death of your free exotic chick, but he was a really special boy. He followed me everywhere when I was outside. He spent a lot of time out front. He loved to explore the neighbor's pasture and we knew it was just a matter of time before something got him. He refused to stay home! We will miss him and his wandering ways. No more "where you going Dusty Miller"

A year already?

Today is the 1 year anniversary of the day we moved to our farm! I can't believe it has already been a year, it seems like no time at all. Being that it is an anniversary it is time to look back and reflect.

We currently have:
4 miniature goats (3 nigerian dwarfs and 1 mini nubian)
2 sheep
16 chickens (what? really? how did I get so many chickens?)
5 guineas
2 inside cats


Animals sold or given away in the last year:
5 meat birds
1 duck named Thyme
1 sheep named Andromeda
1 rooster named Spike


Fatalities on the farm:
1 duck named Sage
Scissor Beak (my sweet deformed meat bird)
Kudzu (boy do we miss her)
5 meat chickens I butchered that are now in the freezer


Crops that did well:
Tomatoes
Zucchini
Sweet Potatoes
Spaghetti squash


Structures built:
2 stalls in the run-in
A goat climbing structure
A small chicken run for the Mille Fleurs
4 raised beds


For one year, I'm happy with the progress on the farm. I'm less happy with my progress in getting established in the community. If you are my friend on Facebook, you read my post about being lonely and not having many friends that I can get together with. I will need to make a bigger effort to become more established in the community in the next year.

Fall on the farm

Calendula update

A few people have asked how Calendula is doing, so I thought I'd post an update. She is doing great. Her feathers are growing back in and she is a normal chicken in her behavior. She is still living in the house, but has been spending her days outside in a puppy playpen I have.


Here she is before I put a roof over the pen.
She has a boyfriend! Our beautiful Dusty Miller has decided Calendula is his girl. He hangs out by her most of the day. They talk through the bars but haven't been out together yet. Yarrow won't let Dusty have any of the other girls.


We are moving Calendula out to the run-in today. She will be staying in her pen out there for at least 4 more days while the other chickens get to know her. She should be joining the flock this time next week.