Is this what they mean by biting off more than you can chew?
I'm learning to eat hay but most of it ends up on the ground.
Tip toe through the tulips (I know they aren't tulips).
Smells like spring.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Aren't I cute?
Blue eyes are the cutest.
Is this what they mean by biting off more than you can chew?
I'm learning to eat hay but most of it ends up on the ground.
Tip toe through the tulips (I know they aren't tulips).
Smells like spring.
Is this what they mean by biting off more than you can chew? I'm learning to eat hay but most of it ends up on the ground.Tip toe through the tulips (I know they aren't tulips).
Smells like spring.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Fun with goats
Orion took all his bottles today. I think he was backed up yesterday, I noticed poop impacted in his rectum. I scooped it out (sorry, TMI I know) and he pooped normal today and ate like crazy. At what point do you stop worrying all the time?
Logan has had fun playing with the goats.
Aurora likes to nibble Logan's ear. She does it whenever his ear is low enough.
Logan has had fun playing with the goats.
Aurora likes to nibble Logan's ear. She does it whenever his ear is low enough.
Visiting the chickens was fun. No one knew what to think of the other.
Jumping on the dogloos is a lot of fun! Orion loves to jump.
We take trips to the creek and play on the logs. Logan and Aurora play king of the mountain. Orion wishes he was big enough to play too.
More cute pictures tomorrow. I have some great ones of Orion! Aurora is now giving me 12 ounces (by weight) at each milking. It should be about 16 ounces per milking. Hopefully we will get there as we both get used to each other.
Jumping on the dogloos is a lot of fun! Orion loves to jump.
We take trips to the creek and play on the logs. Logan and Aurora play king of the mountain. Orion wishes he was big enough to play too.
More cute pictures tomorrow. I have some great ones of Orion! Aurora is now giving me 12 ounces (by weight) at each milking. It should be about 16 ounces per milking. Hopefully we will get there as we both get used to each other.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Really worried
I'm really worried. Orion didn't take his afternoon or evening bottles. He showed no interest at all. I need reassurance or advice. He is with Aurora all the time, I guess he could be nursing off of her, I haven't seen him do it though. She's never nursed a baby and he never nursed from his mom, so it seems unlikely to me. He isn't acting hungry, I don't think. Shouldn't he be crying and trying to nurse everything if he was hungry?
At the place I got him from he was drinking milk from multiple goats mixed, maybe he doesn't like the taste of Aurora's milk? Should I try again later tonight, maybe with cow milk? Should I separate him from Aurora for the night to see if he eats in the morning? I'm really not sure what to do. What should I be looking for to see if something is wrong? I'm really stressed!!!
At the place I got him from he was drinking milk from multiple goats mixed, maybe he doesn't like the taste of Aurora's milk? Should I try again later tonight, maybe with cow milk? Should I separate him from Aurora for the night to see if he eats in the morning? I'm really not sure what to do. What should I be looking for to see if something is wrong? I'm really stressed!!!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
They're here!
Orion ( sorry the picture is sideways, Blogger is doing it again. And I'm too tired to try to figure out how I fixed it last time it was doing this)
Aurora
Logan has been taking his responsibility as feeder of Orion very seriously. Orion adores Logan now and follows him everywhere.
I've been taking my responsibility as milker of Aurora very seriously. It isn't easy and I wish I had gotten 2 kids instead so that I could settle into being a goat owner before taking on milking. But, look at the cool milk stand Mark and I made!
We got the goats Thursday evening and got them home at dinner time. I should have told Mark I wasn't doing dinner, but I didn't. So, I was trying to get the goats settled in and make dinner at the same time. We thought we would keep the in the garage for a few days before moving them out to the run-in. However, they were both crying so loudly we had to move them that night. They weren't together at the last place, so they didn't know each other and were both very lonely. They are getting to be friends and are doing better when we aren't with them, but they still cry a lot. They are very people attached.
So, Thursday night by the time I got them settled, which was an ordeal since we weren't prepared to have them in the run-in and got dinner prepared, I was exhausted! And thinking I had made a big mistake (I think this whenever I get a new animal). Friday went better. I milked Aurora for the first time and it went pretty well. I also got a make shift stall made up in the run-in that I'm much happier with. Friday evening Logan had a martial arts thing that usually ends at 6:30, but ran until after 7 so we had to rush home to milk and feed Orion. It was after 9 when I finished all that and I was exhausted again.
Today we've been home all day. I've milked Aurora twice trying to get her milk production up a little. I think she's holding back on me since I'm new to her. I also ran poultry netting on a few of our fences because the chickens are getting into the garden. I planted 25 strawberries, 6 raspberries, 6 blackberries and a cherry tree. The blackberries were hard to plant because I had to dig holes in the yard which required using a pick ax to get through the clay. Needless to say, I'm tired! I still have to milk Aurora one more time and feed Orion before putting them to bed. Oh and make dinner. Luckily, Mark is out of town so dinner can be a simple affair.
Overall, we're enjoying the goats. Logan loves to run with them, they follow him wherever he runs. Orion is sweet and Aurora is warming up. She cries a lot. I don't feel a real bond with her yet but hope it will come. It is beyond muddy here since we had 3 days of rain followed by 6 inches of snow. So we are filthy whenever we spend time with the goats. We now both have farm pants.
I'm feeling like a real farmer now and it is exhausting!
Aurora
Logan has been taking his responsibility as feeder of Orion very seriously. Orion adores Logan now and follows him everywhere.
I've been taking my responsibility as milker of Aurora very seriously. It isn't easy and I wish I had gotten 2 kids instead so that I could settle into being a goat owner before taking on milking. But, look at the cool milk stand Mark and I made!
We got the goats Thursday evening and got them home at dinner time. I should have told Mark I wasn't doing dinner, but I didn't. So, I was trying to get the goats settled in and make dinner at the same time. We thought we would keep the in the garage for a few days before moving them out to the run-in. However, they were both crying so loudly we had to move them that night. They weren't together at the last place, so they didn't know each other and were both very lonely. They are getting to be friends and are doing better when we aren't with them, but they still cry a lot. They are very people attached.
So, Thursday night by the time I got them settled, which was an ordeal since we weren't prepared to have them in the run-in and got dinner prepared, I was exhausted! And thinking I had made a big mistake (I think this whenever I get a new animal). Friday went better. I milked Aurora for the first time and it went pretty well. I also got a make shift stall made up in the run-in that I'm much happier with. Friday evening Logan had a martial arts thing that usually ends at 6:30, but ran until after 7 so we had to rush home to milk and feed Orion. It was after 9 when I finished all that and I was exhausted again.
Today we've been home all day. I've milked Aurora twice trying to get her milk production up a little. I think she's holding back on me since I'm new to her. I also ran poultry netting on a few of our fences because the chickens are getting into the garden. I planted 25 strawberries, 6 raspberries, 6 blackberries and a cherry tree. The blackberries were hard to plant because I had to dig holes in the yard which required using a pick ax to get through the clay. Needless to say, I'm tired! I still have to milk Aurora one more time and feed Orion before putting them to bed. Oh and make dinner. Luckily, Mark is out of town so dinner can be a simple affair.
Overall, we're enjoying the goats. Logan loves to run with them, they follow him wherever he runs. Orion is sweet and Aurora is warming up. She cries a lot. I don't feel a real bond with her yet but hope it will come. It is beyond muddy here since we had 3 days of rain followed by 6 inches of snow. So we are filthy whenever we spend time with the goats. We now both have farm pants.
I'm feeling like a real farmer now and it is exhausting!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Chicken video
Mark posted a video of the chickens chasing Logan around on his blog. Here is the link: http://mconeal.tripod.com/blog/ It is cute.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
We're back and fire
We got power back about 30 minutes ago. I learned a lot about where we need alternatives during this. It was 45 degrees in the house last night! Hubby is opposed to using the fireplace for a few reasons, he is really sensitive to smoke, even when we go to visit people burning wood it bothers him. And he has known a few people whose houses burned down because of chimney fires.
He was convinced to light the fire last night if we didn't have power back, but yesterday afternoon, our neighbor's house caught on fire! From a chimney fire. The whole living room and master bedroom burned and the fire got into the attic and spread through the whole top of the house. He's going to need a new roof and is going to have to gut the inside of the house and rebuild. He just finished building the house 2 weeks ago and moved in 1 week ago. Now they are going to be out for a few months while they rebuild. Turns out another neighbor's house burned down 15 years ago from a chimney fire. So out of 6 houses on our road, 2 have burned due to chimney fires. I'll never convince him to use the fireplace now. A pellet stove may be an option, or we're talking kerosene heaters as a back up.
Our well is 600 feet deep, so a hand pump won't work. We may get a generator so that we have water when we lose power. We do have lots of water stored now.
It was really scary yesterday. Logan and I were out and were on our way home. We were behind a few fire trucks and didn't think much about it until they turned onto our road. Knowing there are only 6 houses on our road we were scared. My first thought was the older neighbor had a heart attack, but the trucks went past the 3 houses at the top of the road and headed back to the 3 at the end, one of which is ours. As we went over the hill, I saw smoke coming from the right side of the road. There are only 2 houses on the right, ours and the new one our neighbor just built. My heart stopped! We got a little further up the road and I could finally see our house and it was fine. Then I looked past our house and saw the neighbors house on fire and 6 fire trucks at it. With the power out they couldn't use his well, so they had tanker trucks to put it out. It took about an hour, but they got it totally out. He's in shock as you can imagine.
The house is a wreck since I couldn't do dishes and I had to shower at the Y today. But we are fine and things should be back to normal soon. I believe we will be getting the goats this evening. I need to call the woman, her road was totally undrivable yesterday and I didn't want to get them if we didn't have power. Maybe tonight! I'll post pictures of the snow soon.
He was convinced to light the fire last night if we didn't have power back, but yesterday afternoon, our neighbor's house caught on fire! From a chimney fire. The whole living room and master bedroom burned and the fire got into the attic and spread through the whole top of the house. He's going to need a new roof and is going to have to gut the inside of the house and rebuild. He just finished building the house 2 weeks ago and moved in 1 week ago. Now they are going to be out for a few months while they rebuild. Turns out another neighbor's house burned down 15 years ago from a chimney fire. So out of 6 houses on our road, 2 have burned due to chimney fires. I'll never convince him to use the fireplace now. A pellet stove may be an option, or we're talking kerosene heaters as a back up.
Our well is 600 feet deep, so a hand pump won't work. We may get a generator so that we have water when we lose power. We do have lots of water stored now.
It was really scary yesterday. Logan and I were out and were on our way home. We were behind a few fire trucks and didn't think much about it until they turned onto our road. Knowing there are only 6 houses on our road we were scared. My first thought was the older neighbor had a heart attack, but the trucks went past the 3 houses at the top of the road and headed back to the 3 at the end, one of which is ours. As we went over the hill, I saw smoke coming from the right side of the road. There are only 2 houses on the right, ours and the new one our neighbor just built. My heart stopped! We got a little further up the road and I could finally see our house and it was fine. Then I looked past our house and saw the neighbors house on fire and 6 fire trucks at it. With the power out they couldn't use his well, so they had tanker trucks to put it out. It took about an hour, but they got it totally out. He's in shock as you can imagine.
The house is a wreck since I couldn't do dishes and I had to shower at the Y today. But we are fine and things should be back to normal soon. I believe we will be getting the goats this evening. I need to call the woman, her road was totally undrivable yesterday and I didn't want to get them if we didn't have power. Maybe tonight! I'll post pictures of the snow soon.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Update
We ended up with 6 inches of snow! We've been without power since Sunday afternoon. We were finally able to get out today so we are at the library. We were supposed to get our goats today, but that ain't happenin'! They think it may not be until tomorrow that we get power back. We finally got phone back about an hour ago. It is damn cold in our house! So Logan and I are going to be out and about today trying to find warm places to be.
I realized some holes in our preps being without power for a few days. Some small that I will take care of this week. Some bigger. Water is going to be an issue. When we lose power we lose water. We have 275 gallons in our cistern but that water isn't good to drink without filtering. In a long term power outage, water will become an issue. Heat could be another problem. We do have a fireplace but no wood. The neighbors have lots of wood we can use short term, but again long term could become an issue. Cooking is another issue. We have a propane burner, but we would eventually run out of propane in a long outage. I think a wood stove would be our best solution but I don't see Mark going for it. So, I've got some thinking and planning to do.
I'll update when we get power back. I've got some great pictures and video.
I realized some holes in our preps being without power for a few days. Some small that I will take care of this week. Some bigger. Water is going to be an issue. When we lose power we lose water. We have 275 gallons in our cistern but that water isn't good to drink without filtering. In a long term power outage, water will become an issue. Heat could be another problem. We do have a fireplace but no wood. The neighbors have lots of wood we can use short term, but again long term could become an issue. Cooking is another issue. We have a propane burner, but we would eventually run out of propane in a long outage. I think a wood stove would be our best solution but I don't see Mark going for it. So, I've got some thinking and planning to do.
I'll update when we get power back. I've got some great pictures and video.
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