New babies first pictures, 2016

I don't think anyone wants to see those pictures of the babies just as they're being born, but you might like to see those sweet little faces, happy and content in their world.

Our first born, a precious baby girl

Second born, a constantly hungry baby boy

Number three, a baby boy, is now much stronger and more inquisitive than his siblings.

Fluffy, showing off her much thinner self, wanting to know why I'm taking pictures rather than giving her more sweet feed.

The hostages have been released, Fluffy babies! 2016

At five this morning, Ms Fluffy made a face at the camera then turned around to show that she was in labor.  Ah!  So we're not fooling this time!  A few hours later and she had three darling babies on the ground.  Two boys and a girl(!). 

The first born was the girl (on far left).  She, of course, will stay on the farm and is to be named 'Precious'.  The second born, a boy, is a little eating machine.  Every time Fluffy stands up, he's first to the dinner table.  When she lays down, he gets as close as he can to her, periodically nosing her side (is it time for snacks yet?).  She softly tells him to knock it off while she rests.  The other boy, had a rough time getting born and is very tired.  He's had some snacks but I suspect he's going to need supplemental feeding (oh, boy. a bottle baby.). 

Fluffy, our Proud Mommy!

Goats and the Apple Orchard; Spring 2016

Not long ago a friend of mine asked why I didn't just put the goats into the Apple orchard and use them for weed and grass control.  Think of it this way: offer your family a choice of salads.  One salad is made up of plain lettuce.  The other salad is fruit-flavored and delicious!  Now offer the choice of eating grass or eating apple trees to a bunch of happy, always hungry goats.  What do you think might happen?

After trimming and pruning some of the apple trees, we took a bucket of 'snacks' over to the girls to enjoy.  Fluffy immediately started hoovering up leaves as fast as she could munch.  The bucklings watched Jellybean closely as she sampled the branches.  She allowed them to pull leaves from the branch she was nibbling on.  In short order, the lightbulbs went on and boys were soon scampering after leaves of their own.

Warmer weather, warmer smiles to share; Spring 2016

There is very little idle time on the farm.  When living in the city, I had little appreciation for the hours spent at the park watching the kids play or quietly reading in the shade.  I have no complaints.  I get up with the sun.  I am greeted by the happy smiling faces of my dog and goats.  Even the chickens want to snuggle up in my lap if I sit down for a moment near the coop.

Jellybean's bucklings have been growing fast.  This morning they each weighed in at more than 40 lbs!  All they want is to wiggle, get pats & scratches, and play! play! play!  Then, after a quick snack from mom, take a nap in the sun, then play some more.

It's Grandma!  Look how fast I can run Grandma!  Here I come!

I'm Grandma's favorite!  Are not!  I'm her favorite! Quit pushin! Moma! He's pushing me! Quit!

Fluffy is due just after the Fourth of July.  I feel so sorry for her sometimes.  She's nearly 70" in circumference.  I'm sure she's carrying at least twins (which is not unusual for Boer goats) but it may be more.  I can only hope that she's as good a moma as Jellybean has been. 
Fluffy is tired of being pregnant.  She's so big she can't reach all the itchy places.  She was trying to use scratch her back foot with her horn the other morning.  She wiggled this way and that way and stretched and contorted, grunting with each yoga position she attempted, never quite reaching that pesky foot.  Finally she laid down, periodically stretching that back leg to wiggle the foot.  Poor baby. 

Don't mind me.  Just let me lay here and moan.  A cookie would make me feel better.  Just leave the bag.  Really I just want one...or two...or...

She might not be able to run as fast or as long as the other girls, but she still romps and plays tag.  Then lays down with the boys for naps.  I suspect she feels that July can't come quick enough.  Hoping for happy, health babies and easy births.

Fourth of July party, 2015

Had a melon party at My Happy Acres.

yummy! melon!

 

I like it when moma holds it for me.  Then I don't get sticky paws.

This is one of the best parts of summer: sharing cool treats with our little friends.  Hope your fourth of July was a happy one!

Spring slowly turns to Summer, 2015

The chicks are loaded in their carrier and ready for a new day out in the garden.  Provided that the weather stays mild, we'll head out.  Then, while Mom does her weeding, the chicks can explore and, hopefully, stay out of trouble. 

We're not troublesome...

Getting a snack before going outside.

 And weeding needs to be done.  With all the good rain we've had lately, the garden is lush but the weeds have also had a nice deep drink.  As the unwanted seedlings are removed, I drop them into a bucket and tote them out to Chickenland to provide the Ameraucanas with some extra treats.  They get plenty of greens, but everyone knows the stuff in the bucket always tastes so much better!

Don't think of them as weeds.  Think of them as chicken snacks.

Speaking of snacks, I am periodically reminded that we live in the country and all sorts of wild things creep and crawl around us.  Many people have a fear of snakes but I count my blessings that they help keep the mice at bay and help take care of an abundance of frogs this Spring has brought us.

The orchards are doing well this year.  We've carefully culled the apples and other fruit trees to encourage healthy growth of the remaining fruits.  Those trees that are contained within protective fencing, continue to grow tall and strong.  Unfortunately, those trees that are not fenced have been subjected to heavy browsing by our deer population.  This little cherry tree, for example, the day before was full and lush.  It had all the appearances that we would have some nice sweet cherries in a few more weeks.  Last night, the deer came.  In what only took a few minutes, left the little tree nearly leafless.  I don't know if it will ever recover or suffer from the shock causing it to either die or not produce fruit for a few years.

 Culling apples takes a long time.  We have nearly 100 trees.  Each one is carefully reviewed.  Variety and when planted is taken into account.  When an apple tree flowers, each five flower cluster can produce five apples.  If left alone, the tree will attempt to feed each of these fruitlets leading to stress on the developing tree and small uneven apples at harvest time. 

 By removing four of the five smaller fruitlets, the fruit tree focuses its energies on the single fruit and growth of the tree.  This leads to a healthier tree and larger, more uniform apples.

A lot can happen between now and harvest time.  For now we hope and pray for this year's crop.

Four Little Princesses

Short and sweet: soon after the girls were taken out to their pasture this morning, a light rain shower began.  Starting as a heavy mist, it turned to light sprinkles, then showers, then back to sprinkles.  The air temperature is still warm so it's not all together unpleasant to be out in it.  Our little goat girls are not that happy about being out in the rain and as soon as it picked up, headed for their playhouse.  The harder the rain came down, the louder they complained.

Around noon, I finally relented.  Slopping down the goat trail, I headed from the barn to their pasture.  "Come on Girls!" I called and they came scampering. 

All was going well until we reached the spot where a tiny stream sent a ribbon of water across the path. 

They came to an abrupt stop and bawled.  "Help!  It's a tidal wave!  It's a flood!"
"It's a tiny bit of water," I countered splashing through it to show them how shallow the puddle was.  "No! No! No! We'll wash away!" they cried, dancing back and forth.  No matter how many times I walked through the puddle to show them that there was nothing to be concerned about, the more they would have nothing of it.
After about ten minutes, brave little Jellybean came scrampering closely followed by Ms Fluffy.

 

Franny and Dorothy hemmed and hawed as the rains came down harder.  Finally in a burst of bravery, Franny came racing down the path with Dorothy thundering behind.  Jelly, Fluffy and I waited for the twins by the gate leading to the barn.  Soon as they got to the gate, everyone bounced around in gleeful greeting before racing to their stall.  One quick shake, then four little princesses pranced to the doorway to turn and stand watching the rain.

 

"That was fun!  Can we have a cookie now?  Did you see me Mom?  Did you see how fast I ran?  I ran right over the top of the river!  I coulda washed away but I didn't cause I'm fast!  Did you see me Mom?  Did ya?"

Never a dull moment.

How to make Happy kids

After providing a nice, safe place to live and grow, provide lots of good things to eat with plenty of fresh air and water.  After a good night's sleep, everyone is ready to go outside and play.

New Toys are always welcome.

As is a reassuring scratch from Daddy.

But sometimes, all a kid wants is to sit and tell Mom all about her day.  It's good to have someone just listen.

How to Make Happy Puppy

How to make a happy dog:

Take one medium sized kiddy pool.  Add water plus one very warm puppy.

mix thoroughly.

Allow to cool and dry.

Happy New Year to all our Asian Friends!

It's the year of the goat or the ram, and everybody knows what that means!  A good day to enjoy the company of friends and good food.

Ram? Really? You just know it's all about me!

BTW: just a tid bit of trivia: some will say that this is the year of the Ram, some will say Sheep, and some will say Goat.  They are all correct.  The Chinese word for the eighth animal of the Chinese zodiac is 'Yang'.  Yang is the generic word for any animal in the sheep/goat family (read more <here>).  It's kinda like when you hear an American call an animal a Cow.  He's probably not referring to the breed or sex of a particular ox, just a generic reference to that animal type.

So Happy New Year Everybody!

Merry Christmas from My Happy Acres

Merry Christmas to all and wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Goats in the snow

A few postings back I mentioned that the goat girls weren't all that thrilled with walking in the cold, wet snow.  Even though they've been in and out for several weeks now, they still step slowly through.  If you listen carefully, you can hear them muttering to themselves as they gingerly put one foot before the other.
Each day when I put their snacks outside, I've been placing the hay barrel and Christmas tree snacks a little farther away from the barn.  The girls begrudgingly follow me out, are delighted with their reward.  Still not happy with standing in the snow, they'll pull hay out of the barrel just to stand on it.  The best happened yesterday afternoon when Fluffy dumped out the Christmas tree snack tray so that she could stand inside the tray and continue to eat the snacks spilled out onto the snow. 

The snow is beginning to melt and come off the buildings.  One has to be careful when working or walking beside one of these hazards.  A sudden avalanche can knock the wind out of you or worse.  When putting the girls outside during the day, we make a special effort to keep them away from the sides of the buildings.  A snow slide could easily kill one of them.

It's a little hard to see, but this wall of snow is what came off the roof Saturday afternoon.  Three feet deep, 30 feet long, and about 15 feet away from the side of the barn, the bulk of the snow came flying off to land out here with only a smaller amount landing closer.  Consider this: one square foot of wet snow can weigh as much as 21 lbs.  This single load weighs about a ton and a half.  No wonder buildings give way under their load!  (Read more here)  If you find yourself needing to clear away the snow, please be careful...and keep an eye out for what may be lurking above.

First Big Snow, white Christmas?

Remember when we looked forward to a snow day?  Since moving to My Happy Acres I decided to do my level best to remember those feelings and embrace them.  Whenever I wake up and find the world blanketed in a heavy layer of white, instead of dreading the work, I think about when I was little and helped shovel our driveway (which when you're little seems like it's nine miles long).  I would pretend to be building a giant snow fort or making a great wall or canyon.  I learned that if I cut the snow into blocks and stack them along the sides, I could grab them later for making snow men or forts.  Mom said that she thought what I was doing was a complete waste of effort but I had a plan.
This morning we woke up to at least 14" on the ground and some very interesting drifts to muddle through.  

'hmmmm. Can’t get out the door without clearing away the snow.' started my outing with shovel in hand.  (I paused, looked up and smiled.  The sun was just peaking out making everything all glittery.  how pretty it was.)

'hmmmm. Can’t get to the equipment barn without digging a path.'  (Did you know that the song, 'Low Bridge everybody down' makes a great shoveling song? )

'hmmmmm.  That’s a big drift against the barn door.'  (I opened the door and stepped inside to look back at the solid snow wall with the impression of the door on it.  You could see the layers of hard and soft snow, tiny flake and pelleted snow that came down last night.  Surprisingly the light twinkled through the lighter layers underneath the heavy wet blanket that lay on top.)

'hmmmm.  The snow is all the way up to the second rung of the steel gate.'  (Shovel in hand, I cleared away the drift amused by the little mouse trails that tubed their way along the length of the pipe.)

In the winter, instead of my trusty wagon, the dead sled or stag drag is used to tote stuff to and from the animal barn.  The snow shoes were pretty handy, making the trip to the animal gate a breeze rather than a trial.  Tromping along I thought about the writings of Jack London (a favorite author of mine when I was about 11 or 12).  I was a 49er making my way to the Yukon (although my trusty canine companion was still sacked out in his warm bed dreaming of bacon snacks).

The department of highways had done their usual fine job of keeping the road clear, although it did add an additional challenge by creating a high wall of snow to mount. 

'hmmmm. More snow against the animal gate and barn.'  (Good thing I gave myself an extra hour to take care of everybody this morning.  Snow was steadily cleared away while I noticed where the rabbits and perhaps an owl had left their impressions in the pasture snow.)

The little goat girls were excited to get outside.  A small patch was cleared from their barn door to allow them to have a clear place to lie in the sun.  They bounced about before racing back and forth between their paddock and play yard. 

Sum total it took about two hours to do what usually takes about 45 minutes to do.  By thinking about sweet memories and how beautiful the world can be made otherwise difficult work a more pleasant task.

A light dusting of snow has started again.  So are the joys of winter.

        

Too cute

Dropped by a friend's barn earlier today.  Last weekend her does were having babies.  She's now knee deep in bouncy kids.

Have you ever seen anything more adorable than those sweet little faces?

Just take the picture

Thought I would share this with you for a moment:  anyone who has a family, knows how hard it is to get everyone in the picture looking good.  Just as the picture is about to snap someone is going to tug, push, or put a finger some place you don't want saved for history.  Taking pictures about the farm is no different.

Look!  A helicopter!

Just as you think everyone is lined up and looking good, a distraction appears.

Is that a bunny?  I think I saw a bunny!  I don't know, bunnies are kinda scary.  Did that bucket just move?

and, of course, there are other distractions:

OW!  don't pull my tail!

It's not just getting the kids lined up, sometimes the photographer has an issue.  Such as backing into a hole.

Cheese!

Let's not forget the little show offs, that want to be in every picture and have mom's undivided attention:

Look Mom!  Look how high I am!  Wanna see me jump off?  Are you looking?  Mom? MMAAAAA!

One of the nice things about digital cameras is that one can take lots of pictures and immediately see, who's been good and who's been busy.  Just keep snapping and maybe by the end of the day, you too will have one or two to share...