The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

A seedling peach tree growing in the garden

First some good things. I potted up this seedling peach tree that grew in one of the garden beds.

a sweet potato

It looked like the sweet potatoes were getting good size so I started digging them up.

While some were on the small side some are pretty big and I"m not done yet.

root knot nematode damage on okra

Now for the bad. Most of the okra in the sweet potato bed had root knot nematodes. I sure thought we were done with those buggers but I guess not. I have been carefully pulling the plants up and bagging them for the trash with as much root and soil around them as possible. With the cooler weather the nematodes won't be a problem but they will be a big issue next spring when it warms up. I was actually amazed the sweet potatoes weren't affected but I didn't see any nodules on their roots at all.

And some more bad. Due to the heavy July rains the mosquitoes are crazy and they carry fowl pox (yes chicken pox, related to but not the same as humans get). So eggs are down to 2-3 a day. 

Bambi, a 5 yr old Nubian in milk

Bambi has the high ground but she is no match for Posie

Giotto was concerned about the goats fussing

L-R, Posie, Bambi, Caramel

And a bit of ugly. (But it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be) So Bambi came to me with her twins Storm and Showers, and a dry doe named Vicki. Another doeling came a bit later but from the same farm, Esmarelda. Well Bambi is very mean and bossy with Vicki and Esmarelda so I decided to start putting her in with Posie and Caramel during the day, to give Vicki a break and a chance to eat in peace. Looks like Bambi has met her match. Posie isn't quite as big but she's stubborn and bossy too.

Today I worked on taking down the broken cattle panel hoop house. Quite a feat with 3 goats trying to boss everything

I even managed to get some of the kinks out of it

Then I wired it up to the T posts. Posie was really no help at all. 

Then I worked a bit on moving dirt. If you are new around here I’m trying to get a flat spot to build a big goat shed so I can get them out of the small pens they are in right now. 

#appreciation

I really appreciate that the goats weren’t too bad today. Bambi backed down immediately from Posie which is a good thing. I was afraid they’d both be stubborn and somebody would get hurt. 

The Best Laid Plans

This afternoon has been a wild ride! First it cooled off a bit earlier that the last few days so I got out and did chicken chores before time to milk. I was hoping that would give me a little time before dark to do some garden stuff   Boy that didn’t pan out at all. 

First, remember when Posie got out a couple weeks ago and was outside the perimeter fence?  Well I hadn’t got around to a permanent fix and she got out again. Today she was actually right by the pen Bambi and her gang are in and they were butting heads through the fence. Luckily  I came out with milking supplies right then and even luckier Posie was right by a gate. As soon as I opened it up she came on in and went to the milk stand. While milking I noticed that she had broken off her scur (a small bit of horn) and it was bleeding so I had to run get the blue kote and doctor it to keep the flies off. 

Then it was Caramel’s turn to milk. 

About half way through milking Caramel Bambi managed to get out of her pen and was trying to eat Caramel’s grain. So I tied her up out of the way. While I was taking Caramel back to her pen Bambi managed to get herself all tangled up in the rope. She had it wrapped around her back legs, her udder and she was laying on it and couldn’t get up. I got her untangled and up on the milk stand and before I could go pass out snacks to Vicki, Storm and Showers, Storm managed to get out. Whew. Got her rounded up, snacks delivered, Bambi milked and put back in her pen. 

Then I went to get everybody’s hay and discovered I’d forgotten to chain the gate and Caramel’s gang was out. Got them all rounded up and their hay delivered. Gave Midnight, Aelf, Chocolate and Gazelle their little grain treat. Filled up water buckets, remembered to chain Caramel’s gate, found a chain and snap to chain up Bambi’s gate. Got the milk in the house, filtered and put away. 

AND I DIDN’T GET A SINGLE BIT OF THIS ON CAMERA Because I had just finished filming the following video and not only was my battery low I was out of storage space on my phone. 

 
Sooo. Adventures with goats. Really I ended up laughing a lot because one thing after another after another and really what else could I do but laugh and shake my head. But boy was I tired by the time I got in the house. 

#appreciation

I appreciate and am thankful that nobody got hurt. That Posie didn’t decide to go walkabout   And everything turned out fine in the end. 

Wow! It’s been a Month!?

It’s been a whole month since I posted?! A lot has happened!  That tarantula startled me. I pick up Giotto’s dinner bucket in the front room, scoop some kibble in the living room then take it in the kitchen to add to it. I didn’t see the tarantula until I was setting it down in the kitchen so I have no idea where it came from. 

The zinnias are the only thing the goats and rabbits haven’t eaten or trampled here by the steps up to the hill pen. 


The Trombonccino squash are doing well. 

I lost all the tomatoes in one garden because it still has root knot nematodes. 

I rehomed some little Nankins. Have a few more to go 

The dahlias are starting to bloom

A few sunflowers also. 

Some new goats arrived. This is Vicki

Bambi

Bambi’s doeling Storm and Showers   Showers and Bambi had summer pneumonia so it’s been a long week of taking temperatures twice a day, antibiotic injections and vitamins. They are doing much better now. 

Maximilian sunflowers are blooming

Some pumpkins are showing up

Along with squash and cucumbers 

I got the T posts set for another cattle panel to finish making a terrace in the hill pen. But now the truck is broke and I can’t go get one. 

If I forget to chain the gate Caramel or her kids get it open and then they bust out Chocolate and Gazelle 

Really? I swear I don’t know how goats manage to do some of the stuff they do. That was a brand new tarp. 

Caramel cannot be hurried when going to and from the hill pen and insists on browsing along the way, no matter how late I’ll be for work. 

The mixed kale I planted last month is big enough to start picking. 

Oops. I forgot again. 

Herbs and squash at market 

And some little cayenne peppers 

Can you see that cream line? That is 3 pints of milk with almost a cup of thick cream!

I was getting ready to make cheese so I bent a spoon and skimmed all the jars. 

I got almost a pint of cream. I put it in the freezer until I get more. Then I’ll make something… creme fraise or sour cream or maybe whip cream for my iced coffee.,,,

And the truck is broken. Sigh. Hopefully an easy fix. My mechanic says might of shorted out. Or maybe just wore out over time. I’m thinking this might be the root cause of all the electrical problems it’s had. 

Sweet potato flower

Okra flower. 

And then I got an inch of rain in 40 minutes. That was crazy. 

#appreciation

Today I appreciate the abundance in my life. Friends, family, things that just land in my life to make it better.