More Progress

Working on getting a flat space

Getting closer

Green paint marks where I still need to pick

You know I need to work right there Posie 

Posie makes me laugh 

A new set of paint lines

Still working on this bulge. The ground in this spot is almost as hard and dry as a rock. There are layers of calcium gluing rocks and gravel together 

Caramel is still being ridiculous and is trying to dry up. I don’t think she’s cut out to be a long term milker in which case she may be looking for a new home. 

After some days of zero eggs due to the fowl pox epidemic here things are starting to pick up a tiny bit. 

I cleared all the vegetation in this bed and raked up as much of the nematode infested roots as I could. Those go straight to the trash. 

Added gypsum for calcium

Made furrows and filled with worm castings 

Planted salad mix, spinach and cabbage 

The pink cosmos have started blooming. And the mums should start this week. I can’t believe how fast this year has gone by. 

#appreciation

I so appreciate that the weather has been beautiful so I can work outside a lot. 

Some Progress

Don’t know what’s up but Caramel and Posie have been butting heads. 

After Caramel tried to break the milk stand I added some runners so it can’t tip forward again. 

I cut off the little seat because it seemed to be making it unstable and raked and leveled the ground. So far so good 

I made up some soil blocks  and planted some seeds 

I’ve worked two mornings in the hill pen. I’m afraid this corner isn’t going to hold so hot the idea to wrap another cattle panel around it and fill the space with rock

I think it will work out ok. 

And I worked some more on the slope. 

Sunrise was beautiful this morning 

Bambi did not want to come up the hill today!

I made some salty rennet cheese. 

And cooked down some chicken broth 

Apparently I’m spider woman since not only is my house full of webs they are now taking over the car. Don’t mind the hay. The truck was down a couple of weeks 

And tonight Caramel was just ridiculous for absolutely no reason at all. She didn’t even finish her grain (she’s not a grain hog like Posie and doesn’t eat it all on the stand). The dog was no where to be. Seen   I really don’t know what’s up with her. 

#appreciation

Appreciating some extra time off to get things done 

Today’s Goat Rodeo

So a few days ago I noticed these bumps above Caramel’s eye. I’m still not sure if they were ant or mosquito bites. But I checked closely for signs of mites or fleas which I didn’t find. However I discovered her ears were full of gunk. 

She didn’t really appreciate me cleaning them out but it looks pretty much like just dirt and wax, no bugs. 

This morning I cleaned out the IBBG (Itty Bitty Baby Greenhouse) and moved in the potted peppers I want to try to overwinter.  I managed a few household tasks like dishes, laundry and trash. And I potted up some broccoli seedlings which I forgot to take a picture of.  I fed and watered chickens and gave the goats their afternoon hay. And then it was time to milk. 

Sooo. Usually I go and let Posie out first and Caramel hangs back a bit. Tonight Caramel was trying to push past Posie and then just as I almost had her stopped and the gate shut Bambi joined in and away they all dashed to the milk stand. So I grabbed a couple ropes and tied Caramel and Bambi up to wait their turns. And things were going fine until Giotto decided to come out. Caramel does not like him at all even tho she’s been here since January. 

So when Giotto came around to lay down behind the milk stand Caramel tried to go out the front. Guess I’ll be adding more bracing to the milk stand tomorrow. We were not half done milking at this point. And Caramel kept trying to lunge and jump through the stand. I finally had to get some rope and tie her feet down!  Forgot to get a pic of that arrangement. Sheesh. 

#appreciation

Today I appreciate that Caramel didn’t break her fool neck. 

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.