Goat Yoga

I've never done yoga except for following a very basic DVD which had very little explanation of what yoga really is.  I will probably offend some folks who are true yoga enthusiasts with this post but I hope they'll understand I'm going with what little I know. 

All of us know that chanting the sound "OMmmmmm" has something to do with yoga.  I Googled OM and this is what I found. 

OM is the most basic, primal sound and the origin of all sounds. It is very liberating to start a yoga asana practice with chanting OM - it takes you beyond intellect, centers you and lifts the energy upwards.


Om is the affirmation of the Divine Presence in the universe. It has a profound effect on the body and mind of the one who chants Om, and on his or her surroundings. Most mantras start with Om.

Try mentally repeating OM when angry, stressed or agitated. The sound can bring you closer to that calm place within just by repeating it.

You probably wonder where I'm going with this, don't you?  When I'm stressed, or worn out or need to find a place to find calm, I go to my goat barn.  This time of the year is the best time to find a sense of serenity.  There's nothing like hanging out with a bunch of pregnant goats, calmly chewing their cud to make you relax and find peace.  Watch this and see if you agree.  Imagine they're all saying "OMMMMM"

A taste of summer

We had some crazy weather today.  One moment it was sunny and 75 degrees, the next moment it was pouring down rain with heavy winds.  It felt like a summer day.  I went for a walk in long sleeves and wished I had worn a short sleeved tee shirt.  We even had a rainbow.  You may have to look very hard to see it.  Why don't rainbows photograph well?

Because it was raining so hard and I couldn't be outside, I decided to do some cooking.  It's been a long time since I made homemade pasta.  I used all whole wheat flour from our home-grown wheat.  I had no idea if it would be too dry or what.  Surprisingly it turned out really nice.  The dough was very orangey-brown from the combination of our dark yellow eggs and wheat. 

 I was afraid the noodles would be too dry and crumble when I pressed and cut them but they surprised me.  It was smoother than the texture of the dough led me to believe they'd be.

 I made a sauce out of one cup of frozen pumpkin from 2006 and 2 cups of winter squash from 2010.  It was heavily flavored by 5 cloves of our very potent garlic, fresh sage leaves and the last of our onions from 2011. 

Unfortunately we didn't have any chicken broth, sour cream, salt or nutmeg from our farm which completed the sauce.  While digging through the freezer for the pumpkin I discovered some eggplant.  I brushed it with some olive oil, salt and parmesan, broiled it and placed it on top the pasta then added some goat cheese from October (I don't even know what kind but it was parmesan-like), and there we had a summer dinner.

It will be nice when we have fresh ingredients but for now I'm thankful for this taste from past summers' produce.

A lesson learned in pigs

I have so enjoyed raising Velma and Roxie.  I knew when we picked up those 2 cute little piglets that parting with them would be difficult.  I just didn't know how difficult it would be, and I mean physically.

We had planned to butcher at least one of the pigs ourselves, with the help of our friend TE.  Unfortunately, before we got a chance to butcher, TE had a heart attack and is scheduled for a triple bypass early tomorrow morning.  He'll be good as new for next year's butchering, of that I'm sure. 

Yesterday I was visiting TE and he told me I needed to take care of my hogs and he was going to arrange that.  He knew I was procrastinating.  I wasn't prepared to get the ball rolling so quickly.  After a few phone calls it was all taken care of - Velma was going to the butcher and Roxie to be bred TODAY!  I had no time to prepare myself, therefore I got no sleep last night because I needed to cram all my worrying into one night. 

TE and I picked up a small horse trailer late yesterday so we could be ready first thing this morning.  At 8AM we threw some hog feed in the trailer and with very little hesitation Velma walked in.  We latched the door and off we went.  James drove our pickup which was towing the trailer and TE and I followed.  It was just 16 miles over the mountain to the butcher.  All seemed to be going so well.  We drove less than 4 miles when our jaws dropped to the floorboard.  I think TE said something like, "Holy ----"  Velma was trying to jump out of the trailer and was very close to accomplishing just that.  The back door was just a half door, open at the top.  Velma was hanging over the door.  I could picture her running loose in the town of Glasgow and our name in the news.  I called James and told him to pull over immediately.   Both men jumped out of their vehicles and had to lean on the door to keep her in. 

I drove back home to get supplies to secure the door and keep her in while they stood guard.  I was given a long list - C clamps, 2X4s, a saw, screws, nails, plywood, ratchet tie downs, whatever it would taketo keep a 300 lb hog in a flimsy very old trailer.  I drove to a neighbors to see what he had that might help.  I returned with some of the things on the list, along with a couple wooden pallets.  I was glad to see Velma still in the trailer when I returned and both men still alive, maybe just a little more sweat on their brows.   I have no idea how long it took to screw this here, nail that there until we were sure it would hold her in.  It wasn't pretty but it did the job.  We drove 12 more miles and delivered her there safe and sound - all of us.  It was hard not to keep thinking about what would have happened if she got out.  We laughed some when we thought it was safe to laugh about it. 

We headed back home and loaded Roxie up just as easily.  This time we were more prepared to secure her in there better.  We only had 2 miles to drive but we weren't taking any chances.  All went very smoothly this time.  By now Roxie has probably met the father of her future babies.  Tonight the idea of raising more pigs seems like the last thing we should be doing but the ball is already in motion.

I wish I had a video of Velma hanging over the trailer door about to escape. When I said as much to TE he said, "no, this is something we want to forget".  I think it will be impossible to forget this.  We learned from it though.  Next time we'll build a heavy duty cage into our pick-up and also a ramp to lead the pigs into it.  No matter how tame they are, they're powerful animals.  I should mention, last night, as a back up plan, I loaded the pigs into the back of my station wagon one at a time.  I put plastic steps up to the back and, easy peasy, they climbed in.  Yes, I know I should have videoed this too.  Now I wonder if they would have destroyed our car had I closed them in there. 

So, it's done.  Our pig pen is empty for about a month when Roxie will return, hopefully pregnant. 

I will move her house and fence to greener pastures where she can prepare a new garden while this area will be growing sweet corn and other grains. 

Stay tuned for Pigs, Part 2, a comedy.

Pigs' day out

Yesterday we got our first, and hopefully last, snow - probably about 5 inches.  Even I have to admit, being the snow-scrooge that I am, that it was a beautiful snow.  The day before was in the 60's and today was in the 50's so a snow day in the middle is just fine.  Most of the snow is already gone. 

When I got out of bed I looked out the window to see how much snow we got.  Running in the field were two happy pigs.  Their one ribbon of electric fence got weighed down by the snow and they were able to walk over it and into the larger 10+ fenced in acres.  From the looks of it they had a good 'ol time frolicking about.  There were hoof tracks everywhere.

They found plenty of digging to do too.

Roxie and Velma are pretty tame now and come when I call.  Of course this probably has lots to do with food but I prefer to think they want to be near me and when they hear my voice it has such a melodious sound they can do nothing but run toward it.  See for yourselves.

I'm sure you agree that was melodious.

The donkeys weren't in their proper place either and I wonder if it had something to do with the pigs being loose. They were on opposite sides of the fence but the donkeys aren't used to them being so close.  Their fence had also been tilted over but not to the ground so I don't know if they jumped it or got scared and ran through it.

It should be back near 70 degrees in a few days, just the way I like it, but I don't mind this brief little detour to spring.



More interviews

It was rainy day today so most of the animals were hanging out near the barn.  I thought it might be a good time to get a few more interviews.  Unfortunately, both interviewees were a bit reluctant to speak into the flashlight.  I think they were onto me.

First let me tell you about Foggy.

I adopted him from a friend of a friend who had to part with her chickens because her new dog wouldn't leave them alone.  I have no idea how old he is but I think he's way up there.  Maybe someone can tell me by looking at his spurs.  They're so long but he never uses them.  I don't think Foggy would hurt a fly.

As you can see from his interview he may be a man of few words but he's a friendly fellow.

These are a few of his girls.

Another reason I think Foggy is quite old is I don't think I've ever seen him, umm, how do I say this, service the girls.  He does hang close to them and protect them though.  I have 3 roosters and all of them are gentlemen but Foggy is the most social of all of them.

Many of you remember my tales of Darla suffering through her abscess miseries.  Many tears were shed over this sweet little girl and she was well worth our investment in her.  Now she's a healthy doe, pregnant and due to kid in mid March.  She has developed an udder early for a first time mama and I have high hopes for her as a milker.  Usually she's quite the talker.   I don't know if it was the camera or what but she was a little shy for her interview. 

I can't wait to meet Darla's kids.

Babies

None of these are my babies but they sure are cute.  I went to some friends' today to watch their goat have babies.  They knew I was getting impatient waiting for mine so they were kind enough to invite me to share the excitement with them.   The mama goat was taking her good old time having these kids so first we went to look at their great pyrenees puppies who are about 2 1/2 weeks old.  They're getting so cute.

The puppies are making little barking and growling sounds now but you can't really hear them in this video because we're making so much noise.  Included in this video are some adorable human babies too.


Three hours after I got there the mama goat, Adeliade, had triplets.   The first one came out tail first so he was holding things up.  Once Kirsten pulled him out the others followed pretty easily.  Two boys and a girl.

I have 3 weeks to wait till any babies are born on our farm.

Facebook Critics

A few nights ago I had dinner with some girlfriends.  I have no idea how the topic of Facebook came up but I could see the looks of pity on their faces when I told them how much I enjoy reading my friends'  status updates.  I continued to try to convince them that it's a worthwhile network only to see more looks of disdain, "and to think we socialize with someone so shallow who has nothing better to do with her time". 

My friends didn't really say this but it's possible they thought it.  Admittedly, I have more free time than most of them and I know I spend more time on my computer than they do.  Sure, I could be doing other things like working, baking and laundry but who needs money, dessert and clean clothes?  Don't answer that question, James. 

I'm poking fun at it but I'm serious about how I think it's worthwhile, to me anyway.  I have 30-something cousins, most of whom I'd never have any relationship with at all if it weren't through Facebook, because we live miles apart and had lost contact as we all moved on with our lives.  My neices have had babies and now I get to see pictures and videos of their children whom I may not see for a year or 2 or 3.   I would not have gotten to hear an interview by a friend who recently had a book published.  Other friends post when they're having art showings or poetry readings.  A young man who stayed with us a few years back while he was hiking the Appalachian Trail posted something on Facebook that made me think he was in VA.  I contacted him via FB and sure enough he was here for several months and came to visit us one day.  If ever I need a laugh there's always someone on FB posting a hilarious cartoon or video.  Many folks I've sold goats to are my friends on FB.  I get to keep up with the goats and whatever else is happening on their farms.  I love that FB tells me which of my friends have a birthday that day so I can wish that person a happy birthday.  Who doesn't like to get 100 birthday wishes?  It's a way for your high school or college to find you to let you know when your reunion is.  I love being back in touch with friends from elementary school, places we used to live, coworkers from years ago.  It's a way to reach many people at once without having to send many emails.  I could go on and on but I won't.

Finally, Facebook is a place where I can post my blog entries and have many more visitors than if I didn't. 

Overly optimistic but under qualified

I must blog because my niece called me a slacker.

Last night James and I went to a local farmer's meeting.  A few of the men there came from generations of farmers.  It was in their blood.  It seemed they knew most aspects of farming from the good ol' days and today.  I wondered what they thought of the rest of us gardeners and folks who raised a few pigs, chickens and goats.  They were kind to us though.  I won't go into what the meeting was about but I will say our county extension office is really putting forth an effort to help local growers here.

I did not grow up with farming in my blood like these men.  My parents gardened and we always had dogs, a cat or some other small animal but it was far from a farming experience.  I tell you this so any farmer reading this will forgive me for my actions I'm going to tell you about next.  Remember, I'm making it all up as I go along.  I have no other experiences to draw from.

I've been putting a saddle on Earl, my 12 year old mammoth donkey for a few weeks.  He's never been ridden so I was getting him used to the idea of something on his back.  He seemed very comfortable with it cinched snuggly and walking around and followed my instructions. I thought it might be time to give sitting on him a shot.   I thought James should be there with me in case I got hurt.  He held Earl on the lead while I climbed on some steps I use to get on donkeys easier.  He stood very still as I touched his back and put some pressure on the saddle, testing him.  I was nervous.  I kept saying, "ok, Earl, here I go.  I'm getting on you now", thinking that would prepare him for what was to happen next.  Just as I was swinging my leg over him he got scared and began walking away.  I ended up sitting on his behind, which was rather comfy but not where I wanted to be.  He ran about 5 steps then stopped.  Ran 5 more steps then stopped.  I don't know how many times he did this but I hugged the saddle in front of me and waited to see what was going to happen next.  I didn't want to climb onto the saddle in case it scared him more with my shift of weight.  Finally I slid off him and told him what a good boy he was and gave him a treat.  I'm thinking I should try again soon so he gets used to it.  What are you farmers thinking.  Nevermind, don't tell me.

I thought today would be a good day to take the goats across the road to the big field to graze.  I hate that our property is divided in two by a road but that's the way it is so I need to figure out a way to deal with it.  I put lots of treats in my pockets and let the goats out of their barn.  I led them to the gates that I had opened so I didn't have to fumble with them while I had the goats' momentum.  We got to the road and there were no cars coming so I ran across calling them all using my excited voice and bribing them with treats.  This almost always works with goats, but not when trying to get them to cross a road into unknown territory.  About 5 of them came across.  A few stopped in the road and some stayed in the yard looking panicky.  They took turns running back and forth, changing their minds as to who might like to give it a try.  One of them freaked out and ran back home and they all followed.  My buck slipped and fell in the road but made it back safely.  I put them back in their barn and familiar yard and they seemed very happy about that.  I was covered in sweat.  James was watching all of this from an upstairs window.  Too bad he didn't have a video camera.  I'm not sure I'll try this again until after kids are born.  I may have to drive them over there in our station wagon.

I couldn't give up.  It was such a beautiful day and in spite of my failure with the goats I was feeling optimistic.  I put Chy and Wilson's halters on.  These are my two standard donkeys who stay with my goats.  I thought they might also like to be in the field and meet my mammoth donkeys through the fence.  Once again I had gates all opened and ready for animals to pass through.  Chy and Wilson took much longer to coax to the gate but they did pretty well.  At least they didn't run back and forth, back and forth across the road.  They didn't cross the road at all.  They stood looking at the 4 boards that make a little bridge to the road and wouldn't put one foot on it.  The cars going by didn't scare them one little bit but they were not going to cross.  I think we stood there for 20 to 30 minutes.  Finally I thought they had enough so I closed the gates and took their halters off and let them roam the yard.  I'm thinking if I do this often they'll eventually get the courage to cross.  What do you think?   Nevermind, I'll figure it out.  Or I won't. 

Tomorrow it's supposed to rain so I won't be attempting any great feats that I have no experience with. 

Tick season--already?

A friend called yesterday and asked if I knew anyone who had guineas for sale.  She found a tick on herself.  I called a friend who I got guineas from a few years ago.  This friend didn't have any but told me she found a tick on her shoulder the week before.  Today another friend came over to see my animals.  When we came in the house I told her I felt like I had bugs crawling on my head.  Sure enough, I found a tick.  It's February 1st and 70 degrees.  This probably shouldn't surprise me (finding ticks) but it does.

For one weak moment I thought I should get some guineas too but then I remembered how they tormented my chickens, and how they screached and made so much noise........and how they tasted so good.  Maybe we should get a few.  They really do a great job keeping bugs away.   

Joy

I've seen this picture posted on Facebook a few times and every time I see it I think of my friend Sophie.  I've only known her for a year.  She's now 13 so I didn't know her when she was little but I think she would have looked like this little girl at that age.   Even if she didn't this is the joy that she projects at 13.  I've never met a young person who exudes such happiness.  I once asked her mom if she always smiled and she said yes.  That's a rare thing I would think. 

Sophie, I admire you.

Eight Keri puppies

My friend's great pyrenees had 8 puppies.   Actually she had 10 but 2 didn't survive.  There are 7 females and 1 male.  She owns both parents, Beau and Stella. 

It's hard to believe they'll be little fluffballs in a few weeks.  Anyone need a livestock guardian dog? 

Art class is more fun in your 40's

Today I played the part of home school mom.  My 13 year old friend, Sophie, asked if I'd accompany her to the Frontier Culture Museum (http://www.frontiermuseum.org/)  for a class in painting floor cloths.  Her mom couldn't make it so I filled in.  I had never been to the museum and it was a real treat.   Sophie and I arrived at 10 AM and were greeted by our teacher riding in a golf cart.  We soon discovered all this attention he was giving us was because we were his only two students for the day.  Since it was just the two of us and the class was supposed to be till 4 PM he decided we had time to take a tour of the grounds.  It was divided into different areas - painting a picture of what a melting pot America is and how the Irish, English, Germans, Africans, etc. settled here and made America what it is today, a diverse culture.  First we visited America.  The log cabin we entered was owned by George Bauman who later changed his name to Bowman.  He moved from Germany to Phila., PA but moved to VA because land was cheaper than in Phila.  For those of you who aren't family, my maiden name is Bowman and my family lives outside Phila. so it was pretty cool that we began our tour in George Bowman's house.  I'm sure he was a distant relative of mine.  We visited the different villages and got to explore several of the houses and barns, my favorite being the log cabins and an octagonal barn and viewing some of the farm animals on the premises. 

Finally we got down to work.  Our classroom was an old dairy barn, now turned into classrooms, library and lecture rooms.  Mr. Teacher showed us different styles of floor cloths and two small cloths he had started on his own.  They were very bland pieces in black, gray and white.  Sophie and I were unimpressed.  I think we both had something different in mind.  Maybe brighter colors or stencilling or something more than a black and white tile floor.   He wanted us to choose which one we wanted to copy.  We both reluctantly chose one, different from each other.  Neither of us wanted to hurt the teacher's feelings since he expressed to us that he was nervous about this class.  First he had us tape off the border of the small cloth.  When we put the tape down he made sure to press it down again to be sure we had it secure even though we'd pressed it many times ourselves.  We were told to paint it black so we did.  While it was drying we toured some more.  As the day wore one we discovered Mr. Teacher was a little obsessive compulsive.  He had a very hard time keeping his hands off our work, which really didn't bother either of us but we had a fun time giggling about it at lunch.  Every now and then he had to go "talk to someone or check on something".  When he returned he smelled very stongly of cigarette.  I think we were driving him crazy because we didn't do exactly as he wanted us to.  He was very nice and kept telling us we were doing a great job.  When I free-handed a blue diamond he almost choked and said, "oh, you're not going to do......."   I said, "nope", and he seemed to accept it without having a heart attack.  I think he may have had another cigarette after this.  He came back and tried to straighten out our lines. 

Really, it was an enjoyable day and Mr. Teacher was a very nice man.  Sophie had an interview to be a volunteer at the museum for the summer and it went so well she got the job and that made it an even better day.  When we announced our pieces of art were complete Mr. Teacher couldn't help but ask Sophie if she didn't want to cover up a few of what he appeared to think were imperfections by adding a little paint here and there.  She smiled and did as he wanted.  Here's my cloth.  You can see why Mr. Teacher needed another smoke, can't you?  When I commented to Sophie that my square wasn't exactly square she told me it was "Karen shaped".  Exactly.

Before we were done he asked us if this class was ok and if we thought it was worth the money.  Poor man.  Yes, of course it was worth it.  I didn't tell him it was worthy of a blog entry. 

Our next class is a carpentry class in another week or two.  Guess who the teacher is. 

Interview with Cooper

Me:  Good afternoon Cooper.
Cooper:  Mmmmmmeeehhhhmmm
Me:  I was hoping you might share with the good people of Holes In My Jeans what it's like to be a buck living at Elk Cliff Farm.
Cooper:  It's good, bluh bluh bluh bluh, it's good.  (lots of tongue flapping going on)
Me:  What would you say is your favorite thing to do here?
Cooper:  Is this a family blog?
Me:  Yes, it is.
Cooper:  Well, then I guess I should skip to my second favorite thing to do, which is eat.  Um, then I'd say my next favorite thing to do is play.  There's this one giant tall-eared goat, named Wilson.  You know him.
Me:  Mm hmm, I do, but he's not a goat.  He's a donkey.
Cooper:  Whatever.  He's a lot of fun but he has top front teeth that can really hurt me.  You know we goats don't have top front teeth.
Me:  I know.  I wonder why that is. 
Cooper:  Today me 'n him were playin' and he got 'holda my leg and wouldn't let go.  I wouldn't stop pushing him with my head either so I think the match was a draw.  He's a cool goat.
Me:  Donkey.
Cooper:  Whatever.

Cooper:  There's a cute little girl, Tila, that follows me around lots too.  I think she likes me as a father figure though and I'm not interested in that role, if you know what I mean.
Me:  I'm pretty sure I do.  What about Jimmy, is he a good friend of yours?
Cooper:  Yeah, we're tight.  We spend lots of time together when you separate us from the girls for 6 or 7 months.  He's a pretty shy and quiet guy but when me 'n him go head to head we can make a bloody mess.  bluh, bluh, bluh, bluh, it's pretty fun.  We have contests to see who can smell the baddest.  I always win. 

Me:  Is there anything else you'd like to add that we might find interesting about you?

Cooper:  Yeah, I like to drink from hoses.

Me:  Well, I guess that's kind of interesting and unusual. 

Cooper:  Yup.  No one else here does it except that noisy dog.  Sometimes I put the hose in my mouth and can drink the water as fast as it comes out. 

Me:  I know you have things to do so I'll let you go.  Thank you for spending this time with me, even though I could have done without you chasing me. 

Cooper:  You like it.  All the girls do.

Me:  I'm sure you think that.  Take care, Cooper.

Cooper:  Mmmmmehhhmmmmm

Bark, bark, bark. Quiet Keri! Bark, bark, bark

As I sit at my desk our Great Pyrenees carries on with a constant woof, woof, woof....pause.... woof, woof, woof.  And on and on.  I've been bringing her in for an hour or so at night to let her get in a nap on the rug but inevitably she wants to go back out and BARK at intruders.  I feel very safe and sometimes a little tired of noise.

Things are good at Elk Cliff Farm, thanks to Keri and thanks to other things going very smoothly.  All is quiet on the goat front since everyone's pregnant.  The boys get to hang with the girls and donkeys and I'm not milking.  It's a very simple routine. 

I'm not breeding rabbits yet because I want to wait till it's a little warmer yet to introduce naked little bunnies into this world.  The rabbits are getting very friendly and I about trip over them every morning trying to feed and water them.  They're cute, much too cute to be meat rabbits.

The chickens are giving us 3 eggs a day and looking pretty in our lawn.  Isn't that what chickens are for, looking pretty?

And then there are pigs.  I really like these pigs, Velma and Roxie.  Why can't we keep them?  Oh, because they'll reach 700 lbs and not be able to walk, that's why:(  I'm glad I'm not a hog.  In the meantime, they're entertaining me and looking like very happy animals and that makes me happy.

After taking the 3 dogs for 6 laps around our field to wear them out (it's 10PM and Keri is still barking, so I guess we only wore ourselves out) James assisted me in saddling up Willo, the mammoth donkey.  I got a new saddle yesterday and was so excited to try it out, yet a little nervous because Willow is new to the idea of being a saddle donkey.  We tied the other 2 donkeys to a post so they wouldn't irritate Willo while we worked with her.  First James led her with me on her back.  I told him to take the lead off and let me guide her with the reins.  She took to it well and I'm still alive to tell about it.  She let me know when she was done humoring me so I called it quits while I was still somewhat in control - well, kind of.  She bucked a little to tell me she wanted no more of me being bossy.  I'm used to James giving me the same signals so I know when to back off.  I was very proud of her and the other two who stood so well and didn't complain. 

Bedtime.   Maybe when the lights are out Keri will stop barking.  She usually sleeps through the night, thank goodness.  I think I will too.

More turkeys? Really?

I know I said we weren't going to raise turkeys again but I lied.  Today I ordered 20 turkeys from McMurray Hatchery.  They'll be shipped May 5th.  It makes no sense that I'm excited about it.  I wrote on Facebook that I ordered turkeys and that I couldn't believe I did it.  My sister-in-law asked why I changed my mind.  Someone else asked, why, what happened last time?  This led me to go back through my old photos from when we had these strange creatures in the summer of 2010.  I probably should have read this blog post from August 2010 before I ordered them.
http://holesinmyjeans-kpannabecker.blogspot.com/2010/08/17-turkeys-left.html
Oh yes, they're so cute when they're just tiny chicks.  This is what 20 turkey chicks look like when they're a few days old.  Awww, they're so cute.

Their first home is a rubbermaid container with  a heat lamp I keep in the basement until they grow too big. That's when I have to expand they're space to include a huge cardboard box.  When they're too big and too stinky to keep in the basement we move them to an outside space but they still need a heat lamp till they have enough feathers to keep them warm. 

When they become gawky teenagers and they have enough feathers we put them outside.

At this point they're still "kinda" cute but getting more curious by the day and they get into your stuff, like fencepost holes and the dirt you removed from the holes.


Or they try to help you while you're cutting firewood.


After weeks of sleeping outside in their own barn they still didn't know how to get back there each night.  Finding their way around fences and through gates continued to be a challenge for many months.  We threw them back over the fence to their barn every night which got harder and harder as they got heavier and faster.  Just as you were trying to catch the last one all the others would come running out of their barn.  This is kind of a long video but it shows you how much work it can be.


As annoying as they could be they had their funny moments too.  They loved being sprayed by the hose and standing in a tub of water.

I think they would have liked car rides too but they never got the chance.

It got harder and harder to like them when they pecked at my ring every time I tried to open a gate.  Nineteen turkeys felt like 90 when you wanted to get something done without their help.  I know they weren't being mean but it didn't make their pecks hurt any less. 

And then there's this.

The real reason we ordered them is because many of our friends would like to buy locally grown turkeys during the holidays and we thought we might as well be the ones to provide them.   We have 2 turkeys left in our freezer from 2010 but they'll be long gone before these are ready to butcher.

And so it goes.... more turkey blogging to come.

Have you had enough of Keri yet?

Our farm animals are a constant source of entertainment for me so it's hard not to write about whatever's entertaining me the most.  Right now it's a puppy and donkeys. 

While I usually only tell of Keri's destructive antics I should also share that she IS a good guardian, even at her young age.  Last night I was sitting in the den at my computer.  Keri knew I was in here even though I didn't have a light on.  She sat outside staring at the window barking until I came outside.  She led me to the donkey barn where Chy and Wilson had returned after their day roaming freely in the yard.  I closed them in so they'd be with the goats for the night and Keri stopped barking.  I know she wanted me to put them where they belonged for the night.  I feel sure she's keeping other animals from our property too.  When my niece came to visit with her dog Keri could not rest.  She wanted no part of having another canine on our property even though he was about as mellow as a dog can be.  It's just not going to happen while she's on guard.  Great pyrenees have a strong dislike of canines.  Thank goodness we got her as a puppy and she adores our boxers, Rosie and Lex.  It's hard to imagine this sweet, bouncy puppy being agressive with other animals but here's proof she can be agressive.

I took her over to the field today while I fed the pigs and mammoth donkeys.  I was distracted by the pigs so I never saw how she got in there with them.  There's one strand of electric wire around their pen.  The pigs completely ignored her and she ignored them.  She found all kinds of things in there to eat.  I don't even want to think about what it was.

Keri looked small next to Roxie and Velma.  She didn't want to leave their pen when I called so I drove over to the donkeys.  I saw in my rear view mirror Keri duck under the electric fence and she didn't even cringe as her fur and tail hit it.  I guess her coat is too thick to feel the current. 

The mammoth donkeys aren't in love with Keri like I am and they let her know this.

I wish I was in front of them so you could hear how loud their brays really are.  Listen how Chy brays in answer to their call.

Below is a sight we don't see very often.

Playing can sometimes get rough

Keri and Wilson have become buddies and playmates.  They really have.  They take turns instigating.  Sometimes even Chy gets in on it.

 Sometimes they just hang out near each other.

 Other times they chase each other.

 Sometimes they just stare at each other.

Today Keri was just asking for trouble.


Later in the day Wilson played a little harder than she wanted.

Ouch, that had to hurt. 

Besides videoing Keri and Wilson I did lots of other things today.  I built a door to the once chicken coop, now rabbit coop.  I took all the rabbits out of the green house and let the girls run loose in their new space.  The smell in the green house was getting too potent.  The 2 boys have to stay in cages, poor guys.  I think they're all pretty happy.

I've made arrangements for one of my pigs to be bred in about a month so that's exciting.  I can't wait to post pictures of goat kids and piglets.  That will mean spring has arrived.

No words necessary

Complacency

I'm loving this springlike weather we've been having these past few days.  It makes me want to do things and make plans to do other things.  It's that time of the year - planning time.  Time to look at how 2011 went and what I want to do differently (or the same) in 2012. 

All my goats are bred and dried up so as of tomorrow we'll have no more goat milk to drink:(  We're even running low on cheese.  I hated to do it but I bought a half gallon of cow's milk this week.  We're only getting 2 eggs a day now too because the days are so short and the older chickens aren't laying.  I bought 2 dozen eggs from another friend who has about a hundred chickens.    We're down to 9 goats  and it feels very manageable.  Of course I'm not milking yet so we'll see how manageable it feels come March.  Out of six does we'll probably have about 12 kids.  I plan to sell all those kids but all of you who raise goats know it's easier to say that than to part with them. 

One of my goals for the year is to work harder with all 5 donkeys.  I want to teach all of them to do something new, be it ride, pull a cart or plow or even just cross the road from one side of our farm to the other.  I'm also looking forward to introducing the 3 mammoths to the 2 standard donkeys and the goats.  I hope it goes well.

I'm reading a book about goats that some friends gave me.  They just returned from a 3 month stay in Italy.  For a good part of the time they were there they stayed on a dairy farm and assisted in cheese making.  The man who ran this goat dairy is the author of the book I'm reading.  A lot of the book is  for first time goat owners but my favorite parts of the book are little stories he writes about his own experiences and how he learned from his mistakes.  He's an American who now lives in Italy so the book is written in English.  I know you all thought I was just so smart to read it in Italian but that may have to be a goal for 2022 - to learn Italian.  I just finished reading the part about kidding season and that got me all excited for when our kids arrive.  I know it will be here before I know it.  It's my favorite time of year without a doubt.  This may not get you excited but watching these videos does it for me. 





One of the things the author writes about is an experience all of us goat parents will probably experience at one time or another.  It was an accident but a preventable one I can empathize with.  His goats got into his goat feed and ate so much that they bloated and 3 of them died.  Now my goats have never died from that but I have had a few scares from goats getting into chicken feed.  It's not something you'll ever forget.  It makes you feel horrible.

Where was I going with this blog?  Oh yeah, complacency.

It was so beautiful today and I had little to do so I let the goats out to graze in the yard.  They don't require much attention since there's nothing in bloom that they can destroy so I sat and read my book with them in my periphery.  What a great way to end the day, relaxing, watching goats graze and reading a good book.  After 30 minutes I realized they'd dissapeared from my view.  I worried about them getting into James' garden because one of the gate latches wasn't secured.  As I walked toward the garden I realized it wasn't the garden I needed to be concerned about.  With the author's story of his bloated goats fresh in my mind I hastened my pace toward the garage where I store all my animal's feed.  There they were all piled on top of bags of feed.   It was hard to tell who was in to what.  There's no stopping a goat when it's head is in a bag of yummy feed.  After much wrestling I got a cupful of crushed corn and called the goats to follow me.  Luckily all but one followed me back to their fence where I locked them in.  I quickly ran back to the garage where Cooper, my buck, had his head in the bag of hog feed.  Cooper weighs about the same as I do but I swear he was 10 times stronger than me when I was trying to get his head out of the bag.  It took a good while before I finally got him distracted by a bucket of ground corn and he followed me up the driveway  and in with the rest of the herd.  My chest hurt from all the exertion it took to get everyone back to safety.  Cooper looked none the worse for wear.  Just a little corn in the whiskers.  I hope everyone is feeling ok in the morning.

Time to lock the chickens up.  That's another thing I'd become complacent about.  I hadn't been locking the birds up at night because Keri was out there with them.  Two mornings ago Keri found a headless chicken in the yard.  I guess she can't be everywhere at all times so I need to close their door at nights again.