A Week in Review

Goat and life.  Life and goats.  Sometimes it seems that goats are my life!  Then other times, it seems life gets in the way of the goats!  This past week was one of those weeks where there was a lot more "other life" than "goats!"  Here is a week in review (in pictures)...

I thought summer was here in full force last week.  We had soaring temperatures which threatened to hit 90 degrees!  I found this wasp attempting to build a nest under the porch railing.  A sure sign of hot weather!

But then, surprise! surprise!  I woke up one morning and the temperatures were "cool" again.  I pulled my jacket back out of the closet to do morning chores!  As I write, I think the cool front has passed, but I am glad for the last little kiss of winter (Texas winter, that is).

Goats are browsers, not grazers.  They would much rather eat trees and brush than grass.  Since it was not an option to put the goat pen around trees, we have been cutting "browse" from various trees around the property.  The goats love it!  In addition to browse, they have also been eating from the kitchen compost bucket.  So far, carrots are a big hit.  The following pictures give you a glimpse of their eagerness around carrots...

"Here comes the Goat Girl…Hey, Edna, what do you think is in that compost bucket?"

"Oh, goody!  Carrots!  Yum!"

"Let's be greedy!  More candy for me!"

"I can't believe these are so yummy, Elly May!  Aren't they just amazing?"

"Hey, girls.  Move over.  Give me those!"

Moving on from carrot eating pictures, Elly May has this really funny tuft of hair on her back.  The hair grows in the wrong direction causing the hair to always stand up straight!

Best Friends (who enjoy a good head butt for fun)

Elly May and Edna both have cracked hooves and pasterns.  A fellow goat owner told me it was vitamin A&E deficiency.  So, they get their daily dose now!

A good picture to end on--the milking routine!  Charlotte has been producing about 4-6 pounds per day, for which I am very happy!  She has definitely made some improvements such as excitedly jumping up on the milking stand in the mornings and evening when I milk, eating more grain, and patiently waiting to be milked.  Such a good goat!