Farm Photo Tour!

Hello Again, Blog!  

I've repeatedly been asked what my plans for this weekend include.  "The Goats Are Due!" is my consistent response!  Edna is due on Saturday.  She is definitely getting close.  All the goats were 4 days late last year, but the weather has been so different this year that I can't even guess whether she will be on time or not!

Our goats and farm were recently the subjects of a photo shoot my sister initiated.  The way she captured the beauty that we wake up to every morning is breathtaking!

We'll start our "tour" with photos of the beautiful wildflowers around the farm...

Bluebonnets are such a "Texas" thing!

The deep red of the Indian Paintbrushes offers a vivid contrast to the bluebonnets.

The Primroses are such dainty, delicate flowers!

The wildflowers make beautiful bouquets...

Now, please step into the garden...

There are Marigolds planted in antique tin pots around the garden.  The marigolds add cheery color to the garden and they keep the bugs away too!

Thyme seems to stand still in this lovely pot!

The Dill is flourishing!

Anyone care for a piece of chocolate mint?

This Dianthus is bursting with beauty! 

A friend surprised me with a package of lettuce seeds in the mail a few months ago.  We are now enjoying yummy salads!

Now please come with me to visit the chickens...

The chicks have arrived!  There are over 35 peeping balls of fuzz in the brooder!  They are so frail, yet so full of life!

Out with the "big chickens," this guy keeps us laughing!  Hey dude!

Silver Spangled Hamburgs are some of my favorite breeds of chickens.  I am intrigued by black and white chickens for some reason (thus, my other favorite breeds are barred rocks and silver laced wyandottes).  But, chickens aren't really my "department."  So, let's go visit the goats now!

 

Say "hi" to Blue Bell the dog on the way over to the goat pen!

Edna, my cute goat!

Her beard is really growing!

She and Charlotte don't always play the nicest.  I often have to reprimand those silly goats!

Charlotte seems to think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence!

It's been hot.  Considering they are also about to kid, I've caught them laying around recently!

Look at Elly May's round tummy!  Anyone want to guess how many kids she will have?

She is also developing a nice udder.  It will soon be milking time!

She is such a friendly, talkative goat.  Haha!

I can't wait for kidding time!

 This concludes our "farm tour" for today!  I am so thankful to the the Lord Jesus for allowing me to enjoy this place in this season.  To Him--the Creator of life and beauty--be the glory!

Until next time..."I'll Fly Away!"

Under the Udder!

Since the goats are "dry" right now, their udders aren't very impressive.  (Except for Elly May's!  She is a "first freshener."  Earlier this year she just had two tiny little teats and now she has a full udder!)  However, the long hairs growing under their udders kept growing and getting longer and longer... The kids will soon be here and so will milking time!  Keeping the hairs around the udder cut short helps the goat kids be able to find the udder easier and also keeps hair out of the milking pail (yuck).  So, it was a great time for an udder hair cut!

Elly May's udder before...

I found a beard trimmer in with the haircut kit that our family uses.  We weren't using it so I  confiscated it for the goats and it works great!

We had to coax Elly May to stay still on the milking stand while she had her udder trimmed!

All finished!  This udder is ready for baby goats and milking time now!

I Should Have Done It Sooner

It is hard to believe that I have already owned goats for TWO years now.  They seem to just fit into the rhythm of life!  They have brought so much fun and I am so thankful for this adventure!

Even though goats now seem to fit into my rhythm of life, there is ALWAYS something else that needs to be fixed, tweaked, purchased, improved, etc.!  This week I did something I should have done a lot sooner!  I bought carabiners for the buckets to hang on the fence.  I was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the fact that the goat's feed buckets were being set on the ground.  After they were done eating, I would stack the buckets and manure and dirt would get everywhere.  It was quite unsanitary!  So, I finally washed all of the buckets and disinfected them.  Then, I tied a piece of paracord with a carabiner on it to each handle.  Now the buckets can hang from the fence and they will stay nice and neat!  I really should have done it sooner!

The Letter "H"

You may have noticed that Charlotte (born in 2012) has a name starting with "C."  Edna and Elly May (born in 2014) have names starting with "E."  Frankincense and Fritz (born in 2015) have names starting with "F."  So guess what 2016's letter-of-the-year will be?  No...not G!  2016 is the "H" year!  "Hurray!"

I wrote a longer post last year  (read here) about the ADGA's method of tattooing.  Each year they have a "preferred" letter to tattoo in the goat's left ear which symbolizes the year.  They skip the letters G, I, O, Q, and U since they are hard to distinguish when tattooed in a goat's ear (thus, this is the "H" year.)

Since I love order and consistency, I like to name the goats according to the letter-of-the-year!  I have been keeping a list of "H" names for the goat kids which are arriving very soon!  All three of the does are pregnant, so I am expecting at least 3 kids to name.  However, it is possible that the goats could have twins so there may be more!  I'd love your input in helping me choose the names for The Great Goat Adventure's 2016 kids!

Happy

Hillbilly

Honey

Howdy

Hallah

Houston

Heiress

Heath

Honor

Hibiscus

Hero

Hermie

Hiram

Heidi

Hollister

Habanero

Hilarious

Hobo

Hoagie

Hubris

Hullabaloo

Humor

Hummus

Hoppie

Hardy

Please note: the aid of a dictionary, a late night, and the "tired-sillies" were used in the creation of this list!

What do you think?  Do you have any to add?  Please leave a comment!

Boosting Before Birth

The "countdown" is on!  Goat kids should be arriving in about three weeks!  As the goat keeper, I have been busy making sure each of the does has their proper "boost" before birth!

Each of the does receives Selenium/Vitamin E gel before their due date.  I have written in a previous post about the benefits of giving this supplement.  See "Selenium and CD/T."  The gel is butterscotch flavored so the goats love it!

I also give 2cc of the CD/T (Tetanus) shot.  I felt much more confident about giving vaccines this year!  

I was concerned that the bottle said to use all of the contents upon opening.  However, some other farmer-friends told me that it keeps fine in the fridge for longer periods of time.

The goat pen is a great place to be!