Where does the time go ??

It seems like years since I have been able to just sit down and blog a little...it has been quite some time I guess. Just so much work to do and then that living thing takes up a lot of time too. Between the farm and the kids the hours fly by, daylight then moonlight, all in the matter of a few minutes it seems. I am so sorry to have let all of my dear friends and faithful readers down these last several months. I feel as if I have let myself down too. I started this blog so I could have a place to bring my thoughts, hopes, dreams and experiences to share with others, good or bad as they may be.

I must report that there have been many failures in these past months here on the farm, garden is as bad as bad can be I think. Just too much rain. Maters and Cukes are doing good, what corn that did manage to grow some was consumed by the goats the other day. When had to go out of town for a few days and when we pulled back in at the house the goats where making their way thru the garden eating the corn as they went. LOL !! Might as well laugh it off, nothing else is going to help it anyway. LOL !! Tater bugs got the best of me yet again this year, trying to have an organic garden is pure hell sometimes. I use NO sprays of any kind and it's hard to fight off all the enemies of a garden without them. But, we get by I guess, at least we know what little we do get is not full of poison, thank God.

Well, got to get back on the run, life calls and I must answer. I hope to be able to get around to reading all of your blogs over the next few days, I miss that more than anything else. Ya'll take care now, ya hear.

Chris

An update...Finally !!!!

Sorry to all my very faithful readers for my sparse posting. Life happened. With taking care of this little farm and my girls very little time is left for anything else it seems. Busy time for anyone that has a garden to tend too, most of you do I know.

So here is a little of what's going on in my neck of the woods. Plowed the garden a few weeks ago I think.....planted some taters, onions, broccoli and lettuce. I have some mater seeds started and peppers and cuke's too. The cuke's are already up too, in only 4 days they sprouted. Planting all heirloom seeds this year, nothing else. I ordered the Survival Seed Vault on the banner on the sidebar and I am VERY PLEASED !!! I should never have to buy seed again, not too bad for a hundred bucks either. Click on the banner and look at all you get. A big thanks to Bullseye for letting me know about the seeds and for showing me how to get the banner for my blog too. If you want to have this banner on your blog just click the link below the banner and sign up, it's that easy. I think you get a few bucks too if someone buys the seeds from your banner. Hey, you offer a great product at a great price and everybody wins, I like the sound of that. Anyway, order you some heirloom seeds and get signed up to have the banner too, maybe will can all make a buck in the end. LOL

My pygmy goat, Emily never did have her kids, I think she must have lost them somewhere along the way. I was really looking forward to see those little babies too. I'm going to breed her again real soon and try again. Liv is out of town this week with the girls and the camera or I would post on recent pics of the kids, they are growing like crazy.

Chickens are really starting to get in the groove too. Been getting 4 or 5 eggs a day from my 7 layers. Ducks are laying like crazy too. One of the hens is setting on 15 eggs and I think they should hatch in a week or so. It takes the Muscovy's 33 days to hatch I think. I know it's longer than any chicken or any other duck. Guess that's why they're so pretty, they get to take their time. hehe!!

Got a few apple trees planted too. I hope to get a few more next week. Lowes has them for $19.95, well, 20 bucks. lol Planted a Granny Smith and a Red Delicious so far. I would love to have 10 or 12 trees, that would be great. But like everything else, not enough time or money to go around. Maybe later.

Well, I better get back to work. Talk to you soon, I promise.

Chris

Super Nice Weather !!

We have had some GREAT weather the last two days. Along with the warm Sun comes a lot of work too, and that's fine by me. I love to be out working in the yard and garden, getting ready for planting once again. I can hardly wait for the smell of freshly turned dirt and wild onions to fill the air. This weather gets me so excited I can hardly stand myself, I know others have a hard time standing me too..lol The chickens have celebrated the first of spring with a bounty of eggs, gathered 11 eggs from my 7 layers in the last two days. I'm so proud of them girls and glad to have them back in action. Eggs have been scarce through the long winter months. Still not recovered the greenhouse, it's on the short list now, but will be starting some tomato's inside in our little mini greenhouse tray tomorrow. Would love to do it today but we have all played ourselves out for the day. Should sleep good tonight, with thoughts of seeds,bulbs and plants filling my dreams. There seems to be nothing that feels more at home in my hand than the well worn handle of a hoe or shovel, we become one if only for a short while. It's like shaking hands with and old friend, it's hard not to smile.

The goats and the girls had a nice day in the goat lot playing. Here's a few picks of my animals..LOL

Warm weather and time with the Goats

Been really nice here today, around 60 degrees and partly cloudy. This morning I could hear the birds singing their songs of spring and it really got me excited all over. I hauled several loads of sawdust to add to the garden today trying to build up the garden beds some. Most of the rest of the day has been spent with the goats. Katie just can't get enough of the goats and neither can I. I am looking forward to getting my hands in the dirt soon. I need to get some onions started and I also need to work on the greenhouse some too. The plastic that I used to cover it is pretty well gone now. Also have some ginseng roots and seeds on order and can't wait til they get here so I can get started on that project too. Just been trying to stay busy and do the things that will make my spring work a little easier. There is always something to be done here on the farm it's just trying to figure out which one to do next. Me and Katie have had a good day and we are going back outside to play. Sorry I have been so long posting but there has just not been a lot going on to post about, at least not anything anyone would want to read about. LOL

Picture of me and Katie in the goat lot. Liv took it with her phone and it's not very big. But anyway here we are enjoying the goats.

Too Cold to do anything else

Just look at these precious little kids all snuggled up together in the barn. Priceless !!

Daisy is introducing Eve and Scout to their father, Chief. "Hey Dad wanna play??"


Eve and Scout are both eating anything and everything a goat would or could eat. They are only a little more than 3 weeks old now, that's gotta be a good sign.

Chief beat me to the gate in his pen today so I just let him graze for a while. He's not going anywhere when there are 3 does near by...Kinda like me..LOL

I had a few branches to break due to the weight of the ice. Goats love pine needles as you can see, they will eat the bark off the branches too.

Eve is always eager to pose for a picture, she's such a pretty little thing.

Muscovy's on the prowl always looking for something to eat. These things can eat more than any animal I have.

When it's cold enough to freeze the pond over like this.....

I'm sure glad I have this. This baby is a '97 model with 212,000 miles on it and it's still the best vehicle we own. But that's just my opinion..the girls seem to think the HHR is the best one. As you can see the van is just sitting there and has been since we bought the HHR. Oh well, it's there when we need it I guess.

"Stylin" New Kids on the Block

Well, Liv thought it was just too cold for these new kids to be unclothed tonight so she decided to get them some snazzy new matching hooded sweatshirts. Ain't they cool??

Storm is Stylin.

And of course little Miss Prissy had to have one too. She also wants the matching handbag to go along with her Stylin new sweatshirt. Man I hope Liv don't buy it for her.....

She almost looks like an opossum in this picture. Come to think of it so do I. LOL

Look mommy, it's like a little baby doll.

Snow Goat Kids

Look what we woke up to this morning. Lou Lou finally had her babies sometime last night I guess. 1 buckling, the little brown one that looks just like our other 2 kids, and 1 doeling, snow white. I present to you, Storm (the buckling) and Miss Prissy ( the doeling ). I will no doubt be posting some more pic later but now I need to go spend time with our new arrivals. Nothing makes me happier than new life on the farm !!!!

Sourdough Bread is in the oven

Got my sourdough bread in the oven and man it smells sooooo goooooood. I'll get ya some pics just as soon as it comes out. Not been much going on here on the farm the last few days so not much to post about. Just been cold and been taking care of all the animals. Having to carry water several times a day so they will always have fresh water to drink. Goat kids are growing like crazy, 3 weeks old now. Lou Lou has still not had her kids yet. She is getting a lot bigger though and has a huge milk sack. Maybe soon. I'll get you some pictures of this bread tomorrow and let you know how it tastes. If it's as good as it smells I better be quick with the camera, it'll go fast. Talk to you all soon.

Cold & Goat Pictures

Spent most of the day caring for the goats and chickens. Carrying water mostly. It was a great day to own coveralls for sure, couldn't make it without 'em in this weather. Took of few pictures of the goats while I was out too.

Eve is so photogenic, ain't she a pretty thing?

I see where the goats milk is going. That's ok, nothing better for the kids.

Eve just had to turn around for one more picture. hehe!! You can see where I put plastic over the front of the little barn.

Eve and Scout investigating a water bucket.

And the Chief, our pygmy buck and the father of the kids.

Chief's little house. This is Katie's summer playhouse that I bought at the flea market for 10 bucks. Works great for goat housing in the winter. I don't think Chief cares much for the pink door though.

Today wasn't a total loss

Even though I still have no goats milk the day was still pretty productive. Daisy did seem happy to get on the milking stand, that has to be good. We are in for some really cold weather this week and I needed to work on the chicken coop and the goat barn some to prepare for it. Don't want to loose any animals due to my neglect. I covered the 2 windows on the chicken coop with clear plastic to keep the cold out and the warm in. I also got 3 eggs today, have only been getting about 4 or 5 a week. That's better for sure. I covered the goat barn on the front where I had left somewhat of an opening so they could get plenty of fresh air. I sealed it up and left an opening in the door so they can still get in and out. This should keep it warmer and dryer in the barn. Lou Lou, our other boer doe, is getting bigger and bigger the last few days. Maybe we will have more kids soon. She is not as big as Daisy was so I am not really expecting twins from her. This is also her first breeding as was Daisy's. Emily, our pygmy doe, is gaining some weight but I don't think she will kid anytime very soon. Ya just never know.

I know I have gave you nothing but failures the last few days and I'm sorry. You all take time to stop by and read my ramblings and you must leave on a bit of a sorrowful note. Hope I'm not ruining your day by sharing my failures. But, I want to give you an honest account of what goes on here. It's not always success. I am new to many of the things that I try and can only rely my research, your advice and trial and error. I can only keep trying and learning along the way. For some of you, none of this is new, for others that may be thinking and dreaming of living on a small farm, maybe you are learning along with me. I hope so. I don't paint the prettiest picture for you but, and honest one. I hope you will stay with me and maybe I can post on some real success stories for us both. Until then, I'll be here, one foot in front of the other, moving along as best I can.

'Til then, I remain,

Your Friend,

Chris

Success with the Stand, Not with the Milking

Daisy on the milking stand.

Woke this morning with nothing but the thoughts of sweet goats milk on my mind. My stand was ready and I had my easy goat milker in hand. On to the barn. Once there I feed the girls and persuaded Daisy to follow me into the little barn and onto the stand with a little feed. She happily followed right along and jumped up on the stand like an old pro. I closed the head gate, all was well. This is going to be a great day for me were my thoughts. I added a little more feed to the feeder so she would have plenty to keep her busy while I easily filled my jar with milk. I washed the utter and teats (hehe!!) and gave a good rub to help let down the milk. My easy goat milker that I am sure will work doesn't want to work for me. I try several times but just can't get enough suction. I had another sprayer with me just in case. Spinner said that the one I had may not work quite so well so I found another. Still, not success. OK then, I'll give it a try by hand again, she seems pretty happy on the stand anyway. No dice. The first squirt was fair but then the teats, both of them) went limp. There was just nothing there. So, I have a few questions for my goat milking readers.

1. The kids are still nursing, are they beating me to the milk??

2. Should I wait until the kids are weaned to start taking milk for myself??

3. Am I just too stupid to learn this new skill??

4. Should I just keep trying the same thing that I'm doing now??

Any answers to any of these questions would be much appreciated. I am determined to learn this skill and, like so may I have read about, starting to feel beaten. Any help for this po' ol' farm boy??

Milk Stand Complete and Easy Goat Milker

Well, if you have read my last post you know that the only thing left to do on the milking stand was to attach the feeder. Got 'er done. Had time today to get ready to try to milk again tomorrow. The feeder is made of scrap 2x2's and the bucket is one I got for free from a bakery. Cool !! I built this thing with scrap wood and a free bucket, my only cost was for the nails!! Now that's my kinda project.

The feeder bucket can be removed for cleaning too !!


I had to have a way to lock the head gate. I have seen many online that used a chain at the top or a rope or bungee cord to keep the gate closed so the doe doesn't pull her head back thru. I decided that a block placed on each side would work fine too. This also keeps the gate from moving from side to side. Just drop them in place and the gate is locked. Take them out to release the gate and the doe. Again, scrap 2x2's.



Feeder in place and the head gate in the locked position.



Loaded up and ready to go to the barn for the girls inspection. Once there our pygmy doe, Emily, jumped right up on it giving it the thumbs up. As fate would have it I forgot to take a picture while in the barn. Tomorrow I post a picture. (Hopefully in use.)





I am a lot of things but an experienced milker is not one of them. On my last attempt I was really afraid that I was hurting Daisy by not doing it just right. If I am unable to grasp the tit....oops...I mean teat (who ever came up with that word anyway) in the right place I could force milk back in to the sack causing her pain and discomfort. Well, I was lucky enough to be surfin around over at Spinner's blog and found this GREAT IDEA !! An Easy Goat Milker as Spinner calls it. It consists of a 20 mil. disposable syringe attached to a 1/4 inch tube and then to a sprayer from a spray bottle. Go here to see it in action. You all know how cheap I am so this was great for me. Another cheap and easy project. I didn't have the supplies that I needed here so me and Katie headed out to Tractor Supply where I found it all. The syringe -.99 cents, 10 ft. 1/4 tubing $1.79 and they charged my $1.50 for the sprayer (which I thought was high). Total for the supplies- $4.28 + tax. Not bad at all. The barrel of the syringe is placed over the goats tit....errr.....teat and then you pull the trigger on the sprayer. The suction brings the milk thru the tube and out the sprayer and into your pail. Spinner has great success with this and I hope I will too.


A big GIANT THANK YOU t0 Spinner for the idea.

Milking Stand

Made a little progress today. I rounded up enough scrap lumber to finish the Goat's Milking Stand. Well, I'm nearly finished, still have to attach the feeder on the front. All in all it's not bad and will work just fine. I made it 20 inches wide and 4o inches long, 18 inches high. Those numbers just seemed to be right for me. I kinda went by this picture and made a few adjustments along the way. In the first picture you can see the neck gate is open. The goat will put her head thru the gate to get to the feed and then you close the gate. This holds her head in place so she can't pull back thru and interrupt the milking process. In theory that is. If she tries to move her legs around and kick the bucket over I will attach a small strap to the base so I can restrain her legs.

The neck gate is closed in this picture.

I can also use this stand when I need to trim the goats hooves or examine them. This way I can feel better knowing they are secure during the whole thing. I'll move it to the barn tomorrow and let the girls kinda get used to it being there. I may add a little feed to the feeder too. That is if I get the feeder finished. Anyway they can get used to it. In a few days I will try to milk again. Maybe have better luck this time. Oh yea, I also have some roll roofing left over that I can use on the base. This will keep them from maybe slipping while on the stand and it's good and rough and will help wear their hooves down some to I guess.

I had a plan that I thought would help with my addictions today. I would just be without them. If ya ain't got ya can't smoke or drink 'em. Well that was a good plan. The only problem is that I have 3 vehicles sitting out there that will take me anywhere I want to go. Too bad I had a little cash too I guess. Well, you know where this storey is going. Next time I will get rid of this nasty money. The battle continues..........

Round 1 - Daisy- 1 Chris- 0

Well, my goat milking day could have went a lot better, could have been worse too I guess. I still have a grin on my face thinking of the days events. I gathered my bucket of warm soapy water and rag to wash of the utter and teats. I had my bucket for my anticipated milk. I had a feed bucket fixed to the wall of the barn at just the right height. I had my bag balm and teat dip ready. I had a small box of raisins to offer as a reward for being such a good girl while I milked her. Daisy's collar was attached to the leash to keep her from moving around during the process. I was set, or so I thought. I gently placed my hand on the first teat and gave a little squeeze and a small stream of milk came out and onto the ground. The first few squirts are sent to the ground as to clean the end of the teat of anything that may be in the end. OK, seems to be going ok. Then 3 more squirts in the bucket and then Daisy began to move around a bit. Ok, I'll talk to her and maybe calm us both down a little. After a little conversation and brushing my hand over her back I tried again. Daisy made it clear that this was not something that she cared for at all. Ok, let's talk it over and see if we can get through this. She was getting very frustrated and tyring her best to free herself from the leash that held her somewhat in place. I decided to unclasp the leash and see what happened. She went to the opposite corner and turned and faced me as if to say "that's enough for today". Well rather than leave us both frustrated with the situation I decided that maybe that was enough for today. I gave her the raisins anyway almost trying to say I'm sorry and gave her plenty of love. So for today, Daisy 1, Chris 0. She may have won this battle but I will continue to fight the silent and gentle war. It was something new for us both and we both have much to learn. That's ok, we have to start somewhere and today we got our start. Tomorrow I will start on the milking stand that I want to build and we'll see how it goes with that set up. Only time will tell. I remain very determined to milk my goats but I am willing to be patient so as to make it a pleasant experience for us both. Tomorrow, I will try again......and again......and again.

The reward for today's efforts. Hey, it's just a drop in the bucket as they say.

Tomorrow - I Milk !

Tomorrow I will milk a goat for the very first time. I have read all that can be read and done all my home work and now the time has come to get down to business. I have gathered some supplies and I am about as ready as I can be. I still need to get some teat dip, Tractor Supply was out today so tomorrow I will go to Southern States to get some. Pickup up a collar for Daisy today and put it on her. I hope to use a lead rope to secure her while I milk her and she will have a bucket of feed in front of her too to keep her busy. I still have not built a milking stand, that's soon to come. I guess it will be a learning experience for both Daisy and me. That has been the plan for some time now, to have somewhat of a dairy goat farm. Now that we have bred and birthed a set of twins and have a doe to milk we are getting closer. My plan is to make goats milk soap, lotion and cheese and maybe sell some of it on Etsy or the Farmers Market and or the flea market. I guess it would be a pretty good barter item as well. Trade some milk for something that I don't have. Our Doe is a Boer and not really a dairy goat per say but all goats give milk, some more than others. I have read that a good dairy goat will give about 1 gal of milk per day. Maybe I can get 1/2 that or so, time will tell. I do want/need a good stainless steel milk bucket. I have found one online that I really like for around $50.00 with shipping but I will wait to see what I can find locally first. This one has a hood so nothing can fall into the bucket of fresh milk. I too am looking forward to drinking some of this milk, the only goats milk I have ever had before came from the store. I'm sure it's not even close to what fresh milk tastes like.

I am continuing to prep as I can each day. Took my pop cans off today and got $25.00. The price had dropped from 50 cents to 30, but it's some anyway. Put $20 in the tank in the jeep and picked up a 4lb bag of pinto beans at Kroger for $3.49. You can never have enough pinto beans and they go a long way too. 1/4 cup of beans cook up to be 3/4 cup of cooked beans, not too bad. Plus I love them.......cornbread and a big sweet onion.....mmmmmmmmmmm. Now that's some preps I can get into big time. Each dollar I can spend toward food storage or fuel will keep me better prepared in the future. Hard times can happen to anyone and anytime and I want to be ready if it comes my way. Putting some away is just smart to do for anyone. Why not spend your extra on something that will be useful for you and your family in the future, it doesn't have to be much at one time. A few dollars here and there really add up over time. I am always looking for things that I can keep and use for preparedness, even at the fast food places. Yep, I prep Wendy's style too. If I am at the drive thru I always ask for extra condiments, always. If I go inside ( where you can get even more ) I hit the condiment bar hard and heavy. Hey, they said to help myself and I have paid for it so why not get what I need. Now I don't clean them out or anything but I do get some of each condiment. Once home I put each in a separate jar with lid and there ya have it, preps for free. (well kinda free). I have plenty salt, pepper, sugar,ketchup and mayo, napkins, plastic spoons, forks and straws for future use.

My smoking habit is tough to break. Tomorrow I will try the patch, maybe 1 over each ear, 1 over each eye and 1 over my mouth will do the trick. Today has been better than yesterday though. 9 smokes and 7 cokes, sounds like a lot, don't it?

Goat Kids and Preps

Had to go to town today (Grrrrr) so I thought since I was there anyway I might as well pick up some goodies. Found this great first aid kit made by Johnson&Johnson. This thing is loaded with all kinds of stuff. 200 pieces and coverage for Skin: Wound Treatment and Protection, itch relief,burns,poison ivy toxin removal, splinter removal. Muscle: aches and pains,swelling,finger sprains,muscle pain. Body: diarrhea,body heat retention,colds and allergies. Equipment and instructions: emergency light, first aid instruction,temperature measurement. All in this neat plastic container that is marked as first aid. We needed to add some stuff to our first aid and this thing just has so many different things that I thought it would be a great addition. I would also recommend this to any one as a very good starter first aid kit. Walmart-$20.00 I also picked up 2 more 1lb (well 1.02 lbs) propane fuel bottles. I try to pick up a few of these each month. Walmart-$5.36 for a 2 pack.

Well I might as well pick up some more CFL's while I'm there too. These things can really save you some $$$. You get the same amount of light as a 60 watt bulb for only 13 watts. If you change all the bulbs in your house to these CFL's you will see a difference in your energy usage. Walmart-$6.97 for a 3 pack, they cost a little more but are well worth the savings.



Then on to Lowes. My meter has been on the injured list for a while now. It's an old one that my Dad gave me years ago. And I mean like 30 years or so ago. I have to have one for my alternative energy projects, so I'm already here, and it's cheaper to get it now rather than come back to town later to buy one. This one should fit my needs just fine. Lowes-$21.95. The funny thing is I just went to Walmart to pick up a prescription and Lowes to get 3 2x6's. Hey, it's stuff that we need and can use so I can justify the cost.

The new goat kids are really doing well. They are running and jumping around the lot and having a ball. They seem to be really healthy. The doe we have named Eve, they were born on New Years Eve and it just seemed right. She has a white spot on the top of her head. The buck kid will be Scout.

This is Scout wondering what those things are with the feathers.


Gotta grab a little warm milk before he goes out to scout the area again.Lou Lou looks like she may be getting close to having kids of her own soon. Only time will tell, I'm not even gonna try to guess again. lol