Back to Basic Living

Bernie’s been busy adding the lean-to on the front of the goat barn the last couple of days.

He never ceases to amaze me what he’s learned to do since we’ve moved here. I think he does such a nice job with buildings - something he had no idea how to do not so very long ago.

Georgia and Mirrie worked up an appetite admiring Bernie’s handiwork.

Sometimes Mirrie gets so excited she forgets to quit walking forward while she’s munching.

Georgia is convinced the best leaves are the highest leaves.

She does a pretty good job of stretching up to some of the taller branches.

Mirrie likes to do her browsing a little closer to the ground.

That way she can ham it up for the camera a little easier.

Sweet little goat babies.

Each afternoon I open the entrance to the goat barn and bring Georgia and Mirrie out into the yard to play and browse for a while. And each afternoon, their first stop is the milking/storage area where Mirrie tries to get at the sweet feed, and Georgia nibbles a little hay.

Today, they took off running like crazy once they got outside.

They were in a great hurry to get somewhere.

Ah, I see. They needed to get to this tree before it got away.

Georgia struck out on her own.

Mirrie refused to be left behind.

Good thing, too. Georgia found a tasty oak leaf.

And Mirrie found a small tree in need of pruning.

Georgia struck a profile pose for me.

And then they begged some carrots off of me.

Before too long, it was time to head back to the goat barn. They weren’t very enthusiastic about going back in, until I promised a little sweet feed as a reward. That got them moving.

It’s never easy walking away from these little faces though.

We’ve been truly blessed with some nice weather lately. Really nice weather. The kind of weather I was convinced we wouldn’t ever see again. We’ve taken advantage of it.

The goat barn has gotten a little update. Here’s a before picture of the storage/milking room:

Not bad. But we added a shelf, and it made all the difference - at least to me:

And this is looking from the storage/milking room over at the goat barn area:

That little wall is just over four feet tall - and little Mirrie could jump up and easily look over it. I worried she would eventually be able to make that leap and end up in the storage/milking area - with free access to hay. I have a true fear of that right now…. So, we fixed that little problem. It now looks like this:

Bernie added an upper door to the lower one I go into on the left. And he added a couple of 2 X 4’s to keep her from getting over on the right side.

I also built them a hay rack outside. Bernie will build a lean-to over this area in the very near future so it will be protected from weather.

They seem to like it pretty good.

Mostly Mirrie was interested in getting at my sunglasses I hooked on the door while we worked.

Or playing on her spool.

Georgia doesn’t really like getting on the spool, but she likes aggravating Mirrie when she’s on it.

Georgia is such a sweet girl. Just look at her precious face.

She’s good at finding browse in the yard.

And Mirrie’s good at joining in when Georgia finds good eats.

We also built a milk stand for them today.

Milking is a little way off, but this is also good to use for trimming hooves and doctoring. Once we secure the neck, we can give them sweet feed to keep them somewhat distracted while we do what we need to do.

Check out Fiasco Farms for detailed plans on this milk stand. We didn’t follow this exactly, but it certainly gave us the basis for what we built.

I also had some time to work in the greenhouse this weekend.

This was our first winter with the greenhouse, and we enjoyed tomatoes and peppers well into October with in. It also housed a few plants for me over this brutal winter. I was quite pleased to find that the vast majority of them not only survived, but flourished! Look to the right and on the floor.

The left shelf has the seeds I planted this weekend. I’m hoping they will do well in the greenhouse and flourish in the garden.

With the exception of the Sago, Aloe Vera, and fig trees, everything else spent this harsh winter in the greenhouse. I’m tickled at how well everything did.

I appreciate the sunshine, warmth, and new growth of springtime. And the opportunity to start anew. Spring allows us to do that. Start anew. Thank goodness for springtime.

I want to thank each of you personally for all the kind words. But I can’t. Every time I try my eyes fill with tears and I can no longer see what I’m typing. Thank you - each and every one. And forgive me if it seems impersonal. It truly is not. I just can’t get past the emotion.

I suspect I’ll never get over losing sweet little Hope. Especially since I’ve learned what I could have done to prevent it. And even what I could have done to save her. It would have been hard. But I could have done it. That will haunt me forever I’m sure. But now I know. I won’t lose another to bloat. At least not without saying I did my dead level best to save her. But honestly? I did my best with Hope. I just didn’t know……

Georgia is doing GREAT. She is already running to me when I go into the goat barn. I’m not surprised that she is showing dominance. She is the Queen, and I am respecting that. Mirrie? Not so much. Mirrie couldn’t care less about the Queen. When I enter the goat barn Mirrie runs up to me screaming bloody murder. Georgia is right behind her, and butts Mirrie out of the way. I understand that Georgia is Queen. I reach down and pet her first. If I’m feeding Mirrie a bottle, I make sure I offer some sweet feed to Georgia first, and then feed Mirrie. I’m trying to teach Mirrie, but she is too danged sweet, cute, and stubborn. And before it’s all said and done I am on my knees kissing Mirrie and loving on her. Georgia comes right up, and I’m sure to show her as much attention as she will allow.

It’s going to be ok. I don’t think I’ll ever really get over this experience, but it’s going to be ok. We’re building a milking stand this weekend. It will hold goats while they are milked, and while they are worked on (trimming hooves, etc.) I’m excited to get that finished.

Please allow me to also quickly bring you up to date on the pups….We had to take them to the vet for booster shots this afternoon. Diesel weighs 77 pounds. Dolly weights 70 pounds. The vet wants to see Diesel at 70 pounds, and Dolly at 65 pounds. This will not be easy. These pups exercise daily - a lot. They also enjoy their treats - a lot. The vet asked what they get treats for and Bernie said “Breathing.” And the vet reached down and petted both of them and said “You are wonderful pups - but breathing just isn’t that special”. *sigh* Now the pups are on a diet. The good news is that the surgery Diesel is certain to have due to hip dysplasia may be prolonged if he loses weight. That’s worth is to all of us. At just over one year old, Diesel has a fair amount of issues with his hips and legs…..

Thank all of you. Not only for following my blog, but being such sweet friends. Spring is springing - and soon I’ll be posting about planting in the garden, preserving, canning, baby chicks, pregnant does, and all the wonderful things that this time of year brings. Thank you for sticking with me during the hard times. Because there are always hard times. No matter what you dream about living in the country, you must accept that there will be hard times. It’s not easy, but you can get past it. Maybe you can learn from my mistakes. In the end, that really is why I started this blog in the first place.

XXXOOO

I have to tell y’all, losing our little precious Hope in such a traumatic way was a horrific experience. I would not wish that on anyone. As upset as Bernie and I were yesterday, poor Mirrie was beyond consolation. She didn’t understand where her sister went. She couldn’t stand being alone. It was such a bad day for all of us.

Even though none of us will get over our loss, Angie knew that we needed a companion for Mirrie as quickly as possible, and she offered us a sweet one year old doeling. Today I went and picked her up.

Interestingly enough, she had never been named. When she was born someone has asked to buy her, and requested that Angie not name her. This person wanted to choose the name. Time went on, and eventually the person that had wanted to buy her backed out of the deal. And the little doeling had gone so long without a name, that she was just known as the goat with no name! So, as I drove this little girl back to the homestead, I pondered on what her name should be. I didn’t have to think on it very long. Angie and I were both born in the same state. It seemed only fitting that I should name this little girl something that represented one of my first bonds with Angie.

Meet Georgia.

Mirrie is SO happy to have one of her old friends here with her now.

She’s still my baby…..

But now we all have Georgia with us too.

We miss our little Hope. But today it finally feels like things may be ok again.

Thanks to all of you for your overwhelming support and kind words during all of this. It means so much more than any of you will ever know.

(((hugs)))

I just posted about the nature of nature - the fact that if we live with livestock and chickens, we must expect that we will lose them. And today, we lost our precious little Hope to bloat. This has been an emotional and horrific experience, and I really am not mentally able to go into detail. I will try to post in more detail in the future - so those of you who have not experienced bloat may learn what to look for - and maybe even the extreme steps that may save the life of your precious goat, cow, or other animals that are susceptible to it. I wish I had known……

Mirrie is ok. She is sad. She is lonely. But she is ok. I’ve spoken to Angie several times today. She has been, of course, my angel. The one person who could ground me and keep me sane during all of this sorrow. She has offered another goat, that is about a year old, to keep Mirrie company. Goats are VERY social creatures. They NEED company. I have accepted her offer.

Bernie was there with me throughout this ordeal. He just wanted to fix it. Bless his heart - he wanted everything to be ok, not just for Hope, but for me. And when it wasn’t, well….. we have spent the day trying to comfort each other. This has been the worst day on this homestead. And even so, the pups warmed my heart on the mail check. Mirrie made me laugh trying to suckle my chin. The cats were as annoying as ever. And Bernie’s hugs are worth all the money Bill Gates makes…….

This really is the nature of nature. If we bring nature into our life - and we SHOULD - we need to be prepared for the hand nature may deal us. The more prepared we are, the better chances we have at bluffing and winning that hand. I promised to step you through our homesteading triumphs and losses when I started this blog. We had a loss today. A very big, heart wrenching loss today. I am going to share it.

But not today.

Today I’m dealing with the nature of nature.

Today my friend Charlotte accompanied me to pick up the cutest baby goats on the face of the planet. Seriously. They really are officially the two cutest goats on the planet. I contacted Guinness World Book of Records and they assured me there are not two cuter goats on the entire face of the planet. I was as surprised as you! Until I saw them…….

And then there was no doubt in my mind…… these are certainly the two cutest goats on the face of the planet. And sweet? Lord have mercy, these are some sweet babies. *sigh* I warned you fair and square about the cuteness you just beheld…..

We put a small spool in the goat barn for the babies to play on. But they are exhausted after such an exciting day and Hope layed down beside it, while Mirrie used it as a back scratch.

I have to tell you, meeting Angie and her family was just like seeing old friends. I have never felt so at ease with a group of people I’ve never actually met. What a beautiful and wonderful group of people. I could have stayed there all day long. And we almost did! They took us on a tour of their farm - which is utterly awesome. And Angie’s husband, Steve, and I stood around and discussed computer programming and bonded as geeks. The children were as beautiful as any picture I’ve ever seen on Angie’s blog - and sweeter than anything I could ever describe to you. *sigh* I am in love with this family! Angie sent us on our way with two boxes full of homemade goodies and eggs from ducks and geese. I think I’m going to ask Angie to adopt me…….

I’m sure you noticed I only mention bringing Mirrie and Hope home. Yesterday I talked to Angie on the phone and she told me that Chance passed away yesterday morning. Sad. Very, very sad. The goat babies play so hard and so rough. It’s most likely she died from rough housing. I am sad. I cried when we hung up. But I know things like this happen. I’m mostly sad for Angie’s family - especially Colby, who fed and cared for these babies for so long.

Mirrie and Hope are in the goat barn that we’ve labored so hard on the past few weeks. It still needs a lot of work - a lean-to added to the front, a fenced in paddock, and shingles on the roof, but it will keep our goat babies safe from the weather for now. And I prefer to leave them in the goat barn for a couple of days so they learn it is their new home. Bernie will fence in a small area for them to get some sunshine while he fences in the larger area that will be their paddock.

I have goats! *sigh* I have goats! And Charlotte and I had a wonderful time going to get them. Oh - and the goat babies were in a cage for over two hours on the journey home - and not one single “accident” the whole way. They did potty within five minutes of being on ground though

The pups are not used to me being away for any amount of time. When I got home tonight I had to get the babies to the goat barn, feed them (they are still bottle fed twice daily), clean the chicken coop, and then check on the goat babies again. When I finally had time we took the puppies outside for a while. Diesel needed some reassuring.

The pups won’t be introduced to the goats until some fencing is up and they can get used to each other with a barrier between them to start with. I think everyone is going to get along just fine. It may take a little time before we’re comfortable with them all mingling though.

True to form, I forgot my camera for this big day. Ugh. But Charlotte remembered hers - bless her heart! I’ll post more pictures later. We’re all too pooped tonight. Not only from working so hard these past few days and the excitement of this wonderful day, but from all the cuteness we’ve been blessed with.

I have baby goats! Eeeeeeeeeep!

I’ve received a couple of emails requesting to see the progress on the goat barn. Apparently I’ve been remiss in my updates! We’re coming right along with it. Sunday is looking like the “big day”. And I can’t tell you how happy that makes me!

Because of our building inspector issues, we focused on half of it first - that would be the right half in this picture.

But once we got our “farm use” permit, we added the second half. Our neighbor “Mad Dog” has been helping Bernie with the second half all week. Now we have the entire building up, and they are putting in one of the windows in this picture.

The room the guys are working in is the area the goats will live in. I’m taking the picture from the feed storage and milking room in this picture

The next two days will be spent on finishing up the outside so weather can not get inside and shoveling in dirt to fill it to the bottom horizontal line in this picture:

Sunday is the big day. We’ll have our goat babies here and then Bernie will work on the roof, lean-to, and fencing in the paddock.

My friend Charlotte will go with me to get these goat babies. I’m excited to get them home. And I’m happy that such a good friend will accompany me.

Goat babies are wonderful. Good friends are nothing to sneeze at either

OK. With two feet of snow on the ground, and the possibility of 3 - 6 inches more on Monday, it’s quite apparent that building a goat barn isn’t going to happen as quickly as I’d hoped. I’d be fibbing if I said that doesn’t bother me. I think about Mirrie, Hope, and Chance every single day and I do wish they were here.

Even though we can’t work on building the goat barn, I’ve been looking into the best feed/water configurations. So, for those of you who have goats, would you please do me a favor and tell me your thoughts on some of this? I’m mainly concerned about the water, feed, and hay I provide inside the goat barn. The barn will be 20 feet long, and 8 feet wide, divided like this - 5X8 stall, 8X8 main portion for goats, and an 7X8 area for milking/doctoring and hay/feed storage.

For the hay, Bernie planned to build a manger. But I found some wall mounted hay racks that look as though they help reduce waste, and that won’t take up as much space. With three goats, I figure a corner mount and wall mount may be sufficient? What do you think? This is what the wall mount looks like. Would two (corner and wall) be adequate for daily hay inside the goat barn? Or do you think we should just go with a large manger that Bernie builds? The goat barn isn’t going to be extremely large, so I’m hoping to save space where I can - but if those wall/corner mangers aren’t adequate, we’ll figure out something else.

How do you secure water inside so the goats can’t knock it over? I found these wall mounts that look great, but there are several different types. These are also used for feed. What do you do for securing feed and water? This page shows several - do you use any of these, or do you recommend another method?

Kendra, from New Life on a Homestead provided a link to the Fias Co Farm website, where I found detailed plans for building a milk stand. Milking may be quite a while in our future, but I can see that using a milk stand to secure a goat while caring for her may be a necessity long before then. And this is something I may be able to work on in the coming days to make me feel like I’m at least moving a little bit forward!

If any of you goat parents can offer some advice here, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

If you regularly follow this blog, you know I’ve posted several time about Angie’s blog. Angie is nothing but awesome. She raises chickens, turkeys, goats, and heaven only knows what else. And she’s FULL of knowledge about how to raise them. I’ve learned so much from her. She’s also taught me to make grocery bags out of 50 pound bird seed bags, how to make homemade yogurt, how to….. well how to do many, many things. She’s also a moderator on backyardchickens and I have nothing but respect for her. She also happens to live a couple of hours from me.

Being the Angie Fan that I am, I also follow her on Facebook. And today she posted that two of her goats had kidded six babies. Three of them passed away But three of them are alive and, thanks to Angie’s most excellent care, are doing quite well.

I need to explain “excellent” care here. Angie brought these three babies into her home and sat with them next to the fire. She put pampers on them (YES - pampers) and they are living in her home. She and her family hold these babies and wrap them in blankets that they rotate in and out of the dryer to make sure they are warm. They fedd these baby goats with bottles filled with the goat mama’s milk. Angie’s teenage daughters sleep in the room with these precious babies and set their cell phone alarms to go off every two hours so they can awaken and feed these babies. There are many, many days of goats living in the house for Angie and her family. And do you know what? Angie doesn’t care. She’s such a good goat mommy. These babies will be sleeping in laps and wearing pampers for quite a few more days. Or weeks. Maybe just 4 more weeks……

Angie knows how badly I’ve wanted goats…. really, really, really wanted goats……. We talked last fall and she had some ready for me to take. But Bernie and I were not ready. We didn’t have shelter for the goats. And we didn’t have a fenced in area for them. Angie said “No worries”. She knew there would be future goat babies, and I knew Bernie would build me a goat shelter in the spring.

But then these babies came. Early in the year. When we still had no shelter. And Angie taunted me with them. She posted pictures for heaven’s sake! *gasp* And I knew…. I just knew….. and after a day of “discussing” it with Bernie, he agreed. He’ll need one month to build a proper shelter, but after one month, I can bring these precious goat babies home! Yay! But shhhhhhh, don’t tell Bernie…… I’m hoping it won’t be a full month……shhhhhh……

So, without further ado, meet Mirrie:

And Chance and Hope:

The white baby is Chance, and the fawn colored baby is Hope.

There is a really precious story behind each of their names. And I will share it later.

But right now, please be happy for me. I am excited beyond words. And I am so very, very happy that three little goats from Angie’s farm will be coming to live with us on the homestead.

This homestead is growing. And I am smiling. Really, really, really smiling.