I knew this time would come soon. I've been taking photos every night. I've been looking for signs every day. Earlier this week, Mama Rapunzel laid an egg, a sure sign her motherhood was coming to an end. The next evening she went into the coop with the other hens, not the new chicken shed where she has been nesting with her four babies for the past six weeks. She hopped into one of … [Read more...]
Trickster Goats
July 18, 2014 by
Last night around 8:30pm I did my final rounds in the barnyard. Eight chickens in the coop? Check. Raise the chicken food? Check. Lock the coop door? Check. Moved on to the goat shed. Two chickens? Yep. Doink and Brandy already sound asleep? Of course. The younger goats were still hanging out in the barnyard. They like to stay up late. Next, on to the new chicken shed housing the … [Read more...]
Summer Craziness
July 8, 2014 by
The animals have been standing in line to tell me their stories the past couple of weeks. Now they've started asking me why the heck they're not showing up in the blog. I've had to explain that it's summer and it is CRAZY busy (and CRAZY fun) around here. Not a lot of spare minutes to gather the thoughts and put them in writing! While I am certainly not wistfully thinking about winter, I am … [Read more...]
No Bail For The Broody
July 2, 2014 by
Poor Aretha. She's been sent to the Henitentiary for her broody ways. She squawks at me. She glares at me. She paces. She knocks over her water again and again and tries to fly out when I replace it. None of this fazes me, the warden. She had her chance to be a mama two years ago and proved not to be the mothering type. She went broody last year around this time, so she's familiar … [Read more...]
Chicks, Welcome To The Barnyard!
June 17, 2014 by
Oh, I love having babies around. (Baby chickens, of course.) Mama Rapunzel and the chicks spent a week in the "nursery" in the shed. I worried about letting them out in the barnyard. They're still so tiny. Should I err on the side of safety? Or should I open the door and trust the real chicken mama to know what's right? Heck, like I know anything. I decided to let her be the … [Read more...]
My Spoiled Goats
June 11, 2014 by
So you know about how conventional wisdom says goats eat anything and everything? Yeah, not mine. After having goats for a few years, I've learned they are browsers (like to eat trees and shrubs) not grazers (don't really love the grass) and mine are picky. Brandy is especially particular, and won't eat any treat if it's hit the ground. She doesn't even have a five second rule. Recently … [Read more...]
New Beginnings
May 16, 2014 by
Wow. What a difference a week makes. Just last Friday I noted winter was over...and we had eight inches of snow a few days later. It's mostly all gone now, but I 'm REALLY glad I'm a slacker and hadn't planted anything in the garden yet. I miss Sophia very much. I've been scatter-brained and unable to concentrate all week. But life must go on, so I've thrown myself into all sorts of … [Read more...]
What A Day
May 8, 2014 by
Well, I asked for winter to be over, and it is! I'm not shoveling snow. I'm not breaking ice in the water buckets. I'm not bundled up in layers and layers of clothes. I even stored much of my cold weather gear. Winter is boring. But SPRING? Oh yeah, spring is EXCITING! Exciting...and exhausting! I spent yesterday building stuff. A rolling wood-and-tool-storage-thingy. I got the … [Read more...]
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