Kidding Season 2012 Is Here!

Aziza produced two nice, healthy bucklings this morning.  Its a rainy day, but relatively warm for New Year's Eve. Its about 45F right now. She picked a good day to kid.

They were up, dry and carrying on. Things were so well done that I only trimmed one umbilical cord.

We moved everyone to a waiting pen where the warming barrel was set up and ample food was given to "Z".  She was a bit nervous, but she got over it fast as more and more people stopped to admire her boys.  Its been a long while since we had babies in the barn. After a while, enough was enough though.  If both kids were being held, she started to complain, as she wanted to know where they were.

Right now the three are in the barn bonding and nursing. Looks like we have two more "A" names to come up with in 2011.

Fear Not

Deer hunting season - rifle version - was over December 17, and so the goats got moved around this week.

During rifle hunting, we keep the goats low on the hill and closer to the barn, just to be careful.

I am confident in the precautions taken by the hunters that we give permission to use our woods.  Its the trespassers that we can't be sure of.

As you can see, everyone looks good. They do not want me to show you the other goat pictures I have. Yep! Its udder watching time again. Kidding will start in the next two or three weeks.

We're watching carefully.

Another Year

Birthdays can be a lot of fun, especially when your friends remember the real you with meaningful gifts.

The cards were fun too - lots of cats and farm animals. 

Interesting!

Chicken socks. Yes!

 Hand stitched and quilted love, with a personal note, and some flavored coffee beans too!

 A few new treats from a trip from our past that made me smile.

 And my magnet from Norma who also shared her fabric stash.

Best is seeing friends. 

I got to do that last week when I stayed in my old neighborhood and enjoyed some home cooking and good conversation with Ann, Norma and Enid (my old running partner). 

I also got to share eggplant fries and dinner with Carlene. 

Host Mike poured the wine.

Food and friends - a great combination!

 Then I got a visit from Ann's hubby Rick as he was walking a friend's dog.

It was so good catching up and looking back.

Time with friends is the best gift of all.

Batik Fever

My friend Norma created this beautiful quilt a few years ago and I've always admired it. Well don't you know that my daughter saw the same quilt at a Sun Valley, AZ shop and wanted me to make it. 

Luckily Norma was my next planned visit and she shared some her stash with my newly acquired batiks in order to collect the 30 squares we needed to start. She decided to make another quilt too.

 This is the fabric for Norma's new Jungle Fever.

Here is mine.  Today we start cutting.  Can't wait to see this come together. 

Batiks are just so beautifully textured. I don't think you can go wrong.

Monument Valley and the Movies

This was the amazing view from our house at Gouldings Lodge in Monument Valley, Utah.  Some of what we are looking at is in Arizona. The natural features are on both sides of the state line. 

The history of the Goulding Lodge is very tied in to the early Hollywood westerns.

The Museum is a fun spot for photographs with "The Duke".

‘Captain Nathan Brittles’ Cabin’, also called ‘John Wayne’s Cabin’, is located just behind the museum.  In actuality, it was Mike (Mrs.) Goulding’s potato cellar, where she stored her fruits, vegetables, and other perishables.   When ‘She Wore a Yellow Ribbon’ was filmed here in 1949 by director John Ford, this structure was used for exterior shots only as the personal quarters for the Cavalry Post’s commanding officer, played by Wayne.

We spent most of Sunday at the Navaho Tribal Park driving on the 17 Mile Trail within the park.

 We saw several stray dogs during our visit, and some had their pups tagging along.

We were stopped at a Navaho jewelry stand at this overview and the rider slowly walked his horse out to the point. It just was a perfect scene and this is an area where John Ford did a lot of his filming.  No wonder!

 

A family favorite is Forrest Gump and this sign marks the spot where he ended his run. Below is the scene from the road.

There are so many views in this area that you will see in current truck commercials and many, many movies. As beautiful as it is, it is a harsh landscape and it couldn't have been easy working here.

Its quite amazing to visit the area and learn about how the Gouldings brought Hollywood and the world to see it.  We were thrilled to be able to spend time in Monument Valley in such beautiful weather.