Good Friends. Goodbye Visit.

My friend Juliann, that I have known from our last home in Canton, Connecticut, has been a regular visitor with her family and friends over the years.

Her daughter Lillian has just about grown up here, with visits in winter and summer, sometimes bringing her pals too.

 All the goats took turns rubbing and sniffing, and trying to hog the spools.

 Twee says, "Its my spool. I'm not sure I can share."

 Adeline and half sister Brianna captured another spool.

 Brianna was being stand offish and decided to just Vogue for us.

 Then she joined her mother at the other spool again.

 Saba let her curiosity get the best of her - love this shot!

It was a special visit from special friends.

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

 These quilts have been waiting for delivery, but they needed binding. 

My best friend from high school, Terry, came and sewed her heart out for me while all the snow came, stayed and melted.

Thanks !

The Farm Work Out

At some point in the dregs of winter mud, I read a Facebook conversation about gym versus farm. I've had time to think about that this past week or so even more, as I stand with my rump against the belly of Zola, holding her collar in one hand and an angry hind leg in another. She is pushing and bucking with all her might as I lean into her with all of mine.

After one day of this, my arm pits felt like I had taken up bench pressing again. Problem on the farm - no rest day.  As a matter of fact, its one or two long reps at heavy moving weight, three and four times a day. 

Sore? Too bad. The kids are starving, and now attacking you like 12 pound blood sucking mosquitoes. They have caught on to the fact that when the two legged goats show up and tie off that kicking, biting monster of a mother of theirs, they do get fed. My knees, varicose veins and knuckles have goat hickeys from their attacks.  No wonder Zola was frustrated. We all were frustrated.

Meanwhile there are two hungry bucklings that aren't quite sure of where and how this thing works, as the teat never seems to stay still long enough to latch on. Thank goodness, with the help of neighbors Allison, Jeff, Julia and Karen, we have lasted long enough to keep the kids alive, well and thriving. 

I posted a couple days ago that Zola finally allowed the first born to nurse. Well Number Two has figured out the survival technique.  When older brother latches on and wags his tail in front of mom and she lovingly nuzzles him, he latches on from behind. There she can't pull his tail or throw him off and is distracted by Favorite Son.
See the VIDEO below for a successful feeding. Hurray!

I mean look at this face. What is the problem Zola?  His persistence has played a big part in this, and obviously some smarts.  We have been supplementing a bit of the orphan's milk replacer here and there, but I think after today, we are letting nature do the work.  The more we interfere, the bigger the mosquitoes get, and truly, my knees can't take it!

But back to farm versus gym, and now cross training.

 The work out isn't even started yet because we have to walk goats and food back and forth to the fields, muck the stalls, and there still is the bottle baby orphan who was getting a bottle three times a day.  Then there is the capturing for shots, dehorning and castration. Its like the greased pig contest sometimes. Carrying buckets of water and bales of hay (I try not to for the shoulder and the knee injuries, but no choice a lot of times), moving fences and dragging the occasional uncooperative goat to the correct destination, whether stall or field, all take strength and coordination that doesn't always come so easily to one person.  That's why its great to work in teams around here when possible. Just like the old marathon days of running with partners. You still do the work, but misery loves company!

And Jock.  He needs a walk too.

Anytime your gym gets boring, we can use your help here I'm sure.  Stop on over. And you get to cool down with a goat hug as a bonus.

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.

Kids and Critters (and Girls Like Tractors Too)

 Lillian and Kathleen arrived just as the doelings were having breakfast, and as always, Adeline was quite rude. Not one, but two feet were in the feed, and she was not about to share.

The girls had brought their own treats for the fish.

The fish were quite appreciative.

 A short hike around the pond and we were back to the barn where the chickens were treated to some extra feed.

 Two eggs were found in the barn.

Yep! Its still warm.

And last - a "ride" on the Deere by a couple of Dears.

Fence Work

We have about five acres of our pastures surrounded with five or six strands of high tensile fence for the goats. Additionally we have four sets of electro net. Five if you count the forty feet section Kencove donated for the Livestock Camp in July.
Every day that we take out the goats, we have to make sure the fences are on, hooked up to power and up. There is rarely a problem, but when there is it can be easy to miss. Before my knee blew out last year, Jock and I would faithfully walk the fence lines checking on fence and fields. Its another reason to keep the area mowed around the fields so that we have clear access to the fences. When we were away this summer, one of the "assigned" jobs was walking the fence. Sounds like a tough job, but somebody has to do it. John Wayne needed a horse to do this. Our good neighbor Karen was walking her dog two evenings ago and came into the barn letting us know we had some fence down. It was laying in the grass where she had almost walked on it. That could have been a "shock". It was a bit late to see the needed repairs, but we turned off the power and checked it out the next day.
Luckily this opening was not in the area the goats were browsing. What we couldn't figure our was what could have done the damage. Deer would have clipped the top lines. These were the middle and lower strands. The hit was so powerful that it popped the lines at the connectors. It also popped a large staple around the corner in the alley. The repairs weren't to bad, but we are still curious as to what could have hit the fence. Bear? Wild Pig? It had to be something big.So if you see someone looking like they are taking a nice walk along a fence line, remember, this is work - really!

Full Moon Frisbee

Our second night in Milton Delaware was a full moon and a beautiful night to be on the beach.

We also has the last of the sunset to light the sky, and if you haven't noticed, we had the beach for ourselves.

Blogging and Bainbridge Island

My first day in Seattle was a rainy Sunday and probably a better day for a museum, but I had made plans to meet Linda and take the Bainbridge Island ferry with her. Not a lot of people on the deck that trip over, and the view was a bit gray and gloomy. OK. And wet.The ferry was a recommended thing to do to get a feel for Seattle, and something relaxing to do with a newly met friend. You see Linda is the Bag Lady. THE Bag Lady from Thoughts from a Bag Lady In Waiting, a blog I've followed on my sidebar for a while now. Check it out. I think you'll find something to relate to here and there. She writes about her life after retirement, family, and travel. We've shared a few comments back and forth and got to know each other like pen pals did in the "old" days. She lives a bus ride north of Seattle and picked me up at the hotel for our day out. And so I began my discovery of Seattle.

I didn't have any real shopping desires, but I did see a sign for... ...on the map, so we had to stop in. For a small place, they had a fantastic collection of fabric. Fabric that I had never seen before.
I found a souvenir to bring home. Goat fabric. Well, some goats anyway, and chickens, and more farm stuff.Oh! How I wish I lived closer.

If we had come a day sooner, we would have been able to join in the Tour de Coop. Some great coop pictures and story here: The Tour de Coop ScoopPart way through the trip Linda reminded me of how many steps we had walked, and I think it was about four miles. We were still on the island, so I imagine we clocked eight miles by the time we both got home. A coffee here, soup there, and a cookie for the ferry home, and we had shared our life stories, and some advice for each of our latest challenges.On the ferry back to Seattle, we were surrounded by the most elegant violin music the whole way. It was like being in a scored life. It warmed the conversation as we wrapped up our day. As we were all lining up to get off, the musician was still playing to himself, totally immersed. When he momentarily looked up, I silently clapped and he looked around to realize he was alone. With a nod of his head he appreciated the gesture and packed up to leave with the rest of us. Another hilly, gasping walk back to the hotel, and our day was over.

What a great way to get to know Seattle and surroundings. Thanks Bag Lady!

P.S. In case you were wondering, Dave was busy playing golf in the Make A Wish tournament.