On the Pond

Growing up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I used to fish for "sunnies" on the Conestoga Creek.  Sometimes we would travel to the Susquehanna River in Columbia to fish, and there we caught flathead catfish. I think that put an end to my fishing interests! Ugh!

Here are some shots from the pond this week-end.

A young neighbor brought his grandfather to share some quality time before school starts.

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.

Layla Did It!

And we're up two more girls this afternoon. 

Is that a smile on Layla's face? 

I don't blame her. We've both been hanging around the barn the past two days, waiting to see what that wide belly was going to produce.  I gave up and ran some errands this afternoon. When I came home, I wasn't sure what I was hearing on the monitor. The two day old little bucklings still have squeaky voices, so I though they were just up and about.  I went to the barn to get ready to bring everyone in and as I got in the barn, I heard the LOUD voices of our latest set of twins.  They were on their feet, and oh! - so dirty.

I scampered back to the house and made my "neighborly" phone calls. Then I ran a jug of hot water and found a tub to give these little ones a rinse off. With the extra hands of Karen and Allison, we quickly got them rinsed, dried, and their cords trimmed and dabbed with antiseptic.

These two should be easy to distinguish as their head colorings are quite different.

We got Layla's family in their private quarters and everyone came over to see and share.  In another day or two, things will get a bit more rough when food is getting stolen, but for now, all is well.

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!