WE HAVE EGGS!!!!!

and electricity, so life is good--then Eric was able to come home, so now life is grand!!!

We had a huge ice storm last Monday night, and we lost power. No biggie, we had water, and heat, so were were fine. It was a little chilly, but we were outside quite a bit. The animals really liked it, that's for sure!! We were out 3-5 times a day!

The water freezing all the time is far from pleasant, *shrug* it could be worse. The chickens do not seem to like the cold. At all. They are quite funny, trying to avoid it, though :) We had chickens in the Oliver Shed (it held the Oliver tractor when we moved in, and the name stuck), I don't know, waiting for the snow to disappear?? We chased them out, into the trees and onto the basketball hoop, waiting to be put up. :) It was very fun.

The goats really don't seem to mind the cold at all. Eric chased them out of the barn last weekend, and I haven't let them back in. It's probably a good thing that I was the one to put the roof on---for some reason, I think it must be warmer in the big, drafty barn... :) It's quite cozy in the hut, actually!! The ice layer is actually pretty nice--we break through and dust off the grass for them, and they are pleasantly plump. :) On the days when it was just too much, we gave them hay. The best thing is that they are not afraid of the dogs, at all!!! On Wednesday, Kodiak (our doberman) decided she likes corn, and the four of them ate from a pile of corn all together!

Okay, okay, here's the big news... we have found 4 eggs!!! Only one of them was cracked and frozen. I'm guessing it was laid on Thursday--the one day I didn't check for eggs!!! (the power had been out, and they said that the chickens wouldn't lay without a consistent light!!! HA!) So that is AWESOME!!! *chuckle* now we're saving money!! The chickens cost us right around $20/month, and with the eggs, they'll be saving us about $4 a month!!! Whoo!!!

I have some bad news about the tree in our front yard, but I'll wait until the camera is located to post about that.

So, stay warm, enjoy what you have!

Our very own mystery solved!

You know how the awesome movies end, with a montage of what we would have seen, if we had known what to look for?? Usual Suspects comes to mind. Anyway, today, as we were outside, tooling around, there was a weird noise from behind the dog house. I would have to say it sounded like a surprised chicken. I didn't think much of it. Then, we decided to put the chickens away a little early, since we were there. No biggie, except I only counted 20. Hmm. Ben and I walked around a bit, but saw nothing, so we headed towards the south fence line--I wanted to gather some fall things to decorate with. (It's all soggy, still.) By the time we were circling back to the house, the sun was almost down. And lo, a chicken is running towards us. *shrug* so we let it in. And there were 21. Oh my goodness. Weird noise, chicken missing... did we get our first egg?!?! We will never know for sure, but we searched as long as the light held out.

In the meantime, we had a brooder in the old chicken coop, and I had pulled it out from the wall to see what condition it was in. Then, the next day, Eric was home and pulled this mangled brooder up to the house. I couldn't believe my eyes! It had seemed sturdy the day before! Well, after giving up searching for the egg, I wandered over to the old coop---and there it was. I had to look twice, and have Ben tell me what he saw---I have no idea where Eric got the mangled brooder from, but this one was fine! So, it's in the coop, with some bedding, and a 'decoy' egg, to encourage them to lay in the coop--in the brooders!!!

Kodiak also has her new collar on, and she looks very beautiful. The computer, however is not working with me, so I'll try the pictures tomorrow.

Have a beautiful night!!
Thanks for reading.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

With a lot to be thankful for, indeed!!! The 21 chickens are doing just fine, the goat's hut is re-roofed, and ready for them, the dogs are actually using the dog house *YEA!!!*, and the cats have decided that the 3 rooms, while not their first pick, is infinitely better than the rest of the cold, cold house. :) The boy is fabulous, as it snowed yesterday, and I am happy. All in all, good times had by all. Hope yours is even better! (Is it possible??)

well, helooooooo

So far, no eggies. Turns out they decrease on production in the winter months. Hmmm we went from zero to... zero. So on the list of projects is: put a light in the coop. They need at least 10 hours a day to lay. I wonder what they do in Alaska, or up there in general. Do they even have chickens??

Our pictures today are of a weird orange streak in the sky, above the clouds... please explain this, if you know why... and my house. I wish I had put it on 'daylight' sooner, because my house had been glowing orange. I love it here. The last picture is my view. I hope it comes out on here--the fields were just beautiful, as they always are. Peaceful indeed.

Eric is finally home, so I am going to go!

It's the end of October?!?!?!?!

When did that happen??

We should be getting eggs in the upcoming weeks!!!!

Everything is still alive :) so that's a good thing.

I am getting upset with our dogs. They will not go into their new home. Fear not, I have an idea. What? :)

I have to get back, but I wanted to at least post something before November! :)

Hope you had a Happy Halloween/Blessed Samhain/Happy All Saint's Eve.

TA DA!!!

This first picture is of Miss Henny Penny (we call all of the RIR hens Henny Penny) out of our 'new and improved' twine-chicken-keeper-inner. :) Which didn't work... but we didn't find that out until after the goats came to us. Oh yes, you read that right! We thought they would be up in the loft, but they were nowhere to be found. I turned to Ben, asking "Do you see them?" and there they were, all in a row, right behind Ben.





As we approached the barn, singing, Slash and Deer came to the window to see what the caterwauling was all about.












Since I had the camera, I took a picture of the hog huts with their impromptu hole-cover-up. No, it's not pretty, but it does keep the wind out. Maybe once we have pretty things, then we'll get the goats prettier accommodations. :)

Well that didn't work

After about 40 minutes of trying to find/charge some AA batteries, I have given up. I have a picture of the new and improved "I am smarter than these chickens!!" coop, with a RhodeIslandRed outside of it. We chased it back in. "Improved it" by putting the left over twine in a large V over the whole thing. Yep, on the way back from playing in the barn, there were 2 RIRs out. So, I think it's safe to say that we are smarter than the Aracunas, but not the RIRs. Yet. Fear not, as soon as it stops this drizzling, we will be back at it!!! We have had rain everyday for over a week. We are soaked through. Thank goodness for that 8qt bowl I thought was ridiculous! It's PERFECT for catching rain! Speaking of, as of right now, we are going to the bank on Monday, Oct. 29th (Ben's 5th birthday!!!!) and we should know within 24 hours if we're approved. I will not speak of it again, and if I really don't, please do not either. We'll just try again, I guess.

I have had a kind of discouraging day, so I'm going to end it...... now!

Well, we'll know in the morning if it worked or not.

So, hello!

On Sunday, Eric tackled Gunner to the ground, so that he would drop the chicken he had in his mouth. We've come to the decision that 4 ft. is not a high enough fence for these chickens.


Apparently, the easiest way to stop your chickens from 'flying' (it's more 'glorified hopping with some flapping') is to break one of their 'wrists' soon after they are born. I imagine it is similar to flicking off a puppy's dew claws. We did not do this, as we didn't know about it. :(

So, every morning, we chase anywhere from one to four chickens back into the coop. It's very frustrating, and half the time, now, they go right past it, have no trouble going around the ladder (on the left side of the coop in the first picture--it's there as a wedge, so that the chickens go into the coop. It's really funny, actually, how most of them that are smart enough to actually get out, don't realize they can 1) go over the ladder (2 go around the ladder (the other way!) 3) they actually fit in between the rungs. That got me to thinking...

My mom says that to be a good mom, you really only have to be half a step ahead of them. These chickens are not smarter than me!! So the first plan was to put a faux 'roof' using string. Um, no. Then we decided to just go get more chicken wire and put it above the existing fencing, and let the top hang in a bit. (there's only an extra foot or so of post above the existing fencing) Hmm. Well, as I loathe to part with our hard-earned money, Ben and I went down the lane in search of some chicken wire... we found some snow fencing. Well, it would be a possible alternative. Then we popped into the machine shed. I prowled around, using my 'common sense' and found nothing that would work. Then I saw the rolls of twine. Chickens aren't that smart... and the roof was too complicated, but if I combined: higher fencing with illusion of structure... and viola! I tried to get the picture to show the X with the line above it above the chicken wire. Either way, there are the chickens, and Ben, 'sprinkling' scratch for them. :)

One day at a time, one day at a time

This weekend, Eric put the doghouse together. I know. I know. So today, Ben and I painted it's first coat, and started the shingles. YEA!

The door swelled shut on the chicken coop, so that's kind of a problem.

The goats are doing alright. Gabby's eye is now blood red. We'll get that checked out as soon as possible. I'll let you know how it goes.

The dogs are super-dee-dooper happy. The cockle burrs are mostly gone from Gunner's ears, and we found a venison roast that wasn't well trimmed before it went into the freezer, so the dogs had a fantastic treat yesterday. I am their new best friend!!

The cats have let us know that containing them into 3 rooms is unacceptable. We'll see how that pans out as it gets colder...

The fish are doing just fine.

Now, to get the humans organized...

I'm a GENIUS!!!!!

Alright, so we have been having some problems, mostly due to me being incredibly unorganized and self-sabotaging. So, today, on the way to clean out the chicken's water, and give them feed, I realized that hey, the scratch we use to help the chickens like us is essentially cracked corn. Hmmm. Goats LOVE corn. So we took some scratch down to the goats.

Now, Deer has been in the kennel for almost 2 weeks now, and every other day, I open the front, pitch it out, open the side, pitch it out, put in new in the back, then open the front, put in new and give her fresh water. Well, today, I get to the barn, and the kennel is standing open. I have to smile, because damn, they weren't kidding. Goats are smart. Anyway, she's limping around, so I need to talk to the vet about what we can do. The leg did not heal cleanly, so I need to figure out what to do next for her. In the meantime, we sat down on the ground with our leaves and water, and handfuls of scratch. Oh, yea, they LOVED it. They are still skittish around us, so we just sat, and talked while we held out our hands. YEA!! This is a major victory for us. They ate out of Ben's hand, too!!! I think he makes them nervous. Hey, it's just plain fun to chase the goats, alright?

Ack, I have to get...
Have a fabulous weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Those poor guinea pigs...

I am starting to feel really bad for our animals. Perhaps it's because I actually butchered a few. (I still can't buy meat at the store!) The swelling in Deer's leg has finally gone down, but what to do about it??? I tackled Gabby to the ground, and pulled the cockle burrs out yesterday, only to find out that she is blind in one eye. What are we doing???

The chickens have at least one out every morning. We are having some difficulties with the doors--and they are flying out. The dogs do not seem to have any interest in them at all. They are also becoming quite adept at flying over us, scrabbling about, so that they are crazy-hard to catch. There were 3 out this morning. I am thinking that the beginning of November, we should be able to get a deep-freeze... maybe when it gets cold, we'll just have us a big ole butcher party, and get rid of them!

Bottom line, I am feeling overwhelmed. Big time. So, here's the blog for today. It's not as if anyone reads it, so I guess this is turning into my journal. Welcome to my journal. Thank you for reading. Come back tomorrow, and see what's happening then :) It's really a crap shoot. I know it, you know it.

It's been hectic...

Which, of course, is no excuse, but it's what I have. :)

Yes, the chickens are dead. It was something that is really unexplainable. We did opt to cut the heads with the knife, not the hatchet. It was definitely an experience. It was beautiful and full of honor, and showed how strong we could be. We raised these animals, we cared for and loved these animals, and now they are helping us care and take care of and love our bodies. We know where they were, what they did, and how they were treated their entire lives. I was at the store yesterday, debating about buying some meat. I will never be a vegetarian, but I really thought about where this meat came from. I did not buy any. Now we have to get cattle. :)

Deer's leg is no longer swollen, but after 14 days, I am unsure about what to do at this time about the actual break. Then, we find out that Gabby's eye is blind. We have no idea how that happened. I am wondering if maybe we were not quite ready for the responsibility of all these extra animals. Especially with winter just around the corner. I mucked out the kennel for Deer today. Yea. Well, I can do it, but I really am not horribly excited about it. :) I totally understand why people hire people to do these things. But they are missing out on the satisfaction factors. That, plus we will NEVER have to pay for gym memberships :)

Oops, that's my cue... the goal is to write more often, and I have found the camera. Yea! :)

This one ends with a visual.

The moon was amazing tonight. I am ready for the chickens to be gone! they don't stink-STINK, but they definitely have a smell about them. Tory is coming over Saturday evening, and the deed is scheduled for 4 am, Sunday morning. (dun-dun-dun) Luckily this is a good time of year to pick up a long black hooded cape and a sickle. (so I can dress the part, you know, get into character and whatnot.)

I am really looking forward to having the space to pile crud, and it will also free up some of my day. I may take up a hobby. Tying lures? :) This is funny, because a lot of lures use pin feathers from roosters. See? Funny. Thank you. :)

I need to get some sleep, but I won't. The laundry and dishes are very dense. These clothes and dishes have been washed, dried, and put away many, many, many times, and they still don't get it! How many times to I have to show them what needs to be done before they get the initiative to do it themselves?!?!? I'm telling you, dishes these days, they have no work ethic!!!!

Riiiiiiight. Well, I think that's my cue!!
GOOD NIGHT, BLOG-READER!!!! *arms in the air, stepping back while making the 'audience' noise---while crickets chirp in the background*

Lesson 1

Well, in our adventure-filled weekend, I was able to watch someone take the meat off of a cooked chicken. She used to butcher chickens, but it was a while ago (it's my mom :). So I am feeling a little better prepared for the butchering of our 3 inside roosters. That, and they are really stinking!!! I clean their kennel every day. It's most annoying. SO, the plan is next week, but I need to talk to another of the players of this act first. My mom suggested having someone there for moral support. I chose Eric, but he won't take off of work to be there for me to butcher some chickens. The main thing I am having some troubles with is the actual killing. The throat slitting is giving me a few moments pause. They are all laughing, since I've named all of the chickens. You know who you are. That, and I'm pretty sure there's a pool going about if I am actually going to go through with it or not.

You just can't make this stuff up!

Earlier today, while cleaning out and around the inside chickens kennel (again!).

Me:"Whew, the chickens are stinky. Thank goodness we won’t have them here much longer."
Ben:"Why not?"
"We’ll butcher them in a few weeks."
"What’s butcher?"
"We’ll kill them and then we’ll eat them. It’s kind of like when Papa goes hunting, and brings us back deer meat."
"Hmm." (with contemplative look)
"Chicken is really yummy. Besides, we do not have room for them this winter, so they’ll have to be butchered."
"But not Houdini, he’s an inside chicken, because he’s mean."
"Yep, and that’s why we have to butcher him, because he’s too mean to put with the other chickens."
"But the black chickens aren’t mean."
"No, but they aren’t very smart, either. They’ll taste good, you’ll like them."
"But not Houdini. Because he’s an inside chicken and I like him very much."
*pause* on my part
"Fine, he’s your chicken. You take care of him."
Silence (I have no idea what happened for these moments, as my back was turned away from him)
"Well, I believe he will taste very yummy."
"Me, too, kiddo."
and I came straight to the computer. :)

And the current temperature is...

44 degrees. Yep. That's cold. So, when Eric gets home on Sunday, we are going to cut out all the pieces for the homes we still need to have ready for winter. (I will not use the table saw.) Then watch for the pieces being assembled (hopefully!) throughout the week.

The chickens seem to be doing just fine---we've rigged a way to close the top windows with a pulley system. Now we need to get some heat in there. We're thinking a heat lamp--but if we want them to actually lay, they will need a light on for a minimum of 10 hours... so that is still a work in progress. We are also trying to devise a better watering system, but this idea (should it work) may just make us millions, so we're not sharing just yet. LOL that, and it's still in our heads.

The goats are fine. We had it pointed out to us that they could be bred. I think I've already mentioned this, but I think we may pay a visit to our neighboring buck... I think I need to look into how and when goats come into heat. The things we learn here, huh?

Well, tomorrow is another busy one, I just wanted to get this in today!

Real quick--

The weather has changed--it is currently 54 (degree symbol) which means we are stepping up the winterization process. We need to have the house ready to go so we can get the coop ready and the barn ready for the winter. And that dog house? Still not finished. It's on the list for this week. So... by spring for su..maybe. :)

Oh, the Duluth Trading Company. If you have hard-working people in your family, they have some really neat clothes (in theory)--I'm ordering some for Eric, but the thing with these guys is that they are similar to Pampered Chef---they have a 100% money-back guarantee. If you don't like it, send it back! It's so refreshing to find companies like that!!! So, they have all sorts of practical clothing for today's workers, and especially guys-- www.duluthtrading.com go check it out! (and let me know what you think--when it comes I'll let you know how we like it---I am thinking about getting a pair or two just for around the animals... but that is a want, and not a need, so not right now.)

A little break...

With not a whole lot happening in the meantime--we had a bunch of extra dogs out here, but they played very nice with our dogs, and LOVED the chickens.

I think we have a decent system going. We put 1 gallon of feed in each feeder every other day. Let's see, so it goes like this Day 1, clean out and fill waters. Day 2, put one gallon jug of food in feeders. Day 3 place clean bricks in water (to raise the water level). Day 4, put one gallon jug of food in feeders. Repeat 1-4 until can't take it anymore, then fried chicken for everyone.

We had our semi-annual-spin-off-one-time-only party this weekend. We still have 3 roosters inside. Seems I am their sun. We stayed up quite late, and the next morning, I slept until 9:30. As I walk into the kitchen, Houdini starts crowing. The people that slept in the room between the kitchen and the chickens groaned, rolled over, and asked if we were having chicken for breakfast, and could they please pick it out. I have noticed that it doesn't matter when we get up, that's when they crow. Eric has said the same thing--if he gets up at 4 to go to the bathroom, and then 4:30 for the day, they crow at 4:30. Up at 6? Crows at 6, and for whatever reason, Houdini is the only one of the three in here that crow. The other 2 are the Partridge Cochin. They are much bigger than Houdini but are much, much dumber. (and they are Bootes and Babs (they have feathers down their legs--so Bootes is my humor, and Babs is actually short for Baboon, because he was plucked bald, practically day 3 (:)) so he has a pink little bottom.)

Goats are great--they should be getting bred, but we haven't looked too far into that just yet. I do not want a buck here, I know nothing about goat AIing*, and to be perfectly honest, I doubt it would be cheaper. That. plus the fact that they do not come near us very often. Although, in bringing groups through to see them, the goats stood by me without freaking out or bolting, so that was a warm fuzzy for Lori. Fine, I did have some leaves, but the other people did, too!

Squeak is out of the kennel, but mostly because I felt so bad for him. We've switched him to a prescription food. I know. I swore I would never be one of those people that fed their animals better than they eat, but this cat has been here since.... well, he just turned 9, so I've had him a long time. He's put up with a lot, so he can eat the stupid fancy food. It's going to make it so he doesn't pee everywhere, so that in itself makes it okey-dokey-fine with me.

so, as I am very tired, tonight, the quote is from Ok Go "So please, use your powers for good."

if you want to see an awesome video, here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbdbVhBGETQ&mode=related&search= as we do not have 'television' we were not aware of the 'treadmill song' but this is the same group. Also, I am aware that this 'phenomenon' happened quite some time ago, but I just learned about it, so this is the first I could share it!!! (Plus now I'll always have it easily accessible) (*taps forehead* Not just a hat rack, my friend) the powers quote is from Invincible. Hat rack is from Friends.)

*artificial insemination. I'd explain, but I am really trying to keep this blog PG. Look it up if you're still confused.

Two days in a row??? Whaaat is this?

Tonight, Ben and I decided to break the monotony of our farm life, and head into town. He asked if we could take the 4-wheeler, so we did! Kodiak followed us, so we had to head back a ways, and then 'floor' it to get ahead of her. Luckily she was pretty tired, so we didn't have to go very fast at all.

On the way in, we saw a motorcyclist at the cemetery. He was grinning pretty big at us. :) So we waved. I love it down here!

On the way back, we took 'the long way'. We saw birds, the sun shining through several layers of clouds, a garter snake (that I was too chicken to pick up, and sensing (alright, hearing) my hesitation, he didn't want to, either.), and a HUGE hole where a culvert caved in. Oops, the cave in was before the snake. Shortly after the snake, we were going really slow, talking about what we were seeing, when I heard a rev behind me. There was a green truck on the dirt road at 7 at night. Huh. Anyway, we got way over, and as they passed, they smiled and waved and we chatted for a little bit--then Ben told them that 'that hole would wreck your truck and mess up the picture on the back' they had a scene on the rear windshield. They thought that was pretty neat. Me too. This kid is just amazing.

Then we stopped to see if the frogs were there (there is a rut along side the dirt road where we saw some frogs last night) and headed up the gravel road to cruise past the Stovers, and we had a small lesson on perspective. You know, when the windmills disappear, for him, but I can still see them. Then when neither one of us could see the horses, if he stood up, he could!!! (we were stopped.)

Then we stopped to check on the goats. They were a little hesitant, but we had snacks, so they came. Gabby-gab was covered in burrs, so I snagged her and drug her over to the barn to pull them out. Ben said "I'm not with her" to the goats, but Deer and Slash both came right over to make sure Gabby was alright. Which gave Ben a wonderful opportunity to pet them both. Guess he'll be 'with me' if it's to his advantage. :)

Chickens are doing great! Fresh water in the morning, food in the afternoon. No escapees today, and they really will come right up to you! So we held and pet some of them.

The fish tank got a sprucing up today, and cheapies that we are, I cleaned out the filter, and we're using it again. It's amazing how much gunk it traps!

Oh, well, Squeak is becoming a pro at spitting out pills. I got bit today. which reminds me i have to do that still tonight. thanks for the reminder *sigh*

Don't chase the goats, don't chase the goats!!

But it's so FUN! Tonight, Ben and I went to check on the goats... and they were nowhere to be found. So we went into the barn, and there, above our heads, were all three of them, looking down at us and the tasty leaves we brought them. Over the next half hour, they led us on a merry chase all over the barn. Sorry, no pictures, but I have to say that Ben was AWESOME!!! He stood where I needed him to, and although he didn't at first, he was very good at waving his hands and shouting NO when they came at him. I couldn't have gotten them where I needed them to go without him!!! After the merry chase (it was fun!) they were a little hesitant to come near us, but their tummys won, and they came for the snacks. :) I think maybe we are getting the hang of this after all. :)

Then, on the way back to the house, Mr. Peeps was out of the fence with a bloody bottom. Seems someone pulled his tail off--well, all except 4 tail feathers. So we caught her, brought her into the house, cleaned her up and gooed her bottom. I wanted to see what the dogs would do, so I held her in towards Kodiak. Mr. Peeps tensed, fluffed up a little, and jutted her head out. Kodiak practically fell off the porch getting away from her. I am guessing that Kodiak saw an opportunity to puke up another ball of feathers, but when she grabbed said snack, the snack attacked! (I'm sorry, but it's just plain funny, it is) Poor Mr. Peeps. Although inside, Ben told me that we can't call her Mr. Peeps if she is a girl, so we are to call her Ms. Peeps from now on (all him!). And now we're out of antibiotic goo.

On a more domestic note, Squeak is having trouble going potty. I called it in and my wonderful vet let me pick up the necessary medication. In the meantime, my normally docile cat, that let's me do whatever I want to him has decided that he would rather die than take his medicine that needs to be administered twice a day. The once a day one? No problem. The twice a day one? Harumph. That's right, harumph! In the meantime, he is stuck in a dog kennel. All by himself--well, Ben would visit with him several times a day--- until this morning when Squeak bit him. That was the only visit from Ben today. We are on day 4 (I think--it may be 3, I'd have to check the once-a-day pills, but it's clear over in the other room... :) Unfortunately, it looks like we're going to have to take him in after all. He's doing more than spotting, but it's nowhere near the normal amounts for him. And that's a nice little update about my having-trouble-peeing cat.

We're almost out of dog food. And we're switching over to the pellets for the chickens as soon as this bag is gone... and since we opened it today, we'll get more.... tomorrow? No, but it sure seems like it---Probably Saturday. Geez! Although, in pricing chew toys and dog treats, that chicken they ate was about par for the course---I hope it gave them a run for their money and didn't just die right away. I mean... um, we're out of dog food?!? Again! Those dogs! It's awful---I have friends with dogs that don't eat half of what one of my dogs eat in a day! They have 4 cups a day. 4 cups!!! If it was liquid, that would be a gallon every other day.

I've been shirking on the fun fact, so today I will end with a quote (I don't know who actually said it :)

Human beings are the only creatures who are able to behave irrationally in the name of reason.
I think it's just because we are silly enough to name it---has anyone ever seen a cat fall off of something and immediately start licking themselves as if they meant to? Or a dog run full-tilt into a fence that has always been there as they almost catch a rabbit? I rest my case. :)

I'll spare you the picture. You'll thank me.

This morning, while hanging up clothes, Genie flew the coop. Luckily I was right there, but Gunner got to her first. With a NO! and a sharp hand clap, I was under the impression that my dog listened really well. Genie was caught, and put back into her fenced-in-dog-free-yard. Now, see, every time I go in there, I count them. 12 on the RIR side, and 11 on the Aracuna. Hmm. I had 15 and 7. That's not enough. So I went in and separated them out. They are so funny--they're really friendly and curious. Nope, something was wrong. 11 and 11. I asked Eric if he counted this morning, when he did chores. Nope. :) Must be a girl thing. So we walked around, knowing that there should be something. We found a few feathers just outside the RIR side. Bummer. One down. Well, several hours later (just a half hour ago) I went back outside to bring in the clothes (I had 4 loads on that umbrella clothesline!!!). Kodiak and Gunner have been acting really lazy and lethargic. Then Kodiak groans, walks over towards the tall grass, and throws up. Well, it was more like a hairball, but for a dog. I was curious, as it looked kind of pointy, like she's swallowed a bunch of feathers. *frown* It really looked like feathers in a big wad. No. Really? No. *uh* So, of course, I had to take a closer look. There was some yellow-ish stuff in the middle, so I grabbed a stick to poke at it, and under the feathers, were 2 chicken feet curled up. Ew. It was... gross does not begin to describe. So I went back, finished folding up the laundry, and just before I came in here, Gunner hocked up something. I didn't get a close-up of his, but hey, at least they shared.

We're back!

Well, having been on vacation for a week, putting the chickens outside the day before, we were blessed to have the neighbors be as wonderful as they are! I think they do it so they can ride the 4-wheeler, but I really don't mind!!! Everything went really well. We have the chickens outside, all except the 3 roosters we're not quite sure what to do with... guess we'll be having fresh chicken this year! They are quite comical-they're learning to crow. The hens and their roosters really like it outside. So much, they are disinclined to have us tote them around. The picture is of Ben taking two of them out to their new home. He's getting so BIG!!!

The wind seems to have hurt the corn crib a bit, but Eric's been out stabilizing it again. We're starting to wonder if it's not meant to come down! The goats have had free range the entire time we were gone, and seem to really like it. Now that it's sweltering out, we take them fresh water in the middle of the day, too. And, now we can start getting ready for winter. Does it ever stop? Nope? Okay. :)

Dogs, cats, and fish are all doing really well, too!

And now, I need to refresh waters and bedding!!!

I'm ready for my close-up...

Well, in an attempt to get a final picture of the chickens inside, I had some trouble with the lighting, and then... well, as you can see, Squeak saw that pictures were being taken, so, of course, he had to be in them.

This afternoon, I heard the weirdest noise coming from the chickens. I'd never heard it before, so I went to investigate. It was Cricket, practicing his cock-a-doodling! It was very cute. I wish I knew more about computers, so I could have recorded it for you.

The chicken coop is almost ready for occupancy--we just need some more litter! So tomorrow morning, they'll go to their new homes! YEA!

The red things hanging down are some bungee cords. I used them to raise up the feeders. We had the cheap red plastic ones, so we used two rubber bands to keep it closed, and then hung them with the bungee cords. It's funny, since the chickens seemed to really like the trapeze. The waterers, for here, we have the ones you add a mason jar to. When they got a little older, we put sand in old Oxy-Clean containers and put the waterers on them. They've only tipped it over a few times, and usually because someone didn't make sure the container was cleaned off before the waterer was put back. (oops)

Tuesday, July 24th?

Well, we have some great news. The goats no longer run from us. In fact, they come right up to us! The trick we used? Only give them one leaf at a time! Singing, talking, and making noise in general seems to help with ours, anyway.
When I got back last week, I was very sad to see how big the chickens have gotten! We are in the process of finishing the coop for them to go outside this week! Eric has one of the doors on--he's so handy! We took an old shed that had been moved off the property, moved it back on and are in the process of turning it into.... a coop. Last night, Eric made 'bees flambe' they had started a hive in one of the basins in the shed. Now, if you were unaware, if there is a bee within 100 yards of Eric, it will hunt him down and sting him. So, as soon as he heard the 'buzz'. He got out, waited until evening, covered it with a tarp, drug it out of the shed, doused it in ether, and whoosh! bees flambe. (just pretend there's an accent on the e.)
The cats are getting out every evening, and bats are getting in. I made a 'screen door' with some gauzy material, but we had loaned out the staple gun... one day, we will get it back, and nature will stay out, and the cats will stay in. But not today. The good news is that the bats aren't sick, they just flew in, and then fly back out. (this is not a huge gaping thing--it is tucked into the jam of the door, but the cats nudge it open, and get out, leaving a cat-sized gap. As we all know, bats are a wee bit smaller, so there you go.
I killed the fish, by not having the aerator running. Whoops, so we have some new ones. Ben is aware of what happened, and wasn't near as upset as I thought he would be. Yea!
The dogs are doing just fine. They love Ben's pool. They get it filthy within hours of us cleaning it out.
The garden got a little overrun while I was gone, but it's doing fine. The tomatoes, peppers, beans, zucchini, and red onions are good. The sunflowers have started to bloom. The carrots and sweet onions are... well, I think they are still in there somewhere. Is that all? Oh, the corn will be done pretty soon, too!
So, there you go. Not a whole lot going on, but it keeps us busy.
Hope the past few weeks have been wonderful!!!

A few days later...

:)
Things are going very well here. The chicks are getting huge! The dogs are needing their Frontline Plus, the cats are better, now that Squeak is back (he slipped outside sometime on Wednesday? Thursday? But he's back now. The kitten down at the shed is MIA, we think the dogs finally chased her off. The pigeons are gone!! YEA!! We didn't kill them--just fogged the area with diesel (ran the tractor in there for a few minutes, then shut the doors!). They are probably down at the barn now. The goats are doing great. They have learned that they can jump, and really enjoy getting on top of anything they can. I went down to find them on the old waterer one day. They come up to us now, but still do not like to be petted. For now. The one I wrestled to the ground is by far the friendliest. Maybe there will be more wresting in our future! I have more pictures, but it's late, and I head out for Chicago tomorrow, so you'll have to wait until I get back!
Thanks for reading!

Quick one, just for you, Erin!!

My sister and her son are here for the weekend, so they got to pet a baby chick (they're not so baby!) and the cats, and the dogs... not quite the goats, but he held a branch they took out of his hand. The goats LOVE the pasture--we see them ALL over it throughout the day. While we were out this afternoon, Gunner got in! ACK! Know what he did?? He herded them to me. When Slash freaked and took off, he went to chase her back!!! Wow. I have to admit, after watching the dogs take out a opossum and several other animals, including adolescent raccoons. (I HATE raccoons--ever since I tried to stop the dogs from killing a baby raccoon. Then it turned towards me KKK-KK'ing yea, kill it.) Anyway, I was sure that if the dogs every got a chance, it would be the goat's last. I love to be wrong about such things.

Forget corn mazes, come see our pasture maze!!

Today, we went out into the pasture, and cut paths for the goats to go on. They have mainly been staying right next to the barn, and the fence line right by the barn. This way, they can go out without having to worry about getting lost. Can you see the goats? Well, they are the white spots. (the only one you can really even make out in this picture is Gabby--the other two are just to the right of her.) Can you see the paths? We sure had fun riding through them on the lawn mower. Eric got the 4430 running, and used the bush hog to make most of the paths. Ben and I went VERY slowly with the lawn mower, but only where it wasn't very tall. We went in first, and the goats just looked at us, wondering what we were doing with weird green legs, I bet. They went up next to the barn, and after we left, went out into their paths!! This is what started the pictures today-- one of our Rhode Island Red chicks hopped up on the bungee cord and fell asleep! Awwwwww. They are growing up so fast! The Barnyard in your Backyard suggested that we set up a roosting place, and they will start to roost when they're a few weeks old. So, for kicks, I put one in when we separated the breeds.

But, most importantly, I figured out how to write around the pictures!!! YEA!

Fun fact: Goats need sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and sodium chloride (salt). It helps maintain proper rumen acidity. (Keeps them from getting upset tummies.)

Got her!

Well, FYI, goats need their hooves trimmed. And, you can do it with nice, sharp gardening shears! The trick is getting the goat to hold still. For those of you that have goats that actually like you, this will not be a problem. For us, I grabbed her while she was eating, and 'pinned' her to the wall, just like they said to in the book. *dramatic pause* (or just a scornful one) I am 5'10" the goat is roughly 18", maaaaaaybe 20. So, that didn't work out so great. I ended up gently pushing her to the floor, holding her down with the one arm, and working on the hoof with the other. She wiggled for about half a second (the time it took me to start cleaning the hoof) and then seemed content to have her hoof stop hurting her. After I was done, I scratched her all over. With both hands. If goats could purr, this goat would have been purring. She leaaaaaaned into it, for about 15-20 seconds, then realized that she wasn't being held down, and took off, about 2 steps: stopped, looked at me, and started eating again. YEA!!!!!!!! This is a Hallmark card-worthy event, people. If I had black ink in the printer, I would make one, send it to myself, (hey, who doesn't love getting mail?) and proudly post it on the refrigerator.

Fun 'fact': "Lost goats" are probably just in the smallest, hardest to get to place, and will remain there until they are good and ready to come out. So, just because it's full of thorn bushes, and has tin all around it, doesn't mean that the goats aren't there. Go check it out. Or, better yet, tackle them to the ground, scratch them until they like you, and then they'll come to you, instead of you having to go to them.

Storms comin'

Can't get enough of this view!!!! We figured the storm was hitting the highway about now, which is 2 miles away. It mostly missed us, but we sure felt the cold front go through! Much appreciated, and a great way to break up the longest day of the year.

No trouble sleeping here!

Hello. Ben and I are holding down the farm, so to speak. It is very fun and rewarding, but there are not enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished!!! It's a never-ending, wonderfully fulfilling life. *contented sigh*

We had a bit of excitement the other day. First of all, we are looking into getting some heritage breeds of hogs and cattle, to raise up for meat, and to help get them off of the critical list (endangered cattle, who knew?). Anyway, that morning, I spoke to a person from the ALBC, while Ben played in his 'office' right there, listening. That afternoon, we ran to town. Pulling into the drive, I was thinking about what all needed to be done, when Ben said, "Oh look, our cows are here." Well, not OUR cows, but there were definitely some one's cows meandering up the driveway. They sort of milled around a bit confused, so I went ahead and pulled in. (They had not spotted our garden yet, and were headed toward the back pasture, so I just encouraged them, you know, with a tiny little acceleration in their direction. If any gravel went flying, it was a coincidence. :) Unfortunately, there are few things that make you grin that spontaneous, pure bliss, sloppy grin more than chasing a group of animals. *hmmmm* Especially when they go where you want them to----oooo, it's when you're chipping ice off the sidewalk, and you crack it juuuuuust right, and a ginormous piece comes off, so big, you can barely lift it. *ahhh* good times, good times.

So... oh yes, cows, well, I called around, the nice farmer from down the road came to take a look, offered his advise, and left. It was a nice teaching moment for Ben. He wanted to know why that guy wasn't taking the cows with him, so we talked about responsibility; the person that owned the cows needed to come and get them. I have to say when I called around it seemed that with Eric being gone, these guys around here sure didn't want to bother my pretty head about some loose cattle. At first, I was a little offended, but honestly, I didn't want to be out there, trying to get a herd of cattle to go over and around to.... somewhere. So, you know what, I said thank you. Thank you for taking this responsibility off of my shoulders, and letting me know that I am not alone, and if I need help, I can find it. They may not have meant it like "Don't bother your pretty little head" that was never said, I felt it had been implied. It was an AHA moment. Why would I make my life harder because, why? so they don't treat women with... um, I got nothin'. So it turned out that the owner of the cows happened to be baling hay faaaaaar away, and wouldn't be able to come until the next morning. So, we got to watch cows run down the road, over the fence, and 2 guys on 4-wheelers got to experience that bliss of having the herd go where they wanted them to. It was a great day!

So, with the garden, the goats, the dogs, the cats, the chickens, and the kid (my personal favorite), our days are full. Eric is working hard far away so he can be closer longer later. We may be tired, but I've never been more proud of us.

Chickchickchickchickchick

The chicks are here!!! And formed very nicely as if they were a clock. The three at 6:00 are the feather-footed (the Partridge Cochins) The one at 9, and the group at 3 are the Rhode Island Reds, right at 4 is one of the rare breeds (Houdini--he's so small, when we first put them into the kennel, he kept popping through the bars) and the black fuzzy one up at 10:30 seems to be another rare breed (Owl) we thought they sent us 4 of the cochins, but this one's feet are fuzz-free. (And he looks a bit pretentious, so I referred to him as owl... oops.) The ones up 12-2:30 are the Aracunas, as is the one that looks white on the feeder. They are so little! And sooooo cute! Ben was so excited, and told me everything they did on the ride home. He didn't believe me that they didn't have fur. A few of them already have some feathers coming in this afternoon. Wow. I am not sure how this works, as these are our first chicks. The Aracunas are a Bantam breed, which means they will be smaller, but these guys are bigger than the RIRs which are supposed to be a Heavy Breed (like I know what that means). So we'll see how it goes. The cats watched for a good hour, eyes bright like kittens, tracking, tracking, but they didn't do anything, so that's awesome. This afternoon, Ben and I had some out on the floor ((they are sooooo cute!!!)) the cats didn't care one bit. Now, to do the work that should have been done instead of watching the baby chickens ALL day!!

As requested...

Well, things have been going very well. The goats are out in the lot for most of the day. They've mowed down most of the weeds, so that's AWESOME! Here are some pictures. They were following Ben around--he dragged the branch around, and they followed him like puppies. The other was hard to catch but the one you can clearly see is Slash the blur in the foreground is Deer, and the little bit behind Slash is our Gabby.

We have almost everything we need for the chickens. That is what I have been up to--decluttering the 'basement' so we'll have space for them. I am curious what the cats will do with the chicks near their food. We've been debating about putting the dogs down by the goats, so they can get used to them. We have not, because Kodiak is sick with something, so we have her right here, to make sure she's getting her fluids and medicine. Gunner is blossoming! Having food available to Kodiak all the time has made our Gunner quite plump. He's never looked better.

Fun fact: While eating, goats never hold still. However, in this particular situation, if you hough a bit, Slash will freeze just long enough for you to snap a picture, but will not fall for it again. The others could care less, as long as you do not take their maple leaves away. Should you try to do so, remember it is difficult to pick up a large branch and take a picture a the same time, before they start eating again. (I refer you back to the beginning sentence of this paragraph.)

They like us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, they like maple tree suckers, anyway, but WE bring them. Thus, they like us! This weekend, Ben and I took a friend to see the goats, and they came RUNNING up to us!! YEA!

Eric went around once again, to check the fences. He enclosed another area--just above the barn (in the picture) there is a corn crib, with some hog huts to the right. All of that is around a concrete area that is covered in weeds. Eric fenced it off, and we let the goats out! They were a little hesitant to begin with. Especially with Ben chasing them around. :) Eric is right (don't quote me!) that it's a good thing for them to be around Ben, just being Ben. The goats really don't seem to mind him at all. If he gets too close, they take off, but he's never hurt them (and he brings food, too :).

Then, to put them away for the night, I trimmed up the tree that smacks you when you go by on the 4-wheeler, and they followed me right into the barn. YES! :)

The plans for everything are down at the machine shed. We've started the dog house, but we got a call. There were some extras at a building site, but we had to pick them up right then, so free stuff beat out dog house.

Oooo! We have a pigeon problem. They are all over the machine shed. Eric wanted to take out the BB gun, but I've convinced him to give me a week to persuade them to leave... wish me luck!

Fun fact: Kodiak got into the 'dog-free' area. :) Guess we'll go around it again. And again...

'

Well, they're still alive...

so that's a good thing.

Wow--not sure how that happened--this was taken just minutes ago with my digital camera! It will not let me rotate it, so if you'd just gently tilt your head so your left ear is close to your left shoulder... (and read on, read on.)

Actually, things are going really well. On Wednesday, we went down again to help them get used to us. They still stayed away for the most part. They came over to check out the weeds we had gathered for them, but when Deer got close, Ben reached out and pet her. They ran. Gabby got her head stuck behind a gate-like-thing. Ben went over to her, walking carefully, speaking softly, and gently took her head, turned it, and pushed it back through the slot. Then, as she couldn't get out from behind it, he looked, then undid a wire. He turned to ask for help (I was already on the way) and in turning, let go of it just enough for it to fall on him. My goodness. It was very scary, but he handled it beautifully. As I carried him out of the barn (after making sure nothing was broken) he said "I saved Gabby, huh, Mama?" "Yea, you sure did, kiddo. Just like a hero." The look on his face--contemplative, and proud is one I will remember for a long time--wish I had my camera, so I could share it with you.

For the past few days, we've been trimming up around the trees, removing suckers, and taking them to the goats. They LOVE them! And we're actually trimming up the trees!!! The place has never looked so good. Yesterday, we took a few 2' branches and sat in the middle of the aisle. Deer was the first to come over, and start in eating. The others soon followed. We sat, while they got closer and closer... but this time, we just waited. Ben was such a trooper. We talked about why it wouldn't be a good idea to pet them right now, even though they were totally within reach. We decided that this was a good thing, that they came so close, but we'll wait until they come up to us when we don't have food. It was a great teaching moment for patience, and seeing the bigger picture. Plus, while I had him engaged in conversation, the goats almost touched the hand that was holding the branch. :) It was an awesome experience!

Eric is off today, so we're going over to finish up a few things at his parent's house while they are gone. It's our 5 year wedding anniversary. The traditional gift for 5 years is wood. How appropriate! We're planning on making chicken coops and dog houses this weekend!! (40% chance of rain, so we may be putting them together out in the machine shed!)

Hey--if you have one of those collapsible clothes lines, and it falls over, bend it back straight. (Our pole circumference was 1 1/4", so have your PVC be about 1/4" wider than your pole.) Then take a length of 1 1/2" PVC pipe, slide it over the entire length (from the bottom of the rubber thing, to where it goes into the ground (ours is about 2' --luckily we had a piece in the shed just shy of that!) I couldn't remember if PVC gets broken down by UV rays or not, so I went ahead and painted it with some sticks-on-plastic spray paint we had. (blue) If you're going to use regular paint, scuff it with fine sandpaper to help the paint stick. This plastic spray paint wasn't very expensive. With the PVC wedged on, the whole thing screwed together, and put back in the hole, I just sprayed it right there. ch-ch-ch, done!) I think we picked this up at Wal-Mart last year. If you are getting one new, why not put a piece of PVC around it now, so you don't have it tip over in the first place! An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

The dark spots on the PVC are from not taking my time. There is extra paint there. (gently arc back and forth, only 'ch-ing' in the middle part of the arc. And yes, that is the technical term. :) I was in a hurry this morning--I would like to hang up clothes this afternoon!

Fun fact: Goats do not eat tin cans. They do, however LOVE the glue they use to adhere the labels. (so do cockroaches!) ew.
If hungry enough, a goat will gnaw on metal objects, but it's not good for their gut.

Ahhh, the 'simple' life.

We sure do like it here, we think you will, too. That is our town's motto. I thought it was hokey when I first read it, but now I completely understand it.

This farm thing is a life all in of itself. To call it simple is naive. Basic may be a better word, but still not quite right. You ever have something that is pure good? Doing it, and doing it right feels... good, feels right? Now I enjoyed signing, and I sure did love the 'ah-ha' look, when something I taught got caught, but this, this is right. I never felt as at peace during any of my jobs that I have here in the garden, playing with Ben, or even waking up at 4 in the morning to close the barn doors, so the goats don't catch a draft. We've found our purpose, thus, we've found our peace.

Last night, we did not sleep with the goats (it rained!), but we realized that until they get to know us, they have no reason to trust us. The dogs, while they enjoy a good chase (and it IS fun to chase the goats :) , they come down to the barn because we're there. The goal here is balance. Balance all of the things that need to be done, with love and patience, and it's all good.

And now? Down to the barn, to let the goats get to know us a little better.

It's a good life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Fun fact: Goats have very good eyesight, and can see movement up to a mile away.

I put this fun fact in, because yesterday, when we went down, they weren't watching us, outside the fence, they were warily watching our shadows inside the pen. Also, when we come in with a choice weed or carrot top, just holding it, they'll ignore it, but if you wave it around a bit, they can't seem to help themselves from tracking it.

the next few days

So it's not an every-day-exciting-stuff-happens kind of a thing. We found a home for the stray-Ben named him "Lion-dog" and the new owner (my father-in-law) named him Shep.

The goat thing is going alright. They are still in the barn, and still not overly happy to see us. Yesterday when we went to spend some time down there, we kinda chased them a bit. I had some trouble catching them... so today when we went down, they ran right away. Oops. So we spend several hours a day down there, just playing in the hay or straightening up the rest of the barn. We laugh, and play, and are generally fairly loud, to try to help them get used to us. Tonight, Ben and I are camping out down there. Eric may come too, but he has class this whole week, so he needs his sleep. SO, the mission for now is to get the goats used to us, and the dogs used to the goats. Sounds easy. LOL!

Fun fact: Dogs and goats are natural enemies. The fear that emanates off of a pack of goats can send even a very easy-going dog back to it's natural instincts. (this, of course, is just fabulous on this here farm. Our dogs enjoy catching rabbits, and are very eager to get in with the goats. Any tips for helping them get along? And don't waste your time, we're not getting rid of either of them!!!)

Day 3

Whew! We'll all sleep good tonight! Ben and I started cleaning out the old tack room (they kept a horse in there for a while...) while Eric opened up 2 more doors! Yea! Less climbing over fences. We found some things that we can use for the chickens, or clean up and see if we can use them elsewhere. It was like a treasure hunt. While hunting for some wire in the machine shed, Eric found a round rubber dish. We think this will work a little better than the huge tub (although it was pretty cute, watching them lean on one leg to reach in) for the water. It wasn't practical, since we have to haul it, to have a 30 gallon container for our 3 young goats.

Ben and I tried to win their affections with an apple--they licked it quite enthusiastically, but they did not eat it while we were there. They are still pretty nervous around us. Hopefully this won't last. It is teaching all of us patience, though, and that's a good thing!

We were in and out of the barn all day today. Gunner got in, through the door Eric was fixing, but left the goats alone--he just wanted to be near us, and out of the sun. Gunner is our English Setter. Our other dog is Kodiak, and she is a red Doberman Pincher. We have recently been introduced to a dog that was dumped on us. It is a male Collie? Sheltie? Australian Shepard? I am not sure of the differences between these breeds. We are on again/off again about keeping him. We're doing everything necessary to find him a home. I am against keeping him, as it's a big, fluffy dog, and we live right here in cockle burr valley, with sticky weed lane going straight through it. If you'd like a beautiful dog, that is very well mannered, post a comment, then come get him!

Eric went around and replaced the fencing he'd wanted to before we got the goats, and the gates that were pretty much useless. Ben helped. They cut down the saplings that were in the way, and put them in for the goats. Whoo-whee, do they LOVE saplings! We've been debating about staking them out in the pasture... and about getting an electric fence. There's so much information, but which one to choose? We'll let you know the whys and the hows of what we choose to do (and how it worked!).

Fun fact: Goats (on a pasture) get almost all the moisture they need from plants. (on a good day-but always have it available for them!) (the amount per goat varies as much as the places you can get information from! One said you need 1 gallon per goat. We were told a 10 gallon bucket was more than enough for 30, so watch your herd, and see what they think. )

Day 2

Last night, we gave them alfalfa. They sure seem to love it. The dogs are still trying to get in to them, but we've got it covered--literally with some woven wire bits here and there. This afternoon, as a goodwill gesture, I took a book and a chair, and picked a nice bunch of clover. For four hours I sat there, trying to entice them to come check me out, but they were perfectly content to avoid me like the plague. Then, Eric came down. Hmmm. Guess we know who they like better! Luckily, we were able to snag them fairly easily, and held them for a good half hour. Eric may not have gotten head-butted at all, but I can grab them quicker than he can! Thank goodness they are still so small! I think we should take their food, and only give it to them when we're there, so they associate food with us. Pretty much so they'll at least pretend to like me.

17 days until the chickens are here!!! They'll be inside for the first month or so, but we've been going over coop plans, checking out suitable areas, and in general, getting along quite splendidly. Who could ask for anything more?

Fun fact: Only 1 buck is needed to breed 20-30 does.

Day 1

We picked out the goats around 7:00pm. They rode with Ben and me in Jack's jeep. They did alright, considering that one bleated the whole way---now we can do an excellent goat impression Note to selves, do not just put goats out in the field. They go straight for the holes you missed. Then you have to chase them down the road, tackle them into the ditch, and carry them home while your wife chases them through the barn, into the back lot, or just through 6' weeds. While your son cries, because he's tired, and cranky from listening to a goat bleat for 10 miles. Maybe this could have been done a little better. Take our advise, and don't do it this way.

From 7-11, we've been chasing down goats, putting up the fencing, and corralling the dogs. Eric and Ben went down to the barn from 9-11 to hang with the goats and get them settled a little better. Now, technically, it's day 2, tempers are apparent, and Eric is headed down to give them crushed corn (cracked corn? by day 20, we hope to have the lingo down :) As we sit here, trying to figure out how much we should give them, we realize perhaps we should have payed more attention to that part of the books...

So, we'll go to the COOP first thing tomorrow morning.

Fun fact: Goats can go up to three days without food.