Mystery of the Missing Goats

Now that we've had a few warm days, mud season is here.  The almost two feet of snow is nearly gone, but has left lots and lots of mud behind.  Our younger corgi is reveling in the squishy squashy feeling between his toes, while the other one minces around like a girl trying not to get his pretty little paws dirty.  Very entertaining to watch the two of them out together.

Since the weather is no longer in the negative digits, we've started to let the goats out of the barn.  One day last week after I returned home from work, when I did my usual check on the goats I noticed that it was very quiet.  Too quiet.  No goats in the pasture.  No goats in the pen.

The dogs and I wandered around the side of the barn.  Still no goats.  We looked in the woods.  No goats.  Usually, if they get out they do not go too far.  Being the stomachs-on-legs that they are, as soon as they find a good meal, that's usually where they stop.

Feeling rather concerned, I finally went into the barn to check on the other herd, just to make sure nothing had happened to them.  And that's when I found the missing goats.  Apparently, they had gone out of their pen, into their pasture, through their gate into the other pasture (of course they found a hole in the fence the first day they were out), and then back into the barn on the other side.  Why they chose to go back inside on such a nice day is beyond me.  I am also not sure how they managed to open the barn doors (but I suspect that a certain husband did not lock the doors properly the night before).

Happily all goats are fine, although confined to quarters until we get the fence mended.

Goat Kids!

Well, all our does have finished kidding for the winter.  We started in December, right before Christmas.

Here is the first doe kid of the season.  She is the only all-brown one that we've had survive, and so is already being spoiled by my husband and daughter. We could not decide on a name for her, so she got three: Cocoa cinnamon bon bon. Sounds pretty snooty and high-bred, right?

 

A day later, Muesli, a buck kid was born. Since he's a buck and therefore won't be staying permanently, no one cared what I named him.

After that, we had a break until late January, when Squeaker was born. She got her name because she doesn't make normal goat kid "maaa" sounds. Instead, she sounds like a squeaky toy. Since she's otherwise healthy, we aren't too concerned. Plus, you always know when she's talking.

After Squeaker was born, I was lamenting not seeing any of the goat kids actually coming out. Well, Snowflake decided that she would wait for me.  One day in February, when we had been without power for 24 hours due to an ice storm (and would continue to be without power for another 3 days), I went out to check the goats. It was dark in the barn, even with the flashlight, but I thought I saw a baby. I did.


















As my husband and I went about doing our goat feeding and watering, about an hour later another one came out. So we stood and watched the two for awhile, making sure everything was ok, since Snowflake is a first-time mother.

Well, after about another hour, she had a third kid!

We ended up bringing the third kid inside as a bottle baby, since his mother didn't have enough milk for all three of them.

He enjoys romping in the kitchen with the corgis, and getting into trouble as well. He is well on his way to being spoiled.

Our final kid was born just before Valentine's Day: our first angora kid! Unfortunately, her mother wants nothing to do with feeding her.  So she has also become a bottle baby.  Happily, all kids are doing well and are super cute!

 

 

 

 





Draft Blocking Door Snake Tutorial

With the cold weather hitting, my husband asked for a draft-blocker for some of our doors.  I decided to make them interesting to look at, since they will be in front of our doors for months.

For the tutorial, click here.

Homemade Christmas Presents 2013

Every year I try to make some of our Christmas presents.  It started as a way to try to reduce my fabric stash.  Two years ago everyone got market bags.  Last year I made lap quilts.  This year I made various items.  Unfortunately, my fabric stash does not appear to be shrinking.

My daughter and I attempted to make felted soap for everyone.  They ended up being more like tribble soaps.  Still cool though, right?

 



Per request, an apron for my sister.

A fleece hat for my sister.

I realize this picture is blurry, but I was unable to get a better one.  Apparently my sister was moving too fast while sitting still.

















This is a car organizer, meant to tie on to the back of a car seat.

 

Matching pjs (for my stepfather) and a coat for his dog.  Belle (the dog) looks so thrilled.

 

 

 
A small purse.



















A dress for my daughter's doll.  This matches her Christmas dress, which she is obviously not wearing.

Flannel-lined Pants Tutorial

Since the winter weather has hit, I have been looking for flannel-lined pants to keep me warm since I spend a lot of time outside.  Unfortunately, I am not willing to pay the money ($50+) for a pair of pants that are only going to get dirty during farm work and day work.  So, I made my own.

You can take a look at my tutorial here:

Flannel-lined Pants Tutorial

Note: You will need some sewing experience to make these.

New Angora Goats

Last week we acquired three angora goats from Flying Goat Farm.  We have a new buck and two more females.  After a week, they have settled in pretty well.  It only took them a few days to learn that seeing me come to the barn at a certain time of day means grain, and they all come running to their stall.

Here is Basil, our new buck (and his crazy horns).  While not as friendly as most of our goats, he is approachable enough.

And Leah and Grace, our new does. Leah is the larger one; usually where you see one, the other is not far behind.

Leah, wanting to know if she is going to get some more grain.

Grace, posing for the camera.

 And Sassafrass, our other angora doe.

Yarn!

Well, canning season has begun.  This weekend we made: applesauce, apple butter, apple cake, apple pie, apple cobbler, froze several jars of peaches, and (finally, because I was tired and just wanted the fruit done): apple-peach-pear jam.  The apple-peach-pear jam is very red and tastes rather sweet, even though I used less sugar and more fruit than was called for.  We're calling it "candy jam."  The final batch is cooking right now; I will put pictures up later.

So, as I am waiting for my jam to finish up, I decided to try to take some artsy pictures of the yarn I've been working on.  First is a yellow corriedale with some flowers spun in.  Straight yellow (not pictured) was a little too much for me; I think the flowers make a nice addition.

Next I mixed the yellow corriedale with some merino to break up the yellow a bit.  It makes a much softer yellow color:

 



 Below is a mix my daughter came up with.  We dyed some of our mohair into rainbow strips, and then I plyed the dyed rainbow with grey mohair and flowers. 

 

 

 

And here's the rainbow mohair again, this time plyed with black mohair.  Personally, I like this one better than the rainbow/grey combination.