DOGS!!!

What is it with dogs that they must roll in the nastiest, disgusting possible thing they can find and then want to come to you for "loving'??  I don't think so!!!  I have no clue what Niki (our German Shepherd/Rottweiler puppy) found yesterday but she absolutely REEKS!!  And, of course, she wants to be petted and rubs up against you.  UGH!!! She smells terrible!!

Normally she sleeps in our room.  Sorry, not tonight girl.  And guess who is getting a bath first thing this morning????  Now I know why I make a dog shampoo - LOL!!!

Spring is in the Air!!!

One more day until Spring - at least, that is what the calendar says!  Whether Mother Nature agrees or not, I guess we will have to wait and see.  BUT, I did see my daffodils starting to peak their little leafy heads up yesterday in my garden!!  I am so ready for Spring!!  As I am sure the rest of the country is.

(my flower garden from last year!)

The Winter That Will NEVER End!!!

What an interesting year 2014 has turned out to be!! A winter that refuses to give up!!  Record snowfalls and sub-zero temperatures.  Today and tomorrow the temperatures will hover between the mid 50's and low 60's - sounds great doesn't it!!!  BUT . . . Mother Nature has another card up her sleeve . . . another snowstorm is headed our way on Wednesday!!  Yes, I do love snow BUT I am getting just a tad bit tired of it by now.  It was really great in January and February but it is now March and I am ready to move on, Mother Nature!!  Someday . . . I really do hope to work in my garden!  Until then, I guess I better not put the snow shovel away!!

And Kidding Season comes to an end!!

Whew!! We did it!  And all when the weather was half way decent!!  Thank you Lord!!  We now have 5 new babies residing in my garage (my poor, but understanding, husband!!).

Elissa and Holly had their babies last week (Wednesday, February 19 and Thursday, February 20) when the weather was GREAT!!!   Temperatures were in the 50s.   I was hoping Sadie would follow suit.  Kept waiting and waiting.  Then winter decided to come back and bring back frigid temperatures.  So yesterday when the high was only 20 degrees, Sadie decided to have her babies.  Oh well, at least it was during the day when it wasn't too horribly cold like single digits.

Anyway, all the babies are in a nice heated garage under a heat lamp.  Final tally - 3 boys and 2 girls.  Names - boys are Tony, Olympus, and Brutus - girls are Sochi and Penelope.

All are doing FANTASTIC!!  The three goats had no problems with giving birth, though Elissa went into ketosis where she was producing too much milk too quickly for her body to handle.  She does this every year so I knew exactly what to do - some corn syrup mixed with molasses and a couple shots of B-complex usually do the trick.  She did worry me for a day because she didn't respond as quickly as she normally does.  In that case, prayer does WONDERS!

So now my life has become extremely busy, but I'm not complaining.  In about a month and a half, I will be making goat cheese and goat's milk yogurt - YUM!!! Life is good!

Snow Puppy!!

I  found this "puppy scarf" at a craft show several years ago.  What is the saying . . . "a picture says a thousand words."  Well, I think this picture is telling me "take this STUPID thing off of me NOW!!"  She doesn't look like a happy camper, but I thought she looked cute.  Needless to say, the scarf didn't stay on long!!

The Ground Hog

Well, "Phil" saw his shadow on Sunday, which also happened to be Super Bowl Sunday!, which means that we are going to have 6 more weeks of winter.  I wonder if Phil's appearance had anything to do with the poor "appearance" of the Denver Broncos at the Super Bowl - hmmm???  There might be something there - what do you think??  Maybe Phil was really a Seahawks fan??

So, Mother Nature not wanting to make Phil look bad (and who wants to give a Ground Hog a bad reputation???) - is complying today by sending us another winter storm.  Isn't that nice of her!!  And just to make sure he doesn't doubt her, she is sending us another one this weekend!!  OK - we get the message!!  Phil was right!!  Mom Nature - enough already!!!

Rough Winter!

I don't remember a winter like this before.  Sure we have had the cold and the snow but not weeks on end of sub-zero temperatures like this.  Makes life on the farm very challenging.  Heat lamps and insulation can only do so much.

Unfortunately, this winter has taken its toll on my farm.  Friday I lost my sweet little Maggie

who was born last March.  She just couldn't handle the week long negative temperatures.  I am going to miss   you Girl!!!  Along with Maggie, I lost two chickens.

I have 4 pregnant goats that are due to give birth in the next week or two.  I just hope they don't have them during the middle of the night!  We have already made plans to bring all the babies into our heated garage.

Life on a goat farm!!