August is jam, and cobbler month….which means one thing on our homestead……
……the blackberries are full, ripe, and sweet.
With the lack of water this summer, it is surprising to me how many berries are hanging on these vines. Although a bit smaller, they are unexpectedly abundant…and very well protected. Of course, the ever-present thorns that make one think twice before sticking in a hand to pluck that juicy, sweet-but-tart, purple gem are fiercely on guard…there are other soldiers in the vines battle to keep it’s bounty…….
…..and as I diligently pursued the prize…hornets, wasps, and bumble bees buzzed around me, and within the vines. There was this one spot where the berries were big, beautiful, and oh so juicy…but after three attempts, I chickened out to the relentless, overwhelmingly loud message of, “DO NOT PLUCK THOSE BERRIES!” from the hornets that had claimed that particular territory. They were beautiful berries…..
…..apparently, they did not belong to me!! Hahaha In any event, the pot was filled….
…..and filled pots lead to…..
,,,,blackberry deliciousness!!
I hope you are able to enjoy something sweet, yet tart on this late summer day. Thank you for visiting the blackberry bush today!! I hope you have a most mahvalous morning, afternoon, and evening.
If you are living anywhere considered within the western states….I think it’s safe to say, basically….you have been on fire, or benn breathing the results of the many, many fires filling the air with the smells of a huge campfire….
….and although the picture doesn’t show it well, the smoke lays lightly low within the trees. Thankfully, for our homestead, the fires are not threatening our surrounding forests. Our hearts and prayers go out to those who have been evacuated, or may soon have to leave their homes.
The sunsets have been erily beautiful.
The smoke has also created a cover for airborne predators….the kind with sharp beaks and talons….the kind that pluck young, feathered friends up off the ground, and carry them away. We’ve had two attempted hawk attacks on our young flock within the past three days. Thankfully, the juveniles are getting their feet accustomed to the great outdoors in a safe environment….
…this is what you call the awkward, in-between stage!! hahaha!
In both instances, the hawk did not perceive the chicken wire are a barrier and rammed right into it with talons blazing. One tussled with the wire mesh, trying to find an opening, or create one….the other immediately flew up into the tree adjacent to the flock’s enclosure. In both cases, the hawks flew in with a stealthy silence, minus a forewarning shadow due to the haze of smoke. Outside of their enclosure, these, Littles ,would not have stood a chance…..
The good news……
…..my blues skies of Oregon have returned…
….Mama Chardonnay, hatched two little chicks (they’re still playing hide-n-seek at this point)….
…we harvested the most delicious watermelon EVER!!……
…and these little beautiful Chardonnay gems from our new vines, give us hope for the future. I can’t wait to grow enough to actually make our own mead wine. Next year??
Hey, thank you for visiting today!! I hope your day ahead, or the one behind is or has been MAHVALOUS!!
Some days….my life seems like it’s all about the poop. Seriously….when you have multiple animals, you’ve got to stay on top of it…hahaha!
I recently discovered an amazing way to stay on top of the incredible nightly chicken house poop accumulation. No joke….they sleep and poop, poop and sleep….at the same time….in huge amounts. I try not to capture the results of their evening….activities…..when I post pictures because…welll….who really wants to see that??!! (Sorry about the picture above.)
I’ve tried to manage it all with pine shavings, works pretty well….straw (never again will I use straw) Creepy Crawlies….YUCK! …. and dusting the floor with DE (livestock food grade diatomaceous earth.) Shavings, and straw are very labor intensive when it’s time to clean, and there is a point where the production of ammonia is just inevitable….so whether it was on your schedule that day to muck out the hen house….if you start detecting ammonia….cleaning day moves to the top of the chore list. DE floor dusting (very thin layer) actually worked pretty well….it dried out the droppings pretty well. The most difficult things with this method were the “splat” factor, resulting in the need scrape the floor a bit. Other than that, things generally cleaned up with a shovel and a broom.
Although our local farm store did not carry the Sweet PDZ granules that the Pintrest poster spoke of….this product…
…has very similar ingredients, and works amazingly!! Seriously…I feel like my life has been liberated from the drudge of the frequent mucking out of the chicken house!!! I’m a happy, Tami!!!
Literally, I take a cat litter box scooper, and scoop the poop right out of the poop tray!! The effort is so minimal its amazing (ok…I know I’ve used that word several times this post, but it actually is AMAZING!!) The beauty of this product is that it has the benefit of DE which will eliminate any fly that lands in the poop box (DE dries out their exoskeleton, and dun, dun, dun, no more fly) yet, it is not as lightly powered so there is not near as much dust. I’m so excited!!
So now, besides cleaning out the nesting boxes, and adding clean bedding….my mucking days are over!!! YES!!!
Oh, wait…. <sigh> ….. I forgot about the kids’ house!!!
Hahaha…well once the barn gets built….the tractor will help with that chore…I hope!!
I hope all within the United States of America had a wonderful Independence Day weekend……Happy Birthday to our beautiful country!!
What do you think made this…..
…..impressions in the mud surrounding the pond? If you guessed racoon for the tracks on the right, I think there is a very fair bet that you are right!! The tracks on the left, however, are not as apparent. These tracks were part of the results of our great expedition in search of creatures unknown….creatures who make odd, foreboding sounds in the forest….creatures that….oh well, if you don’t know what I’m talking about…take a look at my previous post.. What Was That??!!!
We searched high and low, with Penni ‘s nose leading the way, but found nothing. Nothing, that is, until we reached the pond. TRACKS!! Due to the unusually high temps surrounding most of the month of June, and into July…and the lack of rain….our pond has receded a lot already this year, leaving a good muddy base to capture a picture of those that visit for a quick refresher.
Tracks are very difficult to capture in time…especially when one is using a cell phone as camera…but these are big impressions….and without a marker….I think they appear bigger in the picture than at the site, but they are large, none-the-less, large….and probably somewhat spread out due to the soft mud.
The picture above, captured from http://www.bear-tracker.com/coyote.html is the closest example that I can find. Both have suttle nail impressions, indicating a canine paw rather than a big cat paw…..
…..such as the cougar track above from http://www.bear-tracker.com/cougar.html. You can see how much wider the “palm” pad is from the cougar track, as compared to the coyote track.
Although, I’m fairly certain the sounds just before dawn on the early morning of July 2, 2015 are not related to the tracks we found in the mud of the pond, I am reminded that this place wherein we have created a home…a small farm…is actually home to so many others. We are truly living within a forest, and the creatures of this forest are sharing their home with us. Most of the time, although on the same land, we live in very different worlds….however, I suspect that they know our activities much more than we know theirs. Also, we have water around us…in the pond, and in the creek…..with the unusually early, dry conditions this summer the critters are getting thirsty….something to remember.
Thank you for visiting the forest today. Have a great day!!
Many of my friends know of the, WHAT WAS THAT, moment of my day today. It started around 4:15 a.m….the sounds were odd…really odd. They were coming from the bottom of the gentle hillside leading away from our goat enclosure. Penni, our great dane, was the first to hear and react. The hackles along her spine were raised, creating a dark, rust colored line extending from her shoulders to the base of her tail. I crawled out of bed, sat, and listened for more. WHAT WAS THAT??!!
By this time all the dogs on the properties around us were sounding the alarm, yet the noise continued. Hard to explain, the was a hollow, somewhat high pitched cry….not quite a howl, not quite a scream.
As soon as I could, I googled sounds, and most of the day, though that it must have been a cougar, aka mountain lion. However, I found the bobcat sounds this afternoon, and truly believe it was a bobcat.
Yeah kind of spooky. We’ve yet to go exploring to find what we might find, but I’ll keep you posted. And, yes, these guys and gals…
…were all locked up tightly for the night….although, they did seem a bit trepidatious stepping out into the big, bold world this morning…they seem to be fine this afternoon.
Okay….I’ll keep you posted!! I definitely need more of these…..
Penni, the Great Dane
….running about the place!!
Thanks for visiting the forest today….definitely a day in the forest!! Stay safe out there!!
Time for a study in color. Last year’s choice was … A Study in Purple This year we are looking at….
In nature, the color white is found quite prolifically, especially in springtime. In psychology, the color white has many meanings…. “In color psychology white is the color of new beginnings, wiping the slate clean, so to speak. It is the blank canvas waiting to be written upon. While white isn’t stimulating to the senses, it opens the way for the creation of anything the mind can conceive.” The article from this website also suggests, “Too much white can cause feelings of isolation and emptiness; it can be too pristine and immaculate, making you feel as though you can’t make a move for fear of upsetting it or creating a mess.” Read the rest of this entry »
Comments Off on Please Be Encouraged – There is Hope
Life has been very busy up here in the forest, and on the farm. I have missed having the time to write, and have a lot to post…a lot to catch up with, but I feel compelled to share something much more important. The events of this week in Charleston, SC have really laid heavily on my heart….for so many reasons. I’m saddened for those who have lost family and friends, teachers and pastors…I’m saddened that hate between races and cultures still exists…I’m saddened that evilness has such a stronghold on this world….I’m saddened that persecution of Christians is on the rise not only around the world, but in our own country (from what I understand, this particular crime was less of an attack on Faith than it was on race…but evilness was the perpetuating force, and evilness hates Truth – that being any worship of our Savior, Jesus Christ.)
Steven Curtis Chapman was led to write a song about the events in Charleston….it puts into perspective that the Lord will triumph over evil..this evil….all evil!! Please listen to the video below…I pray that you will feel as encouraged as I am…..
My hopes and prayers for you this Sunday morning. For all those daddy’s out there…Happy Father’s Day!!
…climb that rock!! Always better to climb with a friend! And while you are on that rock…..
…don’t forget to taste the local cuisine, and then……
…..invite your friends….wait….what happened to the friend you were climbing with…….
….well….he ran over to the bar and had a little taste of red wine….Hahahaha! Little Clark…not much of a connoisseur…haha. I guess he will stick with water…
In the meantime, Montana and Lott continue to explore the rocky terrain….
….had a little help being seeded into this Oregon soil a couple of years ago. California Poppies were just too beautiful to leave in CA…we brought a few seeds along for the ride.
Welcoming of new life……
…is always a happy, springtime folly.
The sun…..
…the rain…..
….the long shadows…..
….all lend to the beauty of this alluring season. Oregon is beautiful in the spring.
Although work on the farm amps up as the sun lingers longer in the sky…..
Thanks, Justin, for helping out this week!!! You are awesome!!
…..there is always time for a roll in the tall grass…..
….day dreaming into the blue sky…..
…..soccer tournaments.
As springtime takes it’s journey into summer, there is much to anticipate…..
……and possibly our first year of ripened fruit…..
….and hopefully, a worthy suitor for our majestic princess, Penelopi … aka, Penni.
Yes, spring is a wonderful season in the pacific northwest. My heart and prayers go out to those in the southern states getting hit so hard by the recent drenching, flooding rains. Please stay safe out there!!
Thanks for taking time in your busy day to visit the farm today. I hope you have a wonderful day!!
My family and I would like to take this opportunity….Disney style…..to say, “THANK YOU,” to all the courageous individuals who fought and gave their lives for our Country!! There is absolutely no way to accurately express the feelings and realities that come with this day….thank you, just isn’t enough.
Disneyland, has been my family’s happy place throughout our lives. It has been a place to smile, even in times of heartbreak. Please allow us to share, Disney style, our heartfelt respect, and hope in what the soldiers of our great, United States, have given in the course of our country’s history.
And to close the day….please allow the 1st MARINE Division Band from Camp Pendleton to bring down our glorious flag at the happiest place on earth. Happy Memorial Day!!
Thank you for celebrating our Nation’s day to remember our fallen soldiers with our family. We wish you all the best.
Yesterday, was a day of chaos reminiscent of a black & white silent movie. Things were moving in fast forward, and none of the participants seemed to care. Not one paid attention to the part I played of the ever-present traffic cop, standing in the middle of the busy intersection, blowing my whistle for everyone to just STOP!! They didn’t; they kept on in their chaotic quest to…do whatever it was they had a mind to do.
Goats were running a-muck…outside of their two acres of enclosure.
They have been pushy lately….well one has been pushier than the others….this guy…..Lott…
….has been trying to breach the boundaries of the gate…not the fence line, the gate. He sees me leave…and I think his goat mind goes to…”well, I must leave also.” So he RUNS to the gate to get there before I can get through and close it so that he can put himself in the gap and just push forward like the stubborn goat he has become. Yesterday, he and Montana worked in unison, while gentle, little Clark …
…stood close. They saw their opportunity…pushed behind me, and they were out. I held the gate open so that Clark would not be left out of the grand adventure.
Trying to get them back into their enclosure was a comical scene…two goats would follow the goat treats,
while one preferred the leaves of the oak tree just outside of their enclosure….
…I’ve truly come to understand the saying, “Stubborn as a goat!!”
While the goats were in the chicken’s realm…
…..the chickens were in the goat enclosure.
Then, mama hen, Kermit, at some point in the afternoon, decided that it was time to do this…..
…..okay, that is fine except…. it was very close (well maybe not as close as I originally thought) to the point in the day when the hens and Benedict start to gather before they move into the chicken house for the night. My mind went to that automatic door, and what if those little chicks could not get back up onto the porch. What if one, the littlest one, was still outside when the door closed, and she ran under the house where I couldn’t catch her?
I decided to corral Kermit and the chicks back into their house. The porch is elevated…one chick could jump up onto it, the other two fell short. It took about twenty minutes of getting Kermit on the porch, followed by one chick, while the others called to Kermit, who then jumped off the porch followed by the one chick who was on the porch…gather up the babies and put them on the porch hoping for Kermit to follow, only to have the babies jump off the porch because Kermit wouldn’t cooperate…then placing a plank hoping for the chicks to walk up to the porch….NOT……trying to teach the chicks to walk up the plank…running around to catch the rogue chick that runs the other direction….corralling mama hen to get back on the porch….and FINALLY, timing it all where chicks and mama are in the same place at the same time…and then all walk through the chicken house door!!! OMGOSH!!
Finally, everyone was where they should be…..
It was time to feed Penni, so into the house we go…and see this….
…..one of our neighbor’s peacocks…..the other one is running around on the roof. And the chase begins…
…..but then, finally, there was calm….and a beautiful sunset.
Oh wait…I still had to close the goats in for the night………..
Thanks for visiting the farm today. As chaotic as it can be, there is peace.
I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful Sunday on this Memorial Day weekend.
Less than a day after the hatching of chick number two, Kermit, left the nesting box. She moved herself and both chicks down to the larger brooder area, leaving five eggs behind. I have seen this happen with Chardonnay, but normally that took a good four days, or so, before she totally let the eggs go cold. This move was definitely early, but this was her first brood, so I chalked it up to inexperience….until…….
……WAIT…….WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!!!!
As I was reaching down to move the eggs back under, Kermit, hoping she would hatch one or two more….I paused…..looked….what’s on the eggs? Tiny, tiny little specks…and they were moving!! I looked at my hand…tiny, tiny little specks were moving on hand, on my shirt sleeve, both my hands….WHAT WAS GOING ON??!!!
MITES!!! Oh my gosh!! It was so gross. I have never had mites, at least I have never seen evidence of mites, on or around my birds. What was I supposed to do??? I remembered the goat rancher saying to get diatomaceous earth (DE) to powder the goats if they got itchy….in other words, fleas, ticks, etc. I had some…..I ran to the shop.
By this time I was feeling things crawling on me….on my face and in my hair. KEEP CALM!!! I put on gloves, and a heavy duty mask….I was already wearing glasses so I thought that would suffice for eye protection….put a bunch of this fine powder into a bucket and ran back to the hen house. I doused the nest, the brooder area, and even mama hen, Kermit.
There was no evidence of the creepy crawlies on any of the eggs laid that day, but I wasn’t taking any chances….everything got dusted….every nesting box, every roosting board, window eaves, and the entirety of the floor of the hen house. The place went from a pine, wood board color to grey. I left a good amount on the roosting boards so that the hens, and Benedict would be laying in it as they roosted for the night. Then I went out to their usual dusting spots, and dusted those areas.
I dusted the goats…for good measure. I used the residual dust on my gloves to run my hands over Penni and give her a light dusting, I dusted my clothes….then….oh gosh…I can’t believe I’m admitting this…..I very, very, lightly dusted my hair.
OH MY GOSH!!!! SO GROSS!!! I could feel the creepy crawlies on my scalp….. BLEH!!!!
I left it on for about fifteen minutes, then showered. They critters were gone, which gave me good hope for the hen house.
That night, however, I didn’t sleep well. My mind was all about having to clean up the chicken house, and having bugs crawling on me. Thankfully, after leaving the place thoroughly dusted for three days, when I did clean it from top to bottom this weekend, not one creepy crawly was felt, or found on me, or anywhere else.
OMGOSH!! I don’t know what caused this to happen. I’ve never had mites in my flock!! There are two things that I suspect…I used straw as bedding the last couple of months; I normally use pine shavings. Straw, apparently, has hollow spaces perfect for little mites to thrive and populate…ok…back to shavings we go!!! Secondly, mites are spread by other birds…and the other birds hanging around ALOT right now are my neighbor’s peafowl (two peacocks and a peahen), the Canadian Geese have gone.
In the meantime…this little beauty hatched in the incubator….
…..and is running around with Mama Kermit…and his siblings…
All is well!!!
Thanks for visiting today….no itchies for you!! Hahaha.
Have a great evening, afternoon, or morning (depending on when you’re reading this!!
It is spring…in case you didn’t know!! The grasses are tall…very tall. The wind is blowing, and the rain is falling…and for obvious reasons, that’s okay!!
With the wind and rain came two more things….well, I don’t think I’d really call them, “things!”
Both look like Buff Orphington / Rhode Island Red mix chicks. I’m hoping to have one that is a true Buff Orphington chick … it would be a Benedict / Claudio baby, my only pure Buff Orphington adults.
With the wind and rain, also came a realization….these little cuties were going to need a little extra heat in their brooder. How was I going to hang a heat lamp with my makeshift design? So I started thinking….a tripod? That could work! I looked around, and my eyes landed on a more stable alternative……
….it works, and I think it is a little more stable than a tripod. Sometimes you have to think outside the box…inside the box.
And so it continues as there are six more eggs to hatch…I expect at least four more, there are two that seemed a little questionable when candled a week and a half ago. Exciting times!!
Thanks for stopping by the farm today. This cool spring day has been full of blessings! I hope you find the blessings of your day too!!
The objective…..use these materials (wire structure that they are lying on top of not included)…..
….and figure out an acceptable brooder for the impending hatching. It has to be able to house mama hen, and chicks, within the current chicken house, and allow an ease of cleaning. Read the rest of this entry »
To continue on with the good, the bad, and the ugly, today, we get to focus on the good!! There definitely was some good along with the bad, and the ugly…..little Clark’s scours was, shall we say…solidified!! I actually confirmed today during our “Good morning, Hello” the real-time evidence of perfectly formed little jelly beans…YAY!!!!!! But there is more….there is much more!! Take a look at the picture above….now envision three little billy goats…shorter than the tops of the tall grasses…roaming, eating, and lying in the shade of a big, ole tree on a warm, spring day. That’s good….that’s very good!!
Fence building was priority one this past week, but before we could even get started, there were a few trees impeding the future fence line that would need to be cut. Tony lined out the fence to go directly through a grove of Douglas Firs….
….that needed thinning….two had broken tops….this worked out very nicely. We will have plenty of logs to burn this coming fall / winter.
Many holes were augered for the wooden posts necessary for support….fencing on a hill is a lot of fun…uhhh yeaahhhh. Just ask my He-Man ….. I wish I had pictures of Tony carrying those heavy logs while walking uphill to drop them into place…oh well, it’s engrained in my memory banks…. 😉 Although fencing-in this pasture was a team effort, most of the build fell onto Tony’s shoulders (literally.) My son helped out as his time allowed…and I came along in between work, the house, and everyday farm chores. Thankfully, Tony had a full week to devote to this project….nonetheless, it was a busy week for all of us. Thank goodness for Alleve!!
We ran an electric, shock wire all the way around the fence line about 2 inches above the top, and 6 or 8 inches above the bottom. Since we do not have a guard animal yet for the herd, we’re hoping this will do the trick … let’s have a collective “fingers crossed” moment out there…readyyyyyyyy…..NOW!!
I’m inviting you to experience the moment….the moment that the gate was opened, allowing our three young wethers into their new world….the world beyond their previous fence line….the world of tall grasses, Douglas Fir trees, and cool, shady places….a whole new world!!!! At first they payed absolutely no attention to the opened gate…..it was a look, back to chewing….continued staring, and chewing….standing, staring, chewing. Really, what did I expect??? They are goats, not dogs!!! Hahaha!! Finally, surprisingly, Lott led the way….
….we had really expected the leader to be, Montana.
The first day, they stayed around the gate. However, the herd is slowly expanding their grazing. They seem happy!!
Despite the residual aches and pains Tony and I are enjoying….it is very satisfying to have this first pasture fenced and open for the kids to grow and flourish on. Plans continue for growth of this farm. Did you notice the strength of the fencing?? It is strong!! Why so strong? Why so many wooden pole supports? Can we hear a “Mooooooo?” Okay, not yet….but…………that’s a maybe!!!
Thanks for helping us enjoy the farm today. We always look forward to your visits!!!
Sometimes, OY VEY, are the only words that work. The last couple of weeks have been…well let’s just say…full. Yes, “full” fits. Full of ….. the good, the bad, and the ugly!!! So that I don’t overwhelm you with too many words on one post, I’m going to break these things up into two posts (the bad, and the ugly kind of go together…yes, they definitely walk hand-in-hand.) Let’s start with the feo y el malo….
About a week and half after bringing our Spanish Heritage Goat kids home, I noticed a bit of “softening” to some of their droppings. Not diarrhea, more like a softer dog stool…not alarming, but did raise my eyebrows a bit. Was this normal in goats? I went to the internet. Keep in mind, two evenings prior to this, I had fed the kids those first Douglas Fir tree branches…they ate quite a lot. Yes, an abrupt change in diet can affect them in this way…”Great!” I had my answer. I found these droppings once again the next day (Saturday)….”No worries…it will work its way through.”
Sunday morning…….WHAM!!! …… and I mean, WHAM!!!! Buckets of warm water in hand, I was bathing the backside of little, Clark … yep, we had a case of full on diarrhea, or, more properly known as, scours. I cannot tell you….more appropriately, I will not tell you the fine details of what this was like, but as a quick synopsis…there were periods of continuous oozing. Enough said!!!!
After cleaning Clark, their “locker room”, and the grounds of Candlestick Park 2, I headed for the Corid, replaced their water buckets with new water and, what I thought was a proper dosing of Corid. My goat’s breeder had told me that this was an item to keep on hand just for this type of situation…I’m glad he did!! Oh my goodness….I didn’t sleep very well that night. I thought I really made a huge mistake with the fir branches…I felt so bad for the little guy. Monday was more of the same, and after seeing a big, “squirt” while jumping into the “locker room,” I had enough…as I’m sure Clark was feeling as well. I called the vet!! He was able to come out on Thursday. Since Clark was eating and drinking normally, it wasn’t an emergency call….Okay…that put me a little at ease. Additionally to the Corid, into the water buckets went a probiotic, and electrolytes.
Each day was about keeping Clark, and the shelter/grounds clean…hoping, hoping, hoping that Montana, and Lott would not start in with the same. Thankfully, they remained solid.
Long story short, the vet came out (really nice), took fecal samples from each goat…Clark cooperated with a fresh sample 🙂 while the vet was checking him over. He was concerned that the herd felt too thin…we talked about their feed, and he pointed me to the direction of a lamb / calf starter grain. He started Clark on, Albon, for coccidiosis, and the next day, all three were on a dewormer. Thankfully, those parasites found in their stool were goat gut specific (or more appropriately, ruminant gut specific) and not transferable to chickens, dogs, or people.
Clark taking his medicine. What a good little fella!!
Within a day, Clark started to dry up … oh my gosh…thank goodness!!! The kids love, love, love the starter grain, and are putting on weight. They are more energetic, and there is lots of cud chewing going on. A great sign that their tummies are working more efficiently now that they aren’t competing with parasites for their food.
Little Clark is behind in size and weight, and hopefully, will catch up. I’m keeping a close eye on him as Montana and Lott are growing much faster. This was quite the learning experience, and I’m feeling more confident now. Seriously, that Monday evening when I saw the “squirt” I about lost it. I was about to throw in the towel…get the little guy well, and sell off the herd. I had not anticipated scours, nor the mess it created, and my confidence as a new goat mama was cracked…not shattered, but definitely cracked!! I’m glad the little guy feels better, he’s a sweetheart, and my confidence is growing.
Enjoying fresh cut grass from a lower pasture.
Thank you for visiting the farm today. I’ve missed talking with you!!
We’ve had an invasion of sorts….a far east, invasion. Exotic? … Yes …. Beautiful? …. Yes …. Loud, chicken feed loving, and hard to capture by cell phone photography? …. Yes, yes and yes!!
I think it’s mating season!!
Our neighbor’s Peahen hangs around our back patio area…many times sitting at the glass door, almost as if she is saying, “Can I hide out for awhile?”
But, the boys call out to her….and she hides in the grass….
CAN YOU FIND HER??
The boys seem to know where is…..
They climb the waterfall as their instincts tell them that they are getting closer…
Ms. Peahen is well hidden…she has gotten as low as she can in the tall grass…..
…well, maybe not in this picture….but, you can’t see her at all in the next picture….and the boys searched…
…and I believe that they peacefully found each other, or they didn’t…either way, they disappeared. Maybe in a couple of months or so we will see something like this again…..from 2014….
It’s kind of amazing how all creatures..big, small, human, animal….zombie…..are all attracted to the sweet things in life, at least sometimes. There are THOSE yummy things that take more effort to resist than others.
I think that that kind of treat will be important in the management of our little goat herd. Clark and Lott, being bottle fed babies, are easy to handle. They come running when they hear our voices….they call out when they see us….in stark contrast is, Montana!
Since Montana was raised to forage with the herd, he is not accustomed to as much direct handler contact. He does not relish the idea of being scratched or hugged, and if he senses movement in his direction…he goes the opposite way. Montana is completely wonderful….he is exactly what we wanted to help the bottle fed babies learn the basics of, “How to Be a Brush Goat.” However….I do want to be able to handle Montana when it is necessary, so he and I have been working on familiarity with being touched. He doesn’t have to like it, he just needs to be able to stand still when it is necessary. We have made pretty good progress….and then…there was yesterday!!
We broke boundaries yesterday….Montana actually ate out of my hand!! The lure….goat candy…better known as young Douglas Fir branches. Tony introduced the three to this delicious treat a couple of days ago.
Since licorice flavored goat treats weren’t pull enough for Montana to breach that border between food and hand…I decided to try a young fir branch…..SUCCESS!!!! This seems to be a treat that all three of our kids cannot resist.
As chomping ensued, I was able to get a few scratches in behind Montana’s ears, and between his horns. Petting his furry body was a little more intrusive than Montana would welcome, but progress is progress!! Later that evening after I had closed them in for the night, Montana stood still and allowed me to pet him a bit. I didn’t push it….by the way…I never knew that goat kids were so fluffy!!
No worries, little guys…there is plenty more where that came from!!
Thanks for visiting the kids this morning!! I hope you have a sweet, sweet day!!
Peace of mind is a valuable thing. It allows me to sleep…it allows me to…well…basically, carry on in life. Recently, there has been this issue…I don’t really know if I should talk about this in such an open forum. My thoughts run to, “Well maybe if I just get it off my chest.” “Maybe then I can stop feeling so guilty about this thing?” So here it goes…..
……we’ve enlisted the help of a guardian…more powerful than even our big, Penni girl. I know!!! I feel a little guilty because this guardian has Penni on the run…literally. Meet the Guardian…hot wiring around goat base camp..AKA – Candlestick Park II.
Penni has been zapped…twice. The first time, I believe she touched the lower line with her paw because her reaction was to bark…incessantly for a about 30 seconds while running as far from the fence as she could get…and then straight to Mom. She needed comfort, and there was a totally confused looked on her face. We cuddled for a moment and then hung out paying attention to chicken chores….Penni didn’t mind as long as we were far from the fence.
Today, curiosity was far too intense to be dismissed. Penni just had to find out why the fence had bitten her. As I glanced to the left….there I saw it. Penni was slowly pushing forward with her nose, and just as I had yelled out, “Penni, Leave IT” ….. zzzzzap ….. and then a running, yelping, running, yelping Great Dane took flight. She was zapped smack dab on the nose! Obviously, that area is a bit more sensitive than a paw.
Knowing that this type of incident would probably take place, and that Penni would not be injured….the importance to provide some protection for our youngest babies on the farm trumped the occasional “zap” that Penni may experience. I think she is learning very quickly.
And now, I have peace of mind once again.
Thank you for visiting the farm today, but please keep you hands, feet, and especially noses away from the black and white strings along the fence lines. You may have a shocking experience!!
The Wolf and the Goat A WOLF saw a Goat feeding at the summit of a steep precipice, where he had no chance of reaching her. He called to her and earnestly begged her to come lower down, lest she fall by some mishap; and he added that the meadows lay where he was standing, and that the herbage was most tender. She replied, “No, my friend, it is not for the pasture that you invite me, but for yourself, who are in want of food.” Aesop’s Fable – Translated by George Fyler Townsend – Chicago, Belford, Clarke & Co., 1887
There is a look in Penni ‘s eyes, an instantaneous moment in time that predicts one action, yet is also that brief “you’ve got one shot at this” invitation allowing correction and redirection. It is easy to recognize, if you can catch it….in one pin-pointed blip on the radar the entirety of a 130 pound Great Dane is focused, poised, energized….readied like a loaded gun….and then, as if the trigger has been pulled, the explosive energy forward is unstoppable.
Penni has a passion for our new little kids, Montana, Clark and Lott. She seems confused by her primal instinct to hunt and chase, and her desire to “mother.” With direct supervision, she is off-leash now within the goat’s penned area. Clark and Lott were the bottle fed babies, and they seem to have no problem with Penni ‘s sniffing and slobbering….Montana on the other hand, was raised with the herd and is much less accepting of Penni ‘s affections. He stares at her … in Dane language that is the equivalent to, “You want a piece of me?” , which then causes the response back, “You want a piece of ME?” … and the chase is on. If I can catch the stare, before the quiver of muscle just prior to take off, I can stop the chase with a stern, “OFF IT”….but it is a very brief moment, and the cue is ambiguous at best.
All of this energy, the entire reason for the chase is that Penni needs to sniff, and slobber……but how can you reason with a strong-headed goat…..and how can you negotiate a warmer encounter with a female Dane driven by her desire to mother. For safety’s sake, the use of a shock collar may be in order here. I don’t advocate the frequent use of those, but in terms of a dog’s or goat’s safety, I’d rather Penni got a quick jolt than a pair of broken ribs from horns on Montana’s head….and if Montana is in a vulnerable position like his head is through the fence and his horns are preventing a quick pull back…I’d rather he not hurt himself because he is panicked. He’s just too cute!!!
Everyday, Penni is calmer and more bored with the whole situation…especially when it comes to Clark and Lott…they don’t run…but the chase……..that is a hard game to give up!!
Thank you for visiting the farm today!! I hope you have a fabulous, Sunday!!
I'm a temporarily staying-at-home mom of two living in Oregon, learning all over again (after 15 years of city life) how to garden, harvest, and put up food. You might see posts about baking, parenting, crafting, organization - anything that strikes my fancy!
Build Me a Dream 
Written by tntdreaming
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