Gardner’s Farm Update

The girly kid is getting big. We named her Sadie. She is such an acrobat. I should get her into dubstep music because she has got her parkour moves down. She is always bouncing from tree to tree and jumping over the other goats. So amusing.

Since I found out that my neck is seriously messed up about a month and a half ago, I haven’t cleaned the pen. It’s pretty gross right now, but I haven’t been able to rally the troops to do it for me. But, I can’t do it right now. I think I messed it up in the mad rush to get it cleaned up after the thaw. I was working at a crazy pace whenever I had a chance to get everything ready for summer and now I’m having shooting pains in my arm. Not good. So,now, the spring cleaning is still not all done. I would have been able to get it all done if I were more of a tortoise and not a hare.

Our mornings are still freezing so the tomatoes, peppers, squash, and flower seeds are still tiny and on the kitchen table. The peas and carrots are going good though.

This is our new gigantic chicken castle. Well, actually it is the unfinished garage that was on our property repurposed as a chicken coop. It was a work in progress for about a month while we brooded some chicks and ducklings in our master bath. When they grew enough feathers to fly/jump out of the metal tub they were in, it was time to finish it up. I didn’t like the poo on the toilet seat cover. So today, we hung the door.

Inside the chicken castle: Our friend gave us three adult chickens and this lovely tractor coop. She had an urban chicken set up and had had her fill of chicky-poop on her picnic table. I can’t blame her. We were happy to give them a good home and get eggs right away. Yay!
These are the babies we’ve been brooding for the last month. The ducks are so big now and still have no outer feathers. Still just all fluff, poor naked ducks. Keeping them all in the house for so long has made them very friendly. I’m glad to have birdy friends.

Lots to do when the weather gets warm, but I’m glad to do it when I can. I hope my neck feels better soon so I can dig in full speed again. But not too frantically like last time!

Surprise! Kids!

I had a plan for today. I was going to come home from work around noon thirty and spend the rest of the afternoon finishing up the readying for the craft fair in Helena on Saturday. I had more lotion to make, a couple of signs to print out, and some other last minute details I hadn’t gotten to yet.

But, Nature had other plans. Our big, fat, pregnant goat was overdue to have her kids and –Surprise!—they were born while I was working today.

I guess there are worse things that could have interrupted my schedule! Nelly is a great mother. When I got home it was pretty evident that they had only been born less than an hour ago. They were still quite matted and they were laying right next to placenta. Two of them were up and walking, while one was still receiving the royal licky treatment from mom. I think I actually squealed!

Butter and Lily, the other 2 goats in the pen, were running circles like they were celebrating. New babies! New babies!

I got busy checking on the kids, making sure they had all their parts and who was a girl and who was a boy. There are 2 girls and a boy. The last born is the smallest. She was concerning me with her funny leg and squished up stance. She didn’t want to nurse either. I gave her some Nutra Drench ~ a supplement for newborn goats that helps them get the energy get started nursing and walking.

Then there was cleaning to get done. I got rid of the placenta (YUCK!) and swept up the area where they were lying and laid down some new straw. Mom got fresh water and a big meal of grain and hay. She was pretty excited for that.

By the time I got done with that little baby girl was ready to nurse. She was screaming her head off, but mom was eating and not particularly interested in stopping. I picked up the little bundle and hauled her over to Nelly. After a few rather hilarious attempts, she finally figured out which end was the food end. When she’d had enough I put her down with big brother and sister to nap.

 

I suppose I still have a few hours left to get my fair together, but now I’m exhausted!

So, yeah, I’m going to be in Helena on this Saturday, March 31 for the Spring Craft Fair at the Civic Center. I’ll be bringing lotion, soap, and other arty goodies.

Spring is HERE! Sort of...

So, it is spring. At least, that is what the calendar says. You wouldn't really know it around here. Sure, the snow is melted, mostly. And the ground is thawed, mostly. But it sure isn't green yet. Or warm.

There is a goat due to burst here shortly. That is a definitely a sign of spring. (Note the ice that refuses to melt right behind her.)

So is the fact that spring cleaning is in full swing. Everywhere I look there is mud to wade through, poo and moldy hay piles that need composting, pine needles that need raking, pine cones and pine branches that need picking up, fences that need mending, compost that needs turning and things that got blown out of place by the gale force winds that accompanied the snow this winter.

In case you haven't noticed, NONE of that is clean work. Or light work because nothing is really dry yet. The ground may be thawed, but it is a soggy bog of mud. Each step makes an audible sucking sound. It's gross.

I will be so excited when the ground dries up a bit, things green up and bud, and I can see if my raspberries survived the goat attack last fall. Till then, I'll be outside with muck fork in hand. When it's all cleaned up, I may have to throw a party just to celebrate the fact that I'm done.

Snow Day!

After a strangely dry start to this winter Montana has received a healthy dose of Jack Frost’s best fluffy white stuff.
Yesterday morning we awoke to a fresh 2 inches of fluff. Just enough to freshen a dreary dead landscape.

The goat’s weren’t too put off by the snow.
In town, the trees took on an eerie quality. Their branches a high contrast jumble looking like dancing serpents.

And the snow kept falling all day. By the time we got home a good 8 inches had fallen on our neighborhood. We had to shovel a spot for our car before we could park!

When I woke up this morning, the snow had stopped falling. There’s over a foot of snow on the ground... and on our picnic table, and on the grill, and on the everything. So sorry, the barbeque has been canceled So has school and work. (shucks!)

It’s snowing again now. I wonder how high that pile will get? And what am I going to do with myself today? Time to play!

My Blue Zen

I have been reinventing myself lately.

Figuring out what means the most to me and what I want to focus on.

Mostly, that's been my family, my home, and my health. I've had some issues from back pain, fatigue, skin issues, and infections that won't go away and I am on a mission to get this all straightened out. I haven't given up on making art. But, right now, there are more important things to focus on.

I have been working on our garden. I want to grow as many herbs and veggies as I can for my family. Landscaping our home and making it a retreat for us and our friends has been a focus as well. I want my home to be my sanctuary.

I've redevoted myself to yoga. It has been really helping with my back pain and energy levels.

I started studying up and found out how to make soaps and lotions that were gentle and actually healing to the skin.

I started that because I was finding no relief from the gawd-awful eczema I've been getting on my hands and feet every summer. I've figured out it's an allergy. I know I can't handle SLS (sodium laurel sulfite) which is the foaming agent in most commercial soaps. It makes a nice lather, and a nice red, itchy rash on me. And I know I am allergic to knapweed. Knapweed is a noxious weed that grows ALL OVER this lovely land called Montana. It's even all over our property. Battling it every summer has made my hands get tough, crack and bleed and scab up. It's really fun.

I really believe in my creams and soaps so I made a etsy shop for them. So far, I'm making hand balms,  lotions, soaps and lip balms, but I have a feeling I will find more fun things to make in the future.

I started a batch of goat milk soap back in the beginning of December and it’s finally ready. I know that seems like a long time to wait for soap, but believe me it’s worth it.
I use the cold process method. That means I don’t cook the soap to death to get the lye in it to neutralize right away. It takes about 3 weeks of curing time to get a good hard, neutral bar of soap.
But my secret is double processing, also known as French milling, which takes longer. (I guess it’s not a secret because I just told you) I make a plain, unscented batch, let it cure for 2 weeks, then chop it up into little pieces, and melt it back down again and add glycerin for extra gentleness, essential oils, herbs and mineral color. Then it has to set for 3 more weeks. But, the result is a fabulous soap that cleans with a soft lather, smells wonderful, and is extra gentle on my sensitive skin.

 www.bluezennaturals.etsy.com

If you would like to try some for yourself I sell sample sized jars. (above next to the lotion bottle) Like I said, I use it every day and I really believe in what I've made. 

BAAAAA!

I got a goat.

She's the cutest thing. 3 years old, a Nubian, Saanen, Alpine cross, has milk, likes her belly rubbed, walks on a leash... sort of.

Why on earth would I do such a thing, you ask? Well, it all started when I learned to knit. I was reading up on the kinds of fibers there are, how much they cost, where they come from, etc. I had also just learned to dye fabric. So an idea sparked. "Hey! Wouldn't it be cool to learn to spin and dye my own yarn?"

I began to research Angora goats and their care. I figured mohair would be the way to go. It's shiny, warm, not too scratchy and I've always liked goats since I was a kid. While I was

researching, I noticed that Angora goats are kind of funny looking with their long curly coats. Not to mention once they're shaved; they look like trimmed poodles! But they can't help it, right?

I looked up goat breeders and the prices for a full blooded Angora goat is not what I expected. I was looking and expecting for around $75 or less. Like the other random goats I've seen in the paper. I was finding them for as much as $500! So, my goat search was put on hold for a while.

Last October I made the difficult decision to sell one of my 2 horses. It was difficult because I didn't NEED to sell him, and he was the best mannered horse... most of the time. But, circumstances did make it necessary for Joker to find a new home that was a better fit for him.

That left Spirit alone and lonely. She's been alone for almost a year now and seems quite content most of the time. She gets lots of attention from the kids and me. But it's not the same as having her herd with her all the time. Some one to bat flies with, someone to scratch itchy spots with while lounging under a tree in the lazy part of the day. So, I thought about goats again.

Goats have historically been kept with horses as companions. They actually will form quite strong bonds. But I couldn't bring myself to pay extravagant amounts for a goat. I'm not sure why I'll pay thousands for a horse that will not bring any physical value to the household, but not a goat who would. It really isn't logical.

Then I found a book called Goat Song by Brad Kessler at the library. It's a memoir about a change in lifestyle from New York writer to Virginia goatherd. I fell in love with his milk goats. I fell in love with the idea of providing sustenance to my family by caring for and being cared for by a goat. Not to mention that dairy goats are much more normal looking than Angoras!

So, I made half hearted calls to people in the paper advertising goats for sale. I bookmarked Craigslist ads but never replied. I hadn't actually been around goats for a very long time and was a bit nervous about this new creature coming to live with me. Every kind of animal has it's own quirks and characteristics to get used to. I know horses, dogs, cats, iguanas, chickens, lots of animals! Goats have always been someone else's animals, I've never had to deal with the day to day of goat care or goat behavioral issues (of which I'd heard a few stories). And would I really be up to milking a goat? Daily?

This last weekend was the last weekend of the Western Montana Fair here in Missoula. Of course we had to go and ride some rides, eat some good tasting bad food, watch the rodeo, bet on horse racing, and get our eardrums burst by the demolition derby. And the animals. I have to go through the animal barn.

There were goats in the animal barn. About 20 of them. And some of them had for sale signs on their pens. All of them were so friendly. A few were practically climbing the gates to get scratched behind the ears. One little floppy eared black goat was batting her eyelashes and being coy, then she'd lay her head on you when you got close. She was not for sale. I'd have put her in my pocket and run off with her if no one was looking!

I had a conversation with the mother of a 4H family about their goats and she told me all about them. I pet all the curious faces and scratched behind all the horn bumps.

I asked her if any of hers were for sale. Yes, 2 were. A milk goat named Cutie Pie and a yearling boy named Sarge. I already knew I didn't want a male if it wasn't castrated. They can be pretty horny, nasty buggers and I just don't want to deal with that! How much was the girl? $35. She's "just a crossbred" so she's worth much less. Oh, my. I think I found myself a goat, I thought to myself. Before I really thought too much about the decision I wrote a check.

I made arrangements to pick her up, we swapped phone numbers, and I was on my way to find my husband to tell him what I'd done. Luckily, my husband is an understanding guy.

The nice 4H mom showed me how to milk her when I came to pick her up. I'm not really very smooth at it yet, but I'm getting better.

Cupie (short for Cutie Pie) has been here for only 4 days but already I think she's part of the family. Spirit is certainly enamored of her. She's been trying to groom her, but Cupie is still a bit overwhelmed by the size of her new roommate.

So, I guess spinning mohair isn't going to happen right now. That's ok. I just have to learn how to make cheese.