New Haircuts

Both Angora goats have been hand-sheared. It took 3 hours for each goat! It wasn't hard, I just had to be very careful, and they wouldn't stand still. Next time I'll be sure to find someone to help with holding them.

The first photo is of Emma with her back end done then pulled back over her. Her hair is amazingly soft underneath! She is much a lighter color now and it will be interesting to see what she looks like as her hair grows out.

Hand-Shearing

Today I hand-sheared Violet, the white Angora goat. It was the first time I did this and it took 3 hours! I was so afraid that I would cut her skin, and she didn't want to stand still for long. It was a great lesson in having patience, and the only blood was from cutting my own finger.

I was hoping to shear both Angoras today, but I guess I'll be out there tomorrow with Emma, the black Angora. It feels a little chilly to be doing this, but I'm supposed to shear them again in August, and I'd like some length to the hair so that I can learn to spin it. I just checked on them and they are both sunning themselves and they have a deep bedding of straw to stay warm tonight.

Maybe by August I'll have Angora clippers....or call in a professional shearer! (Maybe not. I like having this time with the goats, and I think they like it too.)

Cashmere Goats

We have been given these two beautiful Cashmere goats to add to our small fiber herd. I bought a slicker brush and am ready to groom.....just waiting for them to settle in a bit more and get used to me being around so that I don't stress them out too much too soon. That hair is amazingly soft!

I don't like to re-name animals, but to keep things from getting complicated here I had to do it. The male's name was Phoenix, and since we already have Phoenix the cat, we renamed the goat Echo.

The female's name was Tic Tac Toe, and since I call out their names when feeding, and I talk to them often, it was a little long to add to the list of names. So I re-named her Bella. She's the one with the white on her belly, which makes it easier for others to remember.

Now we have Violet, Emma, Echo, and Bella goats!

It Works!

WooHoo! We were a bit afraid that they would back up and break the boards right off the front. Tim kept suggesting another board across the front for more support.....but I'm a minimalist (believe it or not! I just don't know where all this stuff around here came from).

Violet and Emma were nervous at first, but calmed down quickly as I started trimming hooves. I need to get a feed bucket that hangs on the bar so that I don't need to prop it up. Then I can walk around the front of the goats and not have to climb over the back of the table. Or I can get rid of the rest of the crap in the middle of the garage so I have more room.....OR cut the table in half. Hmmm. I guess that will be a future post.

Grooming Stand

Yesterday we made a grooming stand for the goats. It will make it much easier to trim their hooves and sheer them. I've been putting off buying one because they are very expensive, and thought we'd figure out how to make one with some of the stuff we have laying around here.

Tim had this old table that he made for his reptile business and it wasn't being used, just sort of getting in my way and annoying me (haha). Well it's the perfect height for the stand, but a little long. I thought maybe I would put a tub on the end of it to collect the mohair during sheering, but might end up cutting it in half. I'm so thankful I didn't ask Tim to burn the table before I found this use for it!

We fastened one board on the front and the other is able to swing down to allow the goat's head and horns to get to the feed bucket. Then it swings back and ties around the stationary one, keeping the goat from backing out. I added a hook for my hoof trimmers so that I always know where they are, and so they don't get used for cutting baling twine or wire (which I'm guilty of too....grabbing the closest sharp cutting tool around).

Winter Update

Wow, it's been almost 4 months since my last post! Since farm activities slow down a little in the winter I did some interior remodeling. I removed the carpet in the house and installed laminate flooring in the living room, hallway, spare bedroom, and Macrae's bedroom. I like it so much better than carpeting! Also the hardwood appearance of it makes it seem a little more rustic here - more my style.

We had a scare with the last major snowstorm. It brought down the electric fencing and the horses wandered away. We tried tracking them for 2 1/2 hours but it was snowing so hard that the tracks were disappearing quickly. Luckily a neighbor at the bottom of the mountain told me that another neighbor found them running around on the lower road (at 5:30 in the morning!) and took them to her farm. I had to lead Ace back through the woods and deep snow with Ruby following on her own. Thank God they are good horses and we made it home safely. I put them in the other pasture and haven't fixed the downed fencing yet because it's still buried under the snow.

Last weekend we had another unfortunate and very sad day. When Tim went to feed the animals on Saturday morning he found that Violet, the white Angora goat, had given birth in the early hours of the morning, and it was too cold for the baby. She didn't survive the below-freezing temperature. I sat with Violet for hours, hoping for a twin which I would have brought into the house for warmth, but there wasn't one. I think she was bred too early in the season by the previous owners. I hope to breed both Angora does this year, but will plan for the kids to be born in April.

I will try to keep posting more often, as we tend to have more going on here in the warmer seasons. I hope the winter was kind to you all!

Snowy Blooms

Cleome

The Morning Glories on the porch refuse to wither.

Snow!

...in October! There are so many trees down and broken branches all over this mountain from the heavy snow being on the leaves. There was a tree across the road that had to be cut, and many others snapped along the road and on the farm property, including a rare one with huge leaves. AND I got stuck in the snow coming up the mountain, with a van full of hay. There wasn't any snow on the road at all until I was mid-way up, then it was too late to turn around. I couldn't make it to the top so Tim had to come to the rescue. Of course he was able to drive the van, and I felt much safer in my Jeep with 4wd!

Angora Goats!

Here are the newest members of the farm, Violet and Emma. I love the ringlets that Emma has. She is about 6 months old, and Violet is about a year older, and is possibly pregnant. Their eyes are brown, but I couldn't edit these photos.

Wind Damage

This morning I awoke to horses in the front yard. The wind knocked a tree down into their fence line last night, in the back. They must have walked through the woods, down the road, down the driveway, through my deer fencing (!) and into the yard. There are hoof prints showing their path. It's a good thing that they were waiting to be fed breakfast, or they might have wandered away.

There is also a tree across the road to the right of the driveway, and the wind knocked down the arbor which holds up the huge trumpet vine in the front yard. The arbor is destroyed, but I hope I can save the vine!

Back to the Blog I go....again.

Once again I say, "I will try to post more often."

I am very excited to be picking up an Angora goat or two this coming weekend. Hopefully I will learn how to spin the mohair into wonderful yarn to knit with in the years to come. In the meantime I will shear them and save it.

We have begun preparing for winter by putting up a pen for the chickens. I guess they will only have free range during the warmer months since there won't be anything for them to eat out there in the snow, and it will stay cleaner for Macrae to play in. (Yes, I am already hoping for some snow! Sorry to those of you who don't like it.)

I have set up a new goat pen (to be) attached to the back of the garage. A door will be made so that the goats will have access to the indoor pen there, instead of being out by the chickens in that run-in.

My re-seeding of the horse pasture was successful. The roots should be secure enough to let the horses on it again, and if we don't have too much rain this Autumn they can stay out there full-time. They were out there (and loving it) all winter last year, but the Spring rains came, and they tore up most of the grass. Now I have to work on rock-removal of the newer pasture.

This was taken on Thanksgiving, but I forgot to post it and it is such a nice pic of the goats. So here it is:

First Brood

I guess we are not awaiting the chickens from Joe so patiently. Amy and Sara wanted them sooner, so we now have 4 white ones which we picked up at the farmers' market. Hopefully the others will be arriving on Easter.

Apartment - Finished Living Space

Take a look at the older "apartment" posts to remember what it looked like in the beginning. It was just a shell, no insulation, nothing.

I will be tiling the space under the counter (the blue area) and maybe the 3/4 wall. I already have some really cool tiles for it.

What's behind the 3/4 wall (a new full size bed to be made to look like a day bed coming soon) (and trim still to be added on top of 3/4 wall):

Apartment - Finished Living Space

Ok, so it's not finished. We still need to replace the missing cabinet door, stain the cabinets, and add trim to the wall that the water heater is hiding behind....and the chains should be cut from the ceiling light....

Apartment - Finished Bathroom

Bathroom = finished, finished, FINISHED....I think.

: )

These holders are what I got for working a day at my friends store (and other stuff...I never come home with a paycheck from there!)

Apartment - screen room

Chickens are Coming

Yes! My brother, Joe is donating 6 chickens. They will be free-range, but I am thinking of starting them out in the goat pen with nest boxes and roosts in the shelter. Then I can open the gate during the day to let them (and the goats) graze. Or make a "chicken door" in the back of the shelter for the days that I want to keep the goats in.

I am ready for some FRESH eggs!

Wood Frogs

This one was spotted heading toward the frog party going on in the back pond. They have been quite noisy lately, but it sounds like SPRING! Hurray!

(and I just heard the first Peeper last night. I love that sound.)

Oh, and I know that Macrae's boots are on the wrong feet, but he is in the "I can put shoes on all by myself" stage.

Gobble gobble, cluck cluck, yelp yelp.

Daily visitors:

One day I was amazed at how many were in the front yard. I counted about 20, then I walked into the kitchen and noticed more out back. I counted 50 but that didn't include those that scampered off into the woods.