He's Having A Ball

It's been raining the past few days, which means the goats are staying in their stalls.  Louie our herd sire, being the growing boy that he is, seemed to be getting bored.  I decided to hang a horse ball in his stall. 

After a couple of days he managed to get it down, and proceeded to "have a ball".  Of course as soon as Brad took out the camera, Louie dropped the ball and tried to get the camera.  He is such a ham.

At the end of the second video, you can see Chloe our 1 and only Oberhasli and our herd queen.  She had been pulling on Brad's shirt while he was trying to video Louie. 

Mother's Day Lasted All Day

Yesterday, Mother's Day, started out on a good note, a couple of them to be exact

This one was on the fridge - compliments of Richard (7)

This one was on the mirror in the bathroom - compliments of Rachael (14)

 

I got to listen to Rhiannon (13) play the Doxology in Church as part of her Confirmation Class requirements.  Each student was required to participate in the service in some way. Other classmates were ushers, readers or greeters.

Richard (7) and Rebecca (4) planted flowers in cute little pots in Sunday School. Robert (12) and his class decorated cup cakes in ice cream cones.  Sorry no picture of that gift, it didn't last long enough, but it sure tasted good. 

After church, Brad and the kids took my mother and I out for lunch.


Later I got all kinds of gifts and cards from the kids and Brad and we rounded out the day with a chocolate cheese cake - made by Rhiannon.  It was delicious.

It was a great day.

Thankfulness.....

Tuesday, April 2nd

Wednesday, April 3rd

Thursday, April 4th 

Friday, April 5th

Saturday, April 6th

Sunday, April 7th
250) Sacred Dancers at church were great


Tuesday, April 9th
251) We were able to get the stray dog before a car hit it
252) We found the stray dog's owner

Wednesday, April 10th


Thursday, April 11th
253) The tractor started and we were able to help a neighbor

Friday, April 12th
254) Even though we have a winter weather watch, Spring is almost here

Saturday, April 13th
255) Today is Saturday

Sunday, April 14th

Monday, April 15th

Tuesday, April 16th
256) Church pictures went well, photographer went above and beyond

Wednesday, April 17th
257) Farrier was able to trim the goats' feet too
258) Beautiful spring weather

Thursday, April 18th

Friday, April 19th
259) Beautiful day, windy but warm
260) Goats

Looks like I haven't been very thankful lately doesn't it?  I have, I just don't stop to write it down.  I am thankful in all things.  I need to slow down and be purposely thankful.  Write it down.  Make it real.

Thankfulness.....

Sunday, March 3rd
222) It is Sunday evening
223) The whole family together in the living room

Monday, March 4th
224) Quiet time with my computer

Tuesday, March 5th
225) The weather report - warmer weather is on its way

Wednesday, March 6th
226) The sound of water dripping
227) The mud that the dripping water is making
228) It's 42 degrees
229) Spring is surely right around the corner
230) Chores are done and the kitchen is closed

Thursday, March 7th
231) Middle son turned 12 and Middle daughter turned 13 today
232) Dinner was a success - new recipe
233) Presents were a hit

Friday, March 8th
234) Cats who double as an alarm clock

Saturday, March 9th
235) It is Saturday
236) Weather looks promising
237) People who are willing to deliver hay
238) Beautiful day
239) Was able to put all the goats out including the doelings

Sunday, March 10th
240) Lovely warm day
241) Some of the kids are feeling better
242) It seems to be a 72 hour bug for the most part

Monday, March 11th

Tuesday, March 12th

Wednesday, March 13th
243) Most of the kids are better
244) I didn't it as bad as the kids did

Thursday, March 14th
245) 34 years ago my first child, my oldest son was born

Friday, March 15th
246) It's cold but it's sunny

Saturday, March 16th
247) The sound of chick-a-dees in the early morning sun
248) The sounds of goats happily munching hay

Sunday, March 17th

Monday, March 18th

Tuesday, March 19th
249) We did not get as much snow as predicted

Wednesday, March 20th
250) Goat stalls are clean

Thursday, March, 21st
251) Watching oldest daughter's dress rehearsal

Friday, March 22nd
242) Skating show was a success
243) Skating season is over for this year

Saturday, March 23th

Sunday, March 24th

Monday, March 25th

Tuesday, March 26th
244) Spring like weather today
245) We are all healthy

Wednesday, March 27th

Thursday, March 28th

Friday, March 29th
246) It's Friday

Saturday, March 30th

Sunday, March 31st
247) It is Easter - need I say more

Monday, April 1st
248) Had a lovely day with my mother yesterday
249) Great vet check, all animals look good, spring vaccines

The Smile Says It All

Road trip was the theme for the Figure Skating Show this year.  Rachael's group skated to Route 66 and a Mardi Gras theme.  It was a fun night and was the culmination of this skating season.

Rachael has progressed through all the badge testing and will advance to the juniors next year. 

You Know You're A Farmer When....

• You get more excited over a new pair of leather work gloves then you do new shoes
• Tractor Supply is your favorite store
• You are on a first name basis with the folks at the feed store
• You notice an egg truck pulling into the parking lot as you drive pass the grocery store.  You point it out, and your youngest son can not understand why they would need to take eggs to the grocery store.  You try to explain that some people buy their eggs at the grocery store.  He just shakes his head in disbelief. In his world eggs come from chickens, the ones in your own back yard. 
• You are waiting for your cow to calve....at church a young friend comes up and asks if the calf had been born yet.  Your middle daughter says no, but we have mucus.  The friend nods and understands - she's a farmer's kid too.
• You sprain your hand and think - well at least it's not my best milking hand - got this one from a friend
• The power goes out and you worry most about the new kids in the barn being without their heat lamp
• When the snow storm hits your first thought is, thank goodness we got hay yesterday
• You pull your cell phone out and it's full of hay, and you're not in the barn
• You think to yourself goat manure is a lot nicer than cow manure, but horse is really the best
• Your kids say, well everybody's manure looks healthy - got this from a friend
• You say to your kids - as you are on the way to the car, don't step in the chicken manure with your church shoes on.
•  

Two Golds And A Bronze

The Smile Says It All!

Rachael participated in a figure skating competition tonight.  She was in 3 events. The high point for her was winning a gold medal for the solo routine she had worked on all year. 

Skating lessons, 2 nights a week rushing supper and then sitting in a cold arena, a private coach. Her smile was worth it all.

And When The Power Went Out

Last night the power went out just as I was starting to cook supper.  Thankfully the chores were all done and all the goats and kids were tucked in for the night.  We did worry about the new goat kids because no power means no heat lamp.  The power was off for 3 hours and they were fine.  I was very thankful that the weather was in the low 30s and not sub-zero like it has been for so much of this month.

I finished cooking supper, thankfully we have a gas stove.  We ate supper by candle light and just put the dirty dishes in the sink to deal with later.  After supper we all sat around the living room listening to Richard recite a story. He went on for probably 10 minutes - he has such a great memory and can "do" voices and accents very well.  After that we had a spelling bee.  Just as we were beginning to wind down, the power came back on. 

It was a lovely family evening.

Twins!!!!

Muffet presented us with two beautiful doelings about 6:30 this morning.  I heard her on the baby monitor and ran out to check.  I discovered she was indeed in labor and ran back to the house for my birthing kit and to wake Rhiannon and Brad.

She gave birth to a cream colored kid first (we wouldn't know until a bit later whether "it" was a buckling or doeling) and immediately started cleaning it.

About 10 minutes later and just after she had gotten the first one cleaned up, she had another one, this time all black.

The birth was text book perfect.  Muffet seemed glad I was there with her, letting me help her clean the babies, pick them up and dip their navels.  She even tried to help Brad when I asked him to put up a couple more boards between her stall and her neighbor's stall.

Rhiannon helped by fetching things and dipping the navels while I held the kids.  She was also the official photographer for the birth.

Both doelings have nursed twice and Muffet has passed the afterbirth.  I was able to milk a little over a pint from Muffet.  She wanted no part of the milking stand, we'll work on that later.  But she stood very nicely in her stall eating her grain while I milked her, no kicking or laying down.  I brought the colostrum back to the house to warm it up a bit and tried to bottle feed the doelings. It didn't seem like they nursed much and I wanted to be sure they had gotten enough colostrum, but they wanted no part of the bottle.  They did both nurse on Muffet again though.

The doelings were under their heat lamp and Muffet was laying right next to them when I left the barn around 10:00am.

The End Of An Era

The "Black Bag".......is no more.  Years ago when my oldest girls outgrew the need for a diaper bag, we graduated to a Baby Boom bag.  I have carried this bag for the past 11 years - it was stuffed with kid "stuff".  At varying times it might have held; a spare outfit for the youngest, busy toys, tissues, baby wipes, snacks....you know the type of stuff you need when you are out and about with the kids.

Friday night we came home to the contents of the "black bag" (sometimes called the mommy bag) strewn all over the hallway of our house.  Our beagle (you remember the one who ate a whole bag of chocolate chips a month or so ago) had gotten into it for reasons only he knows (there was no food in it). Not only did he dump the stuff from the outside pockets, he chewed a hole in the top of it.

So I have now graduated from the mommy bag to a rather nice leather purse - it's a big one so I can still fit "kid stuff" in it as well as my own. It was time, but I will miss the "black bag" and the need for it. 

Sprocket hates being crated so much, and he had been doing so well, that we tried to be nice and let have the run of the house.  He will now be crated whenever we leave him alone, for his safety and our peace of mind.

Thankfulness.....

Sunday, Feburary 17th
188) Cold water
189) Take out pizza

Monday, February 18th
190) Doing math with middle son

Tuesday, February 19th
191) Trip to the feed store with the 3 youngest

Wednesday, February 20th
192) Made it home after driving through a white-out
193) All the does test results were negative

Thursday, February 21th
194) Watching old episodes of Family Affair with the kids

Friday, February 22nd
195) It's 22 above zero

Saturday, Februrary 23rd
196) Mornings

Sunday, February 24th

Monday, Februray 25th
197) A full nights uninterrupted sleep
198) Running drinking water - many do not have even that
199) I can home educate our kids

Tuesday, February 26th
200) The pink sky of sunrise
201) Good friends who let you borrow their truck and then help get the hay
202) The hay barn is full again
203) Walking in from the barn and seeing the sunset

Wednesday, February 27th
204) Birthday shopping on Amazon - I found something I didn't think I would
205) Twin doelings
206) Power outage
207) Dinner by candle light
208) Listening to youngest son recite
209) Spelling bee
210) The power came back on
211) The doelings were ok for 3 hours without a heat lamp
212) The doelings were not born during the subzero weather

Thursday, February 28th
213) Early morning hours
214) Getting a jump start on the day
215) Being the first one up

Friday, March 1st
216) Its March 1st
217) Spring is only 19 days awa
218) Skating competition went very well
219) Oldest daughter's smile when she got the 2 golds and a bronze

Saturday, March 2nd
220) Middle son loves Robotics
221) Gospel Choir concert

Wordless Wednesday - Thinking Of Summer

Thankfulness.....

Monday, February 11th
173) Reading my bible
174) 40 degree weather after sub-zero weather
175) Husband who can fix anything

Tuesday, February 12th
176) The wind
177) Eating all our meals as a family
178) Ice

Wednesday, February 13th


Thursday, February 14th
179) Home made valentines
180) Chocolate heart shaped brownies


Friday, February 15th

181)Lap dog lap warmers

Saturday, February 16th
182) Milk buckets
183) Cheese cloth
184) Middle son who vacuums the kitchen
185) Clean bathrooms
186) Freshly folded laundry
187) Soap

It seems I've missed a few days and a few (many) opportunities to be thankful.  I've been busy.  But how can I be too busy to be thankful.  How can I not see, I need only to look.  We have so much.  So much to be thankful for.  Sometimes things seem too common place, too, well weird to write down.  Like tissues and toilet paper.  I am thankful for these things, and many other things that sometimes seem too mundane to write.

Fortunately they don't go far

Last Friday morning, just as the blizzard was starting, I headed for the barn.  I noticed some rather large foot prints going around the yard.  Self, I said, those are not cat foot prints, they look almost like people prints.  Hmmmm, well no matter, maybe they were left over from yesterday, but, well, there was no snow yesterday.  I continued on to the barn, making note that Reed's gate was shut - so it couldn't be him.

I began feeding the goats and happened to look out the window and WHOA, there was Reed (Rhiannon's horse) right there standing up against the barn, and from the looks of him he had been there awhile.  I went out the back door and opened his gate.  He walked right in and went into his shelter. I brushed the snow off and gave him a little oats and corn.

Tonight, I went out to check on Muffet, my pregnant doe and Louie greeted me at the door, tail wagging like a propeller.  He had managed to squeeze out of his stall.  He is quite small and can fit through spaces that the does can not. He seemed quite proud of himself from the look on his face.  Brad fixed his stall, so hopefully he won't get out again.

 There is never a dull moment.....

Thankfulness.....

Saturday, February 2nd
144) Snow
145) Fresh warm milk, straight from the cow
146) Robotics
147) Local food
148) Eggs
149) Fresh towels

Sunday, February 3rd
150) Husband who is building more goat stalls for me
152) Sunday School
153) Going to be getting 2 new goats


Monday, February 4th
154) Going to the bulk food store
155) Nice visit with my mother

Tuesday, February 5th
156) Sunshine on a frigid morning
157) Sun shining in my kitchen window - warm

Wednesday, February 6th
159) 2 new goats
160) The trip with the goats was uneventful

Thursday, February 7th
161) Wood for the fire
162) Little dog curled up in my chair
163) Vet who came when we called

Friday, February 8th
164) Dog patiently waiting to get back on the hearth
165) Cat curled up in my chair
166) Aprons
167) The smell of baking bread

Saturday, February 9th
168) Snow shovels
169) Friends who stop by unexpectedly and plow the driveway
170) Sun shining off the beauty of the snow

Sunday, February 10th
171) The smell of coffee cake baking
172) Warm day
173) Family

New Additions To The Farm

It's been a wild week here at Long Meadow Farm.

Brad spent Sunday night and Tuesday night frantically building new stalls so we could bring home 2 new goats.  A job well done!

Three new stalls

Kid Warmer

Louie and Miss Muffet

Going for a ride

Lil Miss Muffet, and Jazzman Louie arrived Wednesday. Miss Muffet is Lil Bo Peep's daughter, Bo Peep is the first goat we bought.

Both goats are registered Lamanchas. Hopefully Louie will grow a little more and can be our herd sire.  Muffet is very very pregnant, due to kid soon. 

Rhiannon and I drove to Malone to meet Hallie - their previous owner. Yes, they are in the mini-van. Brad has become quite good at rigging up the van so I can transport my goats.

Checking out his new stall

Could I get some room service please?

Chloe was VERY interested in the new arrivals.  Bo Peep was her usual composed self.

Chloe - Helloooo what have we here?

If I could just stretch my neck a little more I could almost reach.....

Bo Peep - yes, yes, all very interesting

Wordless Wednesday - Make your own pizza night

Eat Real Food

Thankfulness.....

Saturday, January 26th
122) Popcorn dishes and the remains of movie night with the kids
123) Gravel that marks the path to the barn


Sunday, January 27th
124) Its Sunday
125) Visit with my mother

Monday, January 28th 
126) 20 degrees above zero
127) Soap
128) Magnets
 
Tuesday, January 29th
129) Banana chips
130) Bowls
131) Youngest daughter learning to count

Wednesday, January 30th
132) Its 61 degrees!
133) Goats are outside
134) Windows are open

Thursday, January 31st
135) Milk - I love milk
136) Fresh laundry
137) Eating apples that we sorted and wrapped last fall

Friday, February 1st
138) Old sweatshirts on goats
139) Pajamas
140) Hair snaps
141) Spring is coming in a couple of months
142) Middle son and youngest son writing a story together
143) Friends who listen and understand

Wordless Wednesday

Remembering Summer Fondly

It's been so cold lately, and I've been remembering last summer.  Yes, it was too dry, and it was too hot.  But right now, in this cold snap, this bone chilling am I ever going to be warm again cold snap, I'm longing for summer.

Some of the things I miss:
 

Eating Outside

The Beach

Green Leaves

Chalk Drawings

 
 And most of all.....

Milking Outside

Thankfulness.....

Saturday, January 18th

Sunday, January 19th
101) Sunlight shining through strawberry jam
102) Green construction paper and sticky tap
103) Supper in the crock pot

Monday, January 20th
104) Wood for the woodstove
105) Chill of the house before stoking the fire
106) Morning light
107) We have enough to share
108) Head phones
109) Barn lights
110) Smoke rising from the chimney
111) Calling my mother first thing in the morning

Tuesday, January 21st


Wednesday, January 22nd
112) Books on disc
113) All sitting around the wood stove reading or listening
114) I found sweatshirts for the goats and they fit

Thursday, January 23rd
115) At least we are not battling snow with the frigid weather
116) Goats - love em

Friday, January 23rd
117) Streaks of pink sky - sunrise over the tree tops
118) Warm slippers
119) Hand lotion
120) Chapstick
121) Mornings

COLD! We are going for the layered look.

The temperature has been frigid for the past 3 days.  Barely creeping into the single digits during the day and as low as 20 below at night, with a wind chill of negative 35.  The kind of weather I remember loving as a kid, because it meant that school would probably be closed.  As an adult, well it's a different story, being a farmer sure puts a whole new spin on weather. 

My poor goats were shivering yesterday morning - even with their goat coats on.  So I hauled out the clothing tubs, you know the ones that you put clothes in, thinking someday you might fit into them again.  I dug out 2 sweatshirts and managed to wrestle the goats into them and then put their goat coats back on.  Actually they really didn't mind getting dressed too much, reminded me of when I used to dress my cats as a kid.

This morning they were still cold, so once again I dug through the clothing tub. So now they are sporting an undershirt, a sweatshirt and a goat coat.  Hopefully they'll stay warm. In addition to the warm clothing, I make sure they have extra hay, and grain, and I take them warm water 3 times a day.

The weather should break on Saturday, my goats and I sure hope so.

Bo Peep - kinda looks like a super hero

Chloe sporting the bell bottom look.

Wordless Wednesday. Are you talking to me?

Thankfulness.....

Saturday, January 12th
65) Daylight coming
66) Freshly cleaned goat stalls
67) Freshly trimmed goats feet

Sunday, January 13th
68) Church
69) Vets who are on call and come quickly
70) Husband who cleaned up after the sick dog
80) The dog seems to be fine

Monday, January 14th
81) A wonderful day
82) Pictures

Tuesday, Junuary 15th
83) The smell of fresh air first thing in the morning
84) My laptop
85) Evenings with my family

Wednesday, January 16th
86) Cats that think they are an alarm clock at 5am
87) Running water
88) Good friends for dinner
89) Lively conversation

Thursday, January 17th
90) Snow and wind
91) Sturdy barn for the livestock
92) Dog dozing in front of the wood stove all cozy warm
93) Netflix
94) Milk
95) Canvas bags to carry groceries

Friday, January 18th
96) Crisp morning air
97) Its above zero
98) Kids all around
99) Chores are done
100) Life is good

Home Made Ice Cream

Just another benefit of owning your own cow or goat.  Fresh home made ice cream, great with apple crisp.  YUM!

Chocolate IS toxic to dogs.

Our beagle Sprocket ate an 8oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips while we were at church last Sunday.

Chocolate is toxic to dogs. It turns out that, for dogs, a chemical in chocolate called theobromine is the source of the problem. Theobromine is similar to caffeine.

According to Animal Planet, different types of chocolate contain different amounts of theobromine: It would take 20 ounces of milk chocolate to kill a 20-pound dog, but only 2 ounces of baker's chocolate or 6 ounces of semisweet chocolate.

Sprocket got into a box of groceries that I hadn't put away yet.  We discovered the empty chocolate chip bag around 12:30pm.  We know that chocolate is toxic to dogs but Sprocket seemed fine so we didn't get too alarmed. That was a mistake!  Our lack of an immediate response could have cost us our dog's life. 

About 2:45, Sprocket started to stagger, run into things and fall down, and finally he could not stand up. It was horrible to see.  I called the vet's office and thankfully they have always vet on call.  He was on his way to the office to meet another patient, and told us to meet him there immediately.  While I was on the phone with the vet, Sprocket vomited and by the time we got to the vet he was much better. 

The vet examined him thoroughly and said that his heart and respiration were good.  He gave him several huge syringes of fluids under the skin. And a shot -  though I was so worried about Sprocket at the time, that I didn't think to ask what it was.  The vet said that you want the dog to vomit within 2 hours after ingesting something toxic like chocolate.

Sprocket was on a bland diet for 24 hours.  He's find now, we were very lucky.

Learn from our mistake - hopefully your dog won't get into chocolate, but if it does, do not delay in calling the vet!

What a difference a year makes!

One year ago today on January 14, 2012, I flew to Boston to meet our youngest daughter, Rebecca. She was being escorted home to us by a social worker from our adoption agency, Wide Horizons For Children.

It was the coldest day of the winter. There had been a snow storm the day before. I was scheduled to fly out of one airport, but there were problems with the aircraft, so I had to make a mad dash to another airport an hour and a half away to finally catch a flight to Boston. 

Meeting your child for the first time in a crowded airport is surreal.  Everything else faded into the background and all I could see was a very tired, very sad little girl.  I couldn't wait to scoop her up in my arms and be her mommy.

We had been waiting for Rebecca to arrive for over a year. But all the pain of that long wait faded away as soon as I had her in my arms.  As excited as I was to finally hold her, I was also aware of all that she had left behind, and this made me a little sad too.

Rebecca's escort Molly was wonderful. She traveled to Ethiopia and spent a week there with Rebecca before flying more than 30 hours to bring her home to us.

After a chat with the escort, a bite to eat and a quick change of clothes, Rebecca and I were ready to catch our flight home to the rest of the family.

Today, January 14, 2013, we stood with the Surrogate Court Judge for photos.  Rebecca's adoption was actually finalized on December 14th. But, since Brad had traveled to Ethiopia in April of 2011 to meet Rebecca and to appear in the Ehiopian Court, we did not need to appear in court in the US.  However, since we had photos in the court room and with the judge for all the other kids, we asked if we could take pictures in the court room and with her anyway, the judge kindly agreed.

So today, we got all dressed up in our Sunday-go-meeting clothes, and went to the court house for our photo session.

                     We are a Family!

Making Yogurt

The best yogurt is made with fresh milk from your favorite cow.

Dorothy

I first started making yogurt from a recipe in Rikki Carroll's book  Home Cheese Making.  I used the re-culturable Bavarian yogurt culture purchased from New England Cheese Making Supply.  I still use this culture when I need to make a new batch of starter.

I take about a gallon or so of fresh raw milk.

I use all stainless pots and utensils.  I store my yogurt in glass only.  Mason jars work well. I usually use pint jars, since we eat a pint of yogurt a day.

I heat my milk to about 180 degrees and then cool it down to 116 degrees.

I find cooling the milk quickly makes a better yogurt in the end.  It also saves me from forgetting the milk as it sits cooling. To cool the milk I simply set the pot into a cold water bath and stir the milk.

Then I add my "starter", which is really just a cup of yogurt that I saved from my previous batch.  I whisk the starter into the milk, and then pour it into my mason jars.

I put the jars into styrofoam coolers to sit for 6 to 12 hours depending on how much "tang" we want in our yogurt. Putting the jars of yogurt in the cooler keeps them warm while they incubate. Notice the half pint of reserved starter.  This is so that I don't have to worry about using up all the yogurt before making the next batch.

After the yogurt sits for the desired amount of time, I refrigerate it for a few hours until it's chilled and it's ready to eat. We like to add maple syrup, strawberry jam, or frozen pureed strawberries...all locally grown of course.