Yesterday after chores I called a friend who came to pick up a weaned billy goat he had reserved months ago. He ended up leaving with 4 goats, but he said to me when I went out to greet him, "Ah, you have a new baby?"
That was news to me. Sure enough, not one,
but TWO new baby doelings were born yesterday morning. Darling.
Because he realized that the pen he brought to transport his goats home might not be large enough, and because he lived nearby and I had an errand to run, I offered to drive the largest goat to his farm in our truck - having totally forgotten that Bob had taken the truck to work leaving me with the car.
We went anyway.
I can't help but think that Jeff Foxworthy could have a ball with this shot!
We stayed and visited for a bit, watching the goats acclimate to their new surroundings, sipping a glass of homemade grape juice - very nice.
On our way back home I ran into my friend Mary and her husband at the park. They were taking their first test drive with their miniature donkey.
Mary has been working with her donkey for weeks training it to drive and now, here they were, having a blast!
Next stop - the feed store.
I'm concerned that the drought in the Midwest and the devastation to the corn crop is going to cause a substantial rise in the price of livestock feed. Right now the horse, chicken and cattle feed averages about $10. per bag. We use approximately 10 bags per week. Another reason to get busy clearing brush and planting grasses and grains!
Back home again to pop my goat milk soap out of the molds.
I can't tell you how exciting it is to be making soap! It's a lesson in patience, however, because now I have to wait 4 weeks for it to cure.
The rest of the day was just normal, everyday stuff: sweeping up dog hair, folding loads of laundry overflowing on the chair, making cheese, washing dishes...
Homestead Life is an adventure. Full of exciting, incredible experiences, and it can appear idealistic if I were to blog exclusively about the joys of farm life. But so that there's no misunderstanding, homestead life is hard work and filled with unpleasantries as well.
For example, along with the wonder and joy of newborn kids, this afternoon, because Mama Lion chose not to tidy up her children, with warm water and towel in hand I wiped the nasty butts and cleaned the caked on yuck off the babies. Then I buried an unearthed, decomposing unmentionable with a long tail that the dogs had discovered. GAG!
It's not always butterflies and roses!
Marcy...
ReplyDeleteYou always make me smile but today I completely lost it reading about transporting the goat in your car. I love your blog and reading about your adventures. I live vicarously through you!