We've Moved

As many of you may know, I have another blog. I've decided that I'm going to do my updating there from this point on. If you are interested in following my crazy adventures in farmish things, you can do so there. You won't be disappointed. My first set of kids is coming in April. Who knows what will happen with that! Thanks!

www.graystablesdairygoats.com

Where There is Smoke...

Woodlands Fire

This is a cross post from my dairy goat blog.

These past couple of months have been eventful to say the least. In August, we finally finished the new pen for the girls just in time for school to start. I've changed grades this year from 4th to 2nd and have been happily adjusting to my new routine. Just when I thought things had calmed down, the whole area went up in flames!

Magnolia Fire

On Labor Day (Thanks Caroline) , I headed out to feed the girls early at about 3pm. I noticed the huge plume of smoke in the woods behind the barn and was immediately concerned. Since we've been in this horrible drought, there have been a few forest fires near the barn, but none as close at this one was. The barn owner, Mike headed over to check it out. I spent the rest of the evening waiting for an evacuation order. Hours later, it came. There was ash in the air, when Chris and I loaded the girls up and headed for our closest goat neighbor at Blue Heron Farms.

Maximum Security Goat Pen

Goats are not easy to keep in a fence, so I couldn't take them to just any farm. Unfortunately, Blue Heron had a wild fire in their area as well. Their fire was much larger, but not as close, so we decided to risk it. By the next day, our fire was out, and the Magnolia fire was huge. We couldn't get in to get the girls and bring them back and I was panicking. Blue Heron had taken in over 100 goats, most of them lactating. The last thing they needed was my girls.

Tuesday was spent driving all over the area, trying to find a road that wasn't closed so that I could get my girls and hopefully help in any way I could. Blue Heron was very nearly under mandatory evacuation. It was tense. Luckily, I was able to get the girls late that night and find our way back home through the confusing maze of closed streets, and the smoky haze.

Baby Patron With His Chicken Friend

My ordeal pales in comparison to what farms like Blue Heron, Swede Farms and Brushy Creek Farms are still going through.

In happier news, my girls got appraised this weekend. I was very happy with their scores.


Valerie was rated +V++
Leda was rated VVVV
Valencia was rated VVVV
Sandra was rated +VV+

Now that I've got a better idea about their strengths and weaknesses, I've selected a buck for them. His name is TLC-Farms NAN Patron. He has great bloodlines. His father Nick At Night appraised very well and his mom looks great too! I'm so excited to move into the next phase of goat keeping.

I am sad to report that I have an additional update. While Louie, our recently ill pug, is doing fine, our other pug, Dupree, died on Tuesday. We're completely heart broken and can barely even speak about it right now. I'll post soon to honor her memory. 

Old Dogs and New Tricks

Louie and Dupree

As many of you may know, Chris and I have five dogs.  These dogs are all firmly suburban dogs. They are smushed nose breeds, so air conditioning is just as important to them as it is to me. Coli and Louie are the oldies, both out-living their breed expectations. Dupree is our bratty middle child, then Petey our special needs girl, and finally, our baby is Winston. We planned on stopping when we had two dogs, then when we had three, and again when we had four. Now I promise we are stopping.

Our engagement photo with Louie

When you have a really old dog, specifically one who everyone says should be long gone, there is a constant nagging worry. It doesn't help that the old dogs start losing their hearing and can be pretty difficult to wake up at times. Even when you think you've prepared yourself, things can hit from out of the blue. Louie starting having accidents in the house, which isn't like him. I figured that he was losing control of himself and would need some medication, and planned on taking him to the vet. I took him in this Saturday, only to find that he wasn't losing control, he was completely blocked, his bladder was on the verge of bursting. He needed surgery.

Baby Winston

Old pugs don't typically survive anesthesia, but we didn't really have a choice, so we took the risk. Since it was the weekend, we had to have the surgery done at the emergency vet. Luckily, he made it through the first procedure, but on Monday we'll have to take him in to discuss further surgeries. At the youngest, he is 16 years old, possibly even 18. He's survived seizures with medication, arthritis with medication and cancer with surgery. It seems like an easy choice to just let him go, but it really isn't. Louie's lab work shows he is strong. His quality of life is great. He is happy and still doing well. These costly surgeries could kill him, or buy him time. Who knows how much time or if the time would be good time.

Winston

On the other end of the spectrum, we've got Winston. He's only a year and a half, by far the youngest and healthiest dog Chris and I have had together. He's learning the ways of our family, and getting away with more than the other dogs do in the process. I'm glad he is here now, because he reminds us how much joy dogs bring to us and that even though there are tough decisions to be made, and the endings are brutal, owning a dog is a wonderful thing. They give us so much, that even with the pain and sadness, it is totally worth it.

We'll probably take another risk with Louie tomorrow, knowing that if we lose him, at least we tried. If the time comes when he is hurting, or suffering, we'll have to make the hardest decision of all. Wish me luck in these complicated times.

Winston and Valerie

We have a new dog named Winston. He is a French Bulldog/ Pug mix, and he is adorable. When he was just a tiny puppy, we watched him for two weeks while his owner was out of town. My husband got really attached to him. When we heard his owner had to find him a new home, we were happy to take him. Our other dogs are taking to him pretty well. He is very sweet and fun to be around. 

 TLC-Farm Dear Valerie Plame has finally come home too! I'm so happy to have all four of my goats under one roof. The girls are getting so big we're going to double their pen next month.

Haflinger Plush Toy

I thought my Haflinger Friends out there might appreciate this cute little toy I made in honor of Morrissey. I think it might even be a little bit cuter than the plush goats. Shhh! Don't tell them!

I still miss her so much, but I'm sure she is having a good time with her new owners. There are several new boarders at the stables right now. We have a Mustang and a Percheron. I always thought my haflinger was drafty, but this girl puts her to shame. Her name is Zoe. I've never been around a draft horse in person. She is so big that the word that comes to mind when I see her is  always "dinosaur". 

In goaty news, my final doeling for this season will be coming home next weekend. Her name is TLC Farm Dear Valerie Plame. I can't wait to have all my girls in one place. I am crossing my fingers, hoping that the four of them will get along.

New Official Site

I'm very happy to announce that my dairy goat herd, Gray Stables, now has an official site. It isn't completely finished, but it is presentable enough for now. Feel free to check it out!


http://graystablesdairygoats.weebly.com/index.html

Shape Shifter

Valencia is keeping a secret and her shadow is telling the truth. She's not a goat after all. She is a bunny!

Sweet Geets

I'm so excited to announce that I'm opening an Etsy shop! Now that I'm only working part time teaching summer school, and most of my goats are weaned, I'm finding myself with time on my hands. I've always loved crafting, and really enjoy making handmade gifts for the children in my life.

My nephew Jackson's birthday was coming up, and I wanted to make him a goat. No matter what I did, I couldn't find any cute goat patterns. Through trial and error, I was able to come up with an adorable one. I called it Jackson's Sweet Geet, since we use that nickname for our goatie girls pretty often around here.

He loved it so much that I've decided to make them available for other children too. I'm really enjoying making them, so even if Jackson is the only child who loves a Sweet Geet, that is fine with me.

Check out my shop here.

Hmmm

That was fast. The trainers were there, she was loaded and she was gone within minutes. It was really hard. To make myself feel better, I spent a lot of the money I made from her on the goats right away. I've got pretty much everything I'll ever need for them arriving next week. I'm also shopping for a maid. Having a horse was a huge extravagance for my suburban family. It will be nice to have that breathing room. What a crazy day.

Goodbyes

This has been one of the hardest decisions of my life. Morrissey has been sold. Her new owner's trainer will be picking her up this Thursday.She'll be on her way to New Mexico. I'm so sad to see her go.

She is a wonderful horse and she needs someone who is as passionate about horses as I am about goats. Her new owner was so excited! Right now my emotions are all over the place. I'm going to make sure my last three days with Morrissey are special.

Meant for the Stage

Waiting for the Show

Saturday morning Chris and I woke up an hour late at 5 am, packed the girls into the back of our old trusty Jeep (with a tarp down of course) and headed for Brenham, Texas to the South Central Texas Goat Club's May show.  Despite our late start, We made it in plenty of time. It had been ten years since I'd shown a goat so I was nervous, but it was a blast.

Since, all three of my girls are juniors, or goats that have never been bred, we had to wait until the end of the day for our turn to show. There was a lot of waiting, which meant I had plenty of time to watch and learn. I knew I missed showing, but now I realize how much. It is just exhilarating. I met so many new goat people, and got to connect with several I knew from years ago. I tasted my first goat milk, and got a free tub of delicious chevre. I can't stop eating it of course. I even planned some new purchases for next year's breeding season.

The Line-up

As for the actual show, I didn't have much hope for my girls, because they are so young. I was very surprised when my youngest, Sandra, placed third in her huge class of 21, judged by one of the most respected Nubian breeders in the US, Lynn Fleming of Lynnhaven. Lynn placed Valencia 7th in the class and Leda 14th in the class. I was very pleased with their placings and can't wait to see them progress as they gain maturity.

The other judge wasn't as big of a fan of my girls as Lynn was, but he did place Valencia 8th in her class of 21 as well. I feel like he may have been overwhelmed by the size of the class and he certainly didn't explain his placings as well as Lynn did. To each their own. I can't wait to show my girls to even more judges and see what everyone thinks. What an amazing time!

Weaning Woes

Before you know it, it will be Sandra's turn to be weaned

Leda and Valencia are almost three months old, over forty pounds and eating alfalfa hay very well. To me, this means time to start weaning. At the most, they were drinking 60 ounces twice a day. I've been slowly bringing that number down and now they are both getting about half of that.

The first problem with weaning is that it makes me feel mean. I'm used to giving my babies whatever they want and now I'm telling them no. The "MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" noises as the barn are reaching a fever pitch. The second problem is that Sandra is on a lambar, meaning she has cooled milk available to her at all hours. Valencia and Leda were both on a lambar when I bought them, but I trained them to take a bottle instead.  Valencia was able to remember how a lambar is used, but Leda wasn't. Since Valencia is such a smarty-pants, I can't leave the lambar open to the whole pen. The biggest problem is that the twins take out their weaning frustrations on poor little Sandra. I had just put the three of them together with good results, and now I have to separate Sandra. Even though she had a bloodied horn bud the other day, she'd still prefer to be with her friends. I've managed to upset all three of the babies, the same week as the show.

Weaning is such a controversial topic in the dairy goat world. Some people will think I'm weaning early, some will think I'm weaning late. I've been told to base weaning on weight, how much food they're eating and more. With so much conflicting information, I'm kind of playing it by ear. I want my girls to develop a good rumen without losing condition. I'm encouraging them to eat more of their medicated feed and less milk. They've got the hay thing down for sure. I'll continue giving them milk until I'm sure they're going to be ok. Wish me luck in this crazy process.

Shave and a Hair Cut

Today was a very productive day. First, Chris and I headed up to my school to pack up most of my classroom. I'm a self-diagnosed children's book hoarder. The weight of my classroom library has reached 'husband has to help move it' status. As soon as we got home and unloaded it, I headed out to Tractor Supply to pick up some clippers for the goats. 

This was only my second ever visit to Tractor Supply and it did not go well. To say the smell was overwhelming is quite the understatement. I had my hands covering my mouth and nose so that I wouldn't faint. I don't have the words to describe how awful it was. The problem is that it was a smell unlike any smell I've ever encountered. It wasn't plant or animal based. It was some sort of chemical. Whatever the source, who would put that smell in their car?!  

I'm not a wimp when it comes to smells. I've spent a fair amount of time around diary goat bucks, it wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't more than I could handle. Once, my bulldog, Coli, got sprayed by a skunk.  I lived in an apartment. Imagine a full on skunk spray in 900 square feet. I even handled that. Tractor Supply is worse.

To make matters worse, the clippers were in a locked case. Luckily, I found an employee before my lungs imploded and I made it out alive. 

Clippers in tow, I headed out to the barn. I bathed the goats, let them dry, and started to clip them. Five hours later, I had successfully transfered some of the hair from two of my goats to myself. I glued most of it on with dirt and sweat. Seriously though, I think they look pretty good since I don't have a milking stand yet, and they are only babies and have never seen or even imagined a set of clippers. They were tied to the fence and scared to death, but we made it through. I'll finish Valencia and Leda and get started on Sandra tomorrow. Feast your eyes on my partially clipped show goats!

Farmish Videos

I know all my farmish followers will love to see my baby goats, (it is the indie rock I'm not so sure about.) Check out my cuties!

Gray Stables: Check Out Our Video!

Happy Mother's Day

To celebrate all the wonderful moms out there, I'm posting a cute picture of me and my kids. 

The girls are getting big. Check out my the posts chronicling their growth over at www.graystables.blogspot.com.

Happy Birthday to you!

Morrissey turned 15 on April 21st. Next year she'll be driving! (once I buy a buggy! haha) I haven't addressed this officially on the blog, but I'm really starting to change my mind about selling Morrissey. She's still on the market, but it would have to be quite an offer for me to accept. Check out the photo taken on her birthday by my Brother-in-law Richard.

Dupree, our most sinister yet lovable pug, turned 9 on April 22nd. She is quite heavy right now, so we're going to hold off on her birthday picture. It never fails with that girl. Her weight yo-yos every year. With the goats, maybe I'm just being a bad dog mom right now.

My two new doelings were born. I have photos of them over at gray stables.

Gorgeous!

Summer Morrissey is a gorgeous blonde bombshell. I love the shine and the dapples. What a beauty!

Farmish Musings

I often find myself driving home from the barn looking at my arms and wondering "is that a bruise or a dirt smudge?" There is really a 50% chance of either. 

My doelings from TLC Farms and Brushy Creek Farms have now been born. I'll post an update with pics soon!

The Ratapocolypse

This morning, I was doing my normal farmish thing, feeding baby goats from huge re-purposed beer bottles while wearing my very teachery work clothes. Suddenly, I heard a large animal scurrying across the metal roof of the barn. From the sound of it, I was pretty sure it was pug-sized. My 6 am brain wasn't sure what to do when I realized that it was headed down a pole and possibly into my goat's pen.

Luckily, it wasn't an evil raccoon, like I'd feared. It was just a rat. Yes, I've become farmish enough that rats being remotely near me isn't that big of deal. On 16 acres with that much pasture and a very open airy barn, rats are going to happen. I expected the rat to see me and make a quick exit. I couldn't have been more wrong. Instead, the rat decided to run closer to me under the parked barn truck parked near me and jump up into the truck's mechanical bits.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any stranger, a second rat followed the first rat's exact footsteps. It turns out the two rats weren't friends. For the next several moments, all I heard were rat screams, metal clunking and scratches. It was so loud, Leda and Valencia even stopped eating to stare.

So that is a new experience I can add to my growing list of things I never thought would happen to me.

Confession

I'll admit it, I've been avoiding my blog. Honestly, having Morrissey on the market doesn't put me in the blogging mood. Since the first prospective buyers, there hasn't been any interest. You'd think that this would be disheartening, but you'd be wrong. She is still on the market, but I'm really in no hurry to sell her. Selling a horse is just no fun. Even selling a mean horse who doesn't like people is hard. Morrissey is not mean and does like people, so it just makes it even harder.

For the first few days she was on the market, I kind of avoided working with her. I was trying to prepare myself emotionally, but it just made me feel worse. Instead, I decided to try ground driving with her. I've never even seen it done, but I decided it was worth a shot. I tied both ends of her lunge line to her halter and stood behind her. I don't know any driving cues, so I just said walk... and she did. I turned her and stopped her with my "reins" successfully. It was fun! She didn't like it when I flapped the reins gently against her. I think that may be punishment in driving language, or maybe she was just being her normal self.

I'd really love to try driving. I have a huge arena at my boarding stables, and another huge riding area that I could use as well. It seems like a lot of fun. My fear of riding is mostly about sitting on the horse, feeling the lurching movements and feeling like I'm out of control. Falling is also a huge aspect of my fear. It seems like those things wouldn't really be involved with driving.I'm not afraid of dealing with horses, in fact, I love being around them. I'm just not sure I can allow myself to make another huge investment just to find that my fear gets in the way again. I could take lessons, but again, that is a huge investment. So much to think about.

In goaty news, my doeling from TLC Farms was born. I'll post pictures and details as soon as I get them.