The Final Countdown

Does anyone else have that song in their head now?

It's that time of year!  Goat udder pictures!  I know you all have been looking forward to it, it is pretty exciting.  Ok, well maybe I'm the only one who gets excited about it, but still...

The goats are getting wider by the day.  By my calculations, the estimated due date (for both) is around February 13th, but they could really go anytime. 

I rely on their udder development to help me predict when they'll kid.  June is pretty easy to tell...her udder will noticeably increase and "bag up" when she's ready to go into labor.  It's hard to really get a good view of the udder if I don't clip them, so I clipped them this evening. 

Here's June's before pic:

And here's her after.  It's much easier to see this way.  She's definitely bagging up, but she's got a ways to go.  You can see how tight it gets in this post, when Ida was born 2 years ago.

This is Ida's first year kidding, so I'm really excited to see how her udder turns out.  Here's her before:

And her after.  It's looking really cute so far!

The girls are coming in the barn at afternoon feeding time and staying until the morning.  The sheep, who are due in a few weeks, are getting grain now, and that's the easiest way to separate the goats so the sheep can actually eat.  June tends to be pushy with the sheep. 

Soon it'll be time to install the video baby monitor I got last year so I can keep an eye on them through the night.  I still feel like I'm not ready for them to kid, but I'm getting there!

I Love Ewe!

Just in time for Valentine's Day, this cozy is in the Etsy shop and ready to be shipped out!  I just love this cozy!

I can also make this cozy in a different color if anyone would rather have a different color.  

Flurries

We had some great winter weather last week, finally.  Seems like we're never going to get any real snow (you know, more than a couple inches), but we finally got about an inch before the weekend.  I'm a cold weather person, and I love winter, but it's hard to love winter when it has been mild and rainy most of the season. 

The wild birds have been very hungry, and have been at the feeder every moment between dawn and dusk.  This is one of my favorite Christmas presents from David this year.  He got me this great bird feeder with two suet holders.  I love watching the birds from the kitchen window. 



















The sheep and goats don't seem to mind the snow either.  I love feeding the animals when it's cold, because I feel like I can make them warm and cozy and all it takes is a good bit of hay. 

Some people would look at the snow on their backs and think they're poor, freezing animals.  Really it means that they're well insulated against the cold since the snow isn't melting.  All that wool and extra layer of hair make a huge difference and the animals stay nice and warm.

The goats get wider every day!  I've been bringing them in the barn every afternoon for their grain, trying to get them in the routine of coming back in the barn.  June is used to it, but Ida isn't.  It didn't take long though.  I think after 2 days, Ida knew exactly where to go when I opened the gate to let her out of the pasture.  She now runs to the barn and waits for me to follow to scoop the grain into her feeder.

My two does are staying warm too.  They cuddle together and I give them plenty of hay and they seem perfectly content.  One of them should be bred, due any day to kindle.  I hope she's actually bred!

Unfortunately, after a few snow flurries this morning, the weather is going to continue to warm up and we'll have mild, rainy weather the rest of the week.  Boo!

Bathroom Paint

My sister and her husband are getting ready to sell their house to buy some land, and they're doing a great job of painting and making the house look beautiful.  Seeing their awesome progress has inspired me to finally get some projects done around the house.  Why not enjoy our house now, instead of putting it off until we move someday?  So I picked out some paint colors last night and I'm trying to decide which color to paint the bathroom downstairs.  The chocolate brown color will be for the vanity cabinet, and one of the other colors will be the wall color. I've got a favorite I think, which is yours?

Side Slip Cloche

I knitted a new hat, the Side Slip Cloche, and absolutely love it!  I used Cascade 220 superwash, and it's very soft. 

Goodbye

David's mother passed away on January 16th, surrounded by her family.  We'll miss her.   

One Month Left

One month until June and Ida are supposed to kid.  One month left of "sleeping in" in the mornings.  One month of not having to feed goat babies. One month of freedom!   Truly I'm excited about kidding season, but at the same time I can't help but feel a slight bit of impending doom.  I know once I get into the routine again I'll be fine, but that after the goat babies are born, there's always a moment of panic when I think to myself, "Why did you do this?".   I am looking forward to more goat babies this year though, and I plan on setting up a lambar feeder, so I don't have to hold bottles anymore. I think that'll save me a lot of time and a lot of frustration.  Goat kids are little maniacs, especially at bottle time!

Ida is hiding her pregnancy very well.  I'm wondering if she has a single kid instead of twins.  I really hope she has twins, but I'd be happy with a healthy single too I guess.

I can't wait to see how her udder turns out. That's another surprise with dairy goats...not only how many kids and what sex they are, but the size and shape (and capacity) of the udder.

Ida is definitely wider than before, but nowhere near as wide as June is.

June doesn't have the advantage of the first-time mom tight stomach muscles.

I'm wondering how she'll look a month from now...probably a bit like she did last year.

I'm pretty sure both girls were bred on September 16th, so that would mean they're due around February 12th, give or take a few days.  Maybe I'll get Valentine babies this year. Last year I missed it by just a couple of hours!