The Goat Tote!

David and his friend Marc slaved away on Sunday building a box for the back of the truck.  We need to haul goats and sheep to the fair, and our new truck doesn't have a cap (yet...those suckers are expensive!).  They used a couple of cattle panels and made the frame from 2x4s. 

They did a really great job on it. That sucker is solid and can contain any wild beast!  Beasts with 4 legs...

 

And with 2!

And then we had to put the finishing touches on....

Voila!  Now we're ready to haul some animals!



Busy Day

It was such a beautiful day outside, I took advantage of it and got a lot done.  I started with cleaning out the chicken coop. I really need to pressure wash the inside again, mainly to get all the cobwebs down from the walls and ceiling.  When I do that, I'd like to paint the entire inside like I should have done when we first built it.

I happened to find a hen with a hidden nest as I was walking through the yard.  She was pretty well hidden, in a roll of spare field fence.  There must be something in the water, because I've had so many broody hens this year. They're about to drive me batty!  I'm not sure how many eggs she has, but last year she hatched something like 12 chicks.

The kids and I bathed all of the goats so we could get ready to clip them for the fair.  The older girls didn't like it much, and seemed to pout for a while.   They went in the kennel and laid down...like they wanted to be alone or something.

The sheep just grazed around them. 

The little girls didn't mind their baths too much, or at least they didn't go pout afterwards.

After the goats were bathed, I sheared Dixie (the ewe lamb) so I could bathe her and slick shear her later this week.  I left her legs and head, so I could do those with the smaller clippers.  She looks so funny!

Later in the afternoon, I went to fill up the hummingbird feeders.  One little hummingbird was really guarding her (I'm assuming it's a female) feeder and let me get SO close to take a picture!

She was just sitting there, watching me the whole time.

That's about all for my Sunday.  It was nice getting a few things checked off the list, and even nicer to do them in the cooler weather!  I am just really hoping this cool weather stays around for the fair next week!

13 Days Until the Fair!

The county fair is coming up fast and the kids and I are busy working with the animals, making sure they know what to do in the show ring. 

The kids are teaching the goats to walk on a lead, and also to stand squarely.  You want the goats (or any animal) to stand squarely so the judge can see the animal's conformation.  The kids will pick up each leg and set it in place, and the goats are supposed to stand still.  They're getting there, little by little. 

13 more days!

Yesterday I noticed my ram wasn't acting quite like he usually does. He was just laying down a bit more and that concerned me.  When you have animals, you have to be really vigilant about noticing anything that's off or different than normal.  Especially with sheep...sheep tend to hide pain and illness really well.  My first thought was that he might have a high worm load, which is a common problem during the summer.  I caught him today to check him out, and saw the problem right away. 

My ram has scurs, and about a week ago I noticed he bumped his scur and caused it to bleed.  I wasn't worried about it, because he does that every now and then.  This time it got infected though, so that's why the poor guy wasn't feeling well. 

I'm glad I caught it pretty quickly, because flies in the summer can cause an even worse problem.  Hopefully he'll be right as rain in a few days. 

I'll be selling this guy in the fall after breeding season, because next year his daughter will be ready to breed and I'll need a different ram.  I'm kinda bummed, because he's a nice boy and I'd like to see how he matures.  He's a yearling now, so he still has lots of growing to do. 

If anyone is looking for a registered Southdown ram, let me know!

Wordless Wednesday-Halter Training Edition

Someone hates halter training...

Soft & Fluffy

This past winter we had our 2 Southdown ram lambs processed.  One went in our freezer, and the other went to a friend. The lambs were born and raised here, living their lives grazing on pasture just like sheep should.  I don't like wasting parts of animals we raise for food, so the lambs' hides went to be tanned.  They're back now, and for sale. 


















These sheepskins make perfect rugs.  Imagine getting out of bed on a cold winter morning and sinking your toes into the soft, wooly warmth of a sheepskin rug!

Sheepskins also make great cushions for chairs and car seats.

They're both done in a washable tan, so they're very easy to keep clean.

The leather is supple and soft.

The two hides are shaped similarly, but are not exact. They are approximately 46-48" long and 30" wide at the widest part.  Each hide is marked with the number "235" and has several small, hardly noticeable holes from the tanning process. 

Each hide is $160 plus shipping. Let me know if you are interested or have more questions!  They're listed in the Etsy shop.

Ode to Green Beans

If I could plant only one thing in the vegetable garden, it would definitely be green beans.  I love them.  Love everything about them.  They are so easy to grow.  Make a row, drop in seeds, add water. Voila.  A few short weeks later you've got beans.  I think that's part of the appeal.  I'm not the most patient person, so quick turn around is a great thing in my opinion!  I get excited when I see them germinate, excited when I see them start flowering, and really excited when I realize it's time to harvest!

They produce like crazy, and when they really get going you have to harvest every single day. That's pretty convenient, because I could eat green beans every single day!  I've experimented with different varities of green and yellow beans, and I love them all.  Last year I grew a variety of haricot verts (ooh la la!) and they were really good. This year I am growing Tenderettes and a variety of yellow wax beans I have had for a few years (but can't remember the name). 

















I even think the plants are so pretty.  They are fairly disease and pest resistant, although some years I get some Mexican bean beetles or stink bugs.  It's hard to prevent stink bugs, and usually the plants are hardy enough to tolerate the pests without any pesticides (which is good, because I really, really try to avoid using any pesticides). 

I just planted a second row last night.  More beans on the way!