Baby Goats.....LIVE!!!

Maverick has done his job here and all the girls are bred so it was time for him to go back home to Pelican Acres.

When I got him home my friend Karen took me to her barn to show me the kids that were born this week, 10 in all from Sunday through today.

While I was there one of her does decided to give birth and I was able to watch the delivery of two more kids. Karen is amazing at handling the birthing process and I was lucky/happy to be on hand to learn from her first hand!

If you want to watch Karen's does giving birth she has a camera set up and you can watch her in action. Click here to get in on the viewing action. As of tonight (Tuesday) there are still four or five more does that are getting ready to give birth, don't miss it!

p.s. When the camera is showing a single doe in the berthing stall the action will soon begin, otherwise you will get a camera view of the flock milling around in the common area .

Pollyanna

I wasn't feeling too well today so once the morning chores were complete the Commander and I settled in by the wood stove and watched Pollyanna. Pollyanna is one of those classic movies that is great fun to watch even if you have seen it several times before.

Old movies are so fun to watch especially when the story is familiar so one has the opportunity to notice the background and the settings. The old kitchens in the movie were great, I loved the wood stoves and hand pumping sinks. The cars were all classics while the woodwork in the homes was breathtaking. I was just engulfed by the atmosphere, so many frilly dresses, decorative hats, ribbons and bows, when did we as a society stop dressing so nicely?

I was entertained for just over 3 hours watching this movie and there was none of the following; no murders, no gun play, no love scenes or nudity, no swearing, no car chases or crashes, nor any infidelity. I did see (or hear) numerous direct references to God and patriotism, I wonder why movie audiences at the time weren't offended the way that we are TOLD (I don't believe it) that folks would be offended today?

The movie (and book) was so successful that the title became a word unto itself.
Pollyanna — n: a person who is constantly or excessively optimistic

[C20: after the chief character in Pollyanna (1913), a novel by Eleanor Porter (1868--1920), US writer]

Since I'm talking movies, if you enjoyed Pollyanna then be sure to check out Auntie Mame. I will never forget the sick feeling I got when Patrick alludes to Mame that he is embarrassed to introduce her to his snobby fiance. A truly great movie.

Taxes

The tax code in Minnesota has changed this year so everyone's property taxes will be going up. This has made me wonder, would I be better off claiming this place as a Farm instead of a normal residential property? Does anyone claim their Hobby Farm as a "Farm" on their taxes?

I have read that if I do go the farm route that I would need to sell something for a profit within three years. I'm sure I can sell something but making a profit doesn't really seem possible in the near future. The cost of hay, grain, minerals, medicine, new stock, equipment, fencing, clearing land, etc..., really puts the "hobby" into the "hobby farm".

The chickens have paid for themselves and the goats may reach break even territory this year as well, but the start up costs won't be made back in my lifetime. I figure that having some physical assets guarding against hard times my be more useful than a little extra money in the bank.

Hoss

Meet Hoss, he is my new Icelandic Ram. He has great horns and Leader Sheep bloodlines, he also has a very gentile personality.

He was introduced gently to the other boys, with a fence between them for a few days. Hoss had a lot of "ewe" smell on him as he was used a the "teaser" ram at his old farm. He was kept in a stall in with the girls and when they stopped and wagged their tails at him the girls were removed and placed in with the breeder rams. I can imagine that this had to be a bit hard on Hoss....

As a result of all the stress from being the teaser ram Hoss isn't very fat, and he may even be a bit thin. I still think he is very handsome.

After a few days he was mashed into the ram pen with the other three boys. The Commander threw a few extra bales of hay in with him to prevent any full blown charging from happening. By the time they were released into the ram pasture everyone was bruised and bleeding from small scratches, but fortunately no one suffered any serious injuries.

For the next few days the other rams followed Hoss around and tried unsuccessfully to mount him. Next year at this time Hoss should be the biggest ram on the farm, I hope he has a good long memory for paybacks!

I know rams can be dangerous and they shouldn't be pampered but Hoss is such an attention hound. Whenever he sees me outside he calls and calls until I go over to him. I usually give him a bit of grain that the breeder left for him and then I rub his head or side. He wags his tail and gets so excited, a real cutie. Another oddball to add to the farm, welcome aboard.

Brutally Cold

Temperatures approached almost -20F last night, you could hear the trees popping. When I opened up the goat shed only Becca Boo was there to greet me.

Note the igloo to the right in the picture, it isn't too big. As I called the goats they slowly made their way out of the igloo until only Addison was missing.

My heart was in my throat as I imagined the worst, but then she appeared - whew. I was afraid she had frozen to death. The goats were all shivering so I gave them a good rub down while they ate their grain on the milk stand.

I made sure they had a healthy helping of hay before I left them, they may have been cold but they were still hungry!

When I put the goats up for the night they were hedging their way toward the igloo, it must have been nice and warm in there with the body heat of five goats.

Random Acts of Artwork

Another wonderful drawing from my daughter, I love the way she did the eyes in this one.

Molly the Fearless proved last night to not be too fearless after all. My dad came to visit last night and when Molly saw him she ran away and hid under the ram shed. It took the Commander and I 30 minutes in -5 F weather to get her out from under it. Sigh.

Guineas Dreaming

It was 6 degrees F this morning and will be dropping down to -2 degrees F tonight. That is cold, but it gets a lot colder here.

The Guineas normally stick to the coop area on cold days but when the sun is shining they sometimes venture out into the trees to dream.

Guineas are indigenous to Africa (excerpt from Wiki): The Helmeted and Vulturine Guineafowl generally reside in open or semiopen habitats such as savanna or semideserts, while the remaining species of guineafowl mainly inhabit forests.

Not much resembling that kind of habitat here.

They are lovely, entertaining birds to have around your farm. They simply eradicate ticks and provide a summer supply of eggs to supplement the chickens production. They are excellent sentries and call out whenever a stranger or non-farm animal makes an appearance. Once one gets used to their "singing" they are wonderful additions to the homestead.

That being said I'm sure today they are thinking that it is COLD.