Catching you up on the Goaties - Marvelous Mishka

More like Mischief, Messy and My Big Baby!

Mishka is having a great time standing on the hay bales feeding herself. I let her come into the feed room to eat by herself because the other older goats bully her at the feeders and will not let her have a turn. It is hard to believe the length of her locks and if this weather would ever straighten out I will be cutting them soon. I also have to report that the horn that was damaged by Esmerelda awhile ago snapped off while trying to play with the boys (really I think they where just getting to be too horny for her). Luckly, no blood and it was a clean break but now she is glued to my leg even more then in past times if that was possible...

She is such a sweet girl but very needy - I think if she had her way she would still live in the house and sleep in my bed. NO that is not happening but she asks everyday. I admit I do baby her but isn't that what a mother is for???

Another Snow Storm - ENOUGH ALREADY

This is the three snow storm in six days - I love snow but really !!!

Monday morning the weatherman stated that there was NO SNOW for my neck of the plains - so what do you call this??? You know I sure would like a job where you could be wrong most of the time and still get paid - how about you??

I am sorry for not getting back to you all sooner. In between snow storms I have been busy as a one winged bee outside. If I was not picking myself up out of the mud ( wrong end of the body to do any good )that I slipped into while trying to dry out the barns, I was frantically cleaning the chicken coop out so the girls could see clean ground and start Spring (Yeah like that is coming anytime soon) with new bedding. I decided not to share the photo's of the mice I cornered and killed in the coop - for those who read this while eating would not toss their cookies. This is the first year I have ever had mice in the coop and boy was I MAD. I found their nests and killed dozens of babies too. I hate to do that but they carry way too many bad things for the chickens and even my lungs to let them stay. This may sound stupid but I gave them several warnings for the past week that if they did not pick up and leave before I started cleaning it was on them. I know THE FUNNY FARM way of doing things. Really I try not to hurt ay creature but I admit it I KILL SPIDERS - yes, I know they are great for the enivornment but if you come into my house or cross my path I have no choice but to kill you. We have many deadly spiders out here and I am not going and getting my glasses to see what you are - I have to kill you. My karma is going to suffer but I think with all I do otherwise I am still chaulking up more good then bad - at least that is what I tell myself.....

LOOK - Cookies for Me

I baked these lovely little cookies this morning as a reward for going out in the snow storm AGAIN - last measurement was 9 inches deep and that was 11:00 this morning - still coming down hard and heavy. Enough of that on to the COOKIES !

This is a very easy but very yummy cookie.

ROYAL TEA COOKIES
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Jam or Jelly (any favor that you wish)
Beat butter and sugar slowly until creamy. Add extracts and beat till well blended. Add dry ingred's slowly. Shape into 1 inch balls on a greased sheet. Make a well in the center of the dough ball but do not go to far or the Jam will run out. Place jam or jelly in the center and bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 325 degrees. Makes about 2 and 1/2 dozen.

I can not wait for my cup of hot herbal tea and a couple of these cookies. The cookie on the right is Fig and on the left is Orange Marmalade ENJOY

HAPPY EASTER

The Easter Bunny is lost in our SNOW STORM

It started to snow around 3 am and is still going strong at 6 pm. These are photos of around 9 am but now the snow has trippled in depth and I just got in from chores and knocking the heavy wet white stuff off the pinon pine in front of the house. I know for some this might have ruined their Easter but I keep thinking it will give a a few more days of no Fire Dangers.

The peace and quite that comes with this storm is a gift I can not fit into a basket and besides it is a great reason not to have to wear an Easter Dress!!

It's all in the effort!!

Look what I found while collecting eggs this morning - one of my sweet girls gave her all but came up with a tiny round egg. That's right ROUND! The tiny round egg is less the an inch high. The eggs my girls produce are extra large so this was very interesting....

I never judge my girls and no one is telling me who worked so hard to produce this tiny creation - What a special gift...

Counting My Blessings

I could not believe the marvelous day I had - 70 degrees with not much wind. Eight birds nests gracing the pine tree outside my kitchen sink window. Sweet new baby goats in the barn coming up to me to give hugs and snugs without me chasing them in the pen. Farm fresh eggs from my hens whipped up to make my famous French Toast for breakfast. Talking to my youngest son on the phone about his bright future. Doing heavy manual labor getting the farm ready to greet Spring in a high stepping fashion. All the while thinking in two days I will turn 50 years young and each day is a true blessing.....

What do you count in your blessings?

Snow + Sun = MUD

Today we are reaching 65 degrees and the sun is shinning!!!

Colorado weather is this way - snow storm on Saturday and MUD on Tuesday.. I had on my muck boots and out I went to get those chores done. Being such a graceful person, I am I walked into the pen with the llama girls and proceed to slip on my BUTT
That would normally be O.K. but we are talking about 5 inches deep of poop mud!!

I KNOW - YUCK! Now I was to do my morning chores with wet drawers. The fun part is standing outside my shop door peeling off poop muddy pants, socks and underwear as the cold morning breeze whistled thru my knees - what a wake up call that is !
As I stood with nothing on below the waist I started to laugh -
I looked up and found all the male goats with their beady eyes looking at me.
What a weird feeling but then I thought better them then my neighbors or postman... As I left my clothes outside to harden I walked upstairs to climb into a shower. All this before a cup of coffee - life on the Funny Farm is never dull...

MASQUERADES MIRACLE

I woke up at 3:30 am with the snow blowing and the tempature at 2 degrees - I just knew I needed to be up and running. I got all my layers on and out the door I went to the goat girls barn. The ice covered the handles and I could barely get the doors open. I greeted the two sets of twins and started in on my rountines. I looked over and noticed that Masquerade was not getting up and not interested in the GRAIN - can you believe it - not interested in GRAIN!!! RED FLAG WARNING - so I finished my chores, dug out more panels and went about building a pen. While outside digging out the panels Masquerade was busy in labor with not a peep or squeek. By the time I wrangled out the cold metal from the waist high drifts I returned to the barn to find a wet screaming goat kid. I quickend my pace and finished the pen in record time. I threw the last of the straw in the pen and grab a towel. I swept up the wabbly bundle and placed her in the straw. Now to grab Masquerade - not an easy task. All the while I was praying - "Please God, give her the strength to take care of this one" Unlike last year at least Masquerade was talking to the little one, licking it and concerned that the other goats where looking at the baby. All great signs. So I turned a bucket over and sat down to watch... Hours later and a very stiff body the baby got busy trying to find some food. Under all that fleece there was no milk bag to speak of, so I ran to the house and made a bottle. Tricking the little one without getting the mom to decide not to take care of it was going to be the task. After 2 full ounces of warmed milk and even an ounce given to Masquerade to prove to her I was not poisioning her little one we got the little one to nurse off of Masquerade.

HAPPY DANCE - not physically because I could bearly get off the bucket. In the house I went with a song in my heart and every hour I was back out there to make sure I saw the little one nursing. It is now looking like this little GIRL is going to be a outside kid !!! Yep Yep Yahoo!!

MORE BABIES !

WHAT A DAY ! I ran out early (6:00am) to get chicken feed, goat oats, and yes human food before the next storm.. RAN, and Made it back as the ice rain and snow hit. As I was trying to get 500 lbs out of the truck bed before the sacks got soaked. Well, as I was struggling to carry wet sacks I came in the barn as I caught Gretal makings those sounds. Small growling sounds, which is very weird when it is coming out of a goat. I really kicked it into high gear to get that grain in the bins and human food into the house.

At 3:30 full labor started at by 4:00 pm the first baby was out. White and tiny but moving and up. As I sat there watching her clean up the little one Gretal's mother would not shut up. With every cry the new baby gave, Mother Goose answered which was really getting the kid confused. I tried to shut her up with grain but no she was the typical mother - having to give advice when none was asked for. Then Gretal went down - starting her second round of contractions. She labored hard for over ten mintues without much progress. Just then the head came out but Gretal was so tired that she stopped pushing. She would not even stand up to let gravity assist. I went in and gently pulled out the little one, removed the sack and cleared the airway. Placing the little boy next to her face she started the cleaning process. What a GREAT, GREAT Mom she is - a first time Mom but a real trooper.

So we have One White GIRL with fog gray whispers in her hair. One White and Black BOY which looks like almost a mirror image of boy born to the Grandmother Mother Goose.

So names for these two are in play also. I have been having some techno issues about leaving comments. If you find you are having troubles just email your picks to ggerberlff@aol.com until I am sure this is fixed....