Character

Goats are loaded with character. Daisy is at the top with many others. Born a triplet, but she was not raised on a bottle, one of her sisters, Petunia was. Petunia is an escape artist, Daisy is just human-like. Goats are definitely different from sheep. Each goat is different from the other. Sheep are like most people, they don't want to be different, they follow the other sheep, and when they don't, they freak out when they get left by the flock. Goats are independent, stubborn and smart. They can be separated from the flock and it's okay. Sheep usually cooperate when caught. Goats will fight you if they don't want to be caught. It takes a few years to understand how a goat thinks. And it has taken quite a few years for the goats to understand how I think things should be done. It's bad to be out smarted by a goat.

Take me home Mama

Felt so bad for the ten goats left on the farm with 25 sheep and the crazy horse. There is still some grass but with the bad weather the goats need a little feed. Impossible with 250-300 pound sheep running over you. Couldn't sleep any longer, so I hooked up the trailer late one evening, pulled up to the gate, all the sheep and goats piled into the corral waiting for feed. I opened the gate just a bit and all ten goats ran out and most jumped on the trailer. Didn't take but a few minutes for the others to figure out the train was leaving and going home. Tiny Dancer and Delilah hated being at that pasture. Since their return they have been curled up in the barn together, with their eyes closed, thinking if she doesn't she us she can't make us go back to that sheep pasture.

On guard

Lots of barking and howling last night, it is the time of year that we hear a lot of coyotes running up and down the creek bed. There are a lot of deer carcasses left behind by hunters and the coyotes are teaching their pups how to survive. Shenandoah and Virginia are staying with the sheep and goats and are already barking when they see or hear another dog. At this small size and age they could easily fall prey themselves, but in the next few months they will grow into a big and loud deterrent. Livestock guardian dogs are mostly all bark and their big size is intimidating to other animals. Not many dogs or coyotes will challenge two working guard dogs on the opposite side of the fence. After patrolling the pasture and playing and digging they can be found in their pen sleeping soundly and safely.

golden days are gone

Looks like our fall is over, it has been the mildest, prettiest  and longest I can remember. Cleaned out the shearing barn yesterday so the younger kids and does and lambs could get in out of the cold rain and frost. They have a barn on the hill pasture but refuse to sleep there, instead  they prefer to just hang outside the gate of the shearing barn waiting to be let in. So after a couple of months I gave in and opened the gate. Goats are stuborn. Extreme weather can take a toll on the young kids, older goats have more fat on them and can usually make it. Sometimes you have to be their parent and make them come in out of the weather.

Shenandoah and Virginia

There are two new guard dogs patrolling the pastures, Maremma pups, Shenandoah and Virginia. Only eight weeks old they are already checking out the perimeter. For some strange reason my sheep and goats are more afraid of a tiny dog than a large dog. Same goes for small children, if it's tiny they run, especially if it has on a hooded coat. It was a long trip to northern Virginia and home again, but these puppies came from working dogs imported from Italy. When looking for a good livestock guardian it is very important that they come from working dogs raised with sheep and goats, not a kennel or a pet. I switched from Great Pyrenees to Maremma because the Maremma is smaller, meaning less hip and leg problems as the dogs age. And the fact that these dogs have not been in this country long enough to be spoiled. These pups are required to live with the sheep and goats not on the back porch.

Plaid Friday

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. And I don't fall for black Friday. Don't ruin my holiday with shopping. If I did shop I would follow the smart folks that created Plaid Friday. Buying products made or grown locally will help keep jobs in your town, state or country. It may be a small business but it is somebody's business you are helping stay afloat. Imagine if we buy only products grown or produced in this country. They can be hard to find. But how many jobs could we grow or create. It sounds like a good idea to me, wonder why no one else thought of it. And while I'm on it, how can something like say a bale of cotton is put on a barge to China, ( a barge gets about one mile per 4 gallons of fuel), is made into a shirt, (with buttons that fall off when you take it out of the plastic sleeve) or a pair of pants, ( that have the pockets sewn shut), then gets put back on a barge and makes that many thousands of miles trip back to the USA, how can it sell for $9.99? You better buy 2 or 3 because once you wash it, it will never fit again.

Feels like Thanksgiving

This fall has been the best I can remember in a long while. The weather has been great and the trees did have a lot of color in spite of the drought. To top it off Evan got his first buck and doe providing us with some of the best deer meat ever. I just don't feel like you can have fall and Thanksgiving without fresh meat. I eat fresh vegetables and fruits from the garden all summer, but come fall I want fresh meat, and I prefer deer. You can't buy anything this good and nothing could be better for you.