Morning interloper

I woke early to the sound of Yogi barking, but not his usual bark. This one was a concerned, panic bark so I got up and looked outside. There was a cow outside my bathroom window, with Yogi running circles around him. Finally Yogi decided he might be safer in the goat pen so hopped back in there to bark with a sturdy fence between him and our invader.

My neighbor's cow must have decided he was sick and tired of being by himself, either that or he heard how happy and well-fed my goats are and decided to pay us a visit. I went out to see him, he licked my hand with his funny tongue then proceeded to explore the premises. He found all sorts of goodies outside the fence, and eventually discovered the green grass behind the barn, and the pond.

Yogi followed him. My goats did too, along the fence line, they were so upset they forgot they hadn't had breakfast. Even the baby (Clara) wouldn't take her bottle.

Of course, my neighbor wasn't home. Which is odd because he usually comes home about every 15 minutes. He follows this routine around the clock, except of course when I'd like him to come get his cow, who's not really trained to walk on a lead (I tried that). I just left him in the field munching. Hopefully he won't eat anything out there that will kill him.  Will a cow eat Irises and Daffodils?

It's been a few hours and he's still exploring. There's far more to do at my house than in his tiny little pen. Now he's chasing the dog. I guess he's fed up with Yogi's obnoxious barking.

UPDATE:  That cow's been back two more times since. This morning I saw two people out there chasing him back home. This time there's some truth to the grass being greener.

Eventful morning

Today was "airport run" day. We left before dawn, upsetting all the animals. Not to mention a sleepy-headed baby. Quick drive, no traffic, a seemingly uneventful morning.

Then I got home.

Just as I was about to drive down the hill and around the corner toward home I noticed these 2 dogs. I was a good distance from my house, so I had to look twice to be sure.  These 2 dogs, one small, one big, were going up a neighbor's driveway. Hey, what are they doing up here?
I opened my door and started yelling. Fit right in to this neighborhood, I hear that sort of thing now and then through the trees.  Some of my neighbors can really scream. Apparently so can I.

I opened my car door and made Andy get on my lap, leaving stupid Yogi where he was, didn't even talk to him. The last time I saw Yogi was at midnight, when I tied him up in the barn. His level of self control is getting out of hand.  I need to remember and tighten his harness.

Andy's the house dog and usually stays home. But trips upset him, and he does stupid things when people pack a suitcase. Once we got out of the car he was so excited, kept running around in circles. I guess he thought I was leaving again, too. Great companion - but sometimes annoying.

Plus then the muttonheaded goats were going nuts when I got home and knocked me down, spilling the food because I was "late" feeding them or something. And they had 2 bales of hay already, so what the heck? 

Wow, what a morning, and I haven't even taken off my pajamas.

Go to sleep sweet babies

Nap times are some of the most precious, sweet times with babies. It's when you can hold them, caress them, clip their tiny finger nails, or even just look at them and smile.

It's humorous too, to see them develop their sleep patterns. When Alyssa was little, Amanda would just put her in her crib, and put her bottle in the corner of the crib, so Alyssa could wake up later and have her milk. She was particular about that, and could only go to sleep if she knew it was there.

Alora asleep in the car seat

Alora, being a cuddler, will curl up and sleep when ever and where ever necessary to catch her nap. She's a lot like her mother that way, who could fall asleep while climbing up the stairs, as long as she had her precious blankie.

Bonnie Rose, on the other hand, fights sleep to the furthest degree possible. It takes work and focus to get her thinking about going to bed.  Except lately. The past few nights we mention bed and she runs to my room ready to climb in bed to sleep with Nana.

Bonnie Rose finally dozing off in Nana's bed

I love it. We sometimes lie there an hour before she dozes off, sometimes she asks for milk and I take her back to her mommy's bed, and sometimes she asks for Mommy and Daddy to get into bed with us in my room, too. Then she's in her ideal world, with all of us together in one place. She cuddles on her pillow and gets sleepy to Twinkle Twinkle music.  Darling little monkey.

Special times, to be treasured. They won't be little very long.

I know.
Mine grew up way too fast.

Innovation

Really? That's all you can think to do?

My cats are the strangest animals. Actually, all my animals have unique personalities but my cats are the ones that amuse me the most.

In winter the two white cats (Sammy and Sassy) lie on the front porch and gather an inch or two of snowfall on them while they sleep. They have a 'doggy door' in the garage and could sleep where it's warmer but No, the porch is just that much closer to me, so they sleep just outside my bedroom door, on the chairs.
Sometimes they even look pathetically in at me, waiting for me to come outside and pet them. I give in to that now and then, which keeps them coming back for more.

In the daytime they hunt. Sometimes you see one of them with a squirrel treed, sometimes Sassy comes marching proudly from the pond with a frog in his mouth. But most days Sammy stays hypnotized by the bird feeders, just staring at them for hours and hours, waiting for a bird to swoop down and get some seed. But those birds are smarter than that. When the cat's out, they stay away, leaving Sammy to stare blankly at four empty feeders with high hopes.

In the meantime, Sassy keeps busy. Yesterday he left a nice mouse on the lawn for his brother to ponder over, once he stopped looking for birds.

Thankful

It's silly, I know.
Almost midnight. The clock tick-tocks.
My bed is comfy and warm. Cat snuggles.
Telephone call.
William drives the tractor down the drive in a mad rush, and I'm trying to remember if the headlights work.
Quiet babytalk comes from the kitchen.
Pitter-pat of little paws on the wood floor.
Baby squeals.
Car lights coming up the drive, very slow.
Gravel crunching. Dog yawning.
Cats chasing a bug across the porch.
Friends.
Suitcases in the hallway.
People talking gaily in quiet whispers. (yes, I said gaily)
Hugs.
It might be silly, but I'm thankful. For all the big and little things in life.
Both.

Red in my world

We finally decided on a color. Pictures never do justice to actual shades but this one is pretty close.

It looks way better than the shredded wallpaper that was on there - and it looks a lot more like our house now instead of the previous owners. I love the red accent wall, it makes the whole room look so much more elegant.


William did a fabulous job on the refinish job. I'm very pleased, and Michelle's very happy that there's more red in the room. She says all we need now is to die my curtains red.

I'll think about that.

Jeepers Creepers

I've noticed lately that all the mommas are greedy. They won't share any hay or grain with anyone, except of course their own babies. At this stage they all need it, mommas need it to produce more milk, plus the grain is medicated to prevent coccidia (a nasty parasite that can kills animals), and it has all the nutrients babies need to grow strong bones and ligaments. These kids are growing fast - having already tripled their birth weight in just 2 weeks.

I was trying to figure out how to address this problem when I ran across an article about creep feeding.

A creep feeder is a handy contraption that allows the little animals (cows and goats, too) access to grain all day long, yet keeps their greedy mommas away from it. William and I talked about the specs needed, and we decided to jury rig our own creep feeder, since buying one is a pretty decent expense. We used Yogi's old puppy cage,  rewiring the door to just wide the right size for babies to enter, but keep mommas out.

It's great - and it drives the mommas crazy that they can't get at the food.

Creep feeders are designed to offer grain "free choice" which really just means leaving food in the tray for babies all the time. That helps them not to overeat, and allows them to get the nutrients when their bodies most need it.

Now all those kids can get grain when they want it. Especially our littlest one, Clara. She needs all the help she can get in order to grow.

Sharing

What would baking be without licking the mixers, or sharing your tasties with a best friend?

Now that's a big poo

Baby goats and their mommas can make a good deal of poo in the course of two weeks.


Right before birthing William cleaned out the pens and put down all new hay. But over the past two weeks, with all the nannies and babies living in just two stalls it was time to clear out the poo again.

This time it was my turn.

I started with the middle pen. The smell of amonia in there was overpowering, and unhealthy for everyone. I haven't smell that since I kept a diaper pail in my laundry room 30 years ago.

I probably should have gotten my wagon before I began shoveling but I really didn't think that pen had quite so much goop in it as it did. Granted, there was a lot of wasted hay in the mix but it's pretty amazing what 5 mommas and 9 babies can do in a small area over the course of two weeks.

I'm really grateful for an amazing invention, the pitchfork.
It made the job of twice moving that pile a heck of a lot easier, first throwing it over the gate, then pitching it into the wagon. I managed to fill my wagon 4 heaping times with this pile of poo. I found a lovely place for it out in the open so we can burn it all the next windless day we get.

Since the middle ages this utensil has been used to do just what its name implies. I really like this short handled one, just like my short handled shovel, it's easier to grip and heave. I took a few other tools out there with me but this flat-tined pitchfork was by far the best implement for the job.

Two more pens to go. I think I'll wait a day or two before tackling the next one. The other pens are a bit larger.

I bet you can guess what I smelled like tonight.
It was lovely.

What's that smell?

Yesterday William and I walked into the mud room from outdoors. It's my favorite room in the house right now. And it's the smelliest. It's the perfect place to strip down after a messy day. It's convenient for taking off clothes and tossing directly into the washer, which also lives in there. If we warn one another, it's even possible to streak from the mud room to a bedroom. I still haven't decided if this room smells more like a zoo, a goat pen, or me.

As we stepped inside, William said, "Hmm, smells kinda funky in here. I think it's time to wash this room, now that the babies are born."
I agreed.

Over the past couple of weeks we've run in and out of this room, during all sorts of weather, after having sat in mud, goat poo, blood and other body fluids, then tramped back into the house, stripped off our nasty clothes and hung them on the hooks in the mud room to "dry out" so we could throw them back on again in a hurry a bit later, slightly dryer, but not any less smelly. Not only do we smell like a goat at the end of every day, but the mud room has started to smell like that, too. It reminds me of the smell of a zoo.

Last week I had a sick baby goat. He wouldn't eat, wouldn't poo, and couldn't keep warm. His mother's parenting skills were lacking so I brought the baby in the house. For that evening and night our poor little Clarence lived in a laundry basket in the mud room. He seemed to feel very at home. The smells in that room were very much like the smells familiar to him in his little barn stall. He never cried or complained. And he never made a mess.

This room has multiple uses really. At times it becomes a zoo. Or an animal hospital. It has housed puppies (Amanda's dog had puppies in there a few years ago), kittens (I picked up a couple of strays and raised them in there), Yogi, for a day or two when he first came here, and now a goat.

It's a good thing that room isn't any bigger. Just imagine what I might do in there then.

What am I teaching her?

Just about every night now, Bonnie Rose asks to go with Nana and watch her nursery rhyme videos. Usually we watch them on my iPhone while lying in my bed, but sometimes she asks me to get into her bed and we use the computer.

Either way, we have our little ritual and it works the same way more or less every time. We watch our movies until Baby gets very sleepy, then she asks for her final video, Twinkle, Twinkle and wants milk and to go to bed. It always makes her very sleepy and it's a wonderful part of my day, too. Of course, I can't accommodate her with the milk. Momma does that.

I have our nursery rhymes in a particular order - 20 of them - and Rosie always asks to watch them this way. If I get one out of order she lets me know - but sometimes she asks for one out of order, so that's OK.

The only thing we have to do the same every time is our starting movie. It's the Frog Song. It's not exactly a nursery rhyme but it may as well be, it's got a simple message with pretty endearing characters, a cute tune that's easy to remember - and it makes me laugh every single time. All the qualities of a nursery rhyme, so what's the problem?

Michelle just shakes her head at us - she won't admit she likes it, and that this silly tune gets stuck in your head and you can't help wanting to hear it again and again.

Just a Clover

Our last little clover was born this morning bringing our total kid count to 9. William was "the attending" on this one so reserved naming rights. He concluded that, since our last one is born in March, we name her Clover. A perfect name for our 10 lb. finale.