Motivation

I've been trying for months to make myself go walking. I like walking, except when my feet are tired. And when I'm home, I can always think of other things to do outside instead of walking, so it just somehow never happens.

Today, in Dartmouth Crossing, Nova Scotia, the temperatures grew very bearable, around 40 degrees. With the sun shining and the wind only lightly blowing, I started itching to walk.

Except I brought no walking shoes, only high heels.

There's nothing like a new pair of shoes to get me motivated. With a new pair of comfy shoes I feel like walking, running, even hopping. And so I headed out to a nearby shoe store to find some trainers for my feet.

I tried on everything. From Nike, to RYKA, to Rebock, and all the regular ones. The trouble with most tennis shoes is that the soles are usually so heavy, and not pliable. Or, if they're light, then the sole is too thin. That's what all those styles were like, the typical fitness trainer, and I was not impressed.

Then I saw these. Sketchers makes a variety of these new style shoes that are supposed to make your legs work hard and your feet feel great. And they do. These are the Skethchers Tone-Ups Flex. They're light, bendy, and cushy.
I feel like I'm walking on marshmallows. Even when I'm walking on gravel.

I went for a walk in my new shoes on the nearby hiking trails; wooded paths just outside my hotel, calling my name, and I walked three miles before turning around. I plan on getting a lot of use out of these shoes over the next week, and hopefully longer. Now that I'm motivated, maybe I'll keep walking even after I get home.

Marshmallows are always fantastic motivation. In more ways than cocoa.

Frigid north

When I left Tennessee it was 87 degrees F. I headed to SoCal thinking it would be warm there, too. It wasn't.  With temps in the 60s I was really glad I had brought my sweater. Alpaca wool can really keep you warm.

After almost a week in SoCal I headed north, to Nova Scotia where I spend the next two weeks. Nova Scotia is so far east, it's in a time zone I've never heard of before - Atlantic standard time.

I expected the weather to be a bit chillier when I arrived, but I wasn't prepared for the frigid surprise that yesterday brought - temperatures of -13 Celcius (that's 8.6 degrees F).
Again, glad I had brought my alpaca sweater, but I'm really wishing I'd brought a scarf and some gloves along too. It never occurred to me to bring a coat. I know, not too smart on my part.

Yesterday it snowed and wind blew all day. A bit of a contrast from the weather I just left - but not only for me. Last week in this area it was 28 degrees Celcius - that's 82.4 degrees F.

Nova Scotia is lovely. The terrain is 80 percent pine trees, with rest deciduous trees that have not yet begun to bud. It's been gloomy so I haven't gotten good pictures yet. I'm in the southern part of the island, along the shore area, around Dartmouth. I'm driving all over this part of the island, visiting schools and working with teachers. I love my job.

Baby mill

Yesterday I went to the store. When I got back, I was informed that two more does crawled out into a holler and dropped kids.  One set of twins, one set of triplets.  Four girls and one boy.

Rosie was excited to find two mommas and lots of babies on the ground. It was a beautifully warm day, perfect for kidding. William brought a bucket of water to the thirsty mommas, and we watched as they both cleaned and bonded with their babies.

This morning, my last doe gave us another set of twins. I don't even have picture of those yet.

All in all, we had 5 does who dropped 12 kids total.  and this time, all the mommas are nursing their babies (like they are supposed to) and bonding very well.

Yay for baby mills!

We're still looking for names that begin with F.

The holler (or gully) where the kids were born

Rosie says "Two mommas!"

Triplets, all girls

Yearling momma and her twins

Felipe, our little boy

Double stuff

The last couple of weeks have been hectic. My travels took me away from the house just long enough to miss the birth of little Obadiah. Then Steve arrived, and today two of our goats decided today was a good day to bring their kids into the world.

I headed out to the barn later than usual today. Still in my bathrobe, I wanted to check on Tahoe, my large momma goat, so big she could barely walk yesterday. Her due date (my estimation) was March 19. When I didn't see her come down to eat, I headed up to the barn. As I walked through the goat pen, I saw Charlotte lying down by a tree, a brand new baby lying next to her. I wasn't sure she was due this week, we only discovered she was pregnant a few weeks ago.  Then I saw Tahoe, in a fresh pile of goo.

I scrambled to the house to get my birthing kit and put some real clothes on, including boots. That took about 5 minutes. Then I ran back out there just in time to pick up the last part of the placenta, and see 3 new babies lying next to Tahoe. Such a good mother she is.

So in one morning, from 2 goats, we have 4 new kids.  Three boys and a girl, all 7 lbs. each. We have 3 more does to kid this season. It's always fun to see what we end up with. None of these kids will remain here, they'll all be finding new homes over the next few months. But we're going to enjoy them until we leave.

Tahoe and her triplets, (left to right) Freckles, Felicia, and the one she's licking is Frankie.

Charlotte, just a year old, gave birth to Ferdinand early this morning

Ferdinand, enjoying the sunshine

March 2

Michelle and William have a saying: if it starts to rain, Mom is going to be running around outside.

I don't always plan it that way but when I look out the window in a heavy rainstorm and see a goat standing in the rain, or the barn door open, I have to fix stuff. And that's what I had to do today.

It just so happened I was outside for the entire 4 minutes it rained and hailed. As soon as I came back in, the sun started to shine. How could I know it would be so short?

Anyway, the barn door is now closed, and the goats are inside. So let it rain more now. I'm ready.

Today's weather: