Monday, September 3, 2012

Peaceful Mornings and Asher's New Home

It is a sad, but true fact that I am NOT a morning girl. I never have been. It is not that I am grumpy or difficult in the morning. I am not the type that needs that morning coffee to get started. I am just a wake-up-at-6:30-am-but-lay-in-bed-for-a-while-before-I-make-myself-get-moving kind of girl. By 9:00, I am coherent and ready to tackle whatever project needs my attention- usually. The thought of rousing myself at the break of dawn to do farm chores or shower is something that I have not even considered; it just wouldn't happen. And, either we have found similarly inclined animals or they have given in to my natural clock because even the roosters don't begin their morning crowing until I have awaken naturally.

That being said, I have noticed in the past week that my internal clock has set itself back about 1/2 hour in the mornings, waking me between 6 and 6:30 in the morning. Instead of staying in bed, planning my day, I have taken to throwing on whatever clothing is conveniently to hand and heading upstairs alone to enjoy the silence. At this hour, the dogs have not begun clamoring to be let out for their morning necessities, the chicks in the living room are all piled on top of each other a corner of their pens, Aloysius & Rufeo have not awoken to begin to announce the day to the rest of us with their morning crows. In the quiet, I let out the dogs from inside the laundry room to their yard and start a fresh load of laundry. I fold the laundry waiting for me in the dryer. I put away the clean dishes from the dishwasher and start to fill the new day's load. I check my email. I don't think I will ever evolve into a true up-at-the-break-of-dawn type farm girl, but I have really started to enjoy these few minutes of solitude before I go back downstairs to wake Sean and we start the real morning farm chores.


The does were all lined up and waiting for their morning rations of feed.
This morning, I wandered outside and leisurely fed the masses. We moved Asher into the same stall with Jedi last night and I wanted to see how he fared the experience. I also wanted to check on Ellie. She has been having some issues with slightly runny droppings over the past week. In addition to adding some electrolyte support to her water last night, Sean gave her a thorough bathing and I fed her some worming medicine. She hadn't been wormed in a while, so I suspected it was warranted. The runny droppings is a concern for the same reasons as in human children; dehydration or illness being possible hazards. Her appetite is good. She is drinking. And, she is not acting sick. So, we're keeping a close eye on her and if she doesn't improve today, we'll have our vet check her tomorrow. An additional concern is that her udder looked to have some milk in it last night. When Sean checked, the milk was thicker than it should be and creamy. We've not been milking her for about a month, with her being in with the kids all day, there wasn't enough milk to make it worth the time to do so. So, it is possible that she may have a slight infection or the beginning of mastitis. Or, it could be nothing. Her utter was not sore or warm to the touch- which it would be. Still new at this, we are learning things all the time. So, we'll watch and when our vet opens tomorrow, call over to talk with them about it.

We moved Asher in with Jedi last night. Asher is 5 months old now and is showing signs of being perfectly capable and interested in breeding the does. He is also large enough now that he can no longer walk through the livestock fencing. He is certainly smaller than Jedi, but it will be good for the both of them to have someone to play and buck heads with. I was worried over the move and how the herd would adjust to the new arrangement, but I seemed to be the only one concerned. Momma Ellie called Asher to her once, but he was too busy wanting to eat the treat of cucumbers and green beans I brought out for the boys to pay her any attention. Jedi fained at Asher a couple of times, but no contact was made and Asher merely scooted around to the back side of the tree and ate hay from that side. I think everyone will be fine with the new housing situation.

I took some video footage of the goats from last night and this morning to share with you. The does are beginning to show some interest in the bucks. I caught Rachel flagging with her tail and rubbing along the fencing between the fields. It is just about time for them to begin their breeding season. We will need to make some final decisions about who will be bred with whom very quickly and start tracking their cycles so we can arrange "dates" for them. I guess we will also find out if our fencing will hold up against Jedi's determination.



Right now, Sean is working on replacing the laundry room door with a new one that our friend, Greg dropped off for us. Daddy Dale is on his way to help or perhaps work on painting some more. The house is really looking great and I am so happy to be getting so many things crossed off my to do list! I am hoping that Sean and I can work on releveling back porch steps and fixing the railing when he finishes with the door. We also HAVE to grout the finished tiling in the kitchen before all the tiles decide to jump ship and break. But, we'll see how far we get today. It is only noon, so perhaps we'll have time for a couple smaller projects, too.

Thanks for checking in.
Sean and Sonja ♥

3 comments:

  1. Asher is so wee tiny compared to Jedi. I know you will keep a check on him and move him if need be. I hope Ellie gets to feeling better soon. I know it is a good feeling getting things done and being able to step back and look at the progress you have made. Ya'll are doing awesome!

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  2. Just wanted you to know, I simply LOVE the goat soap. It does everthing a soap should do, plus, it's mild and smells lovely! Thanks for the sample.

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  3. Wow, they pee on their own head? That's pretty desperate, haha! All the goats are so cute. You all take such great care of them.

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