A Visit with Lumiwa Farm

Sean explaining proper looking hooves to Lucy 

After the hard start to the weekend, Sean and I needed a day to spend together. We decided to spend part of Sunday visiting the good folks of Lumiwa Farm in Milbridge. Lucy and Mitja adopted our Miss Haddie, MacKenzie and Bryce and little Moses in the beginning of March. They are doing so well in their new home. It gives me a happy glow to see goats we've delivered, raised and loved settling into a new home and family.

Our visit had a purpose. Haddie's hooves needed to be trimmed. Sean demonstrated how to trim all the goats' hooves. We also checked eye lids for anemia from spring time parasites and talked through the benefits of deworming the herd. And, everyone except Moses provided us with a fecal to get tested. MacKenzie seems to have a case of mites that will be handled with injections of Ivomectin. Overall, the herd is looking fantastic. Sean and I just couldn't be happier or more thankful for the good care they are receiving.

Throwing an extra bale encourages the girls to venture into the pasture and onto the play gear. 

On Monday evening, Sean and I took advantage of the seasonable evening to spend some time in the pasture with our own herd. Earlier in the day, I cut branches of spruce and pine for a treat. When Sean joined us, he distributed an extra bale of hay along the play equipment in the main pasture. Since it was the first time we would have Benny, Captain, and Frankincense in the pasture, we hoped keeping the big girls busy munching on hay would be advantageous. For the most part, it kept them busy. My soul needs the weather to finally change over into Spring. Spending time with the herd, watching their antics, gives me such a profound feeling of inner peace. As the weather tempers, we'll spend more time outside.

I captured some footage of the day for you to enjoy with us. A side note: Becca is doing very well. She has milk because she gave birth. We will not be milking her this season, but to help wean her milk supply, we let other kids nurse from her a little bit, from time to time. It has the benefit of lessening some of the discomfort of an engorged udder, but she is not being nursed regularly, so her milk supply should peter out quickly.

In typical Maine fashion, it snowed 3 inches overnight on Tuesday so the ground is coated with a blanket of cold, wet snow again. I am so very done with that! It shouldn't be much longer until warmth returns to our lives. The days are lengthening daily. Unmistakable signs are all around us. The hens are giving us around 2 dozen eggs each day. Miss Jordan (turkey yearling) is sitting on her first nest in the secondary doe stall's auxiliary hay manger inside the barn. She is not picky about which eggs she'll sit upon; we have to remove hen's eggs daily from her clutch. A broody hen has made a nest in an empty goat stall and is sitting on a mixture of 10 eggs donated from an assortment of hens willing to generously give to her cause. It is earlier than I would plan for chicks or poults to hatch, but they seem so intent, I haven't the heart to stop them. We'll see what comes of it.
Our chives are visible in the herb garden. I can't wait to be able to harvest some to season our chevre. Life is renewing.

Thanks for visiting with us today, friends.
Sean and Sonja ♥