Snow Goats

Benjamin

Jacob

These sweet faces were waiting for us this morning bright and early. After I let the other kids out to play, I spent a little time snapping pictures of them. It is always so surprising how quickly their personalities begin to emerge. Yesterday, Benjie could not work his feet. Today, he is feigning head butting and pouncing in delight. Jacob is full of energy. It is hard to capture a good picture of him because in a flash, his feet explode and he is bounding off.

Benjie is such a snuggle bug. I love goat kids that are quiet tempered and like to cuddle with me. And I am partial to the ones that are into everything all the time. Basically, I like them to have Personality with a capitol P. I know Sean agrees, though it often means extra work for him.

Case in point, Sean had to add two additional rails to the kid's sleeping stall last night. Both Boaz and Phoebe looked at the original height of 3 1/2 feet and laughed in our direction. They had no trouble jumping over to help themselves to the milk before us in the morning. The added rails brought the wall to at least four feet tall. Should be sufficient, right? Wrong. Mistress Phoebe Rubber Hooves met us in Jane's stall this morning. Full of milk and smiling smugly. And while that is annoying on the one hand, it is so terrible that it blurs the line into cute. ♥

After milking, Sean and I traipsed out into the pastures to see how deep the snow is there. While there are small, barren patches under the pine trees, Sean reckons the snow to be about 6 inches deep in most places. We are anticipating rain and sleet over the next couple days. I won't mind so long as Sean's prediction of it melting the last of the snow by the weekend comes true.

Ellie, Jem,, Cassie and Judah munch on evergreen needles Sean broke off for them-
a "reward" for following us to the back fields. Okay, it was a bribe.
They ate it all the same. 

Judah

Ellie, Jemima, and Cassie are all sweet tempered girls. They prefer to be with their people and stay close by us when we are in the field. Judah is a huge cry-baby. He is a loud buck that calls non-stop- even when he is eating! Silly boy! This group are some of my favorite goats. ♥

Leah, Rachel, Keziah, and Eli came running to see what we had offered the other goats, but were quick to decide snow was not to their liking and they returned to the hay cushioned comfort of their stall to chew their cud and await the afternoon's offering of hay and grain.

Once reminded evergreens are indeed edible, Cassie, Ellie, and Judah were happy to browse on them for a bit.

Any place not covered in snow was fair game for exploration, including a temporary shelter from last year. Cassie found it to be a perfect resting spot before trudging through the snow to return to the barn.

The sleet and rain affects my outlook and makes it hard for me to be productive, especially when it lingers. I am more than willing to put up with it if Sean is indeed right and it does the job of clearing the snow away once and for all. The plan for the rest of this week is to finish planting some early seedlings, make feta and chevre tomorrow, mail out some special orders and paint some new jewelry pieces. Sean is focusing on thoroughly cleaning out Jasmine's stall and the main chicken coop. We'll need to find a minute to check on the dozen eggs I set under a couple of broody hens this morning. We won't disturb the nests, but we need to make sure the hens are willing to set on the eggs we placed in them. It should be fine. If all goes well, we'll have our first hatch of a dozen Easter Eggers chicks the first of May then a week later, we should welcome a nest of a dozen Mallard ducklings.

Thanks for stopping in for a visit today, friends. We appreciate your company. :)
~Sean and Sonja ♥

A Mystery of Sorts...

We knew it was coming within the next week or so and even watching for it, we missed it by about an hour. After this morning's milking, Sean checked all the stalls to give everyone a quick once over and say, "Good morning." Everyone looked fine. No signs of imminent kidding from Bailey and Lilly or Haddie and Salome. (There is some question as to whether Haddie and Lilly are bred. I am of the mind that Lilly might be; Sean insists neither are.) Judah's scouring is completely resolved. Jem, Ellie, and Cassie are all putting on weight. Lilly is up and walking around normally again. I meant to write a bit about her injury last week, but hadn't yet done so.

Here's the snapshot... Lilly injured her right front knee a couple weeks ago playing with Bailey. It became swollen and was difficult for her to put her weight on it. There was no sign of infection. We gave her a shot of Banamine the first two days and wrapped it with gauze and Vetrap to help stabilize the joint. Lilly preferred to lay down most of the time and she went off her feed which caused us more concern. We talked with our Veterinary and determined a course of treatment. Banamine was discontinued in favor of one 325 mg aspirin each morning and night. To help stimulate her appetite and get her back to eating, we gave Lilly 20 cc of Propylene Glycol morning and night orally and injected 5 cc Fortified Vitamin B each morning. For a boost of vitamins and to tempt her palate, we added extra fresh veggies (spinach, peas, banana, and apples) in addition to her grain. This did the trick. Lilly resumed eating within 24 hours and slowly began putting her weight on her leg. It took about 7 days before she was walking more regularly. By day 10, she met me at the gate and gave Bailey a shove to push her out of the way to get to her morning grain. The bandage came off and I am happy to report there seems to be no lasting damage.

There is no way around it- being cooped up in the barn is extra hard on good herd management. Even with the doors open to snow covered pastures, no one is willing to spend much time outside. So many animals confined to the stalls in our barn is a recipe for the spread of germs and injuries to occur. I cannot stress how often and vehemently we pray for this weather to break- for all of our sakes.

We thought last winter was long and hard. It made me wonder if I was remembering years past with rose-colored glasses. So, I took a look back and this is what I found:

April 2012~

Ellie and Asher April 11, 2012

At the beginning of April, notice the goat fields are completely bare of snow.

At this point, Ellie had just kidded Abigail and Asher. Jedi, Pepper, Rachel, and Leah were all yearlings. Young days for us on the homestead.

April 2013~

Ruby with Haddie and Salome, Rachel and Keren and Leah's son, Judah all playing on the front lawn, picking at the grass beginning to already green up and grow!

April 2014~

The beginning of April last year saw still some snow in the pastures, but it was melting quickly. Much of the pasture was open for Jane and her buckling, Jesse to wander about in.

Melted snow water collected in low spots and took a little longer to be absorbed into the earth. There was nothing to eat in the pasture areas, but there was sun and room to stretch legs and bounce around in play.

2015~
It snowed another inch over night. Add that to the 2 inches from Sunday night and I am almost convinced that we are never going to see the ground again.

Levi is romping in planters that at this time last year already had mint and chives emerging. Several inches of snow are still covering my herb garden beds. 

Phoebe is standing where the kids of 2013 were romping on green grass. There is no green grass. There is little hope of green grass coming even in a short while. And all the farms around us are suffering in the same boat. Our regular hay supplier ran out long ago. Our back-up supplier ran out of hay mid-winter. Our most recently found hay supplier brought us an additional 120 bales and ran out of hay to sell until June- if the snow is gone by then. I think I am joking. We called seven hay suppliers this week searching for more hay to get us through the season. We were blessed to find it and thankful. Just another symptom of how bad this year has been for man and beast.

For us, we have committed to growing CSA shares for 5 families this season. To that end, Cameron DePaola is busy starting the non-GMO organic seeds we provided him. He'll start those that need a jump-start like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, spinach, and watermelon in his aquaponic system. With success, we'll expect about 157 six-packs back from him in 6-8 weeks. That is a lot of veg- even to support six families. It is more than we'll plant here at the homestead, but we'll offer the extra plants for purchase in the early weeks of our attending Bucksport's farmer's market. In addition to what Cameron will plant for us, tomorrow, I will start dill, cilantro, basil, romaine and red romaine lettuces, kale, and spinach inside. If the weather ever does decide to turn, we will be ready to transplant our seedlings and direct-seed more hearty crops of corn, beans, peas, beets, pumpkin, onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, and radishes.

I began this post talking about something that happened in spite of our watching for it. Instead, the thoughts and worries of the day needed release. They bubbled forth and took over my fingers leaving me at peace to sleep tonight. While that is well and good for me, I am not so heartless as to leave you hanging completely unsatisfied. Here is a glimpse of what tomorrow's post will look like... 

This is Benjamin. He and his brother, Jacob, were born today. I'll introduce Jacob to you tomorrow and share the pictures I captured today. ♥ Mom and boys are doing great.

Good night, my friends. See you in the morning.

~Sean and Sonja ♥

2 Kittens, 1 Puppy, and 2 Goats... It Must Be Friday...

The plan I had for tonight was chicken quesadillas and a new Netflix movie while snuggled on the couch with Sean Michael. I am sitting here 0 for 2. Besides trying to help our community purchase much needed wood for the Waldo County Woodshed with an auction tonight on our Facebook page and painting some new jewelry pieces, we are caring for a couple goat kids in my kitchen. Just a typical Friday night.

Sean just called the house phone from the barn for help because two of our young buck kids were down and not getting up to eat. Goats never miss a meal. When they do- something is VERY wrong! Worm load? Injury? Bullying? Lack of food/water? Cold? Disease? Something else? Every possibility ran through my head one by one, and I ruled out those that were not likely as I grabbed my coat and shoes. We've been checking for worms. Not that. They have plenty of food and water available. Disease? Injury? Hard to see in the dim barn light as one by one, Sean handed kids to me over the stall wall.

We got them inside where we could take a good inventory of matters. Eyes clear and alert. No elevated temperature or cough, no discharge or blood, and no scouring evidence. A little on the thin side despite ample food and water. And, icy cold. I was quickly narrowing down my suspicion.

Here is what I think.

It starts with serial nights of temperatures in the negative double digits. Compound that with snow storm after snow storm coming through, winds howling and dropping over 3 feet of snow on us in just over a week, making opening the barn doors to let the goats out to stretch their legs ill advised. We have 4-5 goats in each 10' x 10' stall. This is sufficient in conjunction with pasturage. When freak weeks like this happen, it can mean bullying. In this case, it seems Keren and Naomi have been beating up on the boys. Eli is fine, fat and happy. Ethan and Judah, our mild-tempered lads, are at the low end of the totem. They are last in line to get food- even when offered at multiple stations. Digesting food provides some body heat as well as fat stores as protection in the frigid cold. Though they have food available and were eating something. It was not enough in this kind of prolonged severe weather. Up and eating yesterday, down and in serious jeopardy tonight. If Sean had not caught this while doing chores, I believe we would have found two dead bucks in the morning.

Judah is leaning on the bureau, scratching his back.
Ethan's tucked posture is a concern.

Judah is carrying his posture well; legs and back straight and normal, tail loose and free to waggle. He was as cold to the touch as Ethan, but clearly, he was the better off of the two. Notice the difference in posture; Ethan's tail tucked up under his stomach, back legs bent and back tucked. This lad was showing some serious signs of distress. If my suspicions were right, warming them slowly and offering food and water would show a world of good in a short span of time. If not, we'll need to look into other possibilities.

After grain and fresh water, look at the difference
in Ethan's posture. 

About an hour later, both bucks had improved. Judah looked almost normal. Ethan was standing much better, not nearly as hunched up. Both were eating of their own volition. Both passed regular pellets. So, what to do to prevent something like this happening again? Well, it looks like there is going to be some changing roommates. Thankfully our breeding season is over and we can mix up the herd as needed until the weather changes and everyone can live where they normally do. Ethan and Judah are going to be housed with sweet Ellie, Cassie, and Jem. Asher, Jane, Jesse, Bailey and Lily will share another stall- the girls were all bred with Asher already. That leaves our younger bred does; Meme, Haddie, Keren, Naomi, and Abigail to share the third stall and unbred does; Leah, Rachel, Keziah, and buckling Eli to share the last stall. That is right, we have 8 bred does this year. That delights and terrifies me in equal measure, but that is another post entirely.

For tonight, everyone is doing well. We'll set the alarm clock to check our boys when we check the wood stove. Hopefully, by morning, they will be ready to return to the barn. We do what is necessary to preserve life, but living with the goats on a permanent or even semi-permanent basis in the kitchen is not as fun as Molly thinks it is. No. Really. It's not.

2 kittens, 1 puppy, and 2 goat kids.

I wish I had another safe place to keep them, but the dogs have taken over the upstairs laundry room. The family room is out because it is carpeted. My studio has too many things for goats to ingest. The bathroom is too small and would be really, really inconvenient for human needs. Bedrooms are obviously out. In years past, in an emergency, we could use the cement floored basement, but that is now Caitlin's apartment. So, there it is.

Molly was as interested in chewing some hay
as she was in the new arrivals. 

To keep things as sanitary as possible, I put down an old, unused area carpet that will be disposed of. This helps the goats with traction and encourages them to remain on it. They do not care for slipping on wood floors. Obviously, we clean up after any messes immediately. Once the boys are completely out of the woods and return to the barn, we'll sanitize everything in the vicinity thoroughly.

****************************************************** 

This morning, Judah is back to his normal self. The little goober passed the night standing next to the wood stove fan, alternately warming his horns and his sides. I worried, with the wood stove obviously being hot, that he could suffer a burn to himself. But, he is smarter than I gave him credit for and manages to stand close enough to the blowing air to get warmed without leaning on the stove itself. It probably also helps that covered in dense fur, there is a barrier between the hot stove and bare goat skin. Still, it bears constant watchfulness on our part.

Ethan is still a bit of a concern. I want to get more food and water into him. Based on the dark color

Much better stance. Still not 100% but, what a difference!

of his urine and the tightness of his skin, he is still somewhat dehydrated. I was happy to see him take several long drinks this morning while I cleaned up the mess from over night and Sean washed and dried Ethan's underside area. And, I would like to see him act more interested in his surroundings. It is still early yet and perhaps that accounts some for his quiet behavior. He is standing much better, at least, no longer hunched up. He is not eating with an appetite, but he is picking at this morning's fresh hay, He gave this morning's grain offering a pass. A new concern is what seems to be some nasal discharge and his breathing sounds like he has some congestion building now. Cold? Pneumonia? Something is off. Sean called our vet. We now suspect that Ethan has pneumonia which is somewhat common in goats. We'll administer an antibiotic and some pain medication and go from there.

Sean is going out to the barn for morning chores and after breakfast, will be working on moving goats to their new stalls and widening the paths to coop and barn in preparation for the 3"-6" or 6"-12" snow fall anticipated over night. We are on the line and could get either. How insane is that? We're in for snow. It could be 3" or maybe we'll get 12". Meanwhile we are counting down the days until spring. This has been a rough winter for us all.

Thanks for stopping in for a visit today, friends. It is nice to have some company.

~Sean & Sonja 

More Snow...

I am supposed to title these posts in a way that brings lots of traffic to our blog. Creative things like, "How to Process a Chicken", "Winter Animal Care", or "Planting 101". The thing is, I don't always consider that factor when I am creating a title for my day's writing. And, to be completely trutful, I never consider it when I am writing. For me, this writing is a continuation of the journal I've always kept, from the time I was old enough to want to write. It is a way to order my mind and to remember the mundane things that flesh out the life's experiences hidden away inside forgotten memories. While I am thrilled that you all visit regularly, this blog is not a typical "homesteady" type of work. I mean, I don't focus on recipes, animal care how-to's, the best way to fence a yard, or link to affiliate pages to sell you things~ though we touch on what NOT to do often enough. It is a journal. And, because that is the case, you can see a rhythm to our blog, the way you'd live it with us if you were here.

So, repetitive as it might be to relate, we have more snow falling tonight. *Gasp* Snow falling. In Maine. In January. I sure hope I didn't shock you too terribly. Take a minute to recover if you need it. I'll bide.

This new storm was originally predicted to drop between 10"-16" of wet, heavy snow on us. Then, it was downgraded to 4"-8" with the bulk of the snow hitting east of us. They should not have changed it. It has been snowing steady for more than 4 hours, heavily. We have the snow to prove it.

Sean had an apartment that needed to be completely ready for new tenants for today- though I can't image *anyone* (even hearty Mainers) would plan to move in this. Still, he worked his regular 8 hours, came home with a load of hay and bags of grain, picked up Cait from her job 20 minutes the other way, purchased some household supplies in town, cared for evening chores and went back to work until midnight. This morning, he was back up at 6 am and is back working at the apartment now, installing the last door knobs and washing the floors. My man works hard and never complains about it. It's one of the reasons it is so easy to love him.

My purpose in relating this is that knowing Sean was going to have a busy day ahead of him and that

The barn guineas sang loudly as I approached.

the snow was not going to make his life any easier, I wanted to help where I could. I bundled up and ventured outside in the morning to check on the animals and prepared some high-energy treats for them. For the birds in our care, I cooked a huge pot of oatmeal mixed with wheat germ, corn flour, raisins, almonds, banana and pumpkin seeds. For the goats and piggie, I sliced up some fresh squash, pumpkin, and banana. This didn't replace their regular meals of crumble, grain, or hay, but did give them an extra boost during the morning and meant that Sean's feeding them later in the day than usual, wouldn't be too stressful on either their bodies or on Sean's mind.

Of course, while I was outside, I took the opportunity to capture some images to share with you.

 Ebony is still insisting on sleeping at the foot of the stairs. Behind the stairs is completely empty, warmer (it is on an inside wall), and safe from the hazard of booted feet taking a misstep. But, can we convince her to move? Nope. She is not having any of that! She didn't bother to even open an eye as I poked around. She just continued snoring away. I hope she was having a nice dream of warm days and green pastures. I am afraid she is stuck with snow and cold in the real world.

Our toms were anxious to see if I had anything good to eat with me. They are such fussy eaters, though. Any new food has to be introduced several times and eaten in their sight by the other birds before out turkeys will even consider trying it. Like finicky children, they are! It is a wonder that they fend for themselves so well in the wild. Yet, they do. Perhaps their wild counterparts are less picky?

Bailey was interested to see what I had for the goats and found Asher's latest wall break-through a convenient spot from which to watch me. Who needs doors? There is no point in mending this at present since it only leads to the stall housing the does Asher has already impregnated this year- we hope! But, it will need to be fixed before spring and kidding. Another project to put on the always fluctuating "to do" list.

I spent the afternoon completing tax paperwork, supervising school work, finishing house work, and editing video. I knew Sean was not going to be home until late, so Molly and I went out together to check on things before she and I retired. With as much snow as has fallen, you would think that Molly would be used to it, but she remains enchanted. She romped happily while I captured images and video, barking and romping through the snow.

This snow fall is wet and heavy compared to the light, fluffy fall of a few days ago. It is the perfect consistency for fort building or snowman making. I made a mental note of suggesting that activity to Sean- maybe for Sunday afternoon.

It has been snowing steadily for over 12 hours and even in the dark, the geese and ducks were unwilling to call it a night and put themselves to bed. Well, if they were uninterested in the shelter of the coop, it wasn't terribly cold out. I left them to their whims.

9 pm January 30. Snow is *still* falling heavily!

While he was gone, Sean left me to keep the home fires burning, quite literally. We all appreciate the warmth our wood stove affords us. After a long day at work, the last thing Sean should have to do is deal with dragging in firewood for heat. So, Kristen and Meaghan pitched in to keep the wood box filled and I tended the fire to keep it pumping out heat all day and into the evening. The birch Sean cut up this summer burns hot and slow. Look at that gorgeous bed of coals.

Molly thinks she is a great help with the wood especially when it comes to making kindling. For the record, she is mistaken. I call her "termite" because when we are not looking, Molly often drags large pieces of wood from the box or rack and then chews them into splinters all over the floor. What would be convenient is if she would run to the wood stack outside and bring in wood for us. I would give her serious extra credit points if she could stack the wood neatly in the wood box. While I am certain that I could train her to do this trick, it seems easier at the moment to reinforce the command, "Leave it."

We woke Saturday morning to over a foot of new snow blanketing the yard, driveway, and paths previously cleared. It continued snowing heavily until about one in the afternoon. It appears now that Mother Nature has gotten into gear, we have some winter weather in store for us. The next storm is due on Tuesday. I guess we ought to start thinking about where we are going to put it!

The new snow is lovely to look upon. It was less lovely to feel. Once the snow ended, a cold front came through and froze everything over. Temperatures dropped back to hovering on either side of zero. But bathed in the glow of a stunning sunset Saturday night, it was hard to complain.

Even Molly seemed ready to enjoy it. ♥

Safe inside and warm, I confess, I don't mind the snow. It gives us a chance to snuggle up and watch movies, play games, or time to create. These are some of my favorites from this week:

I especially love these because of the swirl of the sterling silver of the earrings combined with the vibrant colors of the painted eggshell drops. I just think they are so cute! And, I am very proud and happy with how these pine trees turned out. They are exactly what I envisioned when I sat down to paint them. That almost never happens. Usually, I think I am painting one thing, but then something else appears and I go with it. Right down to the shadows of the pine needles, the detail in the tree trunk, and the soft green background, these are exactly what I wanted them to be.

Thanks for visiting with us today friends. I hope you come again. :)

Sonja ♥

After the Blizzard

 It was a real "rip snorter". The forecast got it right for our region: 40 hours of snow with gusting winds of up to 55 MPH causing dangerous white outs and the accumulation of upwards of 2 feet of snow. Check. Check. Checkity-Check. Safe inside home and barn, we weathered the storm with nary a hitch. We were prepared for losing power, but surprisingly, that didn't happen. Not even a blip. The worst part for us (read that Sean) was braving the cold to bring food and water to the critters in the barn and coop. For our family, the Blizzard of '15 was a day spent laughing, relaxing, and eating homemade french onion soap.

The turkeys we worried over awoke confused about their new surroundings, but then in laid-back turkey-style accepted it and set about checking out their new digs. They will be housed in the barn for the remainder of the winter. It makes caring for them easier and for that reason alone, it makes sense. What they will lose in fresh air and yard to roam, they will make up for in dry, secure, warm shelter. Sean captured this image for us. It is a great shot showing the lovely iridescent feathers of Aquila, our Red Breasted Bronze tom next to the more muted tones of Priscilla, his hen. Lazarus is the big tom on the left. His hen, Martha, is facing away from the camera, looking around their new home.

"What did You do?" the bucklings seem to ask. 

It is easy to see that the bucklings were not pleased with the howling winds; tails tucked and eyes wide. Poor lads!

In extreme weather, such as that which we were having, we keep the barn doors closed tight and latched. We go in as little as possible because every time we open the door, heat escapes and a freezing blast of air and snow blow in. Despite the wind pummeling the building and against the metal roof, the goats, Jasmine, Ebony, barn guineas and chicks all rode it out well. I imagine they are going to be a little stir crazy by the time we get the doors to the pasture shoveled out and clear to open, but we'll bring them extra yummy treats to placate them in the meantime.

Sean took this image of Molly. I love her nose and head covered in snow. :) Silly puppy! 

Molly, in contrast, was just loving the new development of snow. That silly puppy whined at the door to go outside repeatedly. She was the image of pure joy, swimming through snow drifts and making a complete mess of herself. We let her play as long as we thought it prudent and then, called for her to come back inside, but she couldn't hear us over the wind- or more likely, ignored our calls in favor of running through another mound of snow. Wet, cold, and shivering Molly raced inside to plop down in front of the fire or onto the unsuspecting lap of whoever was sitting most conveniently accessible to her. With a mighty shake, snow was dislodged and strewn across the room followed by shrieks of "Molly!" An hour's rest and Molly was back at the door to be let outside again.

So how much snow was there really?

3 pm Sean shoveled off the steps to make checking barn less hazardous. 

3 pm Snow drifts up to my waist in spots. Sean shoveled a path to the barn.

4:30 am. Still snowing, but it was time for Sean and I to shovel out the van so
our working people could get to their jobs. An hour and a half later, we finished. 

Some perspective. 

We have a path to the outside water supply, but the front steps will have to
wait a bit longer. I am thinking, Spring thaw. ;)

When the wind died down, the morning snow was sort of pretty floating from the sky. 

The chicken yard was one huge snow drift, but the path shoveled to remained
semi-clear for the most part. 

By noon, the snow had stopped. We certainly have our work cut out in
shoveling off the front steps. 

Sean came home of lunch and we decided to open the door for the geese and ducks. Our coop and it's attached ell has plenty of room for the chickens to roost, but so many birds in close quarters makes for unhappy, grumpy birds. The chickens chose to stay near the door. The geese and ducks eagerly swam through the snow in a flurry of quacks and honks and played until the sun began to set.

With another smaller storm expected to hit on Friday into Saturday, it seems that winter is finally here. We really can't complain, we are at the end of January already. Realistically, it has been a fairly mild winter. Still, I am hoping for an early spring. :)

Thanks for checking in with us today, friends. I am glad you came.

~Sean and Sonja ♥

January Thaw

The feeling of needing to get some spring cleaning done hit early this year. More and more, I feel the need to simplify the "things" around me. It started with cleaning out the studio and kitchen areas upon returning from our shop adventure. This week, I tackled the family room. Poor Sean. Every time he leaves, his house changes before he returns.

Before the changes...

Besides being in dire need of a thorough cleaning, my biggest challenges in the family room are the large picture window placement, the lack of room for the recliner that Meaghan dearly loves, and the need to keep the twin bed/day bed available. Sunlight streams through the window, which should be good in theory. Unfortunately, it puts a glare on the family room television, so watching programs for much of the day is inconvenient to impossible. I have lovely, decorative curtains hung, but they do not close all the way, so are of little use.

Acadia and Roamer basking in the sun before I move their warm and comfy perch.  

My solution? I switched the daybed and the television console and stands. Using "stitch witch", which I love, I hemmed a couple curtain panels I already owned to fit the window and can close to remove the problems of glare and privacy.

I am not completely in love with the other side of the room, which now hosts the love seat and Meaghan's recliner, but I can live with it- for the moment and maybe it will grow on me. I think I will be on the lookout for a second recliner and find a new home for the love seat in the near future. But, for now, our family room is clean and cozy.

The temperature stayed in the high 20's-mid 30's for several days. We took full advantage of the warm snap, spending extra time with the animals. It was a nice change to be able to visit without fear of freezing fingers falling off! Since Sean has been in charge of all the animal care on his own for quite a while, I reintroduced myself with treats- these in the form of oranges, pumpkins, and acorn squash for the goats. I have never been above using sweets to gain the affection of animals or small children. Go with what works, right?

Judah is one of our 2 year old bucklings. He was born to Jedi and Leah in 2013. He takes after his Mom's smaller stature and sweet nature. He was very interested in seeing what treats I had with me. 

Keren Happuch is looking healthy and well. At nearly 2 years of age, this is her first breeding season. She hasn't come back into heat, so we are hopeful that she is bred. Keren has been reserved by a friend wanting to begin keeping goats. Keren and her kid(s) and one of this year's bucks, Jesse, will be leaving the farm together this spring to begin their own herd.  

The fencing between the two goat pastures was no impediment to sharing some squash pieces with family. Rachel ate from one side with the help of her youngest daughter, Keziah. While her oldest daughter, Keren ate squash pieces from the other side of the gate. 

Cassie, Jemimah, and Ellie are often together. They eat their hay and grain together and sleep near one another. Off to one side, they had their own squash pieces to eat in peace. They made short work of them! 

Salome (left) and Haddassah (right) were less taken with their treat. They gave them a solid sniff-about and picked at the flesh delicately.  These gentle sisters are the last of our does turning 2 years old this spring. We hope that they are both bred with Asher's kids and that their first kidding goes without a hitch. :)

Our wandering chickens were quite interested in the treats being offered in the goat pastures. This pretty girl sat patiently until an opportune moment and then, swooped in for her share.

We do not feed citrus fruits to the birds because I have read stories suggesting that citrus fruits can lead to them laying less frequently. At this time of the year, when our girls are naturally laying less, it is better to be canny. Whether that is true or not, doesn't matter. Better to be safe, than sorry. We do feed other treats. Today, all the birds enjoyed their share of whole, raw pumpkin and acorn squash. Happy does not begin to describe their enthusiasm. Warning: this video is LOUD! :)




The weather was warm enough that the flooded area of our lawn, thawed into a mini-pond about 6 inches deep. While it was not deep enough to afford a real bath, it did allow for some splash-time for our geese. Justin, our male, was very concerned where his mate, Caitlin was until Sean retrieved her, too. Then, they were quite pleased to splash about and preen for about a half an hour.

Both the geese and duck populations will be moved to live in this area full-time this year. They will be happy to be able to make things as wet and messy as they like. I am sure the chickens will appreciate the change, too.

The last task accomplished this week was creating 15 new pieces of mosaic eggshell jewelry. I planned on trying to make more than that, but other people, pets, and things took up some of my time. Still, I am very pleased with this week's creations. Here are some of my favorites. You can view the entire assortment in my "For Sale" album on our FACEBOOK PAGE, Full description and prices are listed there.

 In response to some requests for bracelets, I have begun creating some new designs. I plan to work on the designs through the rest of the winter, but I am really pleased with the initial creations. These thistles are particular favorites. I love the soft green backdrop next to the deeper emerald green of the thistle itself combined with the violet of the thistle and Swarovski crystal elements. Sterling silver findngs.

My heart is definitely set on spring's arrival. From the flowing blossoms on the tree on the left to the budding birch on the right, it all seems to be pointing to the coming of new life. These pendants are suspended from a sterling silver rope style chain and are pictured without an ornate bale. I am not sure yet whether I will add that or leave them simple. I do love how they turned out. I promise you, the images do not do justice to the colors captured in the backgrounds, nor in the details of the subjects in the foreground. Excuse the conceit, but I really do love them and am very pleased with the results.

So that is what is going on in our little world. I hope this post finds you happy and healthy in yours. Thank you for visiting with us today, friends. We're glad you came.

~Sonja ♥