Local Flooding

Spring Equinox

Happy spring! We have been sunny t-shirt weather the last few days. My arms are all scratched from thinning out the raspberries. Today I raked out the mint bed, and the garden paths. Willow has been a big help turning over vegetable beds. We are ready to plant peas! A record!

Last year we were snow bound and saturated through May and June-the garden is dryer now than last year in June!

Combing is winding down at the farm. C, TBWLIT, received his week notice today. He was devastated! He was really enjoying the job and working very hard. It brings to mind when three were laid off last fall-and I had to work the weekend with them! So depressing emotionally to get laid off or let go...I feel so bad for them esp my number one son!

I have been at the farm a few years and I know the work flow is variable, so I get the hours in when I can and have plenty to keep me busy during down times! I also try and save for the bust times...all those jars of pennies might buy groceries someday! Ya never know...

Here is Moo on the metal roofed house, with Obiwan behind him. Moo's name is originally Moonshadow, but he is also known as Moonie. He is our only goat sans horns; a Nigerian/Pygmy cross. He likes to stand here by the gate on the roof and rip out chucks of hair from anyone passing by. Obi is a good goat.






Here are Cricket and Anna, mother and daughter. Yep, an all white goat had an all black one. The father is Derek, a brown with black point pygmy cross. Anna just turned two.

Everyone was enjoying the sunshine and record breaking warm temps in the upper sixties!

Belfast

Took a road trip to Belfast today with major laundry in tow. Good excuse to wander the town. During the wash cycle, I hiked down to the waterfront and grabbed some pics.


Imm. Black-backed gull, Belfast Harbor



Belfast Harbor with crows




Heckle and Jeckyll with Artist




self


Dryer time, I canvassed the local whole foods shop and found several nice snacky organic treats for the kids-plus a stock up on spices; oregano, chili powder, sage, mustard seed. And a trip through whole grains; some cashews, organic red lentils and dall.

Looked longingly at the organic yerba mate and homebrewing supplies-next trip.

Indian fare in the offing-think I covered most of the basic ingredients for a big feed tomorrow. Just off to google a few things...lol

Monday

I finally had a day off yesterday, and a gorgeous one it was, too. I was doing afternoon chores in a t-shirt! And it is 54 and sunny out there right now-54 in the shade! I had the house 78 last night and was dying...lol

Saw 2012 last night that movie was awesome! Wow! TG the Firebird had to pause it to lock up the geese because I was all tense on the edge of my seat! I am glad I didn't see it in the theater; that would have been too much!

Sat with a dying deer on the side of the road yesterday afternoon. I thought it was dead and stopped to see and it was taking its last gasps. I didn't see a mark on it and tried to roll it onto its chest and then it fell over the other way and I saw a place on its head that looked like a bullet hole!

After it died I dragged it up into the woods into a little hollow and covered it with leaves. I did hate to waste the meat but I didn't have a knife on me to bleed it and I would have had to call a game warden to get their permission to take it.

I felt so sad for it. :( It was about the size of one of my goats.

I did check the wound and didn't see a bullet but the skull was splintered a little there so I think someone did shoot it but it ran off and died later with me at its side. If it had been hit by a car, it would have had a different wound, I think.

Deer are pretty tough that way-I hit one in the Blazer once, straight on doing about 50mph and ran over it with both passenger tires. Broke my headlight and grill. I stopped and the deer was gone! I had deer hair in my grill and both tires?!?! I don't think it went very far but it was nighttime and woods on both sides of the road.

I saw a car pulled over one night and they had just hit a deer near a friend's house and they couldn't find it and they couldn't believe it ran off. Then for two summers my friend saw a very lame doe in his front yard-with twins...he hasn't seen her in the last few years so some hunter or coyote must have finally got her.

Well, enough deer talk! Thought I would try something different today! Deer not goats! LOL

Wednesday

Yesterday I arrived home and thought, "where are my little goats?" Then I thought, "where are the big goats?"

I had a moment of panic thinking they were gone. The guy who bought my other goats had stopped in a couple of weeks ago out of the blue asking if I had more goats for sale. He had also knocked down my mailbox and not said anything until I walked him down the drive (after telling him I had no goats for sale) and found the mailbox standing in a snowbank.

"I wasn't going to leave without telling you."

Hmmm...

Well, I let him off the hook, even though I should have made a claim on his insurance. Now my mailbox is sitting in an ugly 5 gallon bucket filled with rock and braced with two by fours. Winter in Maine...

Anyhow, my goats were all down back and came running and leaping in a herd. The little ones decided it was time to join the big goats, I guess. Of course they went right through the electric fence several times, so I locked them back in their pen and they cried so loudly I put them back with the rest.

Badger was butted through the electric today by Jenny, but it was off. I didn't want to leave it on while I was gone and I had just stopped home briefly and saw it happen. Badger is a bit of a clutz and gets tangled in it (Piper leaps between the strands) so I didn't want to leave it on and have him get electrocuted if he got stuck in it.

I guess it's not putting off much of a zap. I tried to walk part of it and Badger got through it since they follow me everywhere. I walked the lower half today while they were getting their grain and removed a few small sticks. I'll try to get the upper half tomorrow.

The big goats have apparently all been zapped in the past, since they respect it even when off. I have been unplugging it in the mornings so I can hop it with their hay and leaving it off until evening. There's no snow to short it out, but there may be a problem in the upper section.

In the meantime, the little goats mostly follow the big goats and stay in. I swear Jenny was trying to shock Badger this afternoon when she pushed him through it, but it was off. He stretched the line and pulled it off an insulator, which I fixed this afternoon.

Oh, I just don't get enough of goats at my day job! LOL. Worked again today, combed a bunch of does and bucklings and wethers. Still working with my oldest, and a new lady came in today to help. She was good with the goats and at combing and seemed to have a bit of joie de vivre; so welcome to the farm, J!

Monday

Slurp soup. Rain, snow, three inches of sloosh. Gusty winds, yeah March came in like a lion.

Combing cashmere is going full swing. Willow and I went in for two hours yesterday just to comb bucklings on the hill. We combed six. The rest were wild! There were locked in a pen with us so we could easily catch them, and if we weren't combing them, they were wrestling on top of the lean to. Or making pests of themselves.

C (Boy who lived in the Tree) came in today and combed a couple of does. I combed Lillemore, Piper's Mom/ She was a nice comb. She makes these really funny faces when you give her a treat. She stretches her head up and wiggles her tongue at you. LOL

The horses were idiots and I called Maya a brat face afterwards when she was trying to make up. Sometimes those mares get away with murder. Dangerous.

****

Nice and cozy warm in the house.

My muscles just keep getting more sore-I was hoping they would stop and I would get used to the work, but I guess I'm getting old...

Edit note: I had to enable moderation since I can't delete comments(!?!?!?why?!?!?) and I am getting spammed from China, most likely because I googled something about Tibet a few weeks ago. So if your comment takes awhile to appear, my bad....

I am putting Tibet in the label just to cause more aggravations! haha!