Goodbye Anna

 I just finished burying one of my last three goats.  Anna had just turned thirteen.  Obi is 14 and Moonie 15.  

I picked a spot up near her mother and father's graves in the upper pasture.  They had both died in the winter and been temporarily interred in the stone wall there.  Eventually I dug them proper graves nearby and learned a few things when I did it.

FIrst of all, I do not recommend plastic bags.  I wrap deceased pets in two layers of sheeting or other suitable preferably cotton based fabric. I did Derek in plastic and he was a digusting mess to relocate.  Trust me, a good hole away from any water source, rocks, and fabric.

I left Derek and Cricket's temporary internment sites open with the rocks nearby in case I needed it the future.  Kind of morbid,yeah, but a sad fact of life when you promise to keep an animal for it's entire life.

Today we have a wind advisory and it is blowing.  The trees are creaking and I had the last large fir in the upper pasture blow down on the fence. The pastures are shut off this time of year, and I had to dig the gate out of the ice to get it open. I had to rather unceremoniously drag Anna by her front feet and horns to get her onto the sheet-covered plastic sled.  Moonie didn't want to look.

I got her covered and proceeded to pull her up to the grave location.  I had started to prep it to make sure I could use it, and then decided to get her up there to gauge the dimensions of the grave.  Nothing worse than making one too small, espeically when dealing with an animal you can't lift back out of the hole.

I dug a bit more, setting the diggings on the snow crust to the right of the grave and slightly uphill. The wind chill well below zero, temps in the single numbers and the winds gusting to over 50 mph.  I maneuvered the sled over the hole and managed to fit her in neatly.  I had dug some nice rocks out of the hole and started rocking her in.  I looked over my shoulder and Moonie and Obi were about 50 feet away.  Moonie was faced away.

I pried some rocks out of the pile, and finished rocking her in.  My toes were frozen.so I headed back with the now empty sled to warm up, thaw out, and gather a few things to finish the grave.  I walked by the wethers, speaking some words about "sorry about Anna guys".  I thought they might stay out, but they ran back to the paddock with me.

After I warmed up, I gathered some rose scented geranium, and begonia and red geranium blossoms and made a little bouquet.  I grabbed a small clay pot from near the stove that was filled with rocks that I had dragged home becasue they had caught my eye on daily walks. I took the last (quite ripe) banana and added that to the pile.

SInce I needed to grab a rake on my way back, I stuck my assemblage into a cut off water just that we call "a grain jug". They work perfectly to carry a day's ration of grain to whatever I am feeding--goats, poultry, wild birds, etc.  I was sure the wethers would bomb me when they saw me return with the grain jug, but perhaps lost in their own nostalgia, they stayed in the houses nibbling the morning's hay.

I placed the bouquet between the rocks, placed the hand-picked stones in any obvious gaps, and back filled with everything I had set aside, The big slabs of ice crust went on the top.  It was a variation of my standard grave, whcih is to finish with the stones.  But since the grave was shallow I thought it was better to rock the body.  Once the snow melts in the sping I can get to more rock to finish the top.

Finished, I just had to reclose the frozen gate.  That took some struggles, and at that point Obi came over and started nuzzling me.  I had tucked the banana in my pocket and he could smell it.  He took advantage of my struggles with the gate to pick-pocket a paper towel out of my pocket.  That was the motivation I needed to gather the strength to get the get shut with bare freezing hands while the trees creaked ominously over my head.

Obi followed me over to the houses as I tracked down Moo and split the banana in thirds in celebration and commiseration of Anna, this time with a third to me instead of her. Obi and Moo spilt the peeling from my third.

Good bye Anna

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!

Haying my Herd with the Dog

My friend Tonia over at allnaturalsimplelife.blogspot.com. , makes taking a good picture of a goat look simple. Ha-it's impossible!

I am never particularly motivated to take photos of my own herd, usually because I have my hands full when I am around them. Hay, grain, water, chainsaw...lol.

This afternoon I decided to try and get pics of the ones whose feet I have trimmed in the last few days-sorry no pictures of hoof rot, of which there were several cases.

I put my camera in my new Turkish shoulder bag ( a gift from Boss after a recent trip to Turkey) and slung the hay under the other arm and headed out.

I took four times as many pics as I am posting. Goats just don't hold still for a camera! And the light was bad, even though it was overcast late afternoon. Still, I came up with a few to share

Here is Moonshadow, or moo, or moonie. He is our only polled goat. His horns had been removed when we bought him, also at auction. I saw him advertised in a local buy and sell it guide and called the woman to find out she had indeed taken him to auction that day, so I know that he is Nigerian dwarf and pygmy cross.



Cricket the Beautiful and her white face. She was bought at auction and was also sick as a weanling. Nic the cashmere weck is to the left, stuffing his face. I made up the name weck since he is what I call a wether with buck characteristics. A pain in the *** is more like it.

Nic had a retained testicle and I banded the down one, rendering him sterile but he is just like a buck. He smells worse than 19 bucks at the farm combined, and coddles his group of does and kicks the crap out of the wethers. I couldn't give him away,(I tried on Craigslist) and don't care to eat him, so he is still with us for the time being.



The small doe in the center is Anna, Cricket's daughter. Cricket is all white, Anna's father, Derek, is brown with black points. Anna is so cute but wild even though she was born here. The herd took her in. Her Grandma, Daphne, our herd queen,the black pygmy yawning in the front, tore down the fence and had Anna sleep with her every night in a little house while her mother slept in the cold outdoors against the house.
The face in the far left is Moonie-no horns.



Anaken, three year old Alpine wether. Look at that nice straight topline! If I was going goat dairy, I would try and get a couple of Alpine does. Anaken was the runt of a pack of around twenty Alpine bucklings at auction, and had coccidiosis rather severely, so he is on the small and scrawny side.



and lastly here is Peko, who loves to race along the fence as I carry the hay out tot he goats. He barks viciously at them to keep them in their places. Here he is in the pet cemetery, next to Louise's grave with his tennis ball...Gandalf's grave is in the background on the right.

Hooves

Anakin, Moonie, and Anna today.

Thursday

Finally begged a day off from the farm to do some things around here.

Set a date for the saplings to have their year end testing to meet homeschooling requirements.

Trimmed some goat hooves-Anna, Moonshadow, Obiwan. Nothing too serious.

Obiwan is still shedding. I was looking up pygora goats and decided he is definitely an Angora cross with type B fiber. I think he has some dairy goat instead of pygmy, because he has adorable floppy ears. Anyhow, he took a quick slick and earned us several more handfuls of his long silky fiber.

Nicholas is still hanging onto the last of his cashmere. He hates to be combed and promptly butted me. Out of the eighty plus goats I work with he is right up there on the jerk list.

Did the laundry. Ugh. At least it is clean, dry, folded, and upstairs.

Went to the farm to talk to Boss about the Farmer's Market details. That took quite awhile, and was pretty much common sense. I think if she just left the stuff and a price list I would have been fine, except for the freezer tour where she told me what meat to take. Actually she had already told me that earlier in the week, this time I got to see it. Having been a cook for years it was self explanatory, really, but I didn't let on.

I think it was more to reassure herself she had told me everything, and I had Willow along who was listening to it all as well, so she could probably handle it herself. She might, if I need to slip off for a cig, and I will since it will be over four hours. LOL.

I did take some notes on people's names. although one was just referred to as "the bread Lady".

Mr Boss was obsessing over the extension cord still at Prescott. Mr. Boss' contribution is going to be a pot of meatballs for free samples that will go on a pot warmer, which needs to plug in. I guess I should have offerred to run to Prescott and get the cord, but I figured it is on the way to the market if I need it on Saturday.

I am actually looking forward to the meatballs...I figure I will put them front and center on the EIGHT FOOT table!!! I am obsessing about having enough stuff for the table-a few skeins of yarn, some roving-the meat cooler will be in the shade-some knitting directions and recipe pamphlets..

I insisted on taking some pelts- we get two, although at $100 each we probably won't sell any.

Still, there is that GIGANTIC garage/book/perennial plant sale going on across the street, so who knows? I hope we sell out of everything! You'd think it was my farm products...lol.

Hooves

I have finally been able to make it outside to the goats. I still can't get a boot on, but I have a rig with an old suede shoe that I sliced across the top. Then I slip that into an old jean pantsleg to keep the snow out. LOL. I am a bit uneven with the boot on the good foot, but it's better than crutches!

Been combing the cashmere off Nic's neck. Looks good this year. Have quite a lot already.

I wasn't getting much off him today, but I noticed some of the hooves looked in need of a trim, so I switched out the combing rake for the hoof clippers and did:

Cricket: she shivered and shook. Her feet looked pretty good.

Derek: He was a little brat and kept standing on his back legs when I was trying to do his front feet. I did get him finished in the long haul.

Anna: Phoenix managed to get a collar on her and tied her. Then she laid down when I went to do her feet. Awww. I think that is only the second time I have done her feet. Maybe the third. She was the best behaved today, and has nice feet.

Genevieve: her back ones were a mess and I used hoof and heel and took quite a lot off. Her front ones were pretty good.

Willow combed Obiwan. He is such a sweet guy.

I did all of those goats front and back hooves and then collapsed exhausted after lunch. A month of laying about and crutching it has ruined my condition. Hopefully I will build back up a bit before it is time to dig the garden! :P

First Post

Photo Tree1108
I am creating this blog as an offshoot of http://treeocean.blogspot.com . This blog will function as more of a personal diary in day to day life. Weather, animal notes, personal notes. Anything worldly or earth-shattering will go on the other blog.

I have cycled back into goat hooves.

Julius was trimmed front and back Friday.

Obiwan had his front feet done Friday-need to do his back in the next day or two.

Anna,9 months,daughter of Cricket and Derek, had her first trim-she was very passive. Her feet were fine.

Sir Nicholas had his feet done yesterday. He had two problems. One back clew looked like it had a puncture awhile ago-trimmed the sole back flush and washed with H &H. A front clew's outer hoof wall was separated on the outside nearly up to the coronet. I trimmed it off and washed thoroughly with H&H. Hopefully it was torn by a stump and not hoof rot.

Cricket is in heat and Derek has claimed her. No more babies for those two-he's a wether now.

Started my period on Friday without any premenstrual symptoms. Yesterday I wandered around wondering how I could combine chocolate and chicken for dinner. I gave up and had a handful of chocolate chips as an appetizer. This morning I woke up feeling emotional and had tears in my eyes before coffee. Damn hormones.

It rained hard during the night. The ground is saturated. This morning I watched a black squall come tearing down out of the west-which just gave us a brief shower. The lower clouds were tearing by the upper clouds, which appeared to be at a standstill.

Tonight the clouds had bright spots that kept reappearing in the same location despite the cloud movement. Weird. Caught one on a pic I will be posting over at the home blog. (see above link).

Went to town for a few staples to last through the week. The temp was 50 there at noon.

The above pic is Obiwan. He is probably about 1 1/2 years old. I bought him at auction last summer as a weanling. He is most likely a dairy goat angora cross. His fiber does not have a lot of crimp, but he is very friendly and huggably soft.