2011 in Review

Happy New Year!
I can't believe it is 2012 and that we celebrated our 1 year anniversary on the farm last month! Time really does fly by when you are having fun. We experienced many highs and lows throughout the year:

• We got our first group of chickens right after Christmas of 2010, and with The General and his small flock of 5 hens our dream of hobby farming began! 
• It wasn't long after 2011 began that we started exploring goat options, and after researching the different breeds, we decided to start with Nigerian Dwarf Goats.  We found 2 wethers at a farm over in Minnesota and it didn't take us long to fall in love with Black Jack and Sundance and their funny personalities. 
• With Spring came chicks! There was a couple months that our dining room was full of the sound of peeping fluff balls and we loved holding the chicks and watching them grow.
• Right as summer break started we added 2 baby Fainting Goats to the mix. We enjoyed bottle feeding them and lost our hearts to their sweet dispositions.
• That same week at a nearby farm "Sassy" gave birth to her first foal. We were thrilled as Tornado would be coming to live at the farm as soon as he was old enough to be weaned. 
• During the summer, the puppy we had rescued, Scurv, decided he like the taste of blood. He killed our 2 baby goats and several chickens before we found him another home. We were devastated and lost some of our most favorite pets. It was our first experience of loss on the farm and it was a hard lesson for the whole family.
• With July the barn cats had litters and we ended up with 17 kittens on the farm!! 
• In August we found out we were expecting our 5th child in March of 2012! It was unexpected news, but soooooo exciting for us! 
• As fall came we were thrilled that all of our spring chicks started laying eggs! We get an eclectic assortment every day- different sizes and colors! It is like an Easter Egg hunt collecting them- white, light brown, dark brown, speckled, green, olive, blue... so many varieties!! 

• We had a pretty good garden harvest for our first attempt! LOTS of zuccini & summer squash and it was delicious! Unfortunately our corn never ripened enough to eat, but we will try again next year.
• We fell in love with one of the barn kittens and Muggles became a house cat!
• During the fall we lost 2 guineas and 2 of our barn cats Fluffy & Poe to predators (we think coyotes) all in the same week. It was a sad time for all of us.
• We had a Halloween party and bonfire out on the farm and bobbed for apples and busted open a Pinata. It was fun because Memama (Zoa's mom) was visiting from Florida and got to experience fall on the farm!
• With winter, came only a light dusting of snow and milder temperatures than usual. Christmas Day was NOT white for the first time in the 5 winters we have lived in North Dakota! 

I have been slacking in the blog department the last few months, but one of my New Year's resolutions is to try and update here more often. It is such a great journal for me to reflect back on and remember the milestones of hobby farming!!  We are excited to see what changes 2012 will bring to the farm!

The Funeral

This weekend was difficult for us. 

There seemed to be constant reminders of our baby goats...

We decided as a family to have a small funeral for them 

and to start a pet graveyard on the farm. 

Until now we have always had "cremations"-  mainly because they are easy 

and the animals in question have all been small.

This time we just couldn't do it. 

We were too emotionally caught up in the situation and 

we all agreed that the girls deserved a proper burial. 

So we walked around the farm and picked out the perfect spot, 

at the edge of the property, near the woods & under a tree. 

We had our first funeral and burial at The Funny Farm today. 

Matt dug the hole, and Simon searched for some rocks to mark the site. 

Julianna and I decided to use one of their baby bottles as a vase 

and placed some pansies in it from the garden.

When the time came, none of us had dry eyes. 

But we all said goodbye. 

The kids asked if they could write a little message on one of the rocks, 

so we each took a sharpie and added our thoughts.

Even Poe joined the event and reverently watched from the sidelines. 

I don't know how long it will take us to move on.

People have asked us if we are going to get new goats... 

I am sure we will, I just don't know when.

I am amazed at how much we grew to love them in the very short time we had them.

They touched all of us and we will miss them so much.

We called them #1 and #2 during the time they were with us.

We could never decide on the perfect names!

We talked about it daily and we constantly came up with new possibilities...

but none of them ever seemed just right.

So we always called them #1 & #2. 

#1 was timid and always took her time eating;

we were proud of her if she would eat more than a few ounces at a time! 

She also had a habit of sucking on our clothes. 

I would feel a gentle tug on my pants or shirt, and I would look down 

to find her nuzzled up to me sucking on a hem.... 

when I would go back inside there would be a wet circle on my clothing 

and I would have to change if I was going anywhere. 

It was actually quite endearing!!

She was not a leader, but would bravely follow her sister on any adventure.

She loved to be held and cuddled and like any baby, 

she would cry if she was left alone. 

She would give me baby goat kisses by rubbing her nose on my face 

and her eyes were always full of love and trust for  us.

#2 was bold and adventurous!

From the time we first brought them home, 

she was the leader and would always protect her sister. 

She loved to eat and could suck down a bottle in seconds flat! 

(because of that the kids would always say "I get to feed #2!!)

She was always the first to explore any new situation.

She would climb the tree stumps, try out the new goat door, jump into our laps.

She knew her sister would tag along.

#2 loved attention and she would always know when we were 

coming out to the barn to feed her, 

and she would cry out anxiously to us before she could even see us coming! 

We loved to hear her excited and impatient baby goat cries 

and it would always bring a smile to my face. 

We loved the late night feedings, and even though every night around midnight 

I would have to talk myself into going out to the barn, 

I ALWAYS enjoyed it once I got there. 

The girls were so excited to eat and so lovable and cuddly, 

that we would want to stay all night with them. 

After they finished their bottles, 

they would cuddle up in our laps and contentedly fall asleep. 

When we would finally put them down, 

they would act surprised and cry to be picked back up.

#1 & #2 brought nothing but joy and delight to everyone they met.

They didn't live long, but I am sure they enjoyed the time they had.

They were amazing pets and we will always regret not getting more time with them.

It is still hard to believe they are really gone...

Today as I was looking through my pictures, 

I found this one that I snapped on a whim. 

It was taken the day before they died.

I had walked out to the barn to feed the chickens, and this is what I saw:

This is the last picture of them I took.

Goodbye baby girls.

PS: thanks for all the kind comments this past weekend, they have been encouraging to read!

A Sad Day

It is with a heavy heart that I write today's post. We lost our 2 sweet girls this morning in a vicious dog attack. We had our baby fainting goats for only 2 weeks, but in that short time every member of our family grew to love them dearly. This morning Simon and Anabelle went out to give them their morning bottle and sometime after that our dog Scurvy and his friend Scruffy caught them and killed them. When we found them we were in shock and horrified. The damage was extensive, which means we are not only losing the girls, but we are not going to be able to keep Scurvy either. We are losing 3 pets. I don't want to go into the details, but we can not keep an animal that destroys and dismembers our other animals.
This is a hard post for me to write. It seems so senseless, and all of us are blaming ourselves and playing the "if only we had..." game. We have always been careful about keeping the dogs put up when the other animals are out, but Simon and Anabelle are just children and probably weren't paying attention this morning after feeding them their breakfast. Simon being 11 years old, is really blaming himself. I, being the mom, blame myself for letting the kids feed the goats without supervising. I didn't want to get out of bed, and so I gladly let them go feed the girls. If only I had gotten up... If only I would have heard something.... If only I would have checked on them... I know it doesn't do any good now, but I can't help but feel that I could have prevented this in some way. I know death is part of farm life, but that is part of farm life that none of us are used to.
I will write a eulogy of sorts in the next post and will reflect on the positive, but for now writing this has helped me get my feelings out. This blog has always been my "farm diary", so naturally when I am full of sad feelings I turn here to express them.
Thanks for listening.

Goat Playground

The goats love to be free in the yard and to follow us around. 

They have never left, but I still don't feel comfortable having them free
when we aren't paying attention.
Anyone familiar with goats probably understands,
goats have a tendency to get into things (trouble) just like toddlers.
You would never leave a toddler unsupervised and just like toddlers,
unsupervised goats are trouble magnets!

So a couple weeks ago, I came up with the brilliant idea to build an outdoor goat pen that connects to their stall in the barn. That way they can go in and out as they please, but they are still safe. As with all my brilliant ideas, Matt looks at me skeptically and tries to understand what exactly my vision is,
and how much work is involved for him to execute it.
Lucky for him, there is a whole pile of scrap wood that was stored in an
old building on the farm. Anytime I have a project, we go to the "wood shed"
and get what we need without having to spend a bunch of money at the lumberyard.
We found what we needed and hauled it over.
Here is our progress:

*****
Day 1: The western fence goes up

Day 2: The east & south fences go up

Simon is going to join in and help dad

I would like to think that Matt is patiently teaching Simon something here...

Day 3: the north fence and the outside gate is finished

See Jack?

I am QUITE sure he is already trying to figure a way out of the pen

Hopefully this gate latch will do the trick and keep him in

Day 4: the goat door & play ground

Jack is checking out the progress

Now Sundance is checking out the doorway...

from both sides... looks good to him!

Simon also tries the door- a little tight, but he still fits

Matt does not fit.

After the door/ ramp is attached, the babies can get in and out too

Next Matt is building some toys for them- 

Goats love to climb, so this will provide them some entertainment.

In no time at all, the goats test it out and approve!

And now everyone is happy!

Another completed project!

Thanks (again!) Matt 

They Faint!!

We saw the girls faint for the first time this morning! 

It was so cute!!

Disbudding

It is time for the girls to be disbudded. I hate doing it, but it is necessary for the safety of everyone on the farm (and the other animals too!) We took them into Dr Peterson yesterday for the cauterization procedure. It was quick and hopefully not too painful for the babies!! I only heard a peep once, and that was when they gave her a shot of pain meds. They will take pain meds for a few days and once their hair grows back and the skin heals, they will only have little nubs where their horns would have grown.

They look a little funny for now:

 

But they did a good job and they don't seem to be holding it against us!



I am glad it is over.

Farm Happenings & Visits

This week we have been having lots of rain and thunderstorms.

Normally, I LOVE rain

(a shot of the farm at sunset during a storm)

But this week my mom is here visiting from Florida 

and I was hoping we could spend the week outside in the garden.

(nope, too soggy)

(my mom, Annie, Oliver and me at the airport)

So we have not been able to spend much time outside.

We have been in the barn a lot though, trying to teach 

the new babies how to take a bottle

They are starting to catch on, but I have been worried 

because they haven't been drinking much at each feeding. 

I read that it can take 3-4 days for them to figure it out, 

so I am hoping that will happen soon.

***

Oliver is also here for a couple days and 

he was thrilled to meet all the new animals!

(he was fine being outside, despite the rain)

Annie showed him all her favorite chicks 

and how to hold them and smile for a picture

Good Job Anabelle!

(and great pose for the camera Mohawk!)

As for my mom, she leaves tomorrow and 

I still have not been able to get her to hold an animal...

I was hoping to catch her snuggling a chick or one of the baby goats 

so that I could put the picture on my blog, but so far no such luck!

I will have to settle for just her-  without an animal.

Love you Mama,Thanks for coming to visit!!

Adoption Announcement!

They're HERE!!!!

We picked up our new baby goats today & they are absolutely precious!!!

They are so small and soft and sweet!!

Julianna & Simon

Fainting Goat Twin Does born on 5/7/11

They are almost identical, but they do have some slight marking differences:

We haven't named them yet... any suggestions?

They look like Oreo Cookies to us, so we thought of

"Cookies" & "Cream" 

(But we aren't quite sure about that)

So cute! She is already exploring her new "toys"

Anabelle is in love!

and so am I!!