Where In The World Are J and K

 There hasn't been much to do other than work around here for some time now so J wanted to get out and do something totally different.

 All the indoor stuff is still pretty much shut down, so it had to be outdoors.

First hint, there were lots of white marks,

 Second hint, some pretty big views,

 Third hint, some "wild" ponies. 

I am sure you have guessed by now, we hikes around at Mt Rogers.  Totally different from the hiking around here ;)  Everytime we hike up there, J always talks about wanting to hike the entire Appalachian Trail.  Anyone want to help run the farm or crew for him on that journey?

Goats In Trees

Goat kids love to climb.  

 Sometimes they are up in an oak tree.

 Or a newly down wild cherry tree.

 Or just a fallen pine tree.

But sometimes all you can find is a stump.

More Work, Some Fun With Walker

Walker agreed to come over again and help out with the goats.  We thought we would try to get ahead of the worms this year by deworming the kids before we started finding weak or dead ones.  It has only been the last couple of years that this has even been a problem.  I have been checking for anemia every few days by randomly catching some and doing the FAMACHA score.  I found a pale one earlier this week so we made plans to deworm. 

 We got an early start to try to beat the heat.

 But I think Walker was a little worn out but the end of the morning.

 There were a lot of goats to catch.  We just let the nannies out but caught each kid.  Walker and J did the catching and I did the deworming.  I did take the opportunity to work on a few of the nannies that had bad feet though.

 After counting them leaving the barn, we decided we had missed a few.  Sure enough, we found 6 more out under the far red barn.  I guess those will be our control group. 

 Walker decided this one was his buddy.

 And of course we saved some time for a nice ride.  Walker caught Hank and lead him down the hill himself this time.  Otoelene is still in the barnlot on her diet so I didn't need to make that hike. 

And we rode is a few more places Walker hadn't been to yet.  I think he liked the shade it the woods.  A very nice day with a very nice boy.

In Bloom At The 4Rs

Lots of pretty flowers for the time being.  It is starting to turn off dry again, so I don't know how long they will last. 

 I didn't plant any zinnias this year but had several volunteer, so I just moved them around to places I wanted them.  Glad some turned out pink.

 My cheapskate hydrangeas are blooming nicely.   I say cheapskate because I picked out two pots that had double plants and I split them into 4 when I planted them.

 I just love all of the pinks and purples in my split rail flower bed.

 And I love how the sun was hitting the coneflowers.

Can you spot the extra pink "flower"?  J wanted me to change my facebook profile pic to this, he thought it still looked pretty anonymous.

Another Lesson For Walker

Walker came over for another lesson on Hank.  

 He is really getting the hang of posting.  Granted, with Hank's trot you pretty much have no choice in the matter. 

 We ended up having to ride in the barn for a bit until a storm passed. 

 Then we made it out for a ride around parts of the farm Walker hasn't been to yet.  He said, "that is so pretty with the hay bales, the blue sky, the clouds like they are and the fog."  I told him that not many 11 year old boys would appreciate that.  His response, "I like that sort of thing."

Walker has been a joy to ride with and Hank has been a gem. 

Guest Photographer

E sent me some amazing photos she took at her job on Cumberland Island.  They were so great I had to share. 

American oystercatcher

Osprey

Wilson's Plover

Royal Tern

Great Blue Heron

Just Kit Sunday #160

Kit enjoying the new rock stairs. 

Third Times The Charm

J had 2 bulls out with the cows here.  They got into a fight a couple of weeks ago and tore out 500 feet of 3 strand high tensile electric fence.   J doesn't like working with the high tensile wire, it is very stiff and difficult to handle.  So he called the professional fence builders and they came and put it all back right.   

 Then the 2 bulls got into another fight in the exact same spot and tore the fence out again and broke off a post. 

 J and I fixed it back this time.

 This was as tight as we could get the splice knot.

 But the next day, the 2 bulls got into another fight in the exact same spot.  Two bulls tearing through the fence tightened the knot nicely, but tore it off the fence posts.

 This time M was here and helped out.  I think he won that tug of war.

Now the bulls are seperated and the cows with one bull have moved on to another pasture.  It was pretty frustrating fixing the same fence three times.

Otoelene's New Home

Did that get your attention?  No, she didn't go anywhere except to the barn. 

 I have come to the realization that just exercise is not cutting it for her weight loss.  I am having to add diet. 

 With the exceptional grass growing season we have had, there is just too much pasture for a food obsessed horse like Otoelene.  Even with the fact that the horse field is the poorest land we have and the goats have been hanging out there for over a month and J had rotated cattle through it and now has 15 cows with the horses, there is still too much.  So I sectioned off a part of the barn for a run in shed,

and am using the electric tape to make a grazing lot for her.  We will see how strip grazing works for a diet. 

Moving Goats

We have been trying to move the goats around a little more to take advantage of their weed eating abilities.  That means more goat herding. 

 Otoelene stepped up.  She used her cattle skills and just transferred that onto the goats.  It sure saved me from running up and down the hill for this group.

 But no one can beat J for his herding ability.   He said he feels like he is a collie dog.  He recently asked "how many mile do you think we have walked after these goats in the last 17 years?"  I offered to get him a fitbit so he could track that but he declined. 

 While the goats were in the field behind the house I threw out the cauliflower plants.  It was a treat.

This is what about 177 goats looks like.