On To The Next Thing

Thank you everyone for your kind comments about Draper’s foal. I’m sure you know it was a huge disappointment. But there is still plenty to get done around here. 

The goats have finished kidding so it was time to band the males and deworm the adults.  Maggie liked the idea of being in the barn out of the rain. 

I started out catching the kids for Joe to band. About 2/3’s of the way through we switched. 

Then we worked the adults in groups of 20. They were very reluctant to go back outside in the rain. 

Joe would catch and I would deworm. 

It was a messy morning. 

 But the rain finally cleared out. The goats had been in the field to the right for a month and a half. Now they will be able to head out over the rest of the farm again.  I am glad that chore is done. 

Bad Day

 Draper delivered a beautiful palomino paint stud colt early this morning that was stillborn. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you do, sh*t happens. That’s all I have to say about that for now. 

Here is a picture of some cute goats. 

The Other Birdfy

While my bird feeder Birdfy camera is on foal watch, I still have my bird house Birdfy camera on bird watch. 

A tree swallow took up residence, built a nest, laid eggs and is now incubating them. 

There are 6 eggs in the nest.  I love how cozy all the feathers make it look. It looks like the last egg was about 5 days ago.  Hatching could be as early as another week.  Stay tuned. 

 

Still Waiting

Day 363. 

I have moved Draper into the stall full time. Fescue toxicity is always a concern. I am hoping she is just at the upper end of the bell curve for gestation length and not having a prolonged pregnancy because of fescue.  As a precaution for the lack of milk symptom of fescue toxicity, I have started her on domperidone.  

I have also been working on my Birdfy camera setup.  I was surprised that I could move the camera so much closer and still get WiFi signal from the house. 

The next problem was lighting.  I had a clip on light that I put a 60 watt LED bulb in and clipped to the top of the gate.  This solved the lighting issue    The camera is on top of the post (the dark line to the left of center) 

This is what I am able to see with the camera at night.  I wonder how many times I will be checking it. 

If anyone is interested in helping me watch, I can try to figure out how to share the QR code, you can download the Birdfy app and start watching the live stream. 

Thwarted

One of last years wethers is not satisfied with what is available to eat on his side of the fence. 

The problem is he keeps getting stuck in the fence.  This morning when I unstuck him, he turned around and did it again.  

I headed to the house for some supplies and came back with the broom handle section and electrical tape. 

He was pretty strong but I was able to hold him between my legs while I taped on the broom handle. 

He wanted to take a selfie to check out the new adornment.  

I think it looks wonderful.  

As soon as I let him go, he was back at it.   I just hope that I used enough tape.  

Hugo Outside

Only one out of 3 criteria were met today for my ride on Hugo.  It was warm enough, but the wind was blowing and Joe wasn't home.  He was close by and was coming back soon so I left him a note and caught Hugo.  By the time I had him saddled and ready, Joe showed up to lend his support.  

After a warm up in the barn, we headed outside, 

Then down the driveway and back.  Todays ride was 40 minutes.  My biggest concern is what to do if I have to make an emergency dismount since my last one didn't work out so well.  

Anyway, I have set up my Birdfy bird feeder camera in the barn to keep an eye on Draper.  You can see her sanding back there next to the wall on the left.  A bonus was getting some video of Hugo.   It is obvious that the camera is not made for either of these functions, but it is still fun to look at.  
 

Sunday Flowers

Sadie and Allie came over Sunday after church. Of course Sadie wanted to go pick flowers. 

Yes, she noticed and liked the Pincushion flowers. But she also liked the irises and poppies. 

Allie only wanted the pincushions. 

Kit Kat got some special attention. 

Then we had to pick out a special vase to arrange the flowers.   

Allie wanted to arrange hers too. 

 Then before going home Sadie wanted to pick some of the marigolds that I had just bought but had not planted yet. Instead of picking them I got two pots and we planted them to take home. They were instructed to water them daily.  We will see if Mike is able to keep up with that new chore. 

Outside Ride

I have been waiting for the perfect time to ride Otoelene outside, no wind, warm and Joe being home. Two out of three ain’t bad. Joe wasn’t home but would be back pretty soon.  

Plus, I already had Otoelene up because the farrier came to reset her shoes. 

After a few minutes walking and jogging it the barn, we headed outside. 

I just stayed in the field below the barn where the first calf heifers are. Everything went fine.  I ended up riding about 25 minutes, no issues. Now I just have to keep it up. 
 

Who’s Tired Of Trees On Fences

Joe is, that’s who. 

He is getting ready to move some cattle to the rented land across the road.  Part of the process is walking the fence line.  Way in the back on a steep, steep hill, an oak tree uprooted and took another oak and a poplar tree with it. 

And they all landed squarely on the 100 year old line fence taking out about 100 feet of it. 

I went in for the first trip to watch the chainsawing. But Joe was on his own for the second trip to fix the fence. Now we just have to work the group of cattle and get them over there. 

The Perfect Perennial?

I found a flower at Lowe’s that I was unfamiliar with, scabiosa-butterfly blue common name pincushion flower.

I bought one even though it was not on the clearance table.  The sale price was only $1 more than what it would be if it ended up on clearance anyway. 

I read up on it and learned it was easy to grow, cold and heat tolerant and of course purple, Sadie’s favorite color.  They are also supposed to make good cut flowers and bloom up until frost if kept dead headed.  Then, to top it off, I was watching a British gardening show and the host said it was one of his favorite flowers. 

After learning all of this I bought two more. They look great in the rock garden. I can’t wait for Sadie to find them. I hope they like it here. 

 

Still Waiting - Day 346

There is a wide range of gestation length in horses. I was always told 11 months plus 11 days.  That was yesterday. 

Draper has decided to wait longer.  

Her udder is getting a little larger very slowly.  Anyone want to make a guess?  Her breeding date was May 11th.
 

Eggs And Goats

We had a wonderful day yesterday celebrating Mama's 90th birthday!

After lunch, cake and presents, we had an Easter egg hunt for Sadie and Allie.  

Sadie took it very seriously.  She ran like she was competing against 40 other kids and not just her baby sister. 

There was some cooperation.  

And plenty of eggs to go around.  They had a wonderful time being the center of attention to 12 adults.  

Then today, I got to see Allie and Sadie again at the farm.  Sadie was anxious to see more baby goats.  I had a set of twins in the barn that were 2 days old.  One was just a little slow to get going hence being in the barn.  

Then we walked around the field to look for more goats to pet.  Maggie wanted to make sure everything was ok.  

Allie wasn't too interested in petting the goats but she does make a good goat noise. 

Happy Easter

The King Has Risen

 

The Note

When I got home from work yesterday, this note was waiting for me on the kitchen counter. 

Cow problems never are good.  Within a few minutes while I was carrying in the groceries, Mike drove up and said Joe needed help, there was a backwards calf.  Joe had noticed the cow in the same spot a couple of times that he had checked yesterday morning and afternoon.  He got her up and called  Mike.  Then they got her in the chute and Joe discovered the problem.  They were able to get chains around both feet but were only successful in getting one leg out.  I was able to give the cow an epidural so she wouldn't strain as much, move the chain on the leg still inside for better leverage and manipulate it to get it out.  Then it was Mike's turn to pull.  They told us in vet school to not pull any harder than 3 strong men, so Joe and I did not have to help Mike.  We had the calf jack just in case but it wasn't needed.  Mike got the calf out quick enough. 

And it was still alive.  A big accomplishment for a backwards calf.  

Mike didn't look too much worse for wear, 

but I think Joe's tee shirt will be headed for the rag bag.  

This morning the calf was up and had nursed.  Joe banded him, 

and sent him on his way back to the field with mom.  Joe said he was expecting trouble because he had had 70 calves with no issues.  Maybe we will get through the rest in as good of shape.  

 

Crafting With Sadie

Sadie is off on Easter break this week.  I volunteered to help keep her some.  Aunt C volunteered too!

Sadie wanted to do crafting because C "was good with that."  It is a good thing Mimi is good at having  a lot of crafting supplies.  

I did steal Sadie for a bit to visit the baby goats.  

She was trying to get them to suck on her fingers.  The brown one is a triplet about half the size of the other two.  I have been supplementing her with a bottle.  

Then I stole this idea from Pinterest.  I also had a Facebook friend that did it and it looked so cute.  Plus, since Sadie likes to pick flowers and I don't have that much blooming right now, it was a perfect way to get her to pick dandelions.  

I think it turned out great.  The face C drew was purrrfect.  Unfortunately, it only looked good for a couple of hours.  But there are plenty more dandelions to do it again.  Maybe Allie would like to do it when she is here next.  

And what is Easter break without coloring some Easter eggs.  Permanent markers, plastic wrap and rubbing alcohol. 

It was a pretty simple way to dye the eggs.  I did have to get some store bought ones to blow out since all of Virginia's eggs are brown.