Twice As Good

When the head electrician first came out, he asked me what air conditioner I wanted. I said I didn't care, but I wanted the coldest one that could cover our space. Teehee, what became one huge one has turned into two regular sized ones and that's just as good. Better really. 

Now, we'll have two halves of the house nice and cool for summer. Y'all won't hear me complain one iota about the heat anymore. See? It's a winning situation for everyone really. 

All the animals are as precious as always. I didn't get to spend much time with them today, but there's always tomorrow. I think I might even get Rob to help me dress a goat. Yes really!

We're going to have to get more shade going for our coos!

Almost Spring

Things are starting to bloom out here! We've got the tiniest patch of wildflowers and some trees are starting to bud. Last year, we had a late freeze and then the driest spring, so we didn't get to see the beauty of the season, but I think we will this year. 

In the meantime, we're watching our own projects bloom. The kids are growing quickly and have started the process of weaning already. They're taking to the hay like champs and aren't scared that drinking water will melt them, so they're coming along. 

The coos have got their system down to a science now. Ciarán leads the way to the barn for meal time and the rest follow suit. Fiona is still technically the lead cow on all things except when the grain is being fed, then Ciarán wants to be first in line. 

The donkeys and I have an evening stroll each night to the barn as our little special time with each other. It's the only time of the day they don't have to compete with all the others. 

The barndo is still coming along with wires going every which way. Between this week and next, they and the plumbers will finish up their work and then we're on the download slide. We're so ready!

Fujita Scale

Since moving to our town, we've experienced wind daily. Light wind, medium wind, and on scary days, high wind. It's got me to thinking that I want two things as decorations for the barndo: something to measure the wind speed, and a handy guide to the Fujita Scale. 

For those who don't know, Fujita is what the "f" stands for when they talk about tornados. For example, Amarillo had 110 mph winds today, which qualifies as an F1 if it had been a tornado. To me, wind is wind. Whether it goes circular, up and down, north to south, or east to west, it's wind. I will be referring to extremely windy days like today on the Fujita Scale. Deal with it. 

I'll talk about farm life and all the fun throughout this week, but it's windy and my RV is rocking like Gilligan's boat did shortly before they were shipwrecked. If I don't blow away overnight, I'll fill y'all in on the goings on tomorrow. 

We went for a double date to a Christian comedy show Saturday night and it was fun. Laughter is good

A Year Ago

If you had told me a year ago that I would be opening a gate to let in a stampede of cattle, I wouldn't have believed you. Yet tonight, five coos came running straight at me and I didn't even flinch. Granted, I give myself dive locations just to be on the safe side, but still. 

Brogan is an awesome pasture pup. I call his name and he happily runs up to me. When he starts running though, the other coos think they have to as well and then you've got the said stampede!

All on the farm is well and next week should be even more fun. Have a great weekend and run like someone left the gate open. 

Kicking The Bottle Habit

My baby boy Brogan is growing up and this morning was his last bottle ever. One part of me is saddened by that, but it really was time. He's becoming a bull in many ways and it's time for him to eat like one. 

The barndo is still getting wired and I never really realized how many recessed lights our architect had put in the plan. We've changed some of them, but the barndo is going to be well lit inside. I guess I won't have an excuse that I couldn't see the dirt anymore. 

We've also picked out the flooring, most of the bathroom fixtures, the cabinets, the countertops and a whole mess of lighting fixtures. Sinks are planned, backsplash is chosen, but I've still got to decide on a few things here and there. I truly don't want a "why didn't I think of this?" moment either. It's probably bound to happen, but I'll be so happy finally being in a home again, I won't care!

No, Brogan, no more milk

Getting Electric

The crew working on the electrical in the barndo has been awesome! The last two days, we've been communicating a lot to make sure everything is just the way we (I) want it. You might think lighting and plugs are simple, but we've got such little intricacies with our plan, that we are making sure it's perfect from the start. 

For example, the lighting in the grand piano room is peculiar. We want regular lighting, but then I also need lighting to see sheet music without dealing with lamps and cords. We've measured where I'll be sitting, what height I'll be at and how to angle the lights. It's been fun!

We're getting closer everyday and I couldn't be happier. We even got some of the appliances delivered today. I can't wait to use my new range and oven!

S'mores School

All the does are good moms, but S'mores goes above and beyond. She is always watching over all of them and I swear she's teaching them life lessons, too. Cocoa is an overprotective mom, but that's ok, we've decided we're keeping her boy and he'll be weathered. Scotchie and Caramel love their kids, but you could tell if the price was right, they'd let them go. Their price being extra alfalfa or some delicious molasses water, of course. Spice is a quiet, but easy going mom. Cookie Doe is probably the least in tuned mom, she never knows where her kid is! And Sundae and Sugar have settled into being the cool Aunts. 

The donkeys got some extra love tonight which they enjoyed. Sometimes Fancy does this little half haw like she's amused herself somehow. It's cute. 

The coos are precious as always. I talk about them all the time, so I'll give them a break tonight. 

Now for the barndo, electrical came today! They started putting the boxes up and soon we'll be electrified!

Friendly Flora

Y'all, I've got a snuggly cow! Flora has zero issue with making human friends and even let two of my friends visiting today pet her. All without treats! Of course, she was looking for the treats and wouldn't have said no to them, but she enjoyed the attention regardless. 

Brogan is becoming more bull everyday. He tried to take me on a bucking bull ride by going in between my legs, but luckily Flora and Fiona shooed him away. Thanks girls, I appreciate that. 

We also accidentally left Patches and Fancy out in the pasture all night because they kept playing and we gave up, but they didn't make that mistake again tonight! I know they feel outnumbered with all the goats and cows, but maybe one day we'll get them a Jack or John. Just not today, we've got our hands full already!

Thursday Wrap-up

I'm falling behind on a lot of things lately, but I'm hoping after a reset this weekend, I'll be back to good. I've attached a couple of pics of the soffit for our front porch. It made a huge difference appearance wise and I'm glad I listened to Billy about that. He's the expert after all. 

The kids are cracking me up daily. They absolutely love to jump and play! Floppy ears flops when he runs, the tan lives to jump over Caramel, and S'mores chocolate chip cutie keeps going to one kid after the next to say hi hi hi!

Fiona and Ciarán both had the zoomies today. At the same time! Ciarán around the back of the barn and Fiona in and out the front of the barn. Fiona is great with her zoomies not to hit anyone else, but we weren't so sure Ciarán knows her size. I'm just happy they had fun and didn't trample us. 

Y'all have a great weekend and here's hoping next week everything gets back to going smoothly!

Selfie Fun

I'm not sure yet how my animals will do with other people, but they're getting used to my cuddling and selfies with them! Yes, even Fiona! Only problem with Fiona and the selfies is only she or I can fit in the frame at one time. Not both of us big boned ladies!

Ciarán and Coorie are slowly getting more adjusted to us. Slowly, but surely. Ciarán will allow me to brush her forehead and give her treats. Coorie will only take alfalfa and from the furthest distance she can. We'll get there!

I still didn't take pics of the barndo, sorry. I've got a lot on my plate and I spent my free time playing with my animals today instead. There's always tomorrow!

Flora, the best at selfies

Patches

Brogan

Fiona

Fancy

Metal and Mayhem

First, the good news. The metalwork is now done for the barndo! They'll still have to come by for the punch out before the barndo is considered complete, but for all intents and purposes, they're done and they did great! Hopefully I'll take pics tomorrow. 

Now for not bad news, just silly news. Nutty is literally beside himself because we won't let him near his women or his kids. The moms need to heal and the kids need to be with their mamas, so Nutty just is driving himself crazy. Well, he's driving the bigger animals crazy, too. Today we've had Nutty banging his head against the gate to try to break it open. He's tried challenging the donkeys to a dance off. And honestly, I'm surprised the cows didn't stampede him when he kept jumping over them while they were laying down trying to enjoy a casual afternoon. I think it's unanimous by all that we named Nutty correctly!

A Little Cheesy

We're prepping to begin making cheese hopefully by next week, so I've been reviewing all we need and what we'll need to do. I like to share my information and here it is. 

To make basic goat cheese, or chevre if you want to be fancy and I do, you only need a few ingredients. One of those is obviously goat milk which we have, but the other is rennet, which we don't. When searching for rennet, the helpful Google box asked if I wanted vegetarian rennet or regular rennet. Huh? What is rennet anyway? Well, traditionally it's the enzymes of a goat's stomach. I apologize for those in the past that told me cheese wasn't always vegetarian, I stand corrected. 

Since we're going to have plenty of milk and I'll be trying out different recipes, I'm going to go ahead and try both rennet versions. Which would y'all be interested in trying?

Lavender & Caramel

Truly a crazy weekend. We started off on Friday with driving two hours one way for lavender Orpington almost two week old chicks.  Fifteen unsexed beauties are now nestled in our greenhouse to stay warm and safe. I know we have at least one boy in the group because every time I revved up the car on the return home, he started chirping. That's totally a guy thing. 

Then Saturday after running errands to go every which way for hay, feed, etc, we came home to Caramel having twins! Somehow, one of the twins was outside the goat stall, truly have no idea how, and she was very weak. We tried everything and took turns through the night caring for her, but she died this morning in my arms. Both kids that have passed started out weak from birth, so I need to talk with the vet to find out if there's more I can possibly do. 

The other twin is doing wonderfully though. She is the cutest kid sister to all the now two week old kids. It's amazing how quickly they grow! 

We just finished saying goodnight to all of our furry animals and we've earned our rest for tonight. More pics tomorrow, but here's some to start. 

Flights of Fancy

Every once in awhile, when the weather has been exceptionally pleasant, the donkeys like to run and play in the pasture. Normally, they'll come in right when we're finishing up with everyone else, but not today. 

Today, they wanted to play chase with us. First, they followed me all the way up to the barn then Fancy nodded her head to Patches and they turned around and ran off! I got in the mule to chase them and they were over the moon happy. At one point, I stopped the mule and Fancy literally trotted around it with her head held high and a gleam in her eye. 

Rob wanted a turn, so he chased them around some. You could tell Patches really wanted to stop and eat (she's all about the food) but Fancy was calling the shots tonight. 

We're going to eat our own dinner and then put them to bed. They've dealt with new coos and kids, they deserve this special time. 

Chill Out

Our builder had given us the assignment to get our bathtub and our shower fixtures. Off we went to Home Depot and started looking at appliances. Did we find the bathtub and shower fixtures we wanted? No, but we saw what's going to be our fridge! 

Ok, Rob and I are horrible at starting focused at times, so we decided to head across the street to Lowes to look at their tub and shower stuff. They didn't have what we wanted in stock, but they also had the fridge! By this point, Rob and I are sold on it. 

We still haven't purchased it yet because I'm customizing it. It's a Samsung Bespoke fridge with a beverage dispenser and tons of room. It's nice and sharp angled versus the bubble style I see a lot of. Best part, I can design my own panels on it! Who wouldn't want Fergus to greet you during your midnight snack? Rest in peace my sweet boy, you're still in our hearts. 

A Little Love

We're going through crazy stuff in many directions right now, so sometimes I just need a little love. I took a break this afternoon and visited with my animals. Fiona and I had a good petting session before the donkeys wanted their love. Honestly, Patches will stand by my side no matter what. She fully trusts me and loves to literally be my sidekick. 

The goats gave me their love today, too. S'mores even gave me a kiss on the cheek! They're not as protective of their kids now and will allow me to nuzzle them more. 

We're still working on Ciarán and Coorie though. One day they'll begin to want attention and not just food, but today was not that day. Brogan and Flora though, will gladly take as much scratches as I want to give them. Here's hoping y'all all have a little bit of love today!

Chicks For Free

Once upon a time, not too long ago, you could buy baby chicks for barely anything. While we have ten wonderful chicks, we were thinking of buying two other heritage breeds to double our numbers this year. We had decided on buff Orpington and Jersey Giant. Yeah, good luck with that. 

See, Iowa is where the largest chicken hatcheries are in the country, and they recently fell into hard times. Now, there is literally a wait-list to get chicks and the earliest for us to receive them would be June. With our weather around that time of year, those poor little chicks would definitely die during transit from the heat. So, plan b. 

Now, I'm looking at anyone in Texas who have baby chicks for sell. We won't be able to get them sexed, but I've got a lead on lavender Orpington close to us. Here' hoping there are more females than males and we can get them before someone else does!

Levels of Mud

Did you know mud has different levels? It's quite similar to Dante's "Inferno". Picture this, in a Forrest Gump way. 

You've got swamp mud, clump mud, slick mud. There's sticky mud, mixed mud, pellet sized mud. You can slosh in mud, you can get stuck in mud, and you can slip in mud. Mud can be slung. Mud can be everywhere and anywhere. We've got your mud. 

Aside from us drying out mud, we've made great progress with all the new animals. Ciarán will let me pet her ear and offer a treat to Coorie. Coorie won't take the treat yet, but she does appreciate being asked. 

The kids are all getting bigger and stronger! Two of them are even brave enough now to let me pet them. They're spending less time cowering behind their mamas and more time playing with each other. By the time we get them weaned, it's my goal to make each one pet worthy. Meaning, they have no fear of humans and being handled. It's coming together!

Yuck and Eww

The whole farm is a disgusting mess right now. I can barely walk, there's mud everywhere and the coo stall is horrid. 

As y'all may remember, we have a small hole in the roof of the cow stall. All the ice has been melting into that hole it seems and this is also where the cows like to do their business. We need a truckload of barn lime and an industrial febreze to help us dry it out to muck it out. The smell is atrocious and the coos attitude is definitely affected by it. 

Supposedly, we're getting sun tomorrow. I sure hope so! Ciarán needs to learn who I am and I need to get as much kid time as I can before they find new homes. Bring on the sun!

It Figures Skating

I've never been an athletic person. I can trip just walking and the Olympics have never considered me for any sport. Today though, I created a figure skating gymnastics move worthy of gold. 

Picture this, I went outside among the icy tundra to peek towards the barn and listen for the animals. During this time, I also let me two pups out to burn some energy and get some potty action. Well, it was after all this when Kenzie had already gone inside and Reggie decided to stop to watch a truck go by. He was very concerned about the truck, but he was not concerned the door was open and Mango, one of two indoor cats, decided freedom was his. 

Ok, totally cute watching Mango and his fluffy butt skid to underneath the truck. Great that Kenzie scruffed him so he couldn't take off. However, this is where I took the stage. On my last step to the truck, my left leg shot sideways quickly into a split. I don't, and never have done, the splits. Various cracking sounds were heard in my left leg as my right leg tries to do a pirouette move with extra pizzazz. The dismount was my landing hard on my left buttock and yet somehow, my right hand sliced through Kenzie's hold thereby then grabbing Mango myself. By the time I came to a stop, I had Mango over my shoulder, Kenzie by the collar and the adrenaline was quickly wearing off. 

No broken bones, but my left bum to ankle is bruised and painful. Rob took pity on me (probably because he didn't want to take me to the hospital) and fed all the animals for the night. By the way, every living creature on our farm is doing fantastic, but even the coos are done with this ice!