Almost there

So it looks like it's about that time again. We are expecting kids (baby goats) any day now. Seems like it is kind of a race to see who will drop the first set. There are several that look like they will at any time. There are even a couple that look like they are to the point if they don't drop quickly, they will just pop like an overinflated balloon. I am thinking that Peta or Ole Whitey will be first, we will soon find out. I really thought Peta was going to go last night. I went out to check her a couple times before I went to bed, but she was just laying around sleeping. She wasn't near as concerned about it as I was. I will post pictures of them as they come. May not post pictures of all of them as there should be around 60 or 70 babies born in the next couple weeks. Not to mention a litter of pups in a couple weeks and then another litter around the first of March. Needless to say, it may be a little crazy around here for a while with 60 or 70 baby goats and 15 or 20 puppies. I have a funny feeling there are many sleepless nights in my near future. You can bet, if there are babies being born, I will be in the barn just in case someone needs help.

Gotta run for now. Ciao

Almost there

So it looks like it's about that time again. We are expecting kids (baby goats) any day now. Seems like it is kind of a race to see who will drop the first set. There are several that look like they will at any time. There are even a couple that look like they are to the point if they don't drop quickly, they will just pop like an overinflated balloon. I am thinking that Peta or Ole Whitey will be first, we will soon find out. I really thought Peta was going to go last night. I went out to check her a couple times before I went to bed, but she was just laying around sleeping. She wasn't near as concerned about it as I was. I will post pictures of them as they come. May not post pictures of all of them as there should be around 60 or 70 babies born in the next couple weeks. Not to mention a litter of pups in a couple weeks and then another litter around the first of March. Needless to say, it may be a little crazy around here for a while with 60 or 70 baby goats and 15 or 20 puppies. I have a funny feeling there are many sleepless nights in my near future. You can bet, if there are babies being born, I will be in the barn just in case someone needs help.

Gotta run for now. Ciao

Can you believe this weather?

They always say if you don't like the weather in Missouri, hang around a few minutes and it will change. That saying could not be more true lately. Today the high temp got up to near 40 degrees. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be around 18. It was beautiful today, with the sun shining. On the way home, it was snowing and the wind was blowing. Too bad it can't just make up it's mind. Although I do have to say that I would like to get the coldest of the weather over before the goats start to kid. Makes things a lot more difficult when they kid when it's so cold out. Not to mention that puppies should be getting born in a couple weeks.

This is a picture of Brownie. She is one of the expectant mothers and should be the first to have puppies. She is 5/8 Anatolian Shepherd and 3/8 Great Pyrenees. The daddy is Butch, so the puppies will be 1/2 and 1/2. I am anxiously awaiting their arrival and I am very curious to see what they will look like and who they will take after. Either way, they will be extremely good guard dogs or loyal pets. They are protective by nature to whatever or whoever they bond with. I will post pictures of the other expectant mothers in later posts. If you know of anyone who is interested, let me know. Anyone interested in one of these dogs as a pet should understand they are a large breed dog.

Anyway, that's about it for now. Trying to stay warm seems to be the order of the day, or at least it will be tomorrow.

Talk to you later.

God Bless

Good Ole Butch

Today was a little warmer. A regular heat wave. Must have been up around 15 degrees or so. I was going to put hay in the barn yesterday for the goats to eat but changed my mind due to the fact that when I went out to do it, they were already outside eating. It seems the cold didn't bother them as much as it did me. I did go out this afternoon and put out another big bale for them. It has been so cold lately that the fuel in my tractor was starting to gel a little. Not a good thing. I remembered that I bought that fuel almost two months ago when it was still warm out so there wasn't any additive in it to keep it from doing so. I did manage to get it going long enough to put out hay though. No way I would let the animals go without food. I always make sure they eat before I do. Figure its only fair as they are totally dependent on me.

The dogs are doing great, and the cold doesn't bother them what so ever. I am going to try and put a picture of Butch on here so you can see how big he has become. He is quite the behemoth, and he seems to get bigger with each passing day.
I will post pics of the girls on future posts. Butch is a beautiful dog with a very good disposition. He is a wonderful working dog. There is not so much as a bird that can stay in the field. He doesn't like intruders of any kind. Between him and the girls, I really have piece of mind when I go to sleep at night knowing they are on duty.

As far as the guitar goes. I am on to lesson 5 & 6 learning mostly chords and strumming patterns now. It is actually very interesting to me. Only problem I seem to be having at this point is getting all my fingers to work together. I am sure I will overcome this with time and I am not about to give up now. I have come a long way, with even more to go. But that is half the fun.

Gotta go for the evening. Talk with ya'll later. Have a great evening.

Cold

And I thought it was bitter cold yesterday. Today I woke up and it was -6.5 degrees outside! I was thinking about doing a little hunting, but after seeing temp, I think I must re-evaluate. The only thing I am going to hunt today is a warm spot.

I do have to go out a little later. I am going to put out some hay in the barns so the goats don't have to go outside to eat. Not that it needs to be done, I just want them to have the option. When I looked outside this morning, the only thing stirring around was the dogs. Seems the cold doesn't phase them what so ever. They were out in the snow chasing and playing with each other like puppies. That's hard to swallow that the cold doesn't get to them.

It is definitely a winter wonder land today. I may head out to the store today just to get out for a bit, but I think I will spend the larger part of my day playing guitar and trying to learn a few more things with it. Any requests?

Winter

My how twelve hours can change things. Last night when I went to bed there was a little snow left over from the last storm we had. This morning when I awoke, everything was white. About 4" of new snow on the ground and very cold. The roads on the way to work were dangerously slick as well. It normally takes me about 1 hour to get to work. This morning, it turned into a 2 hour ordeal. You almost had to call ahead and make a reservation to slide into the ditch!! Of course, once I was at work it didn't matter anymore. I could stay inside and do what I needed to do. But it wasn't to be that way today. I received a call from home informing me that the heat lamp I turn on when it gets really cold had burned out. I went ahead and left work early so I could try and get things back in working order before dark and it turned cold again. After moving the hay that covers the entryway to get under the house. I found that it was as simple as a burnt out heat bulb. However, living in the country means it is never really that simple. The local store in town 4 miles away didn't have any bulbs. I had to end up going to Walmart which is 26 miles away. Needless to say, it was dark by the time I got home. Bulb in, light on, goats fed, dogs fed and now it's my turn to eat, rest and relax. I can tell you this. I was happy to get in from the cold.

One last thing. If you want a cheap but tasty dinner. Try the boxed dinners put out by Banquet. They have many to chose from and are actually quite good. They come with everything you need in one box, right down to the meat, and for less than 4 bucks, it can't hardly be beat.

Well that's about it for now. Time to play a bit of guitar and then try and get some rest. Tomorrow should be a busy day at work with a little more snow on the way, then on to what is supposed to be a bitter cold weekend.

Goodnight.

One more thing..

For those of you who don't know. I have decided to learn to play the guitar. I am pretty much teaching myself. I did purchase a course that includes DVD's and music that you can play along with. I was going to borrow a guitar from a friend of mine, but got to thinking I would rather just have my own. I bought a very nice guitar October 20th and started plunking at it. I was skeptical prior to buying it. Was afraid I would spend the money on a guitar and then after a couple weeks give it up. I am happy to report, that has not happened. I play it nearly every night and I think I am progressing well. I can now play about 8 or 9 songs!! I continue to improve and I am happy with the progress thus far. We will see where I go with it. I do enjoy it quite a bit.

Well everyone, that's about it for now. Take care and we'll visit again soon.

P.S. If you are familiar at all with guitars. I bought a Takamine G series. It is awesome.

My Best Friend

I would like to take just a moment here and give a pat on the back to my Best Friend. Seems that there have been a lot of changes in her life lately. Positive ones I might add. Let's see if I can sum it up pretty quickly.

She moved across the state from Liberty to St. Peters, leaving behind all her friends for a hope and the chance to be "home" and spend time with family. I think this is a very positive change for her. She is moving forward, but will be greatly missed. She will not be forgotten about. St. Peters gain is our loss. She has now found a great new place to live, has a new computer on the way (which is something she has always wanted) and is very much excelling at her job. Great Job, keep it up!! You know I will be rooting for you.

Just a little of what you have meant to me. You have been the source of great inspiration. You have shown me the true meaning of faith. I have seen you grow, watched you mature, and in so, it has helped me grow as well. I am thankful to you for this. I will miss the times we spent together. The movies on the weekends, running across town to get to a store in the nick of time before they closed. I will never forget the Boston Baked bean incident, and I don't think you will either. Your smile still sticks with me today. I will forever cherish the memories we made together. I will miss being able to share in person with you the accomplishments and growth you are enjoying. I will miss the late night dinners, the way you light up when you discover something new, or how much passion you put into everything you do.

Bottom line: You are missed! You are loved!!

Been a while.

It's been quite some time since I have made any posts. My apologies, I will try and do much better from here on out. Now for a quick update.

At one point I was up to almost 80 head of goats. That has changed. I am currently only running 39 head, 36 of which are about ready to drop kids in a few short weeks. They should start kidding around the first of Feb. That was not really the idea. The original plan was to keep Roman (the buck) away from the does long enough so they wouldn't start kidding till March 1st. He decided differently. Once his girlfriends started calling his name, there was no keeping him away. Things will be different this upcoming year, as a steel fence will keep him separated from them. I also have 4 guardian dogs. They are Great Pyrenees mixed with Anatolian Shepherd, except for Butch (the male), he is full blooded Great Pyrenees. They are beautiful animal and quite the blessing to have here on the farm. They protect the animals and only want a little food and affection in exchange. They are unbelievable animals. Two of them are going to have puppies pretty soon. Brownie should have pups mid Feb, and Corey should have pups around the first of March. So if you know anyone that is wanting a puppy that will show great affection and has a natural guarding instinct, whether for animals or for humans and their property, let me know. There will be a friend and family discount. This spring I will start rebuilding the herd, I would like to have at least 100 head of breeding age females by this time next year.

So many things have changed over the past summer it's not even funny. Nothing seems to be the same anymore. I will maybe touch on that in future posts. That is a bit of an update for the farm. I may touch on it more later. Till then, take care and God Bless.