The Pig Days of Summer

It is finally summer in the Pacific Northwest. I'm not complaining. It has been wonderful. I'm a mid-seventies kind of gal.
We've been busy with new babies, milk testing, chopping wood, painting, and visiting kids...including my son and daughter-in-law. I am in the process of teaching my DIL all the ropes of farming and she is a very willing student. I can now say, "I'm too tired to milk." and she will happily go do all my chores for me and even make the milk into cheese.
I love her.

My son is an expert at holding the baby goat and socializing it while she milks. I love him too:)

Blackberry has turned into quite the entertaining guy. His favorite pastime is chasing chickens and the cat. I didn't really want another llama but I'm glad I didn't have a choice. My llama lady told me he would be a lot of fun and she was spot on. He is nothing but fun.....at this point.




 I told Willow she gets to keep him. I'm pretty sure I heard her say thank you.

The goats are all doing well and milking up a storm. I received the numbers of the top ten does for the 2011 milking season and if I'd have continued milking Cora Belle last year just a little bit longer she'd have made it into the top 5.

We are working hard this year to get her on the list for the 2012 milking season. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Hazelnut, Cora Belle's daughter, is turning into the farm favorite with her winning personality that she gets from her dad, Chaos. It certainly didn't come from Cora Belle.

She has a really big mouth though.

Snaps continues to grow and Buttons is just happy to be alive. She has loaned her position as Farm Ambssador to Hazelnut for awhile.

Life is good!

Happy Mother's Day

My kids were home last week and for my Mother's Day present put the lattice on my barn. There is nothing I like better than to have people working for me. It turned out beautifully and grounds the barn to the...well, ground.

I love these guys. Now how about those steps.

How is Buttons?

Buttons is doing just fine. Thanks for asking. You would not even know she had such a hard time. She is very pleased with her new baby boy and is taking very good care of him. Snaps is just like his momma and is training for the role of farm ambassador. My son and daughter-in-law have been carrying him around and socializing him. Buttons is a smart mom and appreciates a good babysitter. She doesn't waste any of her precious free time looking for him.
I think this will be Buttons' last kid....at least for awhile. She's earned some time off.

Dottie

Ouch

My brother-in-law has a farm where he raises beef and anything else his daughters brought home. Over the years he has been known to use family gatherings with an abundance of male attendees to get some of his more unpleasant tasks done. The men and boys never knew if they were going to herd cattle, separate the bull, or for that matter castrate the bull calves. It has turned into a family joke. My brother had the misfortune of being in on one of these family parties and witnessed the pulling of a calf with a '77 LTD bumper. The cow and calf lived but my brother was never the same. Hubby has always been right in there helping his brother......when he couldn't fade away into the background.

Little did I know this family joke would come in handy.

Buttons went into labor yesterday and when it came time for her to push all that presented was one long front leg. I stuck my finger in to have a feel around and came up with another leg but no head. I brought the leg out but it was a back leg. Now I had a front leg and a back leg out and I still couldn't find the head. I tried to stuff the back leg back in. It wouldn't go. I tried to find the head and finally found it way in the back but couldn't get this kid turned around. I was really getting nervous now. I was all alone and no matter what I did I could not get this huge kid out. I needed help. I started to go back home and then realized I had ridden my bike to the farm and would have to peddle home for help.

I was a horrible sight to see turning into my driveway covered in blood and mucus. I told Hubby that something was terribly wrong and that I couldn't get the kid out. I would need to call someone. I would call the goat farmer at Herron Hill. He asked if I would like him to try. Now I must say Hubby is not really into the farm as much as I am. He is a reluctant farmer. Growing up in the suburbs with no pets it didn't come naturally for him but being one that isn't afraid of getting his hands dirty he is always willing to help. So I accepted his offer and as we flew back to the farm to try and save Buttons I called the goat farmer just in case. I left a shaky scared message to come help Buttons.

When we got to the farm the two legs were still sticking out and Buttons was in great pain.  I told Hubby to pull down and out but to get that baby out. I held Buttons collar while he grabbed the legs and gave a good pull downward. I asked if it budged at all and my heart sank when he replied "No, not a bit."
 So we gave it another try and this time Hubby reached in and grabbed what he thought was the rear end of the kid and pushed it down while pulling as hard as he could and out it shot. I have never felt so relieved to see a kid shoot out then at that moment. The kid was huge and dead. It is always sad to see a kid make it that far and then not live but I didn't care. Buttons was saved. Even Buttons was so relieved to have this large kid out she didn't care either. I worked on the kid for awhile to see if I could get him going and then when it looked futile, wrapped him in a towel and set him aside. Poor boy. He was beautiful.
Thankfully she had another in there and with a little help from me (this one was not in the right position either) pushed forth another big boy. He was alive.

Snaps

Now Buttons being the practical girl she is quickly forgot about the dead baby and focused all of her attention on the new live one. I slipped the dead kid out and buried him. I know I should be more upset about him but I am so relieved that it wasn't Buttons I was burying....it was that bad folks.

 Sure I've seen the horror stories about stuck kids but in all my years of goat raising have never had one. Lucky for Buttons, Hubby had spent a few of his holidays helping his brother and one of those days involved pulling a calf. The family jokes will continue but I know for a fact there is a little goat named Buttons that is glad that a farmer is out there teaching the menfolk how to deliver a baby that doesn't want to come.

So Hubby was my hero yesterday. He not only saved my goat but he washed and vacuumed my Jeep. I don't know which took more courage.

Love

Triplets Again?

Excuse me but you're in my spot

I had read that llamas choose a special spot to have their babies. The llama lady asked if I had noticed if Willow had picked a spot yet. I hadn't noticed. When I went to feed yesterday I did notice a huge difference in how Willow was acting though. She was humming. A lot. And using the dung pile. A lot. I knew for sure that we would have a baby that day. It just so happened that Hubby had rented a log splitter for the weekend and was busy splitting and stacking wood and I was busy cleaning around the farm. The perfect day to hang around and watch for a llama baby. When Willow wasn't at the dung pile she seemed to be hanging out with Hubby at the woodpile. He thought she enjoyed hanging out with him but as the day wore on and I knew that llamas gave birth in the morning I started to get worried. Then it dawned on me...this was Willow's place. The spot she had chosen to give birth. Long before Hubby decided to split firewood. We have to leave I told Hubby. You have to stop right now and leave. You are in her spot. "But I only have about 5 more minutes of wood to stack," he said. But he packed up at my insistence and we left her to her spot. It was approaching the 6 pm deadline for llamas to give birth without problems....I read it on the internet! We had to get out of there fast. When I checked on her a half hour later there were two long legs and the head sticking out her rear end. It was huge and she was having a hard time getting him out. As she paced around she knocked his legs and head on trees and got his gangly legs caught in the fence several times. Every time I tried to help it only made it worse so once again I left her alone and went to milk and do my chores. She finally delivered him at 5:45 pm with one hard push as I watched from the barn door. As he slid to the ground she made a terrible noise, swung around and acted like she was attacking him. I ran from the barn screaming her name and it seemed to startle her out of her attack and she turned to him and started loving on him. What was that? Hubby says it was like spanking a newborn...that's his theory. I'm just going to forget about that little episode since Willow has turned into the perfect little mother to her giant baby boy.

We named him Blackberry after the little wild blackberries that are ripe right now. He is really very popular because no one I know including myself has ever seen a baby llama.

I am going to start charging admission.

He's Here

At least I think it's a he...she won't let me anywhere near him.

Willow's Dirty Little Secret

When we got Willow she was in a large pasture with two alpacas, the carcass of her mother, and her intact father. I knew there was the possibility she was pregnant. I asked my vet if it would be a problem and she thought no. Then I put it out of my mind and brought Willow home. As the months went by I was sure that she wasn't. She didn't look pregnant. Then she started lying down a lot more than usual. That was my first clue. So when the llama lady came over the first thing I ask her was to see if she thought Willow might be pregnant. As the fiber came off there was a good section of her belly exposed so it was easy to see the leg that poked out of Willow's side. The llama lady said sure enough Willow was going to have a baby. Even I was sure when I saw the little llama udder. I asked the llama lady if it was a problem that the father is her dad and she thought no as well. Willow is going to be both mother and sister to this little baby. Now we will never mention it again.

The Llama Lady

The time had come for Willow to be shorn and she badly needed her toenails trimmed. I knew I needed help since we really haven't gotten very far in the llama touching training. Yes, Willow is now pretty friendly with me....just don't touch her. This is fine with me if I can maintain her. While on Craigslist one day, I found a gal to come out and give it a go. I made sure and told her several times that Willow was not halter trained and was wild when caught. She assured me that Willow was exactly the kind of llama she is used to working with. We set a date and I proceeded to get to work training Willow to go into the woodshed, the chosen shearing spot. I stressed so much about getting her in there the day that Marielle was coming. But Willow went in easily and when I closed her in she just looked casually at me and continued to munch her hay. I am ashamed to admit how much I worried about that one little step. I got myself a lawn chair, napped in the sun, and waited for the llama lady's arrival.

I was wondering to myself how 2 middle aged women were going to rid Willow of her hair and wrestle her feet for a trim. After his trip around a field on the end of a lead rope, Hubby wondered too. He kept telling me not to get hurt. Once again I worried about this way too much. The llama lady arrived but instead of the middle aged llama lady I had expected she was a darling young 21 year old llama lady....and her strong charming brother. They had Willow haltered in no time and out of her small bag of tricks Marielle whipped out her hand shears and proceeded to rid Willow of her gorgeous fiber while giving me a lesson on llamas. Wow what colors...and soft...oh man. It even smelled good.

The brother gently held Willow and was the "you missed a spot" guy. What a team! So with fiber all off once again she dove into her bag of tricks and before Willow knew it she had her feet trimmed, was wormed, and vaccinated. I don't need to be able to handle my llama, I have them. This is Marielle's website in case you are in need of a good llama person.Queen Anne's Lace

She also told me Willow's little secret that was more obvious when her fiber was gone. Willow is pregnant and quite far along. I think Marielle was much more excited than I was. She said I can do this. She said it was easy. I'm going to spend too much time worrying about this too. I can just tell.

"I am coming to your farm!"

Today was a very exciting day in kindergarten. I don't know who was more excited the kids or the adults. Every kid in kindergarten ran up to me with a huge smile and let me know they were very excited to come to my farm. Oh to feel the unbridled joy of a 6 year old and then show it. Buttons was the farm ambassador and Willow looked on from a distance.

The Kinders Are Coming

It's that time of year again. Farm Unit in kindergarten that is topped off with a trip to my farm. I've been busy getting it ready for company. The barn is finally painted which is a great relief since I hate to paint. The grass is mowed and I am trying to keep the poo at bay so 60 shoes don't step in it. I am excited to share my little farm with all those children that I have gotten to know and care for this year. Every year brings a new batch! Just like goat kids.

It's official, summer is here

I don't care what the calendar says, summer is here. I know it's here because I heard what I call "the bird of summer" this morning. It took me years to pinpoint what kind of bird I was hearing because it is never seen. Tucked away in the woods you will hear its lifting song. It sounds circular to me...if that makes any sense. With the help of an app. or two a friend of mine identified this bird of summer as a Swainson's Thrush. Migrates to our area just in time for a fun filled summer. When I hear its song I think of bonfires and bbqs, long warm nights, and no school. Although the temps are in the 50s and I'm wearing a sweatshirt, I heard it this morning...summer is officially here.

Life is Good

I See a Pattern

Boots' beautiful babies. First we have Cameo.

Then there is this handsome guy. So far nameless.

I do hope someone wants a buck because he's pretty.

Surprise!

It is always fun to go down to the farm and get a surprise...like new babies. Boots had her babies sometime during the night. By the time I got down there this morning they were dried off and fed and afterbirth passed. The Buttons' family are good kidders and mommas. No drama. Buck and doe in Minter Bay colors-Dalmatian spotted with blue eyes and wattles. Pictures after work.

Happy Mother's Day

A friend gave me this card today for Mother's Day. She always has a way , like my mother, of finding just the right cards. Card courtesy of Hallmark Shoebox

Note to Self

Next year, don't breed so many goats. I have never been so busy in my life as I have been the last few weeks. There is so much to do with all the milking, babies, cheese making, barn building....and what? I have to clean my house too? And cook? And go to work? It is starting to slow a little as babies get older and some go off to new homes but Boots is still due and I think Buttons is due in July. We are getting in a nice milking routine. Alice is now fondly called Jersey Girl as she is giving as much milk as a Jersey cow. I almost couldn't milk her out but my hands are getting stronger. Cora Belle is also milking like a cow and is doing well on her milk tests. We have added Wedding Belles to the line-up and she is giving a fair amount of milk. Thus all the cheese making going on around here. Several more weeks of school and then I can spend more time....milking, cleaning, painting....and not cleaning house.