The Weekend Tractor Project Part III

The old gal is starting to receive a new coat of paint, one section at a time. This is her instrument panel. The old Massey Ferguson red sure is a nice hue, not too bright, a beautiful deep cherry type of red.





New gauges await the instrument panel. We will need to let the panel sit for several days now, since it was just painted today.




The faded gal is going to love her new red!

It was good visiting with our friends today. We have been busy for a number of weekends. My husband has been studying, I have been working in the soap shop, and it has been too hot to throw open the garage doors (even though our friends have air inside the shop). Today we enjoyed our great friendship once again!

You can follow prior tractor project posts here.

Organization is Working

How is everyone? I am fine, great, happy...even though I still cannot arrange the photos within my blog again today...I am being tested!

I worked today...yes...I know, it is Sunday. The husband went to visit his tutor for assistance with an exam that he is re-taking this week and I decided to catch up a bit more in the soap shop while he was out.

I love the photo of the new Yuzu fragranced goat milk soap. I think my phone took a good shot of it. I took a new mug shot for the lotions. I'll work on it again. Gone are the kraft labels. As much as I would have liked to make them work they simply had no stickability (I made that word up, it might exist though). Uh huh.

Lotions are my focus this week. Even though I leave the lotions on the website, they never show a back order, I can tell you, especially this week. I was sold out! Very few bottles remained. But I like 'em fresh, so that is how they go out whenever I cannot replinish the entire supply. But...my goal is to have the supply completely refreshed by Wednesday, all 10 scents.

I have been doing some cleaning and organizing as well. See the planner on the desk? It is working! The corner in the photos is my shop "office" so to speak. I have a real office in the house, where I am sitting now. I am considering moving my old PC into the shop so I can hook up an unused printer for labels. But...I am sort of (hmmm) out of room. The husband has suggested that I begin using a part of his wood shop for storage. He says he is going to have to build a new building. Nooo...nooo....and noooo.

Since I took you for a visit into the shop today. I thought I would show you what I was listening to as well. The CD is called Church In The Wildwood, Volume II. I think it was put together specifically for the Cracker Barrel stores. There are no vocals, the instruments are: hammered dulcimer, autoharp, guitar, fiddle and mandelin. Beautiful! Peaceful. I listen to many different kinds of music. If you knew what I was playing in my truck this week you would think I was reverting back to the early 70's. So I will leave that up to your imagination.

Is anyone else having problems with posting photos, specifically when you post more than one, does Blogger still allow you to move the photos within the post? Starting yesterday I have not been able to. It looks rather dorky to me to post 3 or 4 photos in a row with no verbiage. But that is what I will do until I get the problem resolved.

The First Day of Summer - Tomorrow

Having Blogger problems. So, I decided (just for today) to leave the photos where they are and leave the writing where it is at! I am NOT going to fight it today.

I am not one that likes to complain about weather, nor do I like to make it a point of conversation everywhere that I go. I know it is hot for many of us, but somehow I just had to share. Photo taken in my truck on my way back up to the house from the evening feeding (20 minutes ago).

This is Ohio, pretty much north, and tomorrow is the first day of summer, so what gives with 93 degrees?

I love summer, dearly, dearly love it. I love heat. I do not like cold. I appreciate heat. Can I say that again so I will convince myself? I love heat.

We do not have central air. We cool the back of the house (where we lounge and where we sleep) with a large window unit. The front of the house (including the kitchen, this office, and 3 other rooms are not cooled). I have a ceiling fan in here with me. Ha. At night I love to hear the frogs and I love the fresh air. Seldom do I want the windows shut.

But...

Yesterday I changed the ink in one of the printers. The page kept smearing afterwards. I began to think I had a bad ink cartridge. Hmmm...guess what the problem was? Humidity. The paper was bunching up. Uh huh...good clean crisp white paper taken right out of the ream. Crisp? NOT!!

I am summer gal, though. Give me 6 months of summer. I will take it. Just tell me the animals and world will not suffer from such a drastic change first.

Okay...next pic. Remember the tiny little rose plants I bought for 2.99 each? One is going to bloom! I have had beautiful roses in the past, not at this property. By the looks of this bud and the growth that I am seeing in all of the plants, I think I found a good spot for a rose display.

I did not put out a large garden this year. I need to rethink my kidding season timing next year because I need to work freezing and canning into my schedule. I miss those tasks. They give me peace a joy. As I sprinkled plant food amongst the beds today I saw 6 new green tomatoes. I need a big garden again. Did I ever tell you who taught me how to can? My husband. When we first married he converted a small "barn" in our yard, with loft to a summer kitchen for me. It was complete with a propane range, a small wall A/C unit, a table to work with, and storage for the canned goods. Nobody taught him how to can, he taught me out of memory from watching his mother when he was a child. Amazing.

I worked in the soap room for a while today. It is heated, cooled, very well insulated (put together better than this old house). And I am heading back out there for a bit later. Moved soaps down from the curing rack. Adding them to the website at some point this weekend. And Now I need to fill the empty curing rack spots with new soap! I sold all of my lotion this week. Lotion is something that I make without a lot of hassle, but that does not mean a thing. I need to eat, sleep, dream about lotion for one full day. Fill the warehouse as one of my good friends tell me. Then he turns right around and says in the next breath, "You need to rest." When I ask him about his contradiction, he giggles and says, "Well, you know me." Thank you!

Have any of you updated to Windows Explorer 8? And if the answer is yes, are you having any problems? It sure is messing with my use of Blogger! Sometimes I cannot leave comments. Sometimes I cannot see photos. And right now I cannot move photos within a non-published post. Arghhhh...computers, love them, don't love them, cannot live without them! And all the same...I am praying for patience. Loads of patience.

Stay cool...and hope you are enjoying your weekend, filled with many blessings!

Sunday's Dairy Goats and Sheep

Dairy goats and sheep? Wait a minute...that looks like a kitten to me. My apologies, my better camera is out of order. Pictures today are delivered via my phone and my old "bad" digital camera. But not so bad that we turn kittens into dairy goats and sheep.

Do you think these two could pass as future Mr. Yellow Tom's? Mr. Yellow Tom loves to rough house with one of these look-alikes already.

Nothing like a good old kitten fight. This is what I see and hear when the goats are not mulling around.

Moving on to the feeding of the boer goats. Dusty (a lovely boer/alpine) always needs a good head rub.

Moving on to the milk stand. Chandra the saanan says, "Hey, you have my milk...now let me go dive into the hay with my buddy Cammille."

And Cammille the nubian says, "You have my milk too...hold on Chandra, wait for me!"

And after everyone is milked out, and the final (2) bottle kids are fed, and the goats are humming and crunching happily on their hay, bedded down for the night...up the barn driveway the goat lady goes...toting warm goat milk back to the house on the hill...reflecting on her many blessings.

And what does the goat lady find when she enters the house? Visitors? There are two new sheep, Wee Little Sheep, beautiful Nativity Sheep on the kitchen table.

The beautiful sheep pair arrived on Friday in a postal box decorated in sheep photos, marked fragile. These beautiful sheep are indeed fragile, beautifully made from clay and covered with lambs' wool, lovingly handmade by Kathy. Sent to my Ohio home, chosen as winnings from being a commenter on Kathy's blog, Spot On Cedar Pond.

Not only was the shipping box beautifully decorated in photos of Kathy's wonderful Jacob Sheep, Kathy also added some additional personal touches. A stunning handmade card arrived with the package, displaying the yarn that Kathy so lovingly crafts (from shearing her sheep, to spinning and dyeing the yarn). With some beautiful spun strands of lamb's wool threaded through the card. I keep repeating the word beautiful, it really was awesome!

Now I will show you the gorgeous "decorating" of the shipping box!

Kathy is a good friend, an inspiration to me. She is one of the women in my life that have kept me on my toes, in faith. I look for her daily blog inspirations. I hope you visit Kathy's blog as well, and please do not forget to visit her Etsy shop either, where you will find her wonderful lamb's wool creations, Cedar Pond Wool Craft.

Have a relaxing Sunday evening!

A Beautiful Start To The Week

I love Sunday's.

As a child I insisted on Sunday School (SS), even if the rest of the family were going for donuts. Our building was seperated by miles from the "adult" church on the Army base. I loved SS, and even Vacation Bible School. Each and every Sunday I am reminded of those days. Carefree and filled with a warm beginning to the week!

I finally changed my calendar to June this morning. What a fantastic photo taken by Lynn M. Stone. I have seen several pieces of her goat photography. This one is simply beautiful. LOVE the colors!

The photo was difficult to take. Why? Notice the dark ring around the edges? Twice this week I dropped my camera on my shop floor, which is concrete. The zoom lense no longer focuses in and out as it should. So, temporarily, I will take close up photos of soap (the photo taken on in Introspection post below was one of them) with the broken camera, and distance photos with my old digital camera.

Anyhow...I did fill every single curing rack in the shop this week. I do not have a lot of racks. I probably need more. At one point during this past week I decided that just setting the goal of making more soap was not going to work, I needed to see measurable results. I did.

This week I am focusing on upping the production of goat milk lotion, creating shampoo bars (especially rosemary for Lynnanne). Non-business related, I need to get caught up on the lawn and weeding before the weather pattern brings the rain and storms in later this week.

But today, God's command for a day of rest, that is exactly what I am going to do. I am going to relax, visit with friends this afternoon, come back home and relax again.

Please, enjoy your Sunday!

The Week's Reflections On A Sunday Morning

The fog is lifting and the sun is showing a lot of promise...promise for a beautiful Sunday, and a wonderful new week!

This has been a odd week at Annie's Goat Hill. So...I am going to do some ramblings here...a recap of sorts.

I was "off" by one day each day during the week. Somehow the holidays seem to do that to me. On Tuesday, of course I thought it was Monday. I worked on that thought all day on Tuesday. When the day started on Wednesday I thought it was Thursday. Ha ha! Working from home tends to do some of that too. Oh boy...but that is behind me (us) now.

We had problems with sick kids as well. There was a lot of humidity, rain off an on, no real closure to the dampness. It is dissapointing when you have a great kidding season, no loss of kids, and then you lose two just as they are near the weaning age. But, that is part of life on the farm. Had goat buyers on the farm yesterday, a good couple that come every year. They had the exact same scenario at their farm this week. Sort of knocks the air out of a person. It can be expected from time to time but it happens so quickly and helps us to remember how fragile these lives we care for really are.

I did accomplish a lot of soaping this week, but I need to do a LOT more! I am testing new recipes. Always a big job! Too soft, too hard, not conditioning enough, want good lather. Wave the magic wand, or add chemicals, and you might have it. But the magic wand is Mary, and Mary goes as natural as possible. I wouldn't have it any other way! When I placed my hands on my first bar of hand crafted soap many years ago I knew what I had, and I will continue to present it in that same fashion.

We had dinner with friends yesterday evening. Luise has Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately she has really been progressing. She is becoming more quiet and her episodes of confusion seem to be growing worse. She has good weeks, but when the difficult times arrive they come in bunches. It is a very sad disease. I have learned a lot from being with her, and I feel blessed to be one that she trusts completely, but there is nothing very good that comes out of it. The good part is someone that I love that I can be a friend to, help whenever I can.

Last night the storms rolled through. When they announced the tornado warning I listening. Bob and I have been in one tornado, thankfully it was a small tornado that pulled us off of the road. But that was an experience enough! So, now I watch and listen. I do not freak out but I do not ignore. Anyhow, we lost power right at 9:00 PM. We tend to forget just how quiet it really is without the sounds of the refrigerator humming, or how dark it is without the lights on the barn, or in the church parking lot next door. It really is beautiful to only hear the sounds of the bull-frogs on the pond. But, yet, we are spoiled by electricity and want it back quickly. It arrived back after a couple of hours.

Today we are visiting with friends, probably going to work on the tractor project. And after we arrive back home for evening feeding, we are going to start the week off right, with rest.

Have a beautiful Sunday!

A Beautiful "Me" Day

I love many things in life. I love my husband, my friends, my family, and my animals. If you notice, I did not mention any material things. There are other things that I love too, but they pale in comparison.

But sometimes, despite the need that we have for people, we also have a need to be alone. Today was one of those days.

Upon mutual agreement in our household, today I did what I love most, and the dear husband did what he loves most. I went to the soap shop, and he gave himself a good rest.

The curing racks are not so bare recently. I have been a hard working lady! I made a double batch of lavender peppermint goat milk soap today (not shown). Making the small single batches is no longer adequate. I love making soap in smaller batches. I feel like I have more control over the quality. So, instead of making larger batches, I still make smaller ones, just several at once.

I also received my new bottle and jar labels this week. I will be phasing out the kraft label look on the bottles. I love the kraft brown paper look, it fits into the scheme of everything (basics from the farm), however, they sure do not stick well. And as you know, WE NEED STICK! So, I have moved on to clear labels (below, and I apologize for the blur). Why are cameras stubborn just when you don't need for them to be? :)

Memorial Day Weekend

I hope you are having a beautiful Memorial Day weekend.

I had actually forgotten, Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. Memorial Day is the day to remember those that have lost their lives in the line of service for our country. But it has grown into so many things through the years. The picnic or cookout to celebrate the beginning of summer, the opening of the swimming pools (especially in the northern midwest states), the big race of the year (when I lived in Indianapolis), and a day to remember our loved ones that have passed on.

When I was a child we would visit the grandparents on Memorial Day weekend. I remember the poppy sales (artificial poppies to pin on), and I just read that originally they were made by disabled veterans.

It is a quiet weekend here. I have been mowing and digging in dirt. The girls are happy grazing. Amazing how much some of the babies have grown. Just like human children, you do not notice their growth so much when you see them every day. But take a picture, or put them next to a younger kid, and wow, you see it!

I have been a little lost for words lately, writer's cramp? It happens!

Was It The Blue?

As I was doing dishes early this morning I heard a bird hit the window right in front of me. I am a softie for animals and nature, so I immediately wondered if the bird was okay.

I looked up from a window a moment later and much to my surprise, because I had not seen one for years, was a beautiful indigo bunting perched on the picnic table. He appeared to be admiring the 12 packages of roses that we had purchased (at a deep discount) yesterday!

I am even giggling at myself over this one, but do you think he was looking at the blue? Do you think he first thought he saw a flock of indigo buntings on the table?

I remember the first time I saw an indigo bunting. It was the bird that got me interested in novice bird watching, 10th grade biology. We had walked into the field behind our school, and then into a small wooded area. There he was, a beautiful indigo bunting perched high up in the tree. He was beautiful. The colors were striking.

Here is a little information on the indigo bunting, along with a photo that I borrowed (not a photo taken through a rain streaked window, ha):

• A brilliantly blue bird of old fields and roadsides, the Indigo Bunting prefers abandoned land to urban areas, intensely farmed areas, or deep forests. The Indigo Bunting migrates at night, using the stars for guidance. It learns its orientation to the night sky from its experience as a young bird observing the stars.


• The sequences of notes in Indigo Bunting songs are unique to local neighborhoods. Males a few hundred meters apart generally have different songs. Males on neighboring territories often have the same or nearly identical songs

Borrowed info from : http://www.allaboutbirds.com/

Sunday's Tractor Project-Sandblasting Begins

The tractor project continued yesterday. I always have a good time with our friends, learning about tractor parts, listening to the guys find more problems, and better yet, find solutions. They love what they are doing! I loved hearing the tractor run.

Sunday was the day to begin removing parts from the old gal that need repainted. My husband, pictured above, finally got to use his new sand blaster. He donned a mask, then a hood, long suede gloves (his welder's gloves) and went to town sand blasting.

Pictured below is the "before photo" of the tractor's pull hitch (in an old water trough converted to a sand blaster tub) before it was sand blasted. The next photo is the hitch looking nearly new. Amazing. The guys then put the metal frame of the tractor seat in the trough. It came out beautifully clean, ready for paint too. The cushion part of the seat itself is on order. Expensive!

The '56 Massey Harris model 50 is going to be really spiffied up!

Hold Onto Your Hat Saturday

Ms. Akira has funky ears...and they are really funny in today's wind! It is a definitely a hold onto your hat folks type of day!

Akira is a doeling born to Bonnie, an alpine, and Emery, a nubian buck, last season. She is a large girl, and one that loves to chatter. I truly appreciate her. I am hoping for a nice sturdy girl on the milk stand someday from Ms. Akira.

I did not sleep very well last night, and some time during the night I heard little peeping noises. I would hear one little peeper, then silence, 20-30 minutes later I would hear another. I thought, "The goslings are hatching." Sure enough, there are 6 little fuzzy geese following mom and dad around today. I am always relieved when the eggs hatch, no smashing, no turtles bothering the eggs. The pair of geese come back and visit each spring. We love to see them return, and are sad when the family leaves.

I cannot get very close to the family today, so I tried a photo from across the pond. The babies look like specks, but they are scattered behind and below their proud and watchful parents on the ground.

Sunday's Tractor Project-She Is Running!

This past Sunday we visited our good friends. It was a tractor restoration day. This is Bob (our wonderful friend, not my husband Bob) pulling back off of the street, returning to the garage.

This is the newest tractor project. She is a dandy! I love this one!

The guys did not know how soon she would be running, but wouldn't you know she is putting right along already! So far they have adjusted the hydraulics and the carburetor, and Bob has given her new tires. Great progress has been made.

This girl is going to take a lot of work, but I think the more work they need, the more interesting they get!

Time For Yourself

As I cut the loaves of soap that I made yesterday into bars this morning my thoughts were on writing, sharing my thoughts with friends.

I am in the middle of making bottles, heating milk, but feeling compelled to "chat" first.

This is a busy time in many of our lives, and the "experts" say we will get even busier unless we deliberately make time for ourselves.

Some of us are older, some younger. But I personally remember a house with one phone. A phone that hung on the kitchen wall. And it had a dial, not buttons to push! That phone did not fit in a pocket, nor did anyone expect that phone to be answered every hour of the day, each day of the week. Nor did that phone have voice mail.

I personally love the connections that we have during this period of time, but sometimes we need to be disconnected. I really am not into catchy phrases, I pretty much march to my own drumbeat. One phrase that I truly did not understand was "me time." What???? It sounded very self-centered to me. Well...now that I understand the phrase more I will attest full-hearted that we all need me time! Me time is time without the pulling of committments, down time without the phone, without the computer, time to just do the things that makes our heart smile.

Yesterday, for me, it was making soap and mowing the grass. I felt like a teenager! Those are wonderful days!

Do not get me wrong, I love my friends, I love the connections, and there are too many people to count that I have to hear from every day (in one shape of connection or another). I do not feel complete without the connection of those people, BUT, and that is a huge but, we all need time without a tug or a pull. That is me time, and we do all need it for our own mental health. And remember yourself as newer technology continues to slide your way. You can say no. You can shut it off from time to time. I believe effectiveness stems from a balance in life. Try to be all, do all, and you lose yourself as the human being with a lot of worth you are!

The soaps that I cut this morning (above) are: spa salt bar (citrus blend), summer melon (muskmelon green and white), and a stress relief type of scent (citrus, light patchouli and others) with a slight violet marble. More on the scents once cured!

Ahhh...Spring's Promise

Tyra and I spent a few moments outdoors a bit ago. The day promises to be another bright and sunny one, filled with warmth, and the promise that we can enjoy the outdoors again for a while, which renews me inside and out!

We have a number of older lilac bushes here, 5 perhaps. They received some freeze damage this spring, but they still smell wonderful, especially in the early morning cool!

Heading outside with a cup of coffee to enjoy the birds and solitude.

Tyra agrees...she says, "Lets stay out here for a while!"

Not Finished Yet, As The Doe Says

Well, there is one thing for certain when you own goats, you never know everything for certain.

But isn't that true about life, expect the ups, downs, in and outs, and the surprises? If we don't expect them, we will be in a load of trouble.

Today is day 155 for Bonnie, my oldest dairy doe. I assumed she had not settled. No udder, tight ligaments, and no signs of pregnancy, except her voracious appetite and pushiness with other does has been a bit more pronounced the last couple of days. As I let her out of the gate this morning she moved with a noticible amount of slowness. I immediately said out loud, "Oh oh," as I reached between her legs as she passed through. Yep, milk came in. Giggle. We are not finished with the kidding season yet.

The old girl is outside today, walking around like nothing is up, now loosening in the ligaments, and beginning to show signs of impending labor. I keep hoping for it to start, as we are having friends over for cards tonight for the first time in months. But, no, nature isn't quite on that schedule today. And that is okay.

Waiting...waiting...and it will happen, in it's own time. It is the code of the doe, she will kid when she is good and ready. :)

Have a great Saturday! It is beautiful here today!

All Things Anew, Happy Easter

Each spring a pair of canadian geese return to our pond. We would like to believe they are the same pair, and as those with knowledge have written, they likely are the same pair. They do mate for life and they do return to the same "home" spot year after year.

About 4 evenings ago I noticed momma goose making a next. She is now resting on it.

We have heavy frost this morning and something told me to walk down to the pond with camera in hand. Tyra went with me. She does not bother anything that belongs on our farm. As we gazed at the goose, I realized that she indeed has frost on her back. She has been setting for a very long time, obviously, and is not going to give up. Can you imagine?

In about 18 days we should see the fuzzy yellow goslings emerge. And then we will begin to enjoy the rest of the pond activities as we see the young ones grow and learn. It never ceases to amaze me how geese teach with body language.

Have a wonderful Easter!

Heavy frost this morning on the back lots -

Not A Machine

On this beautiful Sunday I have several things in the works. Part of which is good old housework (that I never get much done, and I realize it cannot be a priority), catching up with people, and feeding newborn dairy goats. Yes, it is busy, and I am tired. What am I going to do about it? Write some thoughts here, head for a power nap, and then tend to the animals. I do all of this because I want to. It is not a burden. If a part of this were a burden, I would be figuring out how to make it what it should be, a joy.

Something has been on my mind. I am not an expert, but I still feel the need to write when something sways me. I never want to lead anyone down the wrong path. Honestly, I am not trying to lead anyone, period. But when I feel strongly, I write.

A few days ago, after I said to a wonderful lady that I am close to that I was swamped, but happy, doing what I want to do, the person replied to me, "I feel like a machine." It saddened me that someone would feel like a machine.

We are not machines, we were created to be human. We started our lives without a care, but we were made to grow, to think, but not to work so hard that we do not exist inside. When we feel like a machine we are lacking something. And it often means we need some "me time." "Me time" could be an hour, a day, or even a regular time and place to ourselves.

Everyone deserves a hobby, or a task that makes them feel good about themselves. It will not be tasking work as long as you enjoy what you are doing. We all need healthy outlets. The outlet may be your own business (doing something that you are passionate about), exercising (and I need to do a LOT more deliberate exercise myself), time alone, sleep (but not too much)...or just doing something that uses your mind, stirs your inner-soul, and helps you to feel good about life again.

I am not going to preach, because I have no right to do that. I can only speak from my own heart. To wrap this up...if you find yourself feeling like something less than human from day to day, do something about it. Be happy. We can all do it! Serving others is not a bad thing, but make sure you serve yourself too! When I feel that weariness I begin to evaluate several things, such as, what do I need to give up? What do I need to do for myself? And what can I change? If I cannot change something for the better (and I do not try to change others), then I find a way to do what makes me feel happy otherwise. Do what is best for you, nobody else will do it for you, it is not their job!

Take care...and I hope you are having a beautiful Sunday too!

Kids On A Saturday

There are two things that seem to happen when we enter the goat kidding season. One is the Doe Code of Honor (Jennifer of Goats In The Garden) mentioned recently. This means we wait and wait, similar to the old statement about a "watched pot that never boils."

If we are not waiting, we are being surprised, as we are today. Of course, I enjoy all of this, especially when I feel refreshed and not terribly tired. But even when I am that tired, I feel honored to be involved in such a wonderful event despite the fatique.

This year I bred the dairy girls to a boer buck. I keep my farm within certain numbers, approximately 30-35 boers, and the same number of dairy does. I love the hardiness of the nubian/boer cross, and I did not want to produce more dairy kids this year.

Many dairy farmers bottle feed their kids (calve, kid and lamb). That is my choosing. It was difficult at first, but now I appreciate knowing I am the one milking the udder, knowing the condition of each udder, knowing how much milk we are producing, and knowing that the milk is being pastuerized and is not passing along anything harmful to the dairy kids. It is a lot of work, and some day I may change my mind. For now, I still hold the dream of a large milking barn, a commercial operation, with udders that produce some mighty fine milk. And I will still make goat milk soap because that is my passion!

Soap On The Sunday Menu

How about some pea or carrot soup?

After taking care of goats, and more goats, and kids, in a big way for almost a month, this afternoon I took a "me" day. We all need them. My favorite kind of "me" day is one when I do something that I enjoy, uninterrupted. Today was the perfect day, a soap day. Soap crafting is not work to me because I enjoy it so much.

The soaps are darker in color than I had intended, how about that pea soup soap with chunks of ham? Actually, it should lighten up, and should make for a pretty cutting tomorrow, with a surprise within the dark gold color. Instead of pea or carrot soup, it sort of reminds me of 70's carpet colors. I am glad I have a sense of humor!

Last night my 60-something year old neighbor came over and bought armloads of soap and lotion. He was like a kid in a candy store. He went from bar to bar on the curing rack, "Oh, I like that. It smells like it came out of a field! Do you have anything that really smells weird? How about that two toned soap?" The funny this is, he and I clicked in the soap shop. I need someone around just like him. Not that my husband isn't a big help, he is a tremendous help, but Bob cannot pick up on the scents like I can. Kellis really understood the combinations of scents and it was a world of fun to see him bopping around.

Annie has a problem. I have never had a respiratory problem in a grown goat, and she appears to have developed just that. I am going to start her kids on a round of bottles today, but keep the kids with her. They do not seem to be nursing, but I am afraid if I steal them away Annie is not going to get well. I'll accept the challenge. I work hard on kids that lag behind. Kids are such a blessing, animals are a blessing (to me). I always love this time period, after everyone has kidded (even though we are still not finished). Things slow down and the real enjoyment begins.

It is a beautiful spring day here today. Bob is working out in his wood shop. We both are suffering with allergies, but headed out to our shops to get some creativity in. He is cleaning up some old barn siding to make a rustic mirror frame.

Goats And A Beautiful Saturday

On this gorgeous Saturday, I thought it would be nice to share with you a (not yet) 24 hour old boer cross doeling born to us yesterday from Cammille. Spots galore!

I am here on the farm pretty much every day, and sometimes a break is good (like yesterday's road trip). But today, the good feeling is to be on the farm doing the things that I feel I need to do to organize a bit. It makes me happy. I am far from being where I want to be, I need an entire crew to be at that perfect state. But the most perfect place to be is where the heart is, and that is shear happiness.

I hope you are having a bright Saturday too!