New Goat Bachelor Pad

Pan, our Nigerian buck, has been living in an enclosure right behind the house.  The rest of the herd live in the front.  So I have to make two separate visits each morning and evening, in opposite directions, to feed & water the goats.  The extra exercise definitely isn’t going to kill me, but it isn’t a very effective usage of time.  Not only that, but having Pan behind the house meant that for like five months out of the year I can’t hang my laundry out.  I have my laundry line suspended by the posts for the back porch and he smells sooooo bad during rut that we’ve given up the use of our back porch for anything, including hanging laundry.

This weekend I finally made Pan an enclosure closer to the rest of the girls. 

It’s definitely a downgrade for him as he probably had four times the space in the back yard, but at least he’s closer to everyone else.  I am a bit worried about him stinking up the rest of the herd, but since they can’t touch each other I’m hoping that it will be ok.

Eventually we’re going to fence in a larger area so we can bring the mule & mini down here and hopefully everyone will live happily together.  Well, everyone but Pan.  He’ll still be close by, but I don’t want him running with the does.  The main reason is because I like knowing exactly when everyone is going to kid, the other reason is that he stinks so darned much.  I had brought Nettie down to his enclosure this fall for breeding and left her with him for half the day.  She got so stinky that I ended up giving her a bath.  I just can’t imagine the entire lot of them smelling that badly. 

Speaking of breeding, I’m a bit worried about Nettie.  She’s due in seven weeks and she’s not looking the least bit large.  Usually she’s showing by now.  I’ve also noticed that her behind has been pink & swollen twice now in the past two months.  I even brought Pan up by her those two times, but Nettie wanted absolutely nothing to do with Pan and he didn’t even seem that interested.  I’d be really bummed if she’s not pregnant, as I’m sure she will be when everyone else has their kids.  She is such a good mother.  Nettie even adopted one of the other doe’s kids when she rejected it.  I can imagine her trying to steal everyone’s babies if she doesn’t have one of her own this year.  I wonder if she’ll still go into milk?  I’ve heard of things like that happening, but never had the experience here.

I was thinking about having a blood test done on her to see if she’s pregnant or not, but since it seems that Nettie and Pan want nothing to do with each other this late in the season, it’s doubtful that she’d be bred anyhow.  So I guess I’ll just have to wait and keep my fingers crossed.  It’s going to be a long seven weeks.

Another food item I’ll never be able to buy

I got a recipe for caramel corn from my Mom a few weeks ago.  For reasons unknown, I’ve always thought that making caramel corn was a long & drawn-out process.  But now that I’ve made & tasted it, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat store-bought again.  I’m telling you, this stuff is addicting!  And not that difficult to make.  Just be sure to store at least half of it out-of-sight because if you are looking at the bag of it all day, it won’t last very long.

8 Quarts Popped Corn                        1 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Sticks Butter or Margarine               ¼ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
2 Cups Brown Sugar                          ¼ teaspoon Salt
½ Cup Corn Syrup

Pop the popcorn & pour into a LARGE bowl (big enough to hold the popcorn and to be able to stir the syrup into it). 

In a large pot (I used a 3-qt. pot), combine butter, brown sugar & corn syrup & heat to a boil.  Keep at a boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly.  Remove from heat & add the Baking Soda, Cream of Tartar & Salt all at once & stir (it will make the syrup increase in volume by at least double, so make sure your pot IS large enough).

Pour syrup over popcorn & stir until popcorn is evenly coated.  Pour into greased baking pans & put in a 250 degree oven for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.  Take out of oven & break large pieces apart.  Let cool & store in airtight containers or bags.

Oh my, yummy!

No Excuse

The economy is in the hole.  Our currency is continuing its downward spiral.  Unemployment is at an all-time high.  Crime is on the rise.

Choose any one (or more) of the above statements and you are assured to hear them in the news on a daily basis.  Just today I learned that one of Paul’s coworkers had his house broken into and a TV set, electronic equipment & a purse were stolen.   At night while they were sleeping. Their dog woke them up & caused the low-life(s) to flee.  The police were able to apprehend them with the stolen items a short time later.  One of them was sixteen years old.

And just yesterday, our neighbor called me to ask if I’ve noticed anyone or anything “odd” during the day.  We live on a dead end gravel road and they are the second to the last home (ours being the last).  Seems that when they got home from work last night, there were tire tracks in their driveway and footprints that went all the way around the house (we just had a snowfall that day).  Nothing was taken or broken, but obviously it warranted a call to us.  They have two outside dogs so maybe that was enough to deter any potential wrong-doing.

Add these two recent incidents to the fact that I’ve seen, on five different occasions within two, maybe three weeks, the same vehicle come down our driveway then turn around & barrel back up the drive, I’m starting to get a bit more cautious. Twice I went outside to try and “meet” this person, once actually breaking into a jog to see if I could get them to stop or to at least get the license plate number. 

Yes, I know we need to get a gate set up.  And I think Paul is finally going to put it on the top of the “To Do” list after these current events. 

But, back to the crime rates going up.

How desperate would one have to be in order to steal a television set?  Is it going to be sold on the street to pay for his (or her) family’s next meal?  And even if the answer to that is “Yes”, I find it very unlikely that the money couldn’t have been obtained in a lawful way or that person couldn’t have found a local organization that could lend him a hand.  Or is that it?  They don’t want to have to work at McDonald’s for minimum wage or rake a neighbor’s yard for $20.  They don’t want a hand up, but a hand OUT.  They don’t care about who they are stealing from or how that violation is going to affect the victim (both financially and mentally).

This sickens me to no end.   Not only because of the actual criminal activity, but because it seems that we are just telling ourselves, “Oh, it’s because of the economy.”  As if that makes the crimes more easily digestible.

It’s not because of the economy.  It's not because a Democrat (or Republican) is in office.  It isn't because of global warming (or whatever it's called now).  It’s because people have become lazy, irresponsible and egotistic.  Why work when you can steal?  I can either personally steal someone else’s possessions or have the government do it for me in the form of welfare.  Our children have run amuck and we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Know your neighbors.  Help your neighbors.  Lend a hand to those that truly deserve it.

Teach your children to be responsible.  Protect your family & friends. 

Keep your wits about you.  And refuse to let yourself become a victim.

I apologize for the mad rant.

Tune in tomorrow for your Normally Scheduled Blogg.

The 4-Letter “S” word

There are very few things I like about snow.  One would be how beautiful it looks on a moonlit night.  Last night was one of those times.  It’s bright enough outside even past midnight that you can pick out the small details of the tree bark.  I’ve been after Paul to go on a nighttime walk through the woods after a snow when the moon is full.  Going to be a bit more difficult now that Rhiannon’s here, so I suppose I’m going to have to go alone if it’s going to happen this year.

Another thing I like to do after a snow is to look for animal tracks.  Not that there are tons of different types of animals or birds around here (and half of them are our critters), but it’s still interesting to pick out an animal by its tracks and try to figure out what it was doing.  Was it “going” somewhere or just scouting around?  Was it walking or running? 

PO'd Barn Kitty tracks

Vulture tracks (tail feathers making the lines)

Rabbit and small bird (maybe Junco) tracks

For the life of me, I couldn’t find any deer tracks.  Which I thought was kind’a weird as they are usually everywhere and it’s not like the snow was very deep or that icy.  Maybe they found a good eat’n spot and have camped out there.

The temps aren’t supposed to warm up for several days, so I guess we’ll be stuck with the white stuff for a bit longer.  In the time being, I think Rhiannon & I will work on our numbers and letters.  And maybe work on NOT eating the flash cards.

Small Space Dry Food Storage

Don’t think you have any room for storing pantry items?  Well, take’a look at this then:

This fold-up baker’s rack measures only 21” wide x 48” high x 15” deep and is in one of those “dead” spaces in my kitchen.  If we were really ambitious I suppose we could make permanent shelving in this area and double the shelf space.  Another thing to put on the list.

Anyways, on this small rack in the kitchen with a footprint measuring less than 2 ½ feet, I have the following items:

Lentils, Spaghetti, Macaroni, Barley, Brown Rice, White Rice, Split Peas, Pinto Beans, Great Northern Beans, Popcorn, Black Turtle Beans, Malt-o-Meal and Oatmeal.  I’d guess that there is about forty pounds of foodstuffs there.

There are also various jars containing Alfalfa & Mung beans for sprouting, Flax seeds, Poppy seeds, Hot Cocoa mix and a few spices and a small basket of sweet potatoes and onions.  There’s still room for a few more containers.

I did splurge and buy the large glass jars at the dollar store, but the smaller jars are recycled condiment or jelly jars (paint the lids with spray enamel and they look fancier) and canning jars.  Having your dry storage items in a sealed container is a must to keep your foods pest-free.  I’ve heard that many people will put a bay leaf or two in their long term dry storage items although I haven’t done that yet. 

Speaking of things not being done yet, I should probably get off the computer and haul some warm water to the goats & chickens.  We had some ice earlier this morning & a few inches of snow on top of that since. 

Goats?  What goats?

Looking out the window I’ll usually see the goats staring back at me, but all I see is an empty goat yard and the goat barn.  Not only do my goats hate “acid” rain, but apparently snow is also radioactive as they are either under or inside the barn in an attempt to avoid touching any of the white stuff.

*(&*^%^&#$#!@ - Avian for "You freaking iddiot"

Evil Kitty & Susan, our two indoor / outdoor cats, go in and out during the day (and in, and out, and in, and out, and……) but we bring them inside at night to keep them safe from any nighttime predators.  Paul leaves for work before daybreak and when he was bringing in wood for the stove this morning, Evil Kitty scooted out the door.  Nothing really to worry about as it’s starting to get light out and the fact that it was darn cold out this morning; meaning that she soon would be scratching and meowing at the door to come in and thaw out by the stove.

About twenty minutes later I hear the meowing & pawing at the door.  Rhiannon is still sleeping, so the lights are out so I quietly shuffle through the maze of Duplo building blocks (big Lego toys) to the back door to let Evil Kitty inside. 

But my head is still foggy from early morning and forget one of the cardinal rules of letting the cats inside.  So I open the door for her, feel her brush past my leg & quickly shut the door.  A few minutes later I hear weird “mah….mah…mew….mah…mew” kitty noises coming from underneath the kitchen table.  Thinking that she may be hurt (I’m a worry-wart when it comes to my outdoor critters), I flip on the lights and look under the kitchen table to find a small bird stuffed in Evil Kitty’s mouth.  So I quickly extricate the ruffled and wet bird from the jaws of death (much to the cat’s dismay) give it a quick once-over to determine that it is still alive, then look around for a something to put it in while it recuperates.  You’d think that by now, after having several birds enter our home via Evil Kitty’s maw, that I would have a dedicated container or cage for such incidents.  But no.  Hence the canning pot.

So, what's cook'n Ma?

But wait, it gets better (worse?).  I also forget the second cardinal rule of letting the cats in if first rule is broken (the first one being never let cats in before checking to see if they have anything in their mouth).  After rescuing critters from jaws-of-death, and after securing critter into safe container, do not open lid to said container just to “check-up” on critter that will, undoubtedly jump or fly out once lid is lifted.

So now Evil Kitty, Susan and even Moonshine (who somehow managed to drag her bulk out from under the woodstove) are running around the kitchen trying to catch the bird.  So for the second time in less than a half-hour, I extricate the bird from Evil Kitty’s mouth and place bird back into the “safety” of the pot.  By now Rhiannon is awake and is seemingly quite amused with all the ruckus going on in the kitchen given her almost hysterical giggling.

Return bird back to the pot.  Place pot on countertop.  Turn around to get teapot that has been whistling for the past five minutes.  Look over to pot just in time to see Rhiannon lifting the lid off.  Bird is out of the pot flying around again.  Bird smacks into window.  Grab bird before cats or dog get it.  Put semi-conscience bird back into pot & put pot in utility room.

Not-so-happy Birdie.  I think it's a Junco. 

I gave the bird another half hour of peace, then took pot out of the utility room (without lifting lid) and to the front yard.  Lift lid, bird looks at me for an instant & flies to nearest tree, probably swearing at me the entire time.

All this before 8:30 in the morning.  I need a nap.

It’s Seed & Chick Catalog Time!

There are very few items that I look forward to getting in the mail.  Seed & chick catalogs are two of the few exceptions.  A box of L&M Chocolates would be another.

But back to the non-chocolate stuff.  I’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time browsing the McMurray catalog; making lists, crossing things off, putting them back on the list, adding just ten more chicks, might as well make it an extra dozen…..

Our chicken flock is at eighteen birds right now.  One black mutt rooster (Australorp somewhere in there), one Production Red hen, two Easter Egger hens, one Australorp hen, three black something-or-other hens (one of which may actually be a rooster) and ten Barred Rock hens.  Seventeen laying hens may seem like a lot, but not when it’s the dead of winter & I’m only getting one, maybe two eggs a day.  I was also hoping to sell more eggs this spring & summer to help offset the chicken feed bills.

Oooo!  What kind do you think she'll get us this year Bonnie? I hope she buys one of those Phoenix hunks instead of whatever's in the bargan bin at Farm & Fleet.

Well, Gloria, I personally prefer the White Faced Black Spanish Roosters, but you know I'm a sucker for those boyish Mediterranean faces.

I think I’m going to try incubating eggs again.  I’ve done it three times already, once with good success but the second & third times it didn’t go so well.  The last time I tried incubating I only got one live hatch and since it’s a pain in the butt to raise just one chick, I ended up giving it to a guy at Paul’s work who just bought a bunch of chicks.

Of course, if I incubate the eggs it means that I’ll have to keep them warm in a brooder after they hatch, then move them to an enclosed pen so they don’t get pecked to death by the older birds until they are several months old.  Makes me wish I had a few good broody hens.  Well, I did have several hens go broody last year, but they have since met their maker by way of a bobcat, hawk or coyote dinner plate.

So I think I’m going to try both ways of obtaining chicks this year.  Along with incubating some eggs, I’ll buy a few Partridge Rock and Silkie hens in hopes that I can raise them for future broody hens.  I have grand dreams of eventually having a separate, totally enclosed chicken run to house my breeding hens & roosters.  It would be nice to know that I wouldn’t have to rely on a hatchery in order to keep our chicken numbers up.

Off to finish looking through the chick catalog.  I haven’t even made it to the fancy breed section yet.  Then there’s the goose, duck and peafowl section.  The list keeps getting longer & longer.