Winter on the farm

 I think wintertime is the hardest season when living on a farm. I spend most of my time inside opposed to the other seasons where I can enjoy lots of time outdoors. I do spend time outside though. I have to go out 3 or 4 times a day because I have to bust ice out of water troughs and add warm water or I have to change water bottles on the rabbit pens with unfrozen bottles. It is also very cold out so I have to add extra bedding for the goats, rabbits and even though the chickens are in a nice enclosure we still put some bedding in for them to nest in more to keep warm.

Not everything about winter time is bad, as you can see from the top picture, there are some very pretty cardinals that like to come to my bird feeder. I love to watch birds and I think in the winter the colors are magnificent. We also have had a new addition added this winter. Joy had a single buckling and we named him Bardock and he is growing nicely. I have 2 more goats due next month. This is my first winter having goats kid but they seem to be doing well. We have an extra stall that has a heat lamp in it and momma and baby spend the first week or 2 together at night in it and after that there is a small door that only the babies can fit through so that they can get to their mom to eat as needed  (unless it is the baby of a milkgoat and then they are seperated at night after a couple weeks so that I can milk) and then get back into the warmer stall to sleep. I do not know if this is how others do it but it works great for us. Another great thing about winter is that it makes me really appreciate spring when it arrives. I have a rabbit due to kindle in a week so I will be posting soon about that.

First new baby of the year!

This is a picture of my first new baby this year. He is a buckling and he is the son of Joy. She is a nubian/boer cross and the sire is almost full boer so he is about 73% boer as an estimated guess. I dont know the percentage of his mom so I am just guessing. I named him Bardock after a character on my son's favorite tv show, Dragonball Z. This was the quickest birth I have ever had any of my goats give. I was checking on her every hour because her ligaments were gone and I was waiting for discharge from her to put her in the birthing stall. I decided to check on her after lunch before I did the dishes and when I went out to the barn she was happily cleaning off a tiny white buckling. I think he is a keeper because I am in need of a new buck and I am trying not to buy anymore goats.

 These 2 cuties are my last babies of 2012. They will be 4 months old on Friday. The cutie on the top is named Moo because the girls thought she looked like a calf when she was born and the bottom one's name is Precious. They are the kids of Cheddar Fry and Champ. As you can tell from the picture of Precious they are very well fed, lol.

Yesterday ended up being a good day which was nice because lately I have been feeling kind of down in the dumps. Not only did we get a new baby goat but my husband also got a raise. Woo hoo!!!

~April

New Year

As I sit here waiting for my doe to give birth to her first kid I am thinking on how this new year will bring new goals, new ideas, new beginnings and new challenges. One of the best things that happened last year was the birth of my first grandchild. He is such a blessing and brightens each and every day for me.  I dont know about anyone else but I dont like to call them New Year's resolutions but I like to call them New Year goals. My goals this year are to start making more from scratch, to grow and raise more of our own foods and to rely on the grocery store less. I want to be a better Christian and be the best mom, grandma, friend, I can be. I want to blog more and I also want to be more active and get out and do things more often and watch tv and be on the computer alot less. I want to spend more time with my kids and grandchild and also to save some money. I dont know if I will accomplish all of these goals but I do think they are attainable. I hope all of you enjoy this journey with me this year and that I make alot more new friends through my blog. I look forward to getting to know you all and seeing all the comments. Feel free to share any advice, tips or just drop in and say hello.

~April