Part 3: up and across

 Here's my mountain goats! I don't think any of us realized how high up we would be going. But I think we were about as high as Pigeon Mt. to the East of us. Pretty far up there. But it wasn't really that hard. I wasn't winded or having to stop as much as I thought I would have. Just kept on going.

                                                            The stream, going down.

                                I found this really pretty mossy fairy castle. Almost a heart shape.

A little level spot on the way up.  Looks like the goats are wondering which way to go.

 This is looking straight up to the top. Not much farther to go now!

Here we are, at the top!

 There's Lookout Mt. I have always wanted to go up this ridge to see what was on the other side. There is a valley called Crowe Gap. Lots of chicken houses back there. But really beautiful. Couldn't see too much with all the trees, but I did see some houses.

The goats are ready for a little rest by now. I am too.

Looking straight up this very tall pine tree. So beautiful.

Bubba and Stella, getting tired by now.

Stella looks like she is wanting to go home! She's pooped. She has done nothing but run the whole way up. Time for a little rest before heading back down.

Grand Adventure: Looking for spring, part 2

 We got up to the big old oak tree to see if there were any daffodils up there yet. It's so beautiful up there. I would love to have a little cabin right on the little knoll under the oak tree. Very peaceful. I wonder if there used to be a homestead there a long time ago? It's just the perfect spot.

We did find the daffodils! Not very many, but they were popping up! Really short and had some buds on them too. I'll go back next week after all this snow is gone and pick some. I love to have them all over the house this time of year. Makes me feel all springy.

Also saw some leaf buds on some of the tree branches. So exciting to see those! You can see in the background, the brown hill. That was at the end of this journey, when we headed back down.

So, I spotted this little stream on the other side of the oak tree down below it. I decided to follow it to see where it came from. That's where the real adventure began!

I am amazed, that even way out here, in the middle of no where, there is still trash. So sad to see this.

And there was more green to see. Ferns on the little banks of the creek, all pretty and happy. I love ferns.

And here is the stream we followed that day. It went up and up and up some more. At one point it split. We decided to go right. Isn't this beautiful?

To be continued....

No spring here.

 No spring anywhere around these parts any time soon. Woke up to this this morning. My fired personal weather man told me this wasn't supposed to happen til this afternoon. Huh! So I made him take me to town to get feed and milk and all that stuff that I was out of.

 Before we left, I saw a snow plow flying down the road going South. So I knew the roads would be ok. Plus my mom lives in Ft. Oglethorpe and my daughter Abby works in Chattanooga. They both said there was not a bit of snow anywhere to be seen. And all over FB, all those to the North of us were fine. So we took off. It looked like this til we got past High Point, about 13 miles North.

Then this is what it looked like. A totally different world. And here we are with 5" of snow all over our Trooper. People were looking at us like we were aliens! It was so funny. I needed to go to the feed store just up the road from here and they were closed. Yes, closed. Could not believe they were closed. So we went to get bread at the place I get day old bread for the critters, then Whole Foods. Then to Ft. O to Tractor Supply. I knew they'd be open. So we had a truck load of stuff when we headed home. 

Or I would have throw these 2 in the back. Yes, 2 goats, right in the road in High Point, Ga. The white one was a buck but the little brown one is a doe. But I didn't have room. I guess Tiny could have held them.

Got home and I unloaded the car. I feel so much better knowing all my feed barrels are full. Now anything can happen and my animals will be fed. Although I am down to about 15 bales of hay. And I had my friend put the new round bale next door. And the sheep are over here til this "snow"pocolypse is over.

And this is what I found when I came in from feeding all the critters. THIS is why the man can't sleep at night!

From what I've been hearing, this was just the first round of this snow storm. The rest is coming later tonight and tomorrow. But I'm ready! Just wish all this would freeze. It's the nastiest mess out there.

Grand adventure: Looking for spring.

Last week, I decided to take the goats and dogs for a little walk out back. I wanted to see if there were any daffodils popping up yet. There's a few patches of them in a few spots way back behind us. So off we went.

Out the gate and to the left is a little lane that leads to the hay fields and the hills. Sandy is leading the way!

   Up the little lane to the open pasture. You can see the ridge from here.  Bubba and Stella are already to the clearing.

The goats get to the end of the lane and wonder which way to go now. To the left? To the right? Straight?

                            They just don't know so they are running around in circles. Silly goats!

We didn't see any daffodils poking up in the one spot. So we headed up to the big old oak tree to see if there were any up there yet. Bubba and Stella are running around now like wild dogs. They love it back here.

I will let y'all know tomorrow if we saw any daffodils. And continue on with our Grand Adventure.

The wood pile

Yesterday, I went to my first knitting class. It was a few hours. I did learn a lot. And re-learned how to cast-on and some other things. We are going to be knitting a prayer shawl. The class will last 10 weeks. It's fun to get together with fellow knitters.

Then, had to go home and get the husband to get a load of wood up on the mountain at our friend Kid's. He has been keeping us supplied with wood for awhile now. He just retired and the man will not sit still! He has about 25 acres up there and goes out and cuts dead trees, splits them up and calls us to come get them. This is one load from yesterday. Filled the truck up then we stacked it all in this thing that Kid gave us. It got all the wood from that load in there.

                                                  This is the wood shed, almost full again.

This is the other truck load we got yesterday afternoon at Mrs. T's. Her 100 year old oak tree that was cut down last fall. Our son-in-law Jason has been going over there and splitting it for us. He's a great SIL! But this is only ONE load. There are probably 4 more to go. We were too tired to unload this last night when we got home.

  So I made a good hearty breakfast for us this morning. And we will go unload this truck full of wood. And tomorrow, we'll go get another load from Mrs. T's.

We should have enough wood for next year too. But, the weather stations are calling for a big winter storm here for Tuesday and Wed. this week. I have already called it off. I don't want to see any more snow and freezing temps. I am DONE with that! But, IF it does happen, we will be ready for it.

John Henry

I sold John Henry yesterday. He's moved to Tn. to be a herd sire for a mix of goats. I am so happy I sold him instead of making him goat sausage. I don't think he would have been very good. He was a very good buck and did his job well. I just want to find another buck later in the fall. So I am buck free for the moment!

Some fat ewes.

These are some of the better shots of the ewes that are due any time now.

                This is Fiona. (She's named after my middle grand daughter, Coryn Fiona.) She's Bridget and Bonnie's mother. She is half Katahdin and Dorper.

                                      This is Gracie. (She's named after my oldest grand daughter, Chloe Grace.) She is Beatrix's mother. She's full Katahdin.

                    This is Leelah, who I think is Fiona's sister. (She's named after Kansas, my youngest grand daughter.) She's half Dorper too. And Blossom's mother.

This is Adele. She is Leelah's lamb from 2 years ago. This will be her 1st lambing. I think she is bred. I never have been able to get too close to her. But she's a little better about letting me touch her nose now! She is a mix of a lot of breeds. Hair and wool. But bred to Abraham.

This is Amarillo. Full Finn and 1st time bred. To Abraham who is full Finn as well. So I hope the lambs are pretty. And hopefully colorful. I would love a black lamb.

And April. She is full Katahdin. I just got her a few months ago when I got the black ram. From the same place I got the other 3 hair ewes. She is possibly related to them. About the same age too. Supposed to be a really good mother.

I didn't get a good picture of Adalaide, but she is due soon too. She's full Finn as well and also bred to Abraham. So I hope I get some pretty wooly lambs from her and Amarillo. I'll probably keep them.

I'll be selling most of these lambs this fall. I am also trading 2 ewes and a ram for a weaned bottle calf. I think that's a pretty good swap. We are almost out of beef.

Egg hunt, anyone?

This morning I got the sheep back over in the big pasture. I had to get all their feed pans first. As I was walking past I saw these eggs. On top of this old rabbit cage. Frozen and cracked of course. It's those Barred Rock hens. They are notorious for laying any place but a nest box around here. I always see at least 4 of these hens out in the yard. I have also checked in the garage and cat room when I see one of them going out of those places. Haven't found any eggs there yet. But here they are. I'll leave these and see if there are any more later.

Then, when I opened up this bag of wood shavings to put more out, I found this egg. So the egg hunting has begun. I always did love an egg hunt!

It's a beautiful day here so far. I have been hearing the birds chirping and they sound different. Happy, I think. Like they know Spring is just around the corner and they better get busy building those nests. There is a different feel out there to me. A fresh feeling. New and fresh.

Go ahead and laugh now...

I realized what I did. It took awhile, but it just hit me.

I thought about this all night. Again, planning and figuring out how and who to put where. I got up this morning and fed the sheep and chickens first. Then got all the shots ready and went out to get the goats in the milk room. I wanted to give them the CD&T shots about 6 weeks before they all had kids. I don't normally do this, but wanted to this year because of all the sick does last year. Thought this might help a little.

So got Penelope, Zarah and Sandy on their stanchions and Zeeboo tied to the fence outside. Gave them all their shots and was feeling so good about doing this.

It was after that I realized when I put John Henry in with them. October 28th. Then I realized what the date was today. February 6th. I really thought that I was right on this. I'll let y'all do the math because math makes my head hurt.

Look at Zeeboo. She's like, what were you thinking, woman!

And Penelope and Zarah are not happy about it at all.

And Sandy. She's ALWAYS the last goat to kid. She's done with me now. I know.

Not much today...

This is an old house up on Missionary Ridge overlooking Chattanooga. I love this house. It is huge. And the property is probably several acres. And it's for sale! Anyone interested? Can you just imagine living in this big beauty? I'm sure, back in the day, it was  the place to be. I took my mother up there a few weeks ago because she'd never been. It's part of the Civil Was Battlefield. Lots of monuments and plaques in people's yards. Big grand mansions and little cottages. I just love it up there.

Yesterday, on the way to town, it must have been bird suicide day. I think I might have killed 3 birds, but could have been more. It was awful. All the way to town, birds kept flying right at me. It was really strange.

I went to my friend Libby's today for a while. She was much better today than yesterday. I am so glad. When I got home, I went to put the chickens up and gather eggs. I think this morning I got 4 from the coop nest boxes. I took an egg carton out with me. I filled it up and got 11 more eggs. So over 2 dozen eggs from my fabulous hens today!!! I am SO proud of them. They really are good hens.

My husband went to a get together with some of his friends tonight. So I am ALONE tonight!! It's been months. All my shows come on tonight. The Middle, then I switch back and forth to American Idol. Then to AI til Modern Family comes on at 9. Then back and forth to Ai, then AI. Then at 10, CSI comes on. And they are all new shows tonight. And AI is starting Hollywood Week. I absolutely hated when AI came on Wed. nights. Because unless The Middle or Modern Family is reruns, I miss so much of it. And this year's contestants are amazing? Anyone else watch AI?

And here's Stella, sprawled out belly up in front of the wood stove. What a mess that dog is. I love her. And see Bubba on his couch?

A little green on this dreary Monday...

It rained ALL night here last night. It's just a muddy mess out there again. But, it has been a long time so I am ok with it. I dreamed last night that the grass was turning green again. It was such a nice dream. I'm so looking forward to some color again. I can't even imagine how it looks out there without looking at pictures. But it's SO pretty!

I want to get bees again. But not sure whether to just order a package of bees or looks for another established hive. There is a guy not too far from me who has a lot of hives. He said he might sell me one. But then I'm thinking it might be easier to just get a package so I can get the hive where I want it without bees in it. Any ideas about this? For those who have bees, what is easier?

I saw a cute little Bluebird on my blue wisteria vine this morning. And I have seen those red breasted birds that I can't think of their names. Soon we'll have the yellow jonquils popping up all over.

I have to tell a story about my friends, Libby and Barry. Libby has cancer and has been home a few weeks now in a hospital bed in their living room. They have had this pesky male cardinal that goes to their porch window every morning around 6 or so and pecks and flutters for hours. It's been doing this same thing for a few years now but since Libby is in the living room, it hasn't bothered her. But now it wakes poor Libby up. The other day she had just about had it with this bird and told Barry he needed to do something about it. Well, what does a guy do to make his wife happy? He shoots the darn bird. Just shot it dead. And left it right there on the ground, for all the other birds to see. Libby has been sleeping so much better since.

Sunday thoughts...

 Someone on FB was talking about her cat and all the toys the shelter gave her when she adopted him. And how he seems to find other things to play with instead. Like a bread twistie tie on the kitchen floor. Or her husband's guitar string that hangs out of the case that the cat takes between his teeth and makes the scariest noise ever!

So I got to thinking about my cats and dogs and what they play with. Mostly the cats play with birds and dead mice and moles. And the dogs? Well, it looks like a cow died in the front yard most of the time. Just give them a bone and they're good to go.

When I took the 2 lambs to the butcher this past Tuesday, I asked for all the organs. When I looked in the cooler after picking it up, they also had 5 lamb legs in there. 5 lamb legs?? Where were the other 3 legs? I just thought that was so funny. And only 1 liver and kidney.

So, this is what my dogs play with. Bones. And Stella, she has to have something in her mouth at ALL times! When I let her out in the morning, she has got to find something to take out with her. A piece of paper, a sock, a piece of wood. Whatever. That dog is so funny!

And this is the round bale after 1 week. Do you think they'll make it to next Sunday? I don't know. And I have only 18 square bales left. I've been using 1 bale for 2 days for the goats and alpacas. So I hope to stretch those til the end of Feb.

I went ahead and made an appointment for Feb. 18th to take Abraham and John Henry in. I think I'll get all burger from Abraham and John Henry will be sausage. That will be 2 less boys around then. And I'll just put Bilbo Baggins in with the alpacas til the ewes have all lambed, then try to get them all together.

And these hens. Goodness, they never rest. Not even on Sundays. This is a double-yoker. Nice huh?

And this is what these girls do when they get out every morning. Run to these nesters. There are 2 hens in these 2 nests. They will both be full of eggs. Silly hens. They are so funny to watch.

I am trying to get all the clothes and rugs washed today. We are supposed to be getting rain for a few days. And then maybe snow, the way the weather people are talking. I so hope it goes some other way. But, I did hear some talk last night at the wold game dinner that if there is still snow on the ground 2 days after a snow, that we will get more snow like a week or so later. So yes, there was still snow all over the place even 4 days after. So here we go again? It's already warm enough out there to melt all the ice, so it's muddy!

I sure hope y'all have a wonderful day!

My mom

This is my mom. She started volunteering at Hutcheson Hospital a few months ago. She loves it. And everyone loves her. She is very helpful. And a fast learner too. She loves to bake and bring all that goodness to work with her. They all love that!

Just wanted to show off my beautiful mother. She looks good in blue, right?

5 day forecast

It was really nice today. Got up to about 50. Not really looking forward to rain, but it hasn't rained here since Dec.

And I have been hearing talk about another potential snow coming again next Thursday and Friday. I am choosing to not believe it. I can do that, right?

This is my friend's pond today. It doesn't look like it got to 50 today, does it? It's FROZEN! But it really is beautiful. Some of the designs were really amazing.

My husband went to get another truck load of firewood from his friend up on the mountain today. Filled the wood shed back up. He heard yesterday that his brother went into the hospital up in Rockwood, Tn. yesterday with blood clots in several places. He died this afternoon. This is his 3rd brother to die. My husband is the youngest of 9. His oldest brother is still living and there are 4 sisters in the middle. He's pretty shook up about this. He was debating on going to see him when he got the call. So please say a prayer for the family. Jim has a daughter and son and 2 grand kids.

Smile!

                 I think I would just like to hibernate for the rest of this crazy freezing winter. I am tired of it.

                                                                          That's all.