Silly goats!

So Olga, on the left, has been gone since Tuesday morning, so I could go down to my sister's. Then we had family reunion yesterday. I just went to get her and this is how they greet each other. And Olga is making the noise that a buck makes. So I think she's in heat. I don't think I've ever noticed it this early before.

The boys

This is Misha and Sugar, my 2 alpaca boys. I have had these guys almost 4 years and they are still weird. I have only touched Sugar a few times. Once when he was sheared here at the farm. And another time, he got all tangled up in the round hay bale twine. He rolls his eyes at me. He's weird. I have pet Misha, when he has his head in the feed bucket. I do love them. They tolerate me. But they love their sheep. When I first got them form my friend Susan, she said I need to give them ivermectin once a month for menengial worm prevention, since they are so susepsusceptible to them. So this is how I do it.

Time for elderberries!

When I got home from town today, I grabbed my new .99 bucket from Goodwill and a pair of scissors and went out to the 2 elderberry bushes. I've been noticing the pretty purple berries ripening.

I got a good bucket full of them. Now to take them all off the stems and put in baggies for the freezer. I'll make lots of elderberry syrup this fall and winter to ward off colds and flu.

While at Goodwill today, I found this cute little t shirt. it's too small for me, but I got it anyway. I'll make a pillow out of it. I couldn't leave it there. It's too cute right?

Last day of July!

This poor hen. I got 6 baby chicks last year and she's the only one that made it. Her name is Maren. She's a Cookoo Maran. And the rooster always chases her away when I feed them. So I put her in the milk room while milked Olga and she got her own food, without being chased away. The rooster does like her, as you can tell by her back. He just doesn't want her to eat with them.

Still only lost 5 pounds. Very discouraging. But not giving up.

I'm going back down to South Ga.. My sister is having surgery Wed. in Savannah. So I'll be there for her for a few days. The Sherrill family reunion is this weekend up in Ozone Tn. So have to be back for that. Plus I still have 3 ewes that keep getting barber pole worms. I am SO frustrated!! It's been going on for about 2 months now and I'm so sick of giving worm meds, shots and everything else.

I was so nice here yesterday. Like no humidity at all! I did not sweat all day! I would have put my spinning outside and spun on the porch if it weren't for all the horrid flies!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Just hangin out...

Hmmmm...

it's a rainy Friday here in Ga. All the sheep, alpacas and goats are in this barn. They have hay and I put a bucket of fresh water with ACV in it so they won't have to go out in the rain.

When I went to my studio this morning, I saw this. Olga is getting the rain water as it's coming off the roof. Must be so much better than the city water right next to her.

Goats...

Emmy's adventure

This is Emmy. In the front seat of my husband's truck this morning. Ready for her new adventure. She was going to live with Frodo, Tom and Pippin at my friend Lori's farm.

I also had the back of the truck full of pallets for my friend Cara for a little shelter  when she got her sheep, and a gallon of goat milk to deliver to another friend. Then I had to go interview a potential caregiver for Mrs. T at 12:30.

The pallets and milk were on the way to Lori's and I was going to drop them off first. But then, Emmy was in the front seat of my husband's truck. And I was so afraid she might pee.

I did decide to drop the milk off. I ran in and ran back out in less than 3 minutes. And she had pooped. It stunk bad. She didn't pee though. So hurried as fast as I could to Lori's so I could get her out of the truck.

We got there without anything else happening. Got her out and found the boys and let her go with them. They have a great big yard full of grass and good things for lambs to eat. Lori wants to keep her to breed later for more meat sheep.

Went to the interview. There were 2 of the caretakers there at the time Jean came, so we all just loved her! Mrs. T did too. I think she will be a great fit for us. Mrs. T's daughter will be here next week and will meet her and Jean will work with another of the caregivers and stay the night, to see how things are done there. Then if she's hired, she will start working!! I so hope this works. We've been looking for someone for a few months now. Hard to find good caretakers.

Then went and dropped off the pallets. Cara was coming to get more sheep! She got 2 ram lambs, Legolas and Bilbo, plus Bilbo's mother Cameron, and Eryn, one of Buttercup's triplets. Emmy is another of the triplets  and I'm keeping Ella. So the boys will be butchered and she will keep the ewes for starting a flock of meat sheep. She'll breed them with a Katahdin ram.

It turned out Cara couldn't get all 4 of the sheep in the back part of her van, so I ended up taking Cameron and Bilbo in my Trooper. Oh my goodness, it was a mess of poop and pee by the time I got there. And it's only like 10 miles away! Then we had to put the other 2 lambs in to get them to where their new pen was. It was SO gross!

So I have sold 7 lambs and a ewe. Cameron was my only black ewe, but her wool wasn't really that good. So I decided to sell her. And Bilbo is such a momma's boy. He's as big as her.

I have 14 sheep now. It feels good. I've kept 2 boys, so if their wool isn't very good, they'll be butchered later.