Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[Mini Horses]

LS -- love your goats on pasture!!! You will love less $$ at the hay & feed stores. My grass is just getting into grow mode after all our "winter won't leave" weather. Some areas are heavy & strong now. I have taken my goats to various pastures by walking them there -- Pied Piper -- now I can open the gate to my yard and they graze. When I head to their pen and feeder, they race me there, winning -- and the kids romp along with them. Try banging on the feed pans and see if it works.

Mel (huge and awesome!) seems to feel some inclination to tend the goats. You may lose your house mate.

Chickens, yah! If you eat the eggs. For self, one hen would do and I'd still give some away. Need to make me eat more since they are "here & free". You used to have chickens at your old place I seem to remember -- with awesome, expansive coops.

Had to milk one of my does last night as she is an overproducer and the twins were NOT eating enough. So I will milk 1X a day until weaning. Yep, tummies full. They both like the same side Other needs draining. Sometimes milking helps them to use both. Trips last night were last kids for this year. One looks like your Double Stuff. Mine has big white top of head and face front --can't see your does. Oh, mine is doe also & a bro & sis came with her Now at 5 doe/4 buck kids.

Teresa is selling between 9 & 10 dozen eggs a week which more than pays for the feed and we get ours free but we want to get another 10 or so layers to meet the demand.

Same here. Eggs pay for their feed, sometime for others, too. and my DD & DS get "free eggs" -- I also trade eggs for figs. Haven't bought fertilizer in YEARS. Still have to do some occasional fill back in areas they like to scratch out. No biggie.

I don't give a rat's patootie about professional sports

Me either. I haven't had cable/satellite TV in over 25 years. It's ok. I still use that box the gov't "gave" us about 10 yrs ago I get all I need for channels.. Not a lot of TV watching here. Speaking of TVs...mine is 15 years old. Running well.

 

[Latestarter]

Congrats on the final set of kids Mini. I can't bang on the feed pans as they are rubber I normally yell "Goats, goats, goats!" and they come expecting treats. They line up at the fence and stick their heads through the cattle panel expecting me to drop a line of froot loops and honey nut cheerios They do love their cereal. Dot is the only doe I milk. Sometimes it's one side, sometimes both, sometimes not at all. It just depends on whether she's let the kids drink or not. Sometimes I see her feeding doubles but mostly it's one at a time and they prefer one side over the other. If she's got a hard/full udder on one side in the morning I'll milk out the full side and maybe a bit of the other just to keep her more or less even. If both sides are full I milk her out completely. If both sides are soft, I leave her be till evening and check again then.

Mel absolutely wants to be in the pasture with me and the goats. He races me to the gate and as soon as I open it, he's through and out into the pasture. He really likes the kids. But when I leave the pasture, he's all about following me back up to the house. He stays outside when I'm outside or away. I think he's becoming more "goat oriented" as time goes by. Gonna take a little time and easing him into it. He comes from good LGD stock and was raised with the goats up till I picked him up, so he remembers.

So today I rigged up a couple of pulleys and used them to lift the front of the lawn tractor to change the blades. Worked pretty good. One pulley attached to a roof beam, the other attached to the front bump bar of the tractor. Still made sure to not put any of my main body under the tractor while working... just my arms and hands. Lot cheaper than the 24" tractor lift they want $170 for... Then got about 2/3rds of the front pasture mowed. Will be back to mowing again tomorrow. The old blades were shot.

Had a boneless, skinless chicken breast marinating in Italian dressing since yesterday. So I decided I'd grill it and make a small amount of spaghetti and open/use some of the last of my home made sauce to make chicken parmesan for dinner. Got the chicken on the grill, the pasta boiling, the sauce in the microwave to warm it up a bit, went to the fridge to get the mozzarella and No mozz! I forgot I used the last of it making the lasagna. So I had grilled chicken and pasta with sauce and parmesan/romano mix cheese sprinkled on top. Just wasn't the same and not what I'd anticipated having for dinner. Oh well, it filled the empty spot.

 

[Mini Horses]

Dinner still sounds good -- even without the cheese. But, cheese does add so much!! I'm an eggplant parm lover.

Since I'm back to milking, need to make cheese. I think I am going to run this 1/2 gal jug of milk thru my separator for cream. Just got the thing a couple weeks ago and want to give it a whirl.

 

[Latestarter]

Wait... you got it a "couple of weeks ago" and still haven't fired it up? What's wrong with you girl?! Get that thing spinnin' you out some cream!

 

[Mini Horses]

Had no milk to spin out. Just started to milk the lopsided one, now another is having same issues, so will top her off tonight for balance.

Darned kids!! They always want the same toy, candy, cookie and tit. Really?? Waiting in line? There's another faucet!!!!! Oddly the two mini nubs do NOT have this problem. Both of their twins use both sides. The big girls have BIG teats....seems an issues for first few days.

 

[Latestarter]

New blades on the mower make a world of difference. However, it STILL takes 3 days to get this whole place mowed. Finished the front pasture today and got about 1/2 of the back done outside the goat area. Tomorrow I hope to get the rest finished. Still need to do the driveway and swale out at the street also.

Looks like "summer" weather has arrived... Day time 80s and nights up around 70. Gonna need to run the AC. Plan to open the house up tonight though.

I'm thinking now that Mel is out with the goats he's been getting poison ivy/oak oil on his coat. The insides of my forearms are starting to break out in ivy blisters and the only place I can think I got it is from rubbing on Mel.

 

[Mike CHS]

Poison Ivy does a job on me also.

 

[Baymule]

Your dinner still sounds good. We had patty melts on rye bread. For the poison ivy/oak mix up some Clorox water and rinse your arms with it. Let it air dry. It will dry up the blisters and kill the insane itch.

 

[greybeard]

You sure need something bigger/faster to mow with.
Even an old 8n Ford tractor would do everything you need done and with rear forks can handle small round bales if you go that route.

 

[RollingAcres]

Since it has been brought to my attention (frequently ) that I am often remiss in posting pictures while routinely letting others know that they are a "requirement"...

Who would do such a thing????



Love the pictures!!!

Hmmmm I wonder who did that????