rachels.haven's Journal

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Miss Rachels.haven,

I am glad to see you got Bailey all cleaned up. The price for the cleaning sounds like a good deal.

You have such beautiful place. I seem to recall you having a small pond somewhere on your place. I also seem to recall that you had a tree that was leaning out over the pond, or perhaps had fallen into the pond. Whatever happened to that tree and pond?

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[rachels.haven]

@Senile_Texas_Aggie
The pond is dry and did not fill this year, and the trees on the pond haven't gotten worse and are maybe even doing decently with the drought and for the most part lack of storms. I'm guessing because their roots are not drowning right now. The pond might stay emptied with climate change and natural change of water flow and all. The neighbors over the hill reported it had been shrinking over the past decade and this year it only got slightly wet down there, so I'm hopeful. Other than the big trees around it collapsing when it's wet it breeds deer flies like crazy in the mud and this year what we did have was not as bad as last.


The barn wings are now full of hay. Now to fill the center of the floor to the top! Slow going, but doable on one's own. (bale tied on each side of rope, pull one up, then the other, throw rope down, and head down to tie on more). I got help from Danger Dan, son #2 yesterday (5). He can help pull up bales and it does make it easier, which is amazing, and he decided he was going to "grapple" the bales away from the loft door with a bungee cord he spirited out of somewhere (no, no, no, but if I take it what will he find next?), but he has ZERO fear or sense of heights and seems to find swinging on the pulley towards the open door exhilarating so it may have taken longer to do yesterday's twenty something bales in the end with all the hauling him back in the loft door and such. Not sure I'm going to book him for help in the future for another year or two (this is my kid, he magically climbs walls to get into everything including up high, tries to play in the washer, and I'm afraid every time he goes near a second+ story open window...someday may he grow a little fear without having a disaster first). This kid makes me feel crazy.

 

[Baymule]

Bailey looks beautiful. Wow! I am impressed. I’m not going to show her picture to Paris or Trip. They already know I have fallen down on the grooming job, no sense making them feel ugly. LOL LOL

 

[rachels.haven]

I did an informal, non-edited video. Very, very informal.

 

[Bruce]

Looks like a real easy milker!

 

[Baymule]

That's a good stream of milk! Do you milk once or twice a day?

 

[rachels.haven]

Her, twice for now. I may start drying off next month, maybe the month after. The other milking doe, Lace I'm cutting down to once so I can dry her off so she can put more energy into growing. Lace is a difficult hard headed goat though, so I still need to find some stand time with her so she doesn't go completely wild and unmanageable. Summer, on the other hand, is a dream and a very good girl and a very easy milker.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Miss Rachels.haven,

I am glad to know that your pond didn't provide as good a breeding ground for the deer flies. I would hate to try to work outside with those pests continually biting.

That was a humorous story about your fearless son, Danger Dan. I so much wish you could have gotten pictures of him in action. I suppose it would be hard to take pictures and then try to grab him before he goes flying out the window.

And I should mention, it's started raining in the last few days and the temp is dropping hard. It was 45 this morning at 7 am-a big difference from the 90 degree days and 80 degree nights. I guess summer is over.

I forgot to ask you about this. Are the temperatures forecast to stay cooler for awhile, or is this a momentary (couple of days type) dip? And Mr. @Bruce, if Miss Rachels.haven is cooler, then I suppose you are as well. Maybe that will make doing chores easier.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[rachels.haven]

I'll get a picture of Danger Dan Danning at some point, but yes, that one was one I had to be more on the ball for or else.
I may not have much on my other son yet because he's more along the lines of Anxious (or Angry) Aiden, and he tends to stay out of trouble and not do life threatening things for fun, but I may get some pics of him at some point. He's got a way with the goats. He goes out there and they talk him out of a lot of tantrum storms. He's still here, he's just not giving me gray hairs at the moment.

Looking out at the forecast it looks like we're staying cool at least for the next 10 days. I see one day with a high of 80. Chores should be easier. I expect Bruce is going to be getting plenty more done up there in VT. I, for one, am using it to load hay.

Note to self: Do not feed goats payday bars-even a little bit. Too addictive. Just one bite and they will jump you every time. Pretty sure when they look at me now they just see a giant peanut caramel bar head now. *shiver* disturbing.

 

[Bruce]

And Mr. @Bruce, if Miss Rachels.haven is cooler, then I suppose you are as well. Maybe that will make doing chores easier.

Definitely cooling down here, not that it was TX or AZ or CA hot anyway. Wind in the low 20's gusting to low 30s today. High today maybe 65°, dropping 10° tomorrow. Narrow miss on frost yesterday morning but we should be safe for the next 6 days.