Redbud in Bloom

I saw one redbud ready to bloom in the woods on Saturday.  Today, they are prominent on the edges of the pastures.

We're having a little respite from goat births for the past few days.  I think there will be another wave before the end of the month -- and then it will be over, because the buck was only here for a month.

All is pretty copacetic in the barns.  In the big barn, which is maze-like, fifteen or twenty babies will play a breakneck game of follow the leader.  They race through the barn from end to end and through the fenced pasture.  Sometimes, they are so intent on the game that they run into me as I try to make my way to do one task or another.

Baby goats are happy to be alive and full of energy.  Mothers' milk is making them strong and heavy to pick up!  The life force is strong.  They can now leap atop tall buildings in a single bound.  Well, at least they are jumping up onto the top of the little plastic dog house in the hallway.  Eventually the sudden need for sleep will hit and they will pile inside for a nice, warm nap.

March Went Out Like a Lion

We even had some snow flurries yesterday morning -- April 1st -- no joke.  I am UDDERLY (and utterly) exhausted.  We are up to well over 70 new kids, but it seems to be nearly over.  We had a single newborn yesterday afternoon.

To think that I was under the impression that kidding would just be starting about now!  I guess I need to be a little more careful about counting days.  We were caught a little off guard and the small pastures need fence repairs before we can turn them out on a dry day.  I'm hoping that will be addressed today while we have our Saturday helper.  Now, if we could just have a dry, warm, sunny day...

I sold one of my last Nubians with her two fat baby doelings yesterday.  There are two Nubians left.  We are nearly all white with brown heads now.  'Get 'em while they're hot.  By the way, Brambleberry Farm will be a good place to purchase new breeding stock this year.

I hope to start tagging, worming, and wethering, but need courageous and strong helpers.

Speedy (Goat) Delivery Service

When you've survived another day on this goat ranch, you know it by the back pain, extreme fatigue, and inability to string sentences together.

I've been working pretty much twelve hour days for the last week.  My little UTV is outfitted with two vented plastic picnic baskets, lined with clean towels and a dog leash.  I bought those picnic baskets many years ago in a Big Lots in Orlando, Florida.  I had no idea what they'd be good for, but at five dollars apiece, it seemed like a good buy.

My little UTV travels uphill and down and all around the pastures, picking up mothers and babies who have been born al fresco and delivering them to the barns where mothers get food, hay, and water and semi-private digs.  Mothers are usually tied onto the handhold of the UTV and I slowly proceed with them in tow.  Babies naval cords are iodined; the date, mother's tag number and the babies new herd numbers are entered in my little notebook; paper collars containing the same information are placed on little baby necks and kisses and congratulations are given all around.

There are also a good number of overnight births in the barn.  This morning, my husband and I worked to sort out a dozen new births, clean out the biggest space in the bottom of the barn and figure out a strategy for housing all in some sort of orderly fashion.

I've just done a count from my notebook.  We have had 64 live births so far.  Many sets of triplets and two sets of quads so far.  Most births are twins, but today we had a couple of singles -- all bucklings.

So, those of you who love baby goat time at Brambleberry Farm and want to help out for a few hours (you know who you are), come on out or give me a call or email to set up a time.  I figure we are only about half way through.

The picnic baskets were a great buy and the UTV was a great buy in terms of useful tools.

Spring Sprung

The apricot trees are in full bloom, as is an early Magnolia.  I decided to "Spring Up" the blog in celebration.  There is some rain in the forecast, and I'm glad of it.

The briar project continues, but I'm nearing the end.  Huge piles of cut brambles have been generated and await removal by tractor or truck. 

Jonquils are blooming, but not all yet.  Restraint is good.  I see tulip leaves up, but no buds yet. 

Much of the pre-baby work is done in the barns.  Maternity checks are daily events.

Meanwhile, I struggle to learn to use Open Source Software on the theory that exercising the brain is good.  Mostly, I get a mild headache and smoke comes out of my ears, but some progress is being made.

I Love Puzzles

My current project is cutting down a large stand of brambles near our front gate. It is a complicated and treacherous puzzle. You could really get hurt unraveling this puzzle.


It's not the first time in fourteen years that I've done this, but I swear it will be the last time! I've got plans to keep this stuff in check. There are lovely perennial bulbs planted there which, some years, are never seen and appreciated.

I work for an hour or just a half hour and then need to rest. This is not for the faint of heart. I'll work outside as long as I can each day and tackle the pruning and cleaning of flower beds during Spring. When the Summer heat comes it'll be all over!

I planted some peppers in the greenhouse yesterday.

The newborn calves run like crazy when I drive down the hill. The interesting thing is that they run to Papa Tom, our horned Dexter bull. He's been known to lay in the pasture with a group of young calves all around him. How do they know he's the pater familias? Is it instinct? He is a lovely boy and I am fond of him

March Came in Like a Lamb

Will March go out like a lion?  Stay tuned.

Severe thunderstorms and possible tornados were predicted on February 28th.  It kept me on edge the whole day.  Thankfully, they never materialized.   We did get some nice rain.

It was up in the 70s F.  The next day, March 1st it was 20 degrees cooler.  Good.  That's more normal.

I'm aware that France near the Swiss border is experiencing much the same Spring-like weather, with daffodils and tulips starting to bloom.  The drive to prune and weed was strong yesterday.  I tired myself out just calculating how much work needs to be done.  I managed to plant some tomato seeds in the greenhouse -- but I would have done that no matter the weather outside. 

Meanwhile, the logistics of goat kidding is taking up some brain space.  The maternity barn is pretty well fitted out, but it won't hold all, so I must start strategizing how we will use the big barn stalls. 

'Bet you city dwellers didn't know that farmers have to do so much thinking and planning.  Don't plan and you'll reap the consequences in terms of chaos.

I'm reading Bringing It to the Table, by Wendell Berry and just at the point where I may learn the secrets of large herd management of sheep, which are close enough to goat herd management.  I'm hoping there will be some gems of wisdom included.

False Spring

It is predicted that we'll be in the 70s today.  Spring bulbs have begun to emerge and I am getting nervous.  If the fruit trees blossom out, we are sure to get zapped when winter returns.

Rain is predicted again, although we've seen precious few raindrops this February. 

All in all, this is the strangest February I can remember.

Two new baby cowies were born last week.  It was good that they were born in temperate weather and got to see some sunshine for their starts in life.  There is no grass growing to speak of and big round bales are being delivered to the pasture daily.

We've been hard at work in the goat maternity barn, getting ready for Spring births.  We put three new storage cabinets together and moved the refrigerator to the upper area near the sink and cabinets.  It will be good to be able to find things with the expanded storage.  If you need a towel or a rag or meds quickly, it will be possible to get hands on stuff.

Today, I'll sweep up and maybe even put sawdust in the birthing stalls.  We'll get some help and move square bales in so that we are ready.  I am fully expecting snow in April -- that will demonstrate that Mother Nature will not be thwarted.

Flying

We were watching a movie last night where someone was dreaming that he was flying.  I know that dream has all sorts of positive interpretations.

I said to my husband, "I've never dreamed that I was flying, have you?"

"No," he said, "but I've dreamed I was trapped in a sleeping bag."

That should tell you all you need to know about us.

If you'd like to search for the meanings of dreams on a site where you can actually type in the dream, go to http://www.dreamforth.com/ .  I cannot vouch for its reliability, but it is a fun site.

New Year

Here in Gringolandia the glacier seems to be receding.  I may get my car back up the hill and tucked into the garage.  The White Christmas storm kept me up here for lack of a four wheel drive vehicle which could actually get up the ice covered driveway.  My husband graciously took care of the farm animals because he drives a heavy four wheel drive truck.

I got to read The Lacuna, a book I highly recommend.  It concerns many things which I am interested in:  politics, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, class struggle, Mexico, Appalachia, and the dark side of human nature which will manage to destroy reputation by bullying.  Luckily, some of us have a lacuna through which we can escape.  The leisure to read was a great Christmas present.

Now, I'm on toThe Jungle, which purports to be about the evils of the meat packing industry in the early 1900s, but which will, I think, give me more insight into the lives of immigrants who came to the major cities on the Great Lakes from Europe and struggled against exploitation and deprivation.  Class struggle figures in again, as does the dark side of human nature.  Although my grandparents didn't live in Chicago, Buffalo was close enough.  My grandmother told me some stories of what it was like to be a child in those times, but perhaps I was less aware of the desire of the rich to exploit masses of workers for their own selfish gain.  This seems to be the aim of the current would-be "Masters of the Universe." 

The stories of unlimited opportunity in the New World were also sold to the peasants in Europe by agents of the meatpacking and steel industries to lure a nearly unlimited supply of workers so desperate to make a living for their families that they were willing to work for wages so low that many suffered and died while their employers got richer and richer.

Of course, Cortez mercilessly exploited the Azteca for much the same reasons.  Tell, me, will we ever learn enough from history to break the cycle?

It's Winter

The Solstice has occurred, spectacularly, with a full lunar eclipse.  Cloud cover prevented me from seeing it with my own eyes, but there are plenty of images online.

We are on the upside -- although a frozen driveway is a little inconvenient.  We're expecting more ice and snow.

We recently viewed a movie, Agora, which was about life in 4th Century Alexandria, Egypt.  Hypathia was the main character.  She would have been able to predict the eclipse, as she was a preeminent astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher.   Respected among the elite, she didn't hesitate to consult with the politicians and intellectuals in the cosmopolitan city.  She taught at the Museum of Alexandria, which housed the written treasures of the world prior to being burned down in a struggle for political dominance.  Although history is somewhat debatable when it comes to the details of Hypathia's life, there is no debate that she was influential.  She seemed to be indifferent to religion and is usually considered to have been a Neo-Platonist (philosophy) rather than a "pagan" in the sense that she probably did not worship any gods in the true sense.  Nevertheless, she was murdered by a mob of Christians -- that is not debated. although some have claimed that the reason was more political than religious.
If you are interested in history and especially history which concerns women, you may enjoy this movie.  At any rate, it would be good entertainment while you are cooped up inside with the snow building up.