Turns out I'm not very diligent at updating the blog. My apologies to everyone that has been checking back for regular updates.
Its been a wet summer around here... all the rain has made for a good grazing season for the goats, well, when the grass wasn't UNDER water of course! ;) The goats and sheep are doing fine... nothing much going on with them... we are having a small issue with the sheep beating on the goats... its been going on for a couple weeks now, mostly between the sheep and Ernie... and couple times the sheep has head butted him so hard that its caused the spot where his horns used to be to bleed a bit.
The sheep has been a bit of an unpleasant "pet" before... like everytime you have to work with them and trim his feet or deworm him or attempt to put flyspray he's rather unpleasant (to say the least!). I've been willing to work around those issues, but this new behaviour of beating up goats is unacceptable. Not sure what we're going to do to resolve this issue yet... we're just waiting it out a bit right now and see if it changes more or not. I may try separating the sheep out for a while and see if being in "solitary confinement" for a while will help. Perhaps I need to hire a sheep "shrink"! ;)
The chickens are doing fine... they laid well all summer and are still laying, but it has slowed down with the decrease in daylight. The one chicken that we got that was missing feathers when we got her, never did grow any feathers back... not sure what's going to happen to her this winter, I don't hold a lot of hope that she will survive the winter, really, but at this point, she's still happy and lays regularly so we're just leaving her alone for now. We'll see what happens, I suppose.
The dogs are good... not much new with them either. Oliver has been enjoying the paths Shawn cut on the other side of the property... we take both the dogs for walks off leash over there and they like it. Pixie we do need to leash to stop her from eating chicken and goat poop that we dump over there just off the paths. She refuses to listen if hollered at to stop, so we leash her and that at least slows her down a bit! Oliver has great fun running through the very long grass and after a heavy dew he comes home soaking wet! I maintain the paths with the lawn tractor and sometimes I just drive the paths and the dogs enjoy running along with it. We know how to have fun around here :)
Most of you know that I've made a bunch of changes to my lifestyle over the last 4 months... after I was so awful feeling last fall, winter and spring, I finally decided to try to do something about it (going to the dr's office failed) and made an appointment with a local naturopath. Of course, I went into it with a fair bit of skepticism, but I've been very pleased with the results. She's been treating me for a number of issues with some success, its not "fixed" but there's been quite an improvement.
After the naturopath did some food sensitivity testing, I cut out gluten, sugar, dairy and yeast from my diet. Its been a bit tricky, but not near as bad as I feared it would be. Finding bread that is gluten and yeast free is a challenge, but it does exist and its not too bad... though I imagine anyone that's used to "normal" bread would think it disgusting. I don't eat much of it anyhow, its hard to find a palatable loaf locally, I found a decent one in Waterloo on my last trip home and have the remainder in my freezer.
Its quite remarkable the changes that have occurred from changing what I eat. My muscle and joint pain is way reduced... to the point that I no longer require ibuprofen with any regularity... for those of you that know me, know that's a huge change from what was true in the past! The exhaustion that I was experiencing has really diminished, though if I'm not careful and I ingest something I shouldn't, gluten in particular, the exhaustion comes back with an almost immediate vengeance. Given how horrible it makes me feel, I'm pretty careful about avoiding it... to the point of being paranoid. We no longer eat out, because I fear that the person preparing won't be careful enough... works out ok though, eating out wasn't necessarily my favourite activity anyhow.
At the beginning of August, I started doing yoga and that's also made a huge difference. I got started because of a local studio offering a workshop "Yoga and Horses" that appealed to me and I signed up for it. The first week was an in studio class, to learn the moves and breathing before heading out to a local stable to try it mounted. When I signed up, the in studio class was the one I was least looking forward to... yet, when I left the studio that day I felt like I'd received a very intense and relaxing massage. My mind was clear, my body relaxed... amazing.
The following week I joined an in studio class "gentle hatha" and have been going every week since. The yoga and horses workshop is long over and it was enjoyable... very nice to be on horse back again, but I really did fall in love with the in studio classes. How unlikely, eh?
After a week or two of me going to the studio for classes, Shawn wanted to give it a try, so we found some online yoga videos (email me if you want to know where to find them!) that are quite similar to my classes. Shawn and I have been practicing yoga in our living room 4-5 times a week using these videos and some we bought at the store. Its made quite a difference in both our lives and we both enjoy it.
Just recently, I've started adding in a 2nd in studio class a week... one week I did a different type of yoga at the same studio, with a different teacher, but found it didn't have quite the same appeal. I then found out that the yoga teacher I really like has just opened her own studio, so today I went to her new studio and took her class and all was wonderful ;) Her new studio is quite beautiful and has a lovely calm atmosphere. She also brings her adorable, yet shy, dog with her... he hangs out in a different room during class, but comes out before and after class.
Anyhow, we still have a number of outside projects to finish up before winter actually arrives... the chickens need their coop insulated (I'll add a heat lamp as needed) and the coop needs to be moved to its winter spot, that will take us some time to get it done... I don't want to do it too early though, since the chickens winter spot is in the field beside the dog yard where the goats currently go during the day to graze. Once the chickens are in there, the goats will not be able to be turned out in that field. So its a balancing act, as usual ;)
We still have some stone dust to move from the load we got in the spring, but not that much... what's remaining will get put along our path to the hay and goat shed to help build it up a bit to keep us from having to walk through lots of mud and ice this winter.
I probably should cut the grass at least once more before winter, its long now from all the rain we've had... but it also hasn't been dried out enough in a LONG time to even consider cutting it. Hopefully there will be a day where it will be dry enough to cut so its not so long over the winter. We'll see! ;)
So, in spite of not updating for months, there's not really been much to say... its been boring around here... just the way we like it :)
-- L
Friday, October 2, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Time Just Keeps Flying By!!
I always intend to update the blog... but you know what they say about good intentions! ;)
Anyhow... lots of stuff going on around here these days.... we planted all our seedlings that we ordered back in February. We ordered about 140 seedlings, some eastern white cedar, some white pine, some spruce, some sugar maples and some honey locusts. Those all got planted.
I also bought some cedar hedging to put across the front of the property.... I don't remember how many I got total, because I bought some at different times, from different places... but likely around 25.
When I picked up the seedlings, I also bought 5 willows... we also bought some very baby trees (yep, that's the technical term!) about 200 1-2 inch balsam fir seedlings... we planted those in pots for now and many of them are showing signs of new growth... obviously there have also been some causalities with those, but that's not surprising. We'll see how they do over the summer, I might plant them for real in the fall. We also sold a few pots of these ones right around earth day... that was entertaining :)
We also got a 4ft spruce for free off kijiji that I planted on the front lawn in the spot we had planted a tree we got from the city last year that didn't survive. We'll see if this one survives!
I've actually got a flower garden... its the one Jess and I dug last summer and planted annuals in.... now this year it looks more like a real garden.... its got a forsythia bush in it and a diablo ninebark (that I got from Mom and Dad last time I went home, Thanks!!) I bought 4 lilies to go in and they've been blooming like crazy ever since they went in the ground.
I also got a bunch of perrenials from Mom and Dad when I was home, some hostas, forget me nots and other things that I can NOT think of the names of at the moment. I also got some ferns and some varigated grass and a few other really invasive plants that I didn't put in my garden (ok, some snuck in here and there) I mostly planted those at the front near the cedar hedging, they can grow crazy there and save me from having to mow an awkward area.
A few weeks ago we got 4 laying hens from a lady about an hour away that was downsizing her current flock so she could start raising some different more exotic type chickens. They are Plymouth Barred Rock hens, about a year old and they are laying really well. We usually get 4 eggs a day, sometimes only 3 if one takes the day off and after the first 2 days, they've been excellent quality eggs, perfect everytime!
They are also very delicious and we've been enjoying them! The chickens have a 4ft x 8 ft mini coop... its actually the goat "cube" shelters modified for chickens. We added a floor and its on "skis" so it can be moved around by the lawn tractor. Though, we moved it the other day and the lawn tractor alone couldn't actually get it started, Shawn had to give it a shove to get it going! Such a surprise that we would build something heavy! ha!
They also have a 4ft x 12ft outside run area that's covered in 1/2 inch hardware cloth so nothing can get in easily and eat 'em. So far, so good. We also let them out daily for a little while to "free range" and eat whatever... they eat grass, bugs and they LOVE worms.... they also go crazy for grapes! They are becoming more adventurous in their free ranging, so we watch them carefully and hang right around, I don't want them to head for the road! ;)
I've always been a bit afraid of chickens... scarred as a child, I was! I'm still a bit freaked out by them, but its getting better. The other day while "free ranging" the hens decided it was a good idea to go behind the red and white sheds and peck around.. there are burrs bushes back there and a couple of them got burrs stuck to their bottoms.... that night, after they'd gone to roost, Shawn went in and plucked the one off the roost that had the most burrs and I picked them off... handling chickens at night works ok, as they are kinda sleepy and stupid... but this poor girl did wake up while having them removed and was moving her feet near me and that kinda freaked me out a bunch! We got it done though and put her back in the coop and she went back on the roost and made noises to show her irritation. We'll try to keep them out of there from now on... we tried removing the burr bushes, but its a tricky spot to work in and we weren't succesful.
If you remember our electric fence experiment from last year (5 strands of electric, 3 strands were wire and 2 were electric rope)... we felt that was a failure... Ernie just went under it (even though the bottom strand was under 9 inches!) even though he'd get shocked, he'd still keep doing it. They both got tangled in it a couple times and got zapped repeatedly until we could turn off the fencer and free them. It got to the point they didn't like to go over there anymore... then the electric fencing unit died for unknown reasons and we returned it.
Anyhow, so we removed all 5 strands of electric and left the posts in. They we started putting up chainlink on those posts... we had gotten some chainlink off kijiji last spring/summer and then we got some more at the Restore not long ago. We didn't stretch it for real, just by hand, since our tposts would not be able to hold that kind of tension. When we ran out of chainlink, then we started using some of our pagewire we got the first year we were here and we're doing 2 layers of that, with the stays offset to make the "holes" half the size.
We've been putting the goats out there daily (even though weren't not actually finished putting up the 2nd layer) for a short time... so far the fence seems to hold them. They really prefer if we just sit in the paddock with them while they eat.... Ernie and Bert are still a bit freaked out about the electric fencing, even though its all gone. They are getting better though. Today I put them in there while I cleaned out their shed, that was a huge deal for them, me not being in sight and they were ok with that.... progress!
We also extended that paddock to go down to just this side of the swamp area... they must have about 1/2 an acre now... with LOTS of grass... soon we'll build a small, temporary shelter in that paddock for them... there's no natural shade or shelter of any sort there and it can get awful hot, so we definitely need some sort of shelter for shade. It'll just have a stone dust floor, I'm actually getting a load of stone dust tomorrow, so we can get started on that part whenever there's time. Hahaha!
Its quite the adventure when I lead the little animals from the shed to this paddock... Ernie and Bert wear rope halters... the sheep prefers a regular dog collar and leash (he loathes a halter!) and I've been putting a collar and leash on Grover. Ernie and Bert generally lead well and aren't too bad on their own... the sheep likes to lollygag behind and eat whatever he can on the walk over, so I always have to pull him along. Grover... well, he's a sweet goat and we like him, but on a halter or in a collar, he's a bit of a butt head.
Part of the problem is that if he touches Ernie or Bert, they beat the snot out of him... the other part is that if the sheep touches Grover, Grover beats the sheep up! Plus, even though we've made the walk back and forth a few times now, they all like to try to run in different directions, at different speeds. I can not even imagine what the people on the road passing by must think I'm doing... some sort of demented goat and sheep dance! Stupid animals.
This past weekend we bought a new light fixture, a chandelier off someone that advertised on kijiji (we LOVE kjiji!!). Its quite beautiful, its black with a wrought iron look and white glass shades. I put a pic up in the FHH album. It replaced that butt ugly red ceiling fan in our bedroom.... the new light fixture matches our black metal bedframe very well... its almost like decorating or something!!! ;)
Today I went to a place not far from here that grows and sells asparagus right from the farm. I was all excited, thinking we could maybe find some decent local produce... we'll have some for supper tonight, so I don't know if it will be good yet or not.... but I damn near had a heart attack about the price!! They charge $4.50 a lb!! I bought 2 pounds, just because I was there and would've felt awkward not buying it, but unless its super wonderful, I doubt I'll be going back.
I was also at Farm Boy today and they had Canadian asparagus (that's how it was marked, no idea where it was from!!) for $2.49 a lb. I'm sure where I used to buy it in Southern Ontario it was around $3 /lb! I don't understand how this local place gets away with selling it for so much and I have to GO to their place (which is not on my way anywhere else, its a specific trip!).
I know the produce around here can be pricier compared to KW, but come on.... I think that's a bit ridiculous! As I said, it better be very good to justify the price... for that price, I should get gold plated asparagus, or at least asparagus that doesn't make your pee reek! Something!
Anyhow, all is well around here... just busy... but we do bring that on ourselves! :)
Anyhow... lots of stuff going on around here these days.... we planted all our seedlings that we ordered back in February. We ordered about 140 seedlings, some eastern white cedar, some white pine, some spruce, some sugar maples and some honey locusts. Those all got planted.
I also bought some cedar hedging to put across the front of the property.... I don't remember how many I got total, because I bought some at different times, from different places... but likely around 25.
When I picked up the seedlings, I also bought 5 willows... we also bought some very baby trees (yep, that's the technical term!) about 200 1-2 inch balsam fir seedlings... we planted those in pots for now and many of them are showing signs of new growth... obviously there have also been some causalities with those, but that's not surprising. We'll see how they do over the summer, I might plant them for real in the fall. We also sold a few pots of these ones right around earth day... that was entertaining :)
We also got a 4ft spruce for free off kijiji that I planted on the front lawn in the spot we had planted a tree we got from the city last year that didn't survive. We'll see if this one survives!
I've actually got a flower garden... its the one Jess and I dug last summer and planted annuals in.... now this year it looks more like a real garden.... its got a forsythia bush in it and a diablo ninebark (that I got from Mom and Dad last time I went home, Thanks!!) I bought 4 lilies to go in and they've been blooming like crazy ever since they went in the ground.
I also got a bunch of perrenials from Mom and Dad when I was home, some hostas, forget me nots and other things that I can NOT think of the names of at the moment. I also got some ferns and some varigated grass and a few other really invasive plants that I didn't put in my garden (ok, some snuck in here and there) I mostly planted those at the front near the cedar hedging, they can grow crazy there and save me from having to mow an awkward area.
A few weeks ago we got 4 laying hens from a lady about an hour away that was downsizing her current flock so she could start raising some different more exotic type chickens. They are Plymouth Barred Rock hens, about a year old and they are laying really well. We usually get 4 eggs a day, sometimes only 3 if one takes the day off and after the first 2 days, they've been excellent quality eggs, perfect everytime!
They are also very delicious and we've been enjoying them! The chickens have a 4ft x 8 ft mini coop... its actually the goat "cube" shelters modified for chickens. We added a floor and its on "skis" so it can be moved around by the lawn tractor. Though, we moved it the other day and the lawn tractor alone couldn't actually get it started, Shawn had to give it a shove to get it going! Such a surprise that we would build something heavy! ha!
They also have a 4ft x 12ft outside run area that's covered in 1/2 inch hardware cloth so nothing can get in easily and eat 'em. So far, so good. We also let them out daily for a little while to "free range" and eat whatever... they eat grass, bugs and they LOVE worms.... they also go crazy for grapes! They are becoming more adventurous in their free ranging, so we watch them carefully and hang right around, I don't want them to head for the road!
I've always been a bit afraid of chickens... scarred as a child, I was! I'm still a bit freaked out by them, but its getting better. The other day while "free ranging" the hens decided it was a good idea to go behind the red and white sheds and peck around.. there are burrs bushes back there and a couple of them got burrs stuck to their bottoms.... that night, after they'd gone to roost, Shawn went in and plucked the one off the roost that had the most burrs and I picked them off... handling chickens at night works ok, as they are kinda sleepy and stupid... but this poor girl did wake up while having them removed and was moving her feet near me and that kinda freaked me out a bunch! We got it done though and put her back in the coop and she went back on the roost and made noises to show her irritation. We'll try to keep them out of there from now on... we tried removing the burr bushes, but its a tricky spot to work in and we weren't succesful.
If you remember our electric fence experiment from last year (5 strands of electric, 3 strands were wire and 2 were electric rope)... we felt that was a failure... Ernie just went under it (even though the bottom strand was under 9 inches!) even though he'd get shocked, he'd still keep doing it. They both got tangled in it a couple times and got zapped repeatedly until we could turn off the fencer and free them. It got to the point they didn't like to go over there anymore... then the electric fencing unit died for unknown reasons and we returned it.
Anyhow, so we removed all 5 strands of electric and left the posts in. They we started putting up chainlink on those posts... we had gotten some chainlink off kijiji last spring/summer and then we got some more at the Restore not long ago. We didn't stretch it for real, just by hand, since our tposts would not be able to hold that kind of tension. When we ran out of chainlink, then we started using some of our pagewire we got the first year we were here and we're doing 2 layers of that, with the stays offset to make the "holes" half the size.
We've been putting the goats out there daily (even though weren't not actually finished putting up the 2nd layer) for a short time... so far the fence seems to hold them. They really prefer if we just sit in the paddock with them while they eat.... Ernie and Bert are still a bit freaked out about the electric fencing, even though its all gone. They are getting better though. Today I put them in there while I cleaned out their shed, that was a huge deal for them, me not being in sight and they were ok with that.... progress!
We also extended that paddock to go down to just this side of the swamp area... they must have about 1/2 an acre now... with LOTS of grass... soon we'll build a small, temporary shelter in that paddock for them... there's no natural shade or shelter of any sort there and it can get awful hot, so we definitely need some sort of shelter for shade. It'll just have a stone dust floor, I'm actually getting a load of stone dust tomorrow, so we can get started on that part whenever there's time. Hahaha!
Its quite the adventure when I lead the little animals from the shed to this paddock... Ernie and Bert wear rope halters... the sheep prefers a regular dog collar and leash (he loathes a halter!) and I've been putting a collar and leash on Grover. Ernie and Bert generally lead well and aren't too bad on their own... the sheep likes to lollygag behind and eat whatever he can on the walk over, so I always have to pull him along. Grover... well, he's a sweet goat and we like him, but on a halter or in a collar, he's a bit of a butt head.
Part of the problem is that if he touches Ernie or Bert, they beat the snot out of him... the other part is that if the sheep touches Grover, Grover beats the sheep up! Plus, even though we've made the walk back and forth a few times now, they all like to try to run in different directions, at different speeds. I can not even imagine what the people on the road passing by must think I'm doing... some sort of demented goat and sheep dance! Stupid animals.
This past weekend we bought a new light fixture, a chandelier off someone that advertised on kijiji (we LOVE kjiji!!). Its quite beautiful, its black with a wrought iron look and white glass shades. I put a pic up in the FHH album. It replaced that butt ugly red ceiling fan in our bedroom.... the new light fixture matches our black metal bedframe very well... its almost like decorating or something!!! ;)
Today I went to a place not far from here that grows and sells asparagus right from the farm. I was all excited, thinking we could maybe find some decent local produce... we'll have some for supper tonight, so I don't know if it will be good yet or not.... but I damn near had a heart attack about the price!! They charge $4.50 a lb!! I bought 2 pounds, just because I was there and would've felt awkward not buying it, but unless its super wonderful, I doubt I'll be going back.
I was also at Farm Boy today and they had Canadian asparagus (that's how it was marked, no idea where it was from!!) for $2.49 a lb. I'm sure where I used to buy it in Southern Ontario it was around $3 /lb! I don't understand how this local place gets away with selling it for so much and I have to GO to their place (which is not on my way anywhere else, its a specific trip!).
I know the produce around here can be pricier compared to KW, but come on.... I think that's a bit ridiculous! As I said, it better be very good to justify the price... for that price, I should get gold plated asparagus, or at least asparagus that doesn't make your pee reek! Something!
Anyhow, all is well around here... just busy... but we do bring that on ourselves! :)
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Busy Weekend & I'm Exhausted!
I just have to say upfront, I'm exhausted... so if the following post is incoherent, I apologize!
Saturday, we did odd jobs around here... we finally got the little shelf unit hung in the upstairs bathroom. There's a history to this job... about a year ago I bought it at IKEA... it has that black wrought iron look with glass shelves... anyhow, we attempted to put it up... we were going to use toggle bolts, so we drilled big holes. Well, they wouldn't go in properly and at the time we thought maybe we had run into brick behind the plaster. It was something very solid and wouldn't allow the toggle bolts to expand. We loathe drilling brick and masonry type stuff, so we gave up.
About 6 months after this failure we were randomly talking to our next door neighbour and he offhandedly mentioned that he thought our house was made of logs. (So we're talking a layer of vinyl siding, a layer of red brick, a layer of logs, then lathe and plaster... hopefully some insulation in there, but I wouldn't bet much!) At that moment, Shawn and I both looked at each other and thought "Wait, that must be what we ran into in the bathroom wall" (its an outside wall). Time passed and passed and we never got back to trying again.
Then yesterday we decided it was time... it was cold, windy and rainy out, so doing inside stuff was a good idea. Turns out we just put up the shelf unit put 2 screws through the holes it has and into the exsiting large holes in the wall and screwed them in. It does seem that its wood of some sort, perhaps logs, even! So the job I had waited like a year to happen, just happened in like 5 minutes!
We also installed one of our "scrap" pieces of Formica (leftover from what we bought to put on the island) onto the wall in the downstairs bathroom behind the big laundry sink as a sort of "back splash". We just drilled holes in the Formica (put masking tape down where we were going to make the hole, started the hole with the drill set to "backwards" and then very slowly made the hole with the drill turned to "forwards"... no cracking, no problems at all!) and then put screws through and zip, zip, zip, instant back splash! The scrap piece was exactly the right size, we didn't have to cut it or anything... easy cheaty project.
I think we're going to do the same with the large (almost 4ftx4ft) "scrap" we have left... again in the downstairs bathroom, but behind the bucket rack... that wall always gets splashed and beat up when the goat buckets are scrubbed and put on the rack to dry. We just didn't get to doing it yet, but maybe one evening this week.
We also hung another curtain / blind thing in our bedroom... just more blackout cloth... almost all our windows are covered with the black out cloth now, just need one more small piece on the rod we just hung... at some point I'll go buy a piece... but at least we used up all we had laying around.
Yesterday we also went into town... went to Home Depot and bought a Skil reciprocating saw... it was cheap (under $100 with tax) and one of the highest powered ones they have. Its a NICE tool... very heavy... you certainly can't operate it with just one hand! I can't even lift it horizonatally with just one hand!
We did a few other errands in town, picked up a few groceries... a prime rib roast at Farm Boy for $5.99 a lb and a 20 lb fresh turkey! We ate the prime rib last night for supper and today I cooked the turkey and we enjoyed it for supper!
Today was a brutally busy day that started out badly for me... I woke up with a horrible neck kink that prevented me from turning my head and from lifting my arm. Just f'ing lovely. Shawn worked on it for a while and got it to loosen up a bit, though its still quite sore. I'm sure after a day or two it'll settle down... I hope.
Then we got started with the reciprocating saw in the bedroom! Do we know how to have fun or what? :) We started chopping up the hot tub... the new saw did a wonderful job... we had bought really aggressive, scary blades for it and they ate right through the fiberglass, the foam insulation, the wood, the nails, the pvc pipes, everything!!
We got the whole tub out of our room, out of the house! Its now in pieces on the front lawn in a big artfully arranged pile! It took us about 5-6 hours from start to finish and we did stop for lunch in there. We used the shop vac frequently to clean up the fiberglass and insulation dust to keep it from getting everywhere. Love my little shop vac! (We used to have a big monster one that was powerful, but so awkward and annoying to use... this one I got for cheap, $40 a couple years ago... I was afraid it wouldn't be powerful enough, but its great and easy to use!)
All the pieces of hot tub were made small enough to be carried and fit down the stairs... they are still large, but at least manageable. After we were done and it was all outside, I vacuumed with the shop vac, then I vacuumed thoroughly with the Dyson. (Love my Dyson!)
All in all, it wasn't the worst job we ever did and it was very gratifying to finally get it out of our room, but carrying stuff down the stairs and then climbing back up got tiring after a few trips! I'm glad its not an ongoing job and I'm glad its in the past! Getting rid of that freed up a space about 10ft x 10ft in our already huge room. Eventually, I would like to install an ensuite bathroom in that space, but for now, I will likely pile storage items there.
When we took a break for lunch, I also threw the turkey in the oven and it just cooked itslef while we worked... then when we were done, I peeled and boiled a few potatoes for mashed and made a huge bath tub of gravy once the turkey was done and out of the pan. It turned out really well, the white meat was dripping with juices as I sliced it... it was pretty damn close to what my Mommy makes! There might just be hope for me yet! :)
It felt really good to sit on the couch and eat our delicious supper with our feet up... I was pretty tired at that point... then came the clean up. I finished carving the turkey, gathered up all the nice slices of white meat and bagged them to make cold turkey sandwiches for Shawn's (and my) lunches this week... I made up two plastic containers of turkey and gravy and put them in the freezer for Shawn to eat sometime when I'm away. Easy to heat and put on bread and have an almost instant hot turkey sandwich.
I bagged up the turkey legs and all the dark meat and am saving that to make turkey pot pie... maybe tomorrow or Tuesday, I'll see... I'll just buy the crust and not bother trying to make my own. Then I picked the carcass clean of all the little bits of meat and bagged it and threw it in the freezer and I'll make turkey soup or cassarole or something with it at some point.
I think that was the busiest weekend we've had since last fall... and man, I'm wiped. :)
I put up some pics today also, hot tub removal you can compare to the old pics of the hot tub if you're interested.
Also some random pics in April Update, that we actually taken 2-3 weeks ago. That's the problem when Shawn uses his camera for pics, they never get offloaded or put up until way later!
And as if I didn't do enough this weekend... I'm now doing some laundry and need to change the bed sheets before we go to bed. This is the weekend that never ends... it just goes on and on my friend....
-- L
Saturday, we did odd jobs around here... we finally got the little shelf unit hung in the upstairs bathroom. There's a history to this job... about a year ago I bought it at IKEA... it has that black wrought iron look with glass shelves... anyhow, we attempted to put it up... we were going to use toggle bolts, so we drilled big holes. Well, they wouldn't go in properly and at the time we thought maybe we had run into brick behind the plaster. It was something very solid and wouldn't allow the toggle bolts to expand. We loathe drilling brick and masonry type stuff, so we gave up.
About 6 months after this failure we were randomly talking to our next door neighbour and he offhandedly mentioned that he thought our house was made of logs. (So we're talking a layer of vinyl siding, a layer of red brick, a layer of logs, then lathe and plaster... hopefully some insulation in there, but I wouldn't bet much!) At that moment, Shawn and I both looked at each other and thought "Wait, that must be what we ran into in the bathroom wall" (its an outside wall). Time passed and passed and we never got back to trying again.
Then yesterday we decided it was time... it was cold, windy and rainy out, so doing inside stuff was a good idea. Turns out we just put up the shelf unit put 2 screws through the holes it has and into the exsiting large holes in the wall and screwed them in. It does seem that its wood of some sort, perhaps logs, even! So the job I had waited like a year to happen, just happened in like 5 minutes!
We also installed one of our "scrap" pieces of Formica (leftover from what we bought to put on the island) onto the wall in the downstairs bathroom behind the big laundry sink as a sort of "back splash". We just drilled holes in the Formica (put masking tape down where we were going to make the hole, started the hole with the drill set to "backwards" and then very slowly made the hole with the drill turned to "forwards"... no cracking, no problems at all!) and then put screws through and zip, zip, zip, instant back splash! The scrap piece was exactly the right size, we didn't have to cut it or anything... easy cheaty project.
I think we're going to do the same with the large (almost 4ftx4ft) "scrap" we have left... again in the downstairs bathroom, but behind the bucket rack... that wall always gets splashed and beat up when the goat buckets are scrubbed and put on the rack to dry. We just didn't get to doing it yet, but maybe one evening this week.
We also hung another curtain / blind thing in our bedroom... just more blackout cloth... almost all our windows are covered with the black out cloth now, just need one more small piece on the rod we just hung... at some point I'll go buy a piece... but at least we used up all we had laying around.
Yesterday we also went into town... went to Home Depot and bought a Skil reciprocating saw... it was cheap (under $100 with tax) and one of the highest powered ones they have. Its a NICE tool... very heavy... you certainly can't operate it with just one hand! I can't even lift it horizonatally with just one hand!
We did a few other errands in town, picked up a few groceries... a prime rib roast at Farm Boy for $5.99 a lb and a 20 lb fresh turkey! We ate the prime rib last night for supper and today I cooked the turkey and we enjoyed it for supper!
Today was a brutally busy day that started out badly for me... I woke up with a horrible neck kink that prevented me from turning my head and from lifting my arm. Just f'ing lovely. Shawn worked on it for a while and got it to loosen up a bit, though its still quite sore. I'm sure after a day or two it'll settle down... I hope.
Then we got started with the reciprocating saw in the bedroom! Do we know how to have fun or what? :) We started chopping up the hot tub... the new saw did a wonderful job... we had bought really aggressive, scary blades for it and they ate right through the fiberglass, the foam insulation, the wood, the nails, the pvc pipes, everything!!
We got the whole tub out of our room, out of the house! Its now in pieces on the front lawn in a big artfully arranged pile! It took us about 5-6 hours from start to finish and we did stop for lunch in there. We used the shop vac frequently to clean up the fiberglass and insulation dust to keep it from getting everywhere. Love my little shop vac! (We used to have a big monster one that was powerful, but so awkward and annoying to use... this one I got for cheap, $40 a couple years ago... I was afraid it wouldn't be powerful enough, but its great and easy to use!)
All the pieces of hot tub were made small enough to be carried and fit down the stairs... they are still large, but at least manageable. After we were done and it was all outside, I vacuumed with the shop vac, then I vacuumed thoroughly with the Dyson. (Love my Dyson!)
All in all, it wasn't the worst job we ever did and it was very gratifying to finally get it out of our room, but carrying stuff down the stairs and then climbing back up got tiring after a few trips! I'm glad its not an ongoing job and I'm glad its in the past! Getting rid of that freed up a space about 10ft x 10ft in our already huge room. Eventually, I would like to install an ensuite bathroom in that space, but for now, I will likely pile storage items there.
When we took a break for lunch, I also threw the turkey in the oven and it just cooked itslef while we worked... then when we were done, I peeled and boiled a few potatoes for mashed and made a huge bath tub of gravy once the turkey was done and out of the pan. It turned out really well, the white meat was dripping with juices as I sliced it... it was pretty damn close to what my Mommy makes! There might just be hope for me yet! :)
It felt really good to sit on the couch and eat our delicious supper with our feet up... I was pretty tired at that point... then came the clean up. I finished carving the turkey, gathered up all the nice slices of white meat and bagged them to make cold turkey sandwiches for Shawn's (and my) lunches this week... I made up two plastic containers of turkey and gravy and put them in the freezer for Shawn to eat sometime when I'm away. Easy to heat and put on bread and have an almost instant hot turkey sandwich.
I bagged up the turkey legs and all the dark meat and am saving that to make turkey pot pie... maybe tomorrow or Tuesday, I'll see... I'll just buy the crust and not bother trying to make my own. Then I picked the carcass clean of all the little bits of meat and bagged it and threw it in the freezer and I'll make turkey soup or cassarole or something with it at some point.
I think that was the busiest weekend we've had since last fall... and man, I'm wiped. :)
I put up some pics today also, hot tub removal you can compare to the old pics of the hot tub if you're interested.
Also some random pics in April Update, that we actually taken 2-3 weeks ago. That's the problem when Shawn uses his camera for pics, they never get offloaded or put up until way later!
And as if I didn't do enough this weekend... I'm now doing some laundry and need to change the bed sheets before we go to bed. This is the weekend that never ends... it just goes on and on my friend....
-- L
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Its April!!
Yesterday, Oliver turned 1 year old... Happy birthday Ollie :) I also weighed him yesterday and he was 66lbs. He's a very tall and lanky boy and I think its maybe done growing UP and maybe now will start filling out. I'll bet he'll be about 80 - 85lbs when he's all done.
We've had quite a bit of rain lately... though today is lovely. Our snow is officially gone... you might be able to find a patch here or there, but our yard is now melted, finally.
I spent much of the morning outside... I hadn't PLANNED to... but what else is new. I thought since the next few days are supposed to be rainy, I would muck out the goat shed today and then they'd be good to go again for a while.... we just did them on Sunday after not doing them for 2 weeks, so it wasn't too bad. Plus, with the good weather, it means I can get the lawn tractor and cart out and make the job WAY easier.
When I went out, I noticed that Grover's under fur was really starting to come out, so I decided to take a brush with me and work on that for a few minutes. Its technically a hard plastic curry comb generally used for horses, but the goats love a good vigorous grooming with it... really gets all their itchies. Of course, Ernie and Bert have to have their turn first, before they will let Grover have any attention... they both had a bit coming out, but nothing major. (I often laugh to myself about "curried goat" while brushing them... lame I know, but I really don't get out much!)
Then I started working on Grover and tons of under fur started coming out... I worked and worked on him... he loves it... I think I could do it all day... I got about 3 handfuls of nice fleecy under fur out of him... I broke it into a bunch of tufts and put it in the trees, thought maybe the birds might like some for nests.
While I was grooming goats... not the sheep... never the sheep... he doesn't like that sort of thing, though he'll tolerate it if you tie him up... I noticed that one of the gates on the fencing was falling off!! Of course Ernie was hanging around there, sticking his head out through the opening and stuff... the little shit.
Once I got my panic under control, I herded the goats into the shed... Ok, herded is NOT the right word... bribed with hay and then slammed the door on their faces... getting goats to go inside on a nice day, after many crappy days... not an easy feat!!
Then I had a look at the gate and saw that one of the brackets with the pins had come loose and was pushed down. I gave the gate a little tug and off it fell... held on only by the other side that was chained close and padlocked. Wow... very close to loose goats!! Disaster averted! Yay :)
I went back to the house to get the tools... actually I had to make TWO trips, because it turns out the nuts on the gate bolts are a different size than the nuts on the rest of the fencing! How handy. So I got the gate rehung, not a big deal and I tightened up all the rest. I tired to unlock the padlock, but they apparently rusted over the winter and are seized. I jiggaloo'd them, but still no luck.
Not a huge deal, except that I entered the fenced area through the gate that needed to be rehung (that's the side the nuts were on)... then I hung the gate.... the gate that wouldn't unlock. Couldn't go back through the shed, because I'd locked it from the inside... so I tried the other padlocks on the other gates... all seized.
I ended up having to unhang the gate, go out of the pen... go into the goat shed, fight my way through 3 goats and 1 sheep that were annoyed at being locked inside and get back out the other gate without letting them escape (you know, since the gate was off its hinges again and there was a hole in the fence!)... much easier said than done... goats can be VERY obnoxious.. .strong... determined... did I mention OBNOXIOUS?
I finally got out... rehung the gate and then let the wild animals back out into the sunshine. I was pretty damned exhausted at that point and hadn't even mucked them yet! I got all the gates toggled so they were now locked OUT in the pen and couldn't access the shed... I got the lawn tractor and cart out and I mucked them out.
That was fairly uneventful except for the wind which was blowing right in the shed through the goat door and right out the people door. Love having bits of hay and stuff blowing around... awesome. It was only about a cart and a half of stuff to muck today... not bad and so much easier than carrying muck buckets full of poop.
The ground is wet and I had to drive way around to get to THE manure pile (the real one, not the temporary winter one) but I managed to not get stuck... not like Sunday... but I'm not discussing that! :)
Anyhow, so they are now clean... rebedded... lots of hay in the feeder...I just looked out the window and they are all outside in the sun... Ernie is sleeping flat out on the picnic table... the sheep is against the fence... Bert is beside the picnic table on the ground and Grover is right up against the side of the shed.
Last weekend we made some improvements to the kitchen... added a couple new under cabinet lights... bought a little (and cheap!) pantry cupboard to put in the dining room to give me some more storage space... put down a piece of Formica on top of the island so it can be usable counter space (its just sitting on top right now, we plan to glue it down when we have time)... we also added a little shelf in the space above the sink between the existing cupboards. Just a place to keep often used things like salt, pepper, butter, napkins handy, but off the countertop! We also hung the new clock I got for Christmas above the shelf... its a good spot for it.
So, improvements like that... nothing earth shattering, but it makes it a much nicer and more usable space... its still ugly, but fixing that wasn't the goal... at least not yet. Just needed some inexpensive ways to make it more functional... and we accomplished that... for about $250, I now have 2 good sized countertops for work space. Its really nice when I'm making muffins and stuff... I have places to put buttered muffin pans AND still have a place for mixing bowls and ingredients! Such luxury!
Hmm, other things we've done somewhat recently... we took down all the snow fence... nothing like tempting Mother Nature, eh? Its nice to have it down, rolled up and put away for next year. Its nice to have it up when you need it, but after that it just looks junky... oh, don't I sound just like my father?! :)
We're also still working on chicken coop plans and costing it out... I don't think we'll be ready to pick up chickens on my next trip to southern ontario... but that's good (or bad!!!) news for those of you that live down that way, because it means I'll have to come for another visit in order to get my chickens.
I'm considering getting 10 chickens now... I know that's way more than I need and definitely will give more eggs than I need or want, but I'm thinking that if I'm making a trip all the way to get them, I better get enough that if one or two die or don't lay or something that I'm not short on chickens. Besides, I think it might be fun to sell a few eggs to coworkers or neighbours... not that selling eggs will make us rich, but will maybe subsidize the feed and make it easier to justify having them.. .we'll see... stay tuned to "How The Egg Turns" ... :)
We also have tentative plans to extend the dog fence up the side of the house towards the road. We have enough page wire fencing to do it and in the summer it might be nice to have more shaded space available. We're just awaiting the gas people to come mark the gas line... want to avaoid hitting that!! ... and of course time...
A while back we ordered about 150 seedling trees... they should be ready for pick up around the end of April... that will keep us plenty busy at that point, I'm sure. 150 holes to be dug in the nasty clay soil... super fun! Seemed like a good idea in February!!
I think that's about it for now...nothing too exciting. Just trying really hard to get on with Spring.
--L
We've had quite a bit of rain lately... though today is lovely. Our snow is officially gone... you might be able to find a patch here or there, but our yard is now melted, finally.
I spent much of the morning outside... I hadn't PLANNED to... but what else is new. I thought since the next few days are supposed to be rainy, I would muck out the goat shed today and then they'd be good to go again for a while.... we just did them on Sunday after not doing them for 2 weeks, so it wasn't too bad. Plus, with the good weather, it means I can get the lawn tractor and cart out and make the job WAY easier.
When I went out, I noticed that Grover's under fur was really starting to come out, so I decided to take a brush with me and work on that for a few minutes. Its technically a hard plastic curry comb generally used for horses, but the goats love a good vigorous grooming with it... really gets all their itchies. Of course, Ernie and Bert have to have their turn first, before they will let Grover have any attention... they both had a bit coming out, but nothing major. (I often laugh to myself about "curried goat" while brushing them... lame I know, but I really don't get out much!)
Then I started working on Grover and tons of under fur started coming out... I worked and worked on him... he loves it... I think I could do it all day... I got about 3 handfuls of nice fleecy under fur out of him... I broke it into a bunch of tufts and put it in the trees, thought maybe the birds might like some for nests.
While I was grooming goats... not the sheep... never the sheep... he doesn't like that sort of thing, though he'll tolerate it if you tie him up... I noticed that one of the gates on the fencing was falling off!! Of course Ernie was hanging around there, sticking his head out through the opening and stuff... the little shit.
Once I got my panic under control, I herded the goats into the shed... Ok, herded is NOT the right word... bribed with hay and then slammed the door on their faces... getting goats to go inside on a nice day, after many crappy days... not an easy feat!!
Then I had a look at the gate and saw that one of the brackets with the pins had come loose and was pushed down. I gave the gate a little tug and off it fell... held on only by the other side that was chained close and padlocked. Wow... very close to loose goats!! Disaster averted! Yay :)
I went back to the house to get the tools... actually I had to make TWO trips, because it turns out the nuts on the gate bolts are a different size than the nuts on the rest of the fencing! How handy. So I got the gate rehung, not a big deal and I tightened up all the rest. I tired to unlock the padlock, but they apparently rusted over the winter and are seized. I jiggaloo'd them, but still no luck.
Not a huge deal, except that I entered the fenced area through the gate that needed to be rehung (that's the side the nuts were on)... then I hung the gate.... the gate that wouldn't unlock. Couldn't go back through the shed, because I'd locked it from the inside... so I tried the other padlocks on the other gates... all seized.
I ended up having to unhang the gate, go out of the pen... go into the goat shed, fight my way through 3 goats and 1 sheep that were annoyed at being locked inside and get back out the other gate without letting them escape (you know, since the gate was off its hinges again and there was a hole in the fence!)... much easier said than done... goats can be VERY obnoxious.. .strong... determined... did I mention OBNOXIOUS?
I finally got out... rehung the gate and then let the wild animals back out into the sunshine. I was pretty damned exhausted at that point and hadn't even mucked them yet! I got all the gates toggled so they were now locked OUT in the pen and couldn't access the shed... I got the lawn tractor and cart out and I mucked them out.
That was fairly uneventful except for the wind which was blowing right in the shed through the goat door and right out the people door. Love having bits of hay and stuff blowing around... awesome. It was only about a cart and a half of stuff to muck today... not bad and so much easier than carrying muck buckets full of poop.
The ground is wet and I had to drive way around to get to THE manure pile (the real one, not the temporary winter one) but I managed to not get stuck... not like Sunday... but I'm not discussing that! :)
Anyhow, so they are now clean... rebedded... lots of hay in the feeder...I just looked out the window and they are all outside in the sun... Ernie is sleeping flat out on the picnic table... the sheep is against the fence... Bert is beside the picnic table on the ground and Grover is right up against the side of the shed.
Last weekend we made some improvements to the kitchen... added a couple new under cabinet lights... bought a little (and cheap!) pantry cupboard to put in the dining room to give me some more storage space... put down a piece of Formica on top of the island so it can be usable counter space (its just sitting on top right now, we plan to glue it down when we have time)... we also added a little shelf in the space above the sink between the existing cupboards. Just a place to keep often used things like salt, pepper, butter, napkins handy, but off the countertop! We also hung the new clock I got for Christmas above the shelf... its a good spot for it.
So, improvements like that... nothing earth shattering, but it makes it a much nicer and more usable space... its still ugly, but fixing that wasn't the goal... at least not yet. Just needed some inexpensive ways to make it more functional... and we accomplished that... for about $250, I now have 2 good sized countertops for work space. Its really nice when I'm making muffins and stuff... I have places to put buttered muffin pans AND still have a place for mixing bowls and ingredients! Such luxury!
Hmm, other things we've done somewhat recently... we took down all the snow fence... nothing like tempting Mother Nature, eh? Its nice to have it down, rolled up and put away for next year. Its nice to have it up when you need it, but after that it just looks junky... oh, don't I sound just like my father?! :)
We're also still working on chicken coop plans and costing it out... I don't think we'll be ready to pick up chickens on my next trip to southern ontario... but that's good (or bad!!!) news for those of you that live down that way, because it means I'll have to come for another visit in order to get my chickens.
I'm considering getting 10 chickens now... I know that's way more than I need and definitely will give more eggs than I need or want, but I'm thinking that if I'm making a trip all the way to get them, I better get enough that if one or two die or don't lay or something that I'm not short on chickens. Besides, I think it might be fun to sell a few eggs to coworkers or neighbours... not that selling eggs will make us rich, but will maybe subsidize the feed and make it easier to justify having them.. .we'll see... stay tuned to "How The Egg Turns" ... :)
We also have tentative plans to extend the dog fence up the side of the house towards the road. We have enough page wire fencing to do it and in the summer it might be nice to have more shaded space available. We're just awaiting the gas people to come mark the gas line... want to avaoid hitting that!! ... and of course time...
A while back we ordered about 150 seedling trees... they should be ready for pick up around the end of April... that will keep us plenty busy at that point, I'm sure. 150 holes to be dug in the nasty clay soil... super fun! Seemed like a good idea in February!!
I think that's about it for now...nothing too exciting. Just trying really hard to get on with Spring.
--L
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Abby Finds A New Home
Earlier this week, Shawn and I made the decision to put Abby up for adoption and started advertising. Don't get me wrong, she's a good dog and had come a long way in just under 2 weeks. All her food guarding issues resolved quickly (though I did fully disclose that to her new owners) and she had come a long way in learning her name and we began working on her recall.
But, it was very soon after losing Buddy to add a new dog to the household and having 2 pups and an older dog is way more work than having 2 older dogs and a pup! I wasn't ready to commit to that kind of work for a dog that just sort of showed up here. Plus... she's a lab... her whole personality, the way she runs, eats, learns... its all so "labby".
I know many people LOVE labs... but they really aren't my favourite type of dog... we already have one lab, Pixie, to whom we've made a life long committment to and that's fine... but I decided YEARS ago, there would be no more labs in my life. Then Abby showed up and thinking about committing another 10-15 years of my life to a type of dog I really don't like... just seemed overwhelming.
So we advertised her... we got a few responses, but no one was actually interested enough to come and see her. Then I got an email saying a friend's sister was very interested and was given contact info. We made contact via email and on the phone and I did my best to ask all the appropriate questions and they asked everything they could think of about Abby.
Given that these people were recommended to me by one of HJ's members who has done much good for both horses and dogs in need in the past, I felt reasonably comfortable that they would provide a good home. After talking to them, I was even more sure.
So today, they drove from Guelph to Ottawa to pick her up!! They have two kids, 8 & 10, so not really little. When they first arrived (I had my 2 whacko mutts locked in their crates upstairs so as not to cause total chaos!) Abby was in her crate in the mudroom. She was initially a bit overwhelmed by the extra people, but we took her out in the yard and let her explore the new people at her own pace.
It wasn't long and she was following the kids around while they held her leash and feeling pretty comfortable with her interactions. They already have her booked for puppy classes starting THIS week, like in 3 - 4 days!!
The adoption agreement was signed, the fee exchanged and all was good... Abby's crate and her tub of stuff was going to get loaded into the back of their mini van and then Abby put in her crate.... then it was discovered that they locked their keys in their van!
Some attempts were made with a coat hanger and various bits of wire... then CAA was called. They said it would take them 90 minutes to arrive! While waiting for CAA more attempts were made ot unlock the doors, but no go. During this time, Abby was taken for several walks around the property with the kids and me.
We made an effort this morning to tire Abby out in hopes she would sleep for the long ride home... by the time we were walking around the property, she was practically a zombie! She kept looking at her crate longingly, in hopes she could soon nap.
During one of the walks around the property to distract both kids and pup, one of the kids had a major run in with a burdock bush and required some help to get unstuck from himself! I bet that kid gives the next burdock bush a WIDE berth! :) Burdock trauma ;)
Anyhow, the local tow truck finally showed up... much sooner than 90 minutes! (They were here a total of 90 minutes) and the tow truck driver got out his fancy tools and in minutes had the doors open! Abby's crate and tub of stuff got loaded and then I lifted her into her crate, told her to be a good girl and that was that.
I don't imagine they will get home to Guelph until 8 or 9pm tonight, depending on how many stops they have to make... what a LONG day for them!
Due to the timing, Shawn and I missed lunch (and we shared a box of kraft dinner for breakfast... gross, I know!), so we went into town (we were in NEED of some groceries!) and picked up some groceries at Farm Boy... we also bought some food to eat in the car... Shawn had veggies and dip and I had a small container of Farm Boy potatoe salad. We gobbled down our snacks and were still hungry, so we stopped at the Shell gas station on the way home and got a couple nasty, yet delicious, gas station hot dogs and gobbled those down too!
Oliver and Pixie seem fine with Abby being gone... they are both exhausted from the 2 weeks of constant playing... neither looked for her or anything like that... they are both sound asleep now... Ollie on the couch and Pixie on the floor. Its so quiet here... not that Abby was that noisy, but her presence made Ollie be busier than normal and often made Pixie bark when Ollie and Abby were playing.
It's almost 6pm and at some point I'll make us some supper... but maybe a late supper since we inhaled a bunch of snacks at 4-430pm! :)
I'm pretty sure Abby went to a good family that will do right by her... and I'm sure she'll turn out to be a wonderful dog, once she settles in there... she's got a good friendly heart and just needs some consistency in her world and someone to teach her how to be a good dog. I hope they enjoy her... they have said they will send me updates, so we'll see.
It sure is hard letting them go, but I know we did the right thing for us and I'm pretty sure it will be the right thing for Abby, also!
Anyhow, now I should head out and feed my goat babies and sheep their supper and bring fresh water. Always someone hungry and / or thirsty around here! :)
-- L
But, it was very soon after losing Buddy to add a new dog to the household and having 2 pups and an older dog is way more work than having 2 older dogs and a pup! I wasn't ready to commit to that kind of work for a dog that just sort of showed up here. Plus... she's a lab... her whole personality, the way she runs, eats, learns... its all so "labby".
I know many people LOVE labs... but they really aren't my favourite type of dog... we already have one lab, Pixie, to whom we've made a life long committment to and that's fine... but I decided YEARS ago, there would be no more labs in my life. Then Abby showed up and thinking about committing another 10-15 years of my life to a type of dog I really don't like... just seemed overwhelming.
So we advertised her... we got a few responses, but no one was actually interested enough to come and see her. Then I got an email saying a friend's sister was very interested and was given contact info. We made contact via email and on the phone and I did my best to ask all the appropriate questions and they asked everything they could think of about Abby.
Given that these people were recommended to me by one of HJ's members who has done much good for both horses and dogs in need in the past, I felt reasonably comfortable that they would provide a good home. After talking to them, I was even more sure.
So today, they drove from Guelph to Ottawa to pick her up!! They have two kids, 8 & 10, so not really little. When they first arrived (I had my 2 whacko mutts locked in their crates upstairs so as not to cause total chaos!) Abby was in her crate in the mudroom. She was initially a bit overwhelmed by the extra people, but we took her out in the yard and let her explore the new people at her own pace.
It wasn't long and she was following the kids around while they held her leash and feeling pretty comfortable with her interactions. They already have her booked for puppy classes starting THIS week, like in 3 - 4 days!!
The adoption agreement was signed, the fee exchanged and all was good... Abby's crate and her tub of stuff was going to get loaded into the back of their mini van and then Abby put in her crate.... then it was discovered that they locked their keys in their van!
Some attempts were made with a coat hanger and various bits of wire... then CAA was called. They said it would take them 90 minutes to arrive! While waiting for CAA more attempts were made ot unlock the doors, but no go. During this time, Abby was taken for several walks around the property with the kids and me.
We made an effort this morning to tire Abby out in hopes she would sleep for the long ride home... by the time we were walking around the property, she was practically a zombie! She kept looking at her crate longingly, in hopes she could soon nap.
During one of the walks around the property to distract both kids and pup, one of the kids had a major run in with a burdock bush and required some help to get unstuck from himself! I bet that kid gives the next burdock bush a WIDE berth! :) Burdock trauma ;)
Anyhow, the local tow truck finally showed up... much sooner than 90 minutes! (They were here a total of 90 minutes) and the tow truck driver got out his fancy tools and in minutes had the doors open! Abby's crate and tub of stuff got loaded and then I lifted her into her crate, told her to be a good girl and that was that.
I don't imagine they will get home to Guelph until 8 or 9pm tonight, depending on how many stops they have to make... what a LONG day for them!
Due to the timing, Shawn and I missed lunch (and we shared a box of kraft dinner for breakfast... gross, I know!), so we went into town (we were in NEED of some groceries!) and picked up some groceries at Farm Boy... we also bought some food to eat in the car... Shawn had veggies and dip and I had a small container of Farm Boy potatoe salad. We gobbled down our snacks and were still hungry, so we stopped at the Shell gas station on the way home and got a couple nasty, yet delicious, gas station hot dogs and gobbled those down too!
Oliver and Pixie seem fine with Abby being gone... they are both exhausted from the 2 weeks of constant playing... neither looked for her or anything like that... they are both sound asleep now... Ollie on the couch and Pixie on the floor. Its so quiet here... not that Abby was that noisy, but her presence made Ollie be busier than normal and often made Pixie bark when Ollie and Abby were playing.
It's almost 6pm and at some point I'll make us some supper... but maybe a late supper since we inhaled a bunch of snacks at 4-430pm! :)
I'm pretty sure Abby went to a good family that will do right by her... and I'm sure she'll turn out to be a wonderful dog, once she settles in there... she's got a good friendly heart and just needs some consistency in her world and someone to teach her how to be a good dog. I hope they enjoy her... they have said they will send me updates, so we'll see.
It sure is hard letting them go, but I know we did the right thing for us and I'm pretty sure it will be the right thing for Abby, also!
Anyhow, now I should head out and feed my goat babies and sheep their supper and bring fresh water. Always someone hungry and / or thirsty around here! :)
-- L
Friday, March 13, 2009
Another Friday The 13th
It's been one month since we lost Buddy. So far, and I almost fear saying this, March's Friday the 13th has been much better than February's Friday the 13th.
This week we acquired a new puppy, Abigail. I posted some pics in the FHH album of her, Pixie and Oliver. She literally showed up at our door step and her owners asked us to take her in. I told them I would take her, but I couldn't guarantee I'd keep her, but I'd make sure she'd find a good home if I didn't keep her.
Oliver really likes her and treats her like his own personal toy. Mostly the whole time they are together, they are go, go, go... .run, wrestle, chase, bite and all that. Being as there is only 6 months difference in their ages, there's much fun to be had... Ollie is a BIG fan of fun :)
Pixie tolerates her... she's not afraid of her like she was when we got Ollie, but she's also about 5 months old, so she's mostly a dog already and doesn't have that toddling puppy thing going on that Oliver had.
Abby is said to be a lab x shep... we were told her mother was a yellow lab and her father was a shep x of some sort... another one of those secret, unplanned rendez-vous that dogs are famous for! She was born October 15, 2008 and when we went to the vet this week was 42 lbs. She's short, but chunky... you really notice the chunkiness if you pick her up and carry her anywhere, especially if it involves stairs.
Abby seems to be a bit spoiled and seems not to have had any discipline in her life... while she can sleep through the night without having to go out, she sometimes wakes up and cries a bit... her old owner told me that when she used to do that, the owner would go and get her from her crate and cuddle her for a while. Needless to say THAT has stopped and she's now relearning that if you cry at night, you get taken outside to do your business and immediately returned to your crate. Apparently that's not all that much fun ;)
She also seems to have a few issues with protecting her food, even from people. We started working on that immediately this week and she seems a bit better... she lost the right to just get served her food in a bowl... now she gets a bowl with a tiny bit of food and then I add a small bit at a time. She now accepts my hands near her bowl without problem, as I'm always adding more food to it. I can lift her head out of the bowl and pick up the bowl while there's food in it without any snapping or growling... I make her sit patiently and then she gets it back.
Abby also doesn't know her name, but then again, we changed it on her, so that will take some time to learn... she didn't seem to know her old name though, anyhow. If motivated, she can sit, shake a paw and lay down... but pay any attention to you when you call her... No Way! We'll work on that also. I'm trying not to throw too much at her all at once... after all, she had a kinda crappy week, suddenly leaving her old home and coming here, getting to know new people, new dogs, a new house... a new name... everything.
I'm also not sure if its all the change or because she's fairly young... but she seems to not have much personality yet at this point. She reminds me a bit of our sheep... the sitting and blinking with a blank stare and stuff like that. Hopefully that will change.
The lab blood in her seems to be stronger than anything else... she's very similar to Pixie in many ways... the way she runs, the way she sits, the way she eats and the blank staring! ;) Of course, I'm used to Oliver, who is Mr.Personality Plus... really, he might have enough personality for both of them!
Its probably not fair to say she lacks personality... I don't really know her yet and she's getting used to all the changes and I don't feel like I've bonded to her yet in any way. That combined with the fact that I was not really ready to have a 3rd dog again so soon after we lost Buddy... we'll see how it goes.
Adding her into our house has really highlighted what a good dog Oliver is! Abby thinks nothing of putting her front paws on the counters and if there's anything in reach, grabbing it and running off. I swore I'd never have another lab after Pixie and yet somehow, one showed up on the doorstep. I really should have the "Sucker" tattoo removed from my forehead. Abby seems to be a strong willed, scrappy little girl though... which I suppose is good when it comes to playing with Oliver.
Oliver has changed this week with Abby joining our household. He acts a lot more like Buddy did... being the man dog of the house and keeping an eye on everyone... quite the little busy body. So far, I think he will end up being the dominant dog... Pixie has no inclination that way and Abby is kinda young.
All the dogs are really tired this week from all the playing... it means they are either sleeping or going full steam ahead... there doesn't seem to be much in between... I'm sure that will mellow out with time.
I just want to make it clear that Abby is not a replacement for Buddy, there's just no chance of that and never will be. Oliver on the other hand, is doing his best to try to fill up that Buddy shaped empty spot in my heart. He won't replace him either, but he does help reduce the sting. That's something.
Anyhow... enough about dogs.... we had a bunch of snow and ice melt... we still have quite a bit to go though... I'm looking forward to it all being gone!
The sheep and goats are doing well and I think are looking forward to there being some green grass at some point... the sooner the better as far as they are concerned. They are enjoying the hay that I got brought in... its the good stuff and only the biggest, toughest stalks don't get eaten and then I just use it for bedding. (How comfy sounding! ha)
I can't think of anything else new or interesting, so I think that's it for now. Don't forget to check out the pics in the FHH album.
--L
This week we acquired a new puppy, Abigail. I posted some pics in the FHH album of her, Pixie and Oliver. She literally showed up at our door step and her owners asked us to take her in. I told them I would take her, but I couldn't guarantee I'd keep her, but I'd make sure she'd find a good home if I didn't keep her.
Oliver really likes her and treats her like his own personal toy. Mostly the whole time they are together, they are go, go, go... .run, wrestle, chase, bite and all that. Being as there is only 6 months difference in their ages, there's much fun to be had... Ollie is a BIG fan of fun :)
Pixie tolerates her... she's not afraid of her like she was when we got Ollie, but she's also about 5 months old, so she's mostly a dog already and doesn't have that toddling puppy thing going on that Oliver had.
Abby is said to be a lab x shep... we were told her mother was a yellow lab and her father was a shep x of some sort... another one of those secret, unplanned rendez-vous that dogs are famous for! She was born October 15, 2008 and when we went to the vet this week was 42 lbs. She's short, but chunky... you really notice the chunkiness if you pick her up and carry her anywhere, especially if it involves stairs.
Abby seems to be a bit spoiled and seems not to have had any discipline in her life... while she can sleep through the night without having to go out, she sometimes wakes up and cries a bit... her old owner told me that when she used to do that, the owner would go and get her from her crate and cuddle her for a while. Needless to say THAT has stopped and she's now relearning that if you cry at night, you get taken outside to do your business and immediately returned to your crate. Apparently that's not all that much fun ;)
She also seems to have a few issues with protecting her food, even from people. We started working on that immediately this week and she seems a bit better... she lost the right to just get served her food in a bowl... now she gets a bowl with a tiny bit of food and then I add a small bit at a time. She now accepts my hands near her bowl without problem, as I'm always adding more food to it. I can lift her head out of the bowl and pick up the bowl while there's food in it without any snapping or growling... I make her sit patiently and then she gets it back.
Abby also doesn't know her name, but then again, we changed it on her, so that will take some time to learn... she didn't seem to know her old name though, anyhow. If motivated, she can sit, shake a paw and lay down... but pay any attention to you when you call her... No Way! We'll work on that also. I'm trying not to throw too much at her all at once... after all, she had a kinda crappy week, suddenly leaving her old home and coming here, getting to know new people, new dogs, a new house... a new name... everything.
I'm also not sure if its all the change or because she's fairly young... but she seems to not have much personality yet at this point. She reminds me a bit of our sheep... the sitting and blinking with a blank stare and stuff like that. Hopefully that will change.
The lab blood in her seems to be stronger than anything else... she's very similar to Pixie in many ways... the way she runs, the way she sits, the way she eats and the blank staring! ;) Of course, I'm used to Oliver, who is Mr.Personality Plus... really, he might have enough personality for both of them!
Its probably not fair to say she lacks personality... I don't really know her yet and she's getting used to all the changes and I don't feel like I've bonded to her yet in any way. That combined with the fact that I was not really ready to have a 3rd dog again so soon after we lost Buddy... we'll see how it goes.
Adding her into our house has really highlighted what a good dog Oliver is! Abby thinks nothing of putting her front paws on the counters and if there's anything in reach, grabbing it and running off. I swore I'd never have another lab after Pixie and yet somehow, one showed up on the doorstep. I really should have the "Sucker" tattoo removed from my forehead. Abby seems to be a strong willed, scrappy little girl though... which I suppose is good when it comes to playing with Oliver.
Oliver has changed this week with Abby joining our household. He acts a lot more like Buddy did... being the man dog of the house and keeping an eye on everyone... quite the little busy body. So far, I think he will end up being the dominant dog... Pixie has no inclination that way and Abby is kinda young.
All the dogs are really tired this week from all the playing... it means they are either sleeping or going full steam ahead... there doesn't seem to be much in between... I'm sure that will mellow out with time.
I just want to make it clear that Abby is not a replacement for Buddy, there's just no chance of that and never will be. Oliver on the other hand, is doing his best to try to fill up that Buddy shaped empty spot in my heart. He won't replace him either, but he does help reduce the sting. That's something.
Anyhow... enough about dogs.... we had a bunch of snow and ice melt... we still have quite a bit to go though... I'm looking forward to it all being gone!
The sheep and goats are doing well and I think are looking forward to there being some green grass at some point... the sooner the better as far as they are concerned. They are enjoying the hay that I got brought in... its the good stuff and only the biggest, toughest stalks don't get eaten and then I just use it for bedding. (How comfy sounding! ha)
I can't think of anything else new or interesting, so I think that's it for now. Don't forget to check out the pics in the FHH album.
--L
Sunday, March 8, 2009
"Spring" Is Exhausting!
So its March and clearly its not truly spring yet... but Saturday was spring LIKE... which meant we did our best to make the most of the day. After feeding the dogs and goats, I decided it was so nice out that I would start picking up dog poop in the yard.
Generally, we like to pick it up right after it happens and not have a messy yard... I hate having poop everywhere, then someone steps in it, tracks it into the house and all that! But this winter was LONG and COLD and it was easier just to open the door, let them out to do what they had to and then let them back in. Otherwise you have to pile on all your outside clothes and boots and hats and mitts, just to pick up a poop.... for most of the winter we had 3 dogs which means that happens at least 6 times a day!!
Anyhow, I've picked it up a few times, whenever there's a decent day and since it started melting this weekend, there was more that became visible. So Shawn I spent almost an hour touring around the yard with bags, picking it up. Unbelievable amounts, is all I will say!! Oh and we were smart to do this BEFORE breakfast, as after breakfast would've been much much MUCH worse!
We also went out into the goat yard and raked up all the nasty, dirty, soggy, wet, poopy hay that had accumulated over the winter. When its nice outside, I like to feed a bit of hay outside on the ground... the goats like to eat in the sunshine and I figure the fresh air is good for them. Every evening when I lock them up in their shed, I like to rake up the leftover hay and if its not too wet, I toss it into the shed as bedding... but of course, you always miss some... sometimes it snows on it and covers it and stuff like that.
We filled and hauled (Shawn did most of the hauling) at least 8 - 10 muck buckets of this nasty stuff out of the goat pen.... mind you, the buckets weren't full, at about half full they were almost too heavy to carry!! Gross stuff now that will hopefully make nice dirt to grow pretty stuff in eventually!
We also took down the outside Christmas lights and all the extension cords (except for one that part of it is still frozen under some ice and snow. They are all rolled up neatly and waiting to be put away in their rubbermaid container until next time.
We also went into town on Saturday and I ordered my new eye glasses... I had gone in earlier in the week looking for new frames and found ones I liked the style of, but not the colour... the manager of the store was a great help during the process and told me the style I liked came in another colour, but they didn't have them in stock, but could order them in for me to try.
So by Saturday they were in and I took Shawn with me to make sure I didn't look TOO stupid in them. They are a similar style to my current ones... a bit more chunky though... the fronts are a dark gray / almost black and the arms are a brownish colour. They look better than my description makes them sound :) They should be ready in a couple weeks for pick up. They are the kind that come with clip on sunglasses (sort of like the magnetic ones I already have, but they happen to not be magnetic, if that makes any sense!) Thank goodness for extended health insurance, otherwise, I'd have to keep making do with the ones I have!!
While we were in town, we made a trip to Home Depot... a spring day and Home Depot... a perfect combination! We looked around at various things, Shawn bought a new pair of gloves (I got a pair earlier in the week). They are very similar to our SSG riding gloves, but a little bit thicker and definitely cheaper!! ($10 compared to $35 - 40!) They are still think enough to operate snaps and fasteners which is what we were after.
Today we took it a bit easier, it was quite a bit colder out and there was a nasty wind... we mucked out the goat shed though... a good day for that... yesterday would've felt very warm... today was cool enough that we needed our hats and coats on and no one worked up a sweat!
We also spent some time thinking about chicken coops and what we want to build and how to do it cheaply and still have it look nice and have the features we want. We didn't come to any decisions yet, but we're going to look into the shed kits again (sold at HD, Rona, etc).
We had looked at them for our goat shed last year, but decided they were just not going to be durable enough for goats without a lot of $$ improvements... chickens on the other hand are smaller animals and don't need the same level of durability... mostly it just has to be strong enough to keep predators OUT with chickens. So we'll see... I'm sure this topic will be debated for a while yet... I'm sure you all wish you were here to listen to it in all its excessiveness! ha!
So that was our tiring weekend.... some where in there Shawn's laundry got done... meals got made and enjoyed.... dogs fed and played with... goats fed and fussed with... all in all busy enough compared to recent weekends. We're both tired and I think both of us are feeling a few muscles that got a bit soft over the winter... but the good weather comes, you start to feel like doing stuff and you start gearing up again... that's just how it goes around here.
Both of the dogs were pretty tired yesterday and today.... they aren't used to being outside so long and running, running, running... Ok, only Oliver runs like a madman... Pixie runs only when necessary! :)
I will still likely eventually get around to making my own post here about Buddy... I'm still not nearly ready to go there... I'm hoping with time comes perspective and with perspective the pain will diminish enough to make a posting and move forward... but not... not yet.
I think sometime overnight tonight we are supposed to get SNOW... which is not springlike.. maybe 5 -10 cm in the next 24 hours... but its not spring... but while March can be nasty, its not likely to be death cold and any snow we get, won't linger too long... and that's encouraging!
That's it for now...
-- L
Generally, we like to pick it up right after it happens and not have a messy yard... I hate having poop everywhere, then someone steps in it, tracks it into the house and all that! But this winter was LONG and COLD and it was easier just to open the door, let them out to do what they had to and then let them back in. Otherwise you have to pile on all your outside clothes and boots and hats and mitts, just to pick up a poop.... for most of the winter we had 3 dogs which means that happens at least 6 times a day!!
Anyhow, I've picked it up a few times, whenever there's a decent day and since it started melting this weekend, there was more that became visible. So Shawn I spent almost an hour touring around the yard with bags, picking it up. Unbelievable amounts, is all I will say!! Oh and we were smart to do this BEFORE breakfast, as after breakfast would've been much much MUCH worse!
We also went out into the goat yard and raked up all the nasty, dirty, soggy, wet, poopy hay that had accumulated over the winter. When its nice outside, I like to feed a bit of hay outside on the ground... the goats like to eat in the sunshine and I figure the fresh air is good for them. Every evening when I lock them up in their shed, I like to rake up the leftover hay and if its not too wet, I toss it into the shed as bedding... but of course, you always miss some... sometimes it snows on it and covers it and stuff like that.
We filled and hauled (Shawn did most of the hauling) at least 8 - 10 muck buckets of this nasty stuff out of the goat pen.... mind you, the buckets weren't full, at about half full they were almost too heavy to carry!! Gross stuff now that will hopefully make nice dirt to grow pretty stuff in eventually!
We also took down the outside Christmas lights and all the extension cords (except for one that part of it is still frozen under some ice and snow. They are all rolled up neatly and waiting to be put away in their rubbermaid container until next time.
We also went into town on Saturday and I ordered my new eye glasses... I had gone in earlier in the week looking for new frames and found ones I liked the style of, but not the colour... the manager of the store was a great help during the process and told me the style I liked came in another colour, but they didn't have them in stock, but could order them in for me to try.
So by Saturday they were in and I took Shawn with me to make sure I didn't look TOO stupid in them. They are a similar style to my current ones... a bit more chunky though... the fronts are a dark gray / almost black and the arms are a brownish colour. They look better than my description makes them sound :) They should be ready in a couple weeks for pick up. They are the kind that come with clip on sunglasses (sort of like the magnetic ones I already have, but they happen to not be magnetic, if that makes any sense!) Thank goodness for extended health insurance, otherwise, I'd have to keep making do with the ones I have!!
While we were in town, we made a trip to Home Depot... a spring day and Home Depot... a perfect combination! We looked around at various things, Shawn bought a new pair of gloves (I got a pair earlier in the week). They are very similar to our SSG riding gloves, but a little bit thicker and definitely cheaper!! ($10 compared to $35 - 40!) They are still think enough to operate snaps and fasteners which is what we were after.
Today we took it a bit easier, it was quite a bit colder out and there was a nasty wind... we mucked out the goat shed though... a good day for that... yesterday would've felt very warm... today was cool enough that we needed our hats and coats on and no one worked up a sweat!
We also spent some time thinking about chicken coops and what we want to build and how to do it cheaply and still have it look nice and have the features we want. We didn't come to any decisions yet, but we're going to look into the shed kits again (sold at HD, Rona, etc).
We had looked at them for our goat shed last year, but decided they were just not going to be durable enough for goats without a lot of $$ improvements... chickens on the other hand are smaller animals and don't need the same level of durability... mostly it just has to be strong enough to keep predators OUT with chickens. So we'll see... I'm sure this topic will be debated for a while yet... I'm sure you all wish you were here to listen to it in all its excessiveness! ha!
So that was our tiring weekend.... some where in there Shawn's laundry got done... meals got made and enjoyed.... dogs fed and played with... goats fed and fussed with... all in all busy enough compared to recent weekends. We're both tired and I think both of us are feeling a few muscles that got a bit soft over the winter... but the good weather comes, you start to feel like doing stuff and you start gearing up again... that's just how it goes around here.
Both of the dogs were pretty tired yesterday and today.... they aren't used to being outside so long and running, running, running... Ok, only Oliver runs like a madman... Pixie runs only when necessary! :)
I will still likely eventually get around to making my own post here about Buddy... I'm still not nearly ready to go there... I'm hoping with time comes perspective and with perspective the pain will diminish enough to make a posting and move forward... but not... not yet.
I think sometime overnight tonight we are supposed to get SNOW... which is not springlike.. maybe 5 -10 cm in the next 24 hours... but its not spring... but while March can be nasty, its not likely to be death cold and any snow we get, won't linger too long... and that's encouraging!
That's it for now...
-- L
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Buddy
 |
| Buddy |
We had to put Buddy down the week before last, on Friday February 13th. In the end, it was just his time. He had started to have troubles with his front leg, dragging the toe a bit, and it was steadily getting worse.
He passed very quietly. Our vet did a wonderful job.
I've posted some pictures and a movie of Buddy that I took the morning before we took him to the vet.
He had the best life we could give him, and he leaves behind a lot of wonderful memories.
Running away from hot air balloons, dragging me back through town when we still walked him. Hot air balloons (or anything similar, like the moon) were his nemesis. The poor dog, in the past few months, went outside in the morning to see a giant Mr Peanut shaped hot air balloon in a neighboring field. He was very offended.
Acting like a nut at the dog park, wrestling with Pixie, running and running and running.
Playing obsessive fetch with his blue ball. Beating Pixie if she dared take his. :-)
The time we got the new dog beds, and when I was finally done assembling it, he realized what it was, licked my face, and jumped up on it.
Putting his blue blanket over him at night.
Endless tummy rubs.
Being constantly underfoot. :-) He always wanted to be where the action was.
The time he tore off after a deer, and we thought we'd lost him.
He was a good dog. He will be missed. :-(
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Time Flies...
So somehow I haven't posted since November!! I'm not really sure how that happened exactly, but I can hardly believe it!
I suppose December was a little busy... Christmas came early around here, as my parents came for a lovely visit about 2 weeks before Christmas. So our fake tree went up early, but it also came down early, before New Years day, but now of course, I can't remember what day it was :)
Just before Christmas, on December 20th, we got another new addition to our little herd... a sheep! Now we have 3 goats and 1 sheep in the shed... they all fit in there just fine and have mostly worked out the herd dynamics. The sheep is now known as Gordon, though often gets referred to around here as "the sheep"... honestly, he doesn't seem to care one bit.
Ernie and Bert don't mind the sheep too much, though Ernie will boss him around if he's standing in the way of the hay or something... Bert is still a little freaked out by the sheep, but has gotten over it a bit and will now bite chunks of hair / wool off the sheep to make him move! Grover has an extreme dislike for the sheep and will boss him around at any and every opportunity.... just as Ernie and Bert, especially Bert, love to boss Grover around. Herd dynamics are certainly interesting, that's for sure.
Winter is pretty much in full "bloom" around here and has been for well over a month now. Blah. Right now its snowing and about -1 degree C... later tonight, it will be -28 C with the windchill, and later this week it'll be -34 C WITHOUT the windchill... so friggen cold!
Today I pushed all the decent bedding in the goat shed aside and scraped out the bottom layer of wet bedding and filled 2.5 muck buckets (not much). I then rebedded using the decent bedding as a bottom layer, then some old stalky hay out of the feeder that they weren't interested in eating was spread over and then I added another half bale of straw so they would have lots of bedding to burrow into and snuggle down when the temperature drops tonight.
A couple weekends ago we rebuilt the hay feeder to accommodate the extra animals so there would be room for everyone at the feeder. Its on the same wall, but is now a 6 ft long hay feeder. We also changed the design slightly... its somewhere between the first feeder that Bert hated and the 2nd feeder that allowed them to waste too much hay. This one is working out pretty well so far and the waste has been dramatically reduced! Wish we'd come up with it sooner, but live and learn.
Oliver is about 9 months old now and still growing. I'd say he's as tall as Buddy now... I just weighed him today and he's 62.2 lbs! And after holding him in my arms on the scale, I now remember why I get Shawn to weigh him usually!!! :)
Thankfully, there's not much new around here these days... same old, same old. I figured I should update the blog though, just to prove we're still around :)
I suppose December was a little busy... Christmas came early around here, as my parents came for a lovely visit about 2 weeks before Christmas. So our fake tree went up early, but it also came down early, before New Years day, but now of course, I can't remember what day it was :)
Just before Christmas, on December 20th, we got another new addition to our little herd... a sheep! Now we have 3 goats and 1 sheep in the shed... they all fit in there just fine and have mostly worked out the herd dynamics. The sheep is now known as Gordon, though often gets referred to around here as "the sheep"... honestly, he doesn't seem to care one bit.
Ernie and Bert don't mind the sheep too much, though Ernie will boss him around if he's standing in the way of the hay or something... Bert is still a little freaked out by the sheep, but has gotten over it a bit and will now bite chunks of hair / wool off the sheep to make him move! Grover has an extreme dislike for the sheep and will boss him around at any and every opportunity.... just as Ernie and Bert, especially Bert, love to boss Grover around. Herd dynamics are certainly interesting, that's for sure.
Winter is pretty much in full "bloom" around here and has been for well over a month now. Blah. Right now its snowing and about -1 degree C... later tonight, it will be -28 C with the windchill, and later this week it'll be -34 C WITHOUT the windchill... so friggen cold!
Today I pushed all the decent bedding in the goat shed aside and scraped out the bottom layer of wet bedding and filled 2.5 muck buckets (not much). I then rebedded using the decent bedding as a bottom layer, then some old stalky hay out of the feeder that they weren't interested in eating was spread over and then I added another half bale of straw so they would have lots of bedding to burrow into and snuggle down when the temperature drops tonight.
A couple weekends ago we rebuilt the hay feeder to accommodate the extra animals so there would be room for everyone at the feeder. Its on the same wall, but is now a 6 ft long hay feeder. We also changed the design slightly... its somewhere between the first feeder that Bert hated and the 2nd feeder that allowed them to waste too much hay. This one is working out pretty well so far and the waste has been dramatically reduced! Wish we'd come up with it sooner, but live and learn.
Oliver is about 9 months old now and still growing. I'd say he's as tall as Buddy now... I just weighed him today and he's 62.2 lbs! And after holding him in my arms on the scale, I now remember why I get Shawn to weigh him usually!!! :)
Thankfully, there's not much new around here these days... same old, same old. I figured I should update the blog though, just to prove we're still around :)
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