I have had my fears and doubts. After 7 miscarriages, 2 of them ectopic, and the last requiring emergency surgery, I have at times anxiety which can be crippling. As we get closer to the due date with this time, I am praying for peace of mind. Labor is hard, but it is even harder when you are afraid and scared. I pray, but I sometimes lose it and lash out. Whether it is to snap, or to become withdrawn. I am feeling for the most part excited. With the warmer weather and spending more and more time outside my mood is much improved. I did not use to love gardening to the extent I do now. I can happily sit out in the garden pulling weeds for an hour. Then I like to take meandering walks and periodically check things over for growth, issues, etc. My garden is planted except for my celery starts, and sweet potato slips that will come in the mail in a week or so. Weeding is the big project. I just finished my potato patch, and now working on the strawberries again. Yes, I already weeded the strawberries once this year. The bugs and the weeds seem to be prolific. If I can manage to keep up till baby comes, then maybe I we will not lose so much to weeds and pests. I will have to take advantage of some the rainy days to go over the house again. The never ending cleaning!
We have an abundance of milk! Franz has been making chevre and cottage cheese. I make raw goat kefir, puddings, and custards. We use some of the whey and the rest goes to the pigs. We have enough milk for family members to get some too. So thankful, as this is the most milk we have had coming at a time. Alpine babies are weaned. Nigerian babies are either sold or being seperated at night for morning milking of mom. We have sold all the kids we had available except one Nigerian buckling. We are keeping the two Alpines we wethered for meat (they are quite large). We have two Alpine doelings who will be replacement future milkers. I have one black beauty Nigerian doeling named Flower (like the skunk in Bambi)that we are keeping. Her brother is appropriately named Bambi as he looks like a little deer. The kids we have left on meat moms are all doelings that we will evaluate and keep if looking to be good breeders. We have one adopted meat buckling that we will raise for meat with the two Alpines. We have maybe seven does to kid in the next month or two. Goats are out on the big pasture. Franz was able to make the Nigerians their own pasture this year. Bucks and weanlings are kept in large pens. We would love to get the buck pasture put in.
The horses have a sacrifice area off their shelter that Franz built with some help from me and the boys. We seeded their pasture and now they are back out on it. They are getting fat and sassy. The boys still love hopping on Thora's back, and she is pretty tolerant.
Dogs, Leche is in with the Nigerians. Lilly is out on the big pasture with the meat goats. Max who is a big puppy is in the buck pen. He has a lot of energy and wants to play a lot. He does not bother the bucks, but can not be trusted with kids. He is sweet, but very much in throes of teenage puppyhood. I have started to try and leash train him. It ends up looking like a rodeo. At least he loves people. Snowy has been diligently running her rounds and chasing things in the woods.
Cats are doing well. Cat and Georgie have a truce. They sometimes rub each other and then other times hiss. Georgie is due any day. The two male cats we are looking to get rid. The boys are hoping to keep a kitten or two.
Chickens in the coop, there are 16 layers with George our rooster and Andy our male peacock. Recently Andy has started fanning his tail feathers and calling. He has been settling in nicely and we are talking about getting him a girlfriend. We have a new batch of meat chicks in the meat tractor/brooder. I might get ten layer hen chicks with our order of turkey poults.
Six piglets are growing like the weeds they like to eat. We have two males and 4 females. We will decide if we want to try breeding one of the females and keeping her over the winter for piglets in the spring. Otherwise 4 for sure will be butchered this fall.
We have an abundance of milk! Franz has been making chevre and cottage cheese. I make raw goat kefir, puddings, and custards. We use some of the whey and the rest goes to the pigs. We have enough milk for family members to get some too. So thankful, as this is the most milk we have had coming at a time. Alpine babies are weaned. Nigerian babies are either sold or being seperated at night for morning milking of mom. We have sold all the kids we had available except one Nigerian buckling. We are keeping the two Alpines we wethered for meat (they are quite large). We have two Alpine doelings who will be replacement future milkers. I have one black beauty Nigerian doeling named Flower (like the skunk in Bambi)that we are keeping. Her brother is appropriately named Bambi as he looks like a little deer. The kids we have left on meat moms are all doelings that we will evaluate and keep if looking to be good breeders. We have one adopted meat buckling that we will raise for meat with the two Alpines. We have maybe seven does to kid in the next month or two. Goats are out on the big pasture. Franz was able to make the Nigerians their own pasture this year. Bucks and weanlings are kept in large pens. We would love to get the buck pasture put in.
The horses have a sacrifice area off their shelter that Franz built with some help from me and the boys. We seeded their pasture and now they are back out on it. They are getting fat and sassy. The boys still love hopping on Thora's back, and she is pretty tolerant.
Dogs, Leche is in with the Nigerians. Lilly is out on the big pasture with the meat goats. Max who is a big puppy is in the buck pen. He has a lot of energy and wants to play a lot. He does not bother the bucks, but can not be trusted with kids. He is sweet, but very much in throes of teenage puppyhood. I have started to try and leash train him. It ends up looking like a rodeo. At least he loves people. Snowy has been diligently running her rounds and chasing things in the woods.
Cats are doing well. Cat and Georgie have a truce. They sometimes rub each other and then other times hiss. Georgie is due any day. The two male cats we are looking to get rid. The boys are hoping to keep a kitten or two.
Chickens in the coop, there are 16 layers with George our rooster and Andy our male peacock. Recently Andy has started fanning his tail feathers and calling. He has been settling in nicely and we are talking about getting him a girlfriend. We have a new batch of meat chicks in the meat tractor/brooder. I might get ten layer hen chicks with our order of turkey poults.
Six piglets are growing like the weeds they like to eat. We have two males and 4 females. We will decide if we want to try breeding one of the females and keeping her over the winter for piglets in the spring. Otherwise 4 for sure will be butchered this fall.
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