On Tuesday of this last week we had a baby Boer goat born at about 3:00pm. All of the dogs alerted us to the birth. By the time we got to the barn we could see the nose and two hoofs emerging. We quickly moved mama to a safer place and in no time the baby was born. It was a chilly 25 degrees! 

We helped the mama dry the baby and rubbed it gently with a towel until we heard her cry out. Mama goat, the dam, did a fantastic job. She was a first time freshener. I was a little concerned when she didn’t pay much attention to the baby at first, but she came around as soon as she passed the afterbirth. The two were separated from the herd and put into the nursery area of the barn. They are safe from all the others there, and have time to bond.

This little one is a girl. She is completely brown, just like her Grandma Fluff. Fluff was so curious to see the babe as were all of the others. They were checked on around the clock throughout the night and did very well. It was nice and toasty in the barn with the tarps up and the heat lamps on. That’s one down, many more to go! We have four more does due to give birth any time now. Can’t wait to see more babies!

The cold days are hanging on. It has held steady around 25 degrees for several days. The ground started to get slick on Wednesday so I pulled out my crampons for my shoes. I bought these last winter after falling on the ice and nearly cracking my head! I put them on my Sloggers. I got the type that pull on over a shoe or boot. I will have to put them on and off on the porch as they are very sharp. 

Let me tell you, these spikes are a game changer!! They grab on to the ice and I can walk without slipping. I also took and walking stick with me. It has a pointed spike on the tip. This helped to assure I didn’t slip. Milking and feeding and filling water buckets doesn’t stop because of weather. I put on several layers of clothes and “just do it”!

Oh goodness!  The sun came out Friday morning and it was such a welcomed sight. With the temperature getting to freezing overnight, it was quite an iceskating rink out there. But still no match for my spiked shoes!!  However, Saturday and Sunday warmed up and all of the ice has melted away only leaving some really muddy spots to deal with.  All the animals survived and are so happy to see the sun and clear ground again. This includes the human animals, too! The ponds continue to fill from the runoff. I hope that this will set us up for a lush and green Spring.

I am ready to see the migratory birds come back. We have had our Blue Birds here all winter and the Chickadees and Nuthatches and many others. The Great Blue Herring comes almost daily to fish in the pond. The squirrels have been doing what they do best and squirreling away the acorns and other treats that they find. The goats found one of their hiding places in an old rotting stump and have been helping themselves to some yummy acorns! I am so blessed to live in such a beautiful place surrounded by nature.

The goats were so happy to get out and run free on Sunday!  The baby and mama got the run of the yard while everyone else was out. It was so much fun watching the baby play. I have named this new little girl Reba. I really thought there would have been another birth by now, especially since we had a full moon Saturday night, but still nothing. Come back next week to see the update.

Remember my little chihuahua that had a stroke? She is recovering nicely. She gets stronger everyday. Currently I have her in doggy play pen area in the living room. She is quite happy and is standing most of the day now. She walks, but is still not steady on her feet. One day I had to bring baby Reba into the house to get her behind cleaned up. Baby goats have a sticky poo at first and with the cold weather I think it just got too stuck. (Hope that’s not too much information! LOL) So baby was washed and dried and got to romp a little in the house. She met Little Merry and they both liked the visit.

Soap Saturday again! This Saturday I took the loafs out of the molds and will let them cure longer before cutting them into bars. You can’t see the lavender buds here in the picture since the loafs are upside down. I will be making two more batches and keep going to get a good supply of soap to have on hand.