Badger on the Mend and Funky Carrots

It's been so long since I've blogged that I hardly know where to begin, so I'll start with some good news. When we first got our new LGD Badger, he was thin as a rail but we thought he'd fill out with all the dog food to himself. I was trying to distant myself so that Badger would bond with the goats and not with me, and with all that beautiful fur we missed how really thin he had become. Apparently he had a nasty case of worms. Thank goodness for our neighbor and big animal vet (everyone needs one of them right next door :D) because he found the worms in time and gave him the cure. Now, thanks to lots of Puppy Chow and the occasional bowl of Chicken and Rice, Badger is acting like a new dog!

Yesterday we had our first "Six Egg Day", and since we only have six chickens that is quite the accomplishment! Everyone got watermelon rinds, leftover salad and last year's canned pumpkin..."Braaaaaaack!" That's chicken for "YUM"!

The barn is coming along very slow but fairly sure. Les has been busy with his business and I with mine, and it just seems like there is never time enough in the day. To top it off, Sugarfoot got a foxtail stuck in her eye (Bless our neighbor AGAIN), and we've been having to catch her three times a day and give her antibiotic ointment (I can't begin to explain how much fun THAT is), and she has decided that she definitely does not like the process. So the majority of my day is spent dreaming up new ways to cajole her into the catch pen. So far "goat grain" seems to be the winner, but sometimes even that doesn't work :(

I don't know what happened to my carrots this year. They are about 2" in diameter, which is fine. But they are also 2" long, so that they resemble little orange legos. If they grow at all, they are REALLY funky, like these two that have grown together. I named them Di and Les... Married ten years and still cuddling...awwwwwwwwwww!

I'm an Autonomous Artisan!

I was lucky enough to be a featured artist in the blog Autonomous Artisans! It is hosted by Lynne of Pirate Pixie Crew on Artfire, which is exciting in it's own right since she has such a fabulous studio! Her shop features the most adorable hand knitted hats and accessories for all those little pixies and mini pirates in your life...and also the grownup ones! Check her out at http://piratepixiecrew.artfire.com/ Oh, and click the logo above to read my article!

Featured Artfire Artisan

I just found this great new shop called Nothing But String on Artfire. She is a member of my new guild "Shops With Less than Five Sales" and is the featured artisan this week. Check her out if you get a chance for beautiful crocheted jewelry and home decor. ..Her colors are amazing! The link is http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=34490&rmore=1&op=new

Hello, I'm Stuck

This is one of our new darling does. Her real name is Ivory, but I've decided that I'm going to get her one of those irritating press on name tags that we have all had to wear at one time or another, and hers will say, "Hell0. I'm Stuck"...exclamation mark! Now I am well aware that goats have a nasty reputation for getting themselves in precarious situations, mainly due to the fact that they are never content to be where they are at any given time. And I thought that my dear little Olivia was the Queen of Stuck...but NOoooo, this gal has her beat by a country mile. She's been stuck in the gate, stuck in the fence, stuck in the stall devider and most recently, stuck in the feeder. And not just one time either! So to date we have super-reinforced and goat-proofed all of the above and hopefully we have her outsmarted...or do we???? Stay tuned for the next episode of "Hello. I'm Stuck" and maybe this time I'll be able to capture it on camera!

P.S. That's her Little Miss Innocent look...pretty good huh? :D

Have Goat Will Travel

As my blogger friend Claire said, "I have been a bad bad blogger!" and I do apologize for my absence. It's just been one of those months when time gets away and is somehow lost completely! We had a call from our wonderful goat people at Ronan Country Fibers, saying they needed their spare pasture and was there any way we could come and get T and Badger? At the same time someone turned on the Ornamental Iron Business switch, and all of a sudden my husband has way more work than he can handle. That means work on the barn comes to a screeching halt, and I do Markets and Farmwork until things get under control. The new fencing is not yet done and the new barn not yet completed, so we need to manufacture goat housing in a hurry!

But long story short, we finally got to go Goat Shopping, and ended up purchasing two lovely ladies to keep Mr. T company! Their official names are Satin and Ivory, but we have nicknamed them Sadie and Ivy, and they are pretty as they can be, although pretty shy...so I'm working on loosening them up a little. So far, as close as they will let me get, is talking through the goat feeder...and of course at that point they are being occupied by food, so are generally content!

We really did not intend to purchase the girls when we went to pick up Mr. T and Badger (famous last words!), but as fate had it, I fell in love with our two girls, mother and daughter, and so we squeezed everyone in. We were driving the Jimmy, so the ride home was a new experience, with my husband, myself, three goats and a very large dog! Here are a few pics of our adventure in "goat transport". Outside of a little poop in the door handle everything went amazingly well. I'm thinking of starting another business called "Have Goat Will Travel".

Growth!

The coolest thing about this past week is that we have our first "new barn inhabitants"! We moved the new chicks into the new chicken coop this past weekend, and they are really enjoying themselves. It seems as though they have doubled in size over the last few days, and they are starting to do real chicken things, like cluck, peck and scratch! They look so gangly and awkward right now, that they are really a kick to watch. We're going to give it another day, and then introduce them to the big bad outside world. One or two days later we'll bring in the big girls and see how the two co-mingle. Keep your pointy chicken toes crossed!

The other development is that we finally got the upper rafters and joists up on the "top" barn roof (hopefully this will put an end to the "barn roof nightmares" that I've been having). One of the pics shows me way up in the air, weilding my trusty hammer. Now, I really do feel like a contractor...but I still get scared...what a weenie :)

Last Day of the Countdown Sale!

I've been having a big sale in my Etsy shop called the Countdown to 100 Sale, and today is the last day! If you get a chance, please stop by and see what all the fuss is about at http://www.frolicnfibers.etsy.com