Snob

I sounded like such a snob in my last entry, didn't I? I certainly didn't mean to come off that way, so I hope no one took offense! I hope everyone will give me a little leeway this week - my little ones have a cold for about the fifth time since Christmas (they don't take all those remedies I recommend - yet) and I'm not getting much sleep. It's really amazing how much better I function with a proper amount of sleep.

Being Right

Don't you love it when studies prove what you've been telling people for years? I just found this article on yahoo.com: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/healthieryou/371/skip-the-diet-soda/ I've been saying that for years, but I'm no scientist! Of course, there are other reasons not to use artificial sweeteners and all of those "diet" products. If I weren't so tired I'd sit here for an hour and type it all out. I just wanted to let everyone know there are no good reasons (that I can think of) to drink diet sodas anymore! Oh yeah, and it's best to pick a soda sweetened with good ol' fashioned sugar when you've got a craving.

Snowflake and Farm Life

Well, it's spring and with spring comes busyness on a farm. A little over a week ago our favorite milk goat, Snowflake went into labor. It was an exciting day. I kept going out to check on her, wanting to be sure to get to see the kids born. I had never actually seen a kid born. I tend to always show up just as they've been born and are all wet and sticky. As evening arrived and still no kids I began to worry. I wasn't sure how long goats were normally in labor for, but I knew that it seemed quick since I don't normally even notice them in labor! I talked to another farmer on the phone, then decided Snowflake was probably okay. I kept checking on her until about midnight, then went to bed and set my internal alarm clock to 2:30 a.m. At 2:30 a.m. I got up, put my jacket and boots on, grabbed my flashlight and went out into the night. I don't like going out into the night/dark ever. You know I loved that goat since I was willing to do that. I always figure a mountain lion will pounce on me in the dark or I'll run into a grizzly bear or a rabid raccoon. None of those happened, though! I climbed over the fence after grabbing a long stick (for keeping the big ram, Alex at a distance in case he wanted to get friendly or rough with me) and crept into the goat house. Snowflake was still laboring, but now the kid was in the birth canal. I had brought my oil and poured some of this on my clean hand, then worked my hand in to check the position of the kid. That's when I heard a loud noise right above and behind me. I quickly turned my flashlight towards the sound and got to see my llama's tail lifted as he, Oscar, passed gas right by me! How rude! As soon as I realized it was harmless (so to say) I turned back to Snowflake, who I was pretty sure had been in labor a little too long now. As I checked for the kid's position I found what seemed to be a bottom with no tail. It couldn't be a head, I decided, because there was no nose, eyes, mouth, ears... nothing like that. I tried to find something to grip so I could help pull it out, but didn't find much. After struggling with it for awhile I decided I had to wake Brad up and ask for help. After getting him up he came out and was able to pull the kid out. It was awful to watch. I coaxed him to go slow and easy as I petted Snowflake and told her how good she was doing. It looked painful. She had to be stretched more than normal to get that kid out. As Brad pulled the kid out I saw what the problem had been. It had had its head between it's front, bent legs. Apparently it had been in the birth canal too long and was dead. It was the biggest kid ever to be born on our farm, which made me believe it must have been overdue - just as I had suspected. Brad went in the house and Snowflake began cleaning up her kid. It didn't take her too long to realize it was dead. She looked so sad and depressed as she laid back down. I was pretty sure there was another kid in her, but hoped she would be able to birth that one out naturally. I knew that if it wasn't born within 45 minutes it wouldn't be alive. I figured it was probably already dead since its sibling had been stuck so long, looked overdue, and things weren't going well. I felt pretty sad for Snowflake and began crying as I looked at the sky full of stars. After my little cry, I went in, and went back to bed. The next morning Brad came in to tell me Snowflake hadn't birthed the second kid on her own, that its head was partially out, so he had just pulled that one out, too. It, too, was dead. They were both females. Snowflake was really depressed, but I was glad she was alive. If we hadn't helped her during the night she would have died with that kid stuck in the birth canal. I had seen that happen to my husband's buddy's goat and I would have felt awful if that happened to one of our goats!

As the days passed after the horrible night with Snowflake we noticed she wasn't eating or possibly drinking. Early on the fourth morning we found her dead. Maybe there was a complication we couldn't detect or maybe she was just so sad over the loss of her kids. Whatever it was, we lost our favorite, best milk goat around here. That was a really sad day for me. It's still hard for me to believe she isn't out there in the goat pen. She was our first milk goat, the goat Brad and I learned how to milk on about 4 years ago. We also had my sister, Kara learn how to milk on that goat. She was a great beginner goat. She had a great personality, a great build for milking, great genetics, and great mothering instincts. She'll be missed.

On the same day Snowflake went into labor our younger goat, Cocoa had her first kid. I still haven't come up with the perfect name for this little kid, but it is probably the cutest kid born on this farm (besides Cocoa last year)! Here's a picture of her:

It isn't the best picture of her, but I don't usually go into the pen and bother them until they're over a day old. This was taken on the day she was born. That's Cocoa standing next to her.

Now, the other thing I mentioned was 'hides'. We've been wanting a Scottish Highland cowhide rug. We told the man who we buy beef from that we would like to get one and he kept promising us he would get one made for us. I guess the butcher kept either giving the hides away or throwing them away, so finally Brad volunteered to go pick it up on the day the steer was butchered. Last week he went to the butcher the day they butchered some Highland steers and he ended up bringing home three wet hides. I helped him carry each of them downstairs (they weighed about 100 pounds each) where he "fleshed" them (scraped off the bits of meat the butcher didn't get off), laid them out flat, and salted them. The salt helps them to dry out quickly. It took about 200-250 pounds of salt to cover those three hides. It was, as you can imagine, a messy job. Pretty gross. As much as I try to be a good wife, I couldn't make myself volunteer to flesh those for Brad! Ewww! However, the following day when we found blood all over the place I did mop it up. They're now dried out and ready to be sent to the tanner. They should come back as nice, hairy rugs. I'm sure glad I'm not a butcher or tanner after this little experience! :)

Fun Times

Although my children are still on the tail end of a cold and Robby is teething in four new teeth all at once, I was still able to find time last night for a night out with three of my girlfriends (and Robby). We all had a great time and several laughs watching, "Dancing With the Stars," then made some greetings cards before ending our evening with a yummy cranberry nut bread.

I've always loved watching some good dancing. I sure wish I could dance like some of those ladies in that show! My sister, Mariah can and I hope someday I'll be able to, too! I realized last night that I probably like watching figure skating and dancing because of it being an expression of music. I usually like the dance or skating routine so much more if the song is one I like! I know I can't sing and getting good at figure skating would be a long shot, so I hope that someday I'll be able to dance.

Robby was so cute last night. He has entered the clingy stage where he won't let me out of his sight, so he mostly quietly sat in my lap smiling at everyone and acting shy. He is such a cuddly, hug-y baby! It's hard to believe he is nearly 10-months-old already. How time flies!

Well, when I get a chance I'll have to update everyone on farm life. Things to do with hides that need to be made into rugs, birthing goats, and death. I hope all is well with you and yours!

Global Warming

Global warming is such a joke. It's, once again, bad science. People with degrees trying to shove garbage down the publics throat and many accepting it since they lack common sense and/or enough education in the area of history. What got me thinking about this today is this article: http://www.livescience.com/health/080314-rockies-flowers.html It wasn't the article I found interesting, but the comments. I'm glad I'm not the only one noticing all laughable "information" in these articles.

I find it disturbing Christians also fall pray of this panicking idea of global warming. There's nothing to worry about. It is written in Genesis 8:22 - While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. (King James Version). Global warming is all a big sham to make some crooks some money. It's already becoming a big money maker. It's going to put small businesses out of business because they won't be able to buy these "pollution permits" while the big business flourish more than ever because they have less competition. "For the love of money is the root of all evil..." Timothy 6:10.

Sleep

Today I have a strong appreciation for sleep - more than usual, that is. Since being pregnant with my first child over five years ago, I started realizing how important and enjoyable a good night's rest really is. I haven't had much sleep this week. I think it all started with our best milk goat, Snowflake going into labor. She went into labor last Friday at three in the afternoon. There was still no sign of her kids by bedtime, so I ended up getting up a few times during the night to check on her. I would check to see how close the kid was to the opening, give her water and some "energy" snacks (oats and molasses), pet her, say some encouraging words (whether she understood me or not, I tried!) Finally, by 2:30 a.m. when the kid was near the opening I realized it was in the wrong position. I couldn't tell what position. It felt like a butt to me, but there was no tail. I reached in trying to find a grabbing point so I could help bring her out before poor Snowflake died of exhaustion. I couldn't find anything, so I went and woke my hubby up who came out and took care of the job. The kid was dead. I cried from the feeling of failure and feeling so bad for Snowflake. The kid goat had probably been in the birth canal too long. It had had its head in-between it's front legs making it very difficult to get through. Snowflake quickly began licking her kid to clean it off before she realized it was dead. She looked sad, laid back down, and concentrated on her contractions again. By then it was 4:30 a.m. and I was really tired. I went to bed figuring Snowflake would probably be able to push the next kid out on her own since, most likely, it was in a fine position. I was praying it would live even though I knew the chances were slim. The next morning the kid still wasn't out all the way - just part of its head. So, my husband pulled that one out the rest of the way. Snowflake didn't tear either time and her uterus stayed intact, which was good. Both kids were dead and as sad as I felt about that, I was glad my favorite milk goat had survived. That was my first night with only 5 1/2 hours of interrupted sleep this week. The following night, after having had no nap all day I went to bed early only to be woke up a half of an hour later to my son calling me. That was only the beginning to a very bad night. He had come down with a cold and didn't sleep well that whole night. He woke me up every 30 minutes to an hour until about 5 a.m.. Basically, except for one night, my whole week has been like that sleep-wise. So, I'm tired.

Snowflake ended up dying yesterday morning. I'm not really sure why. Ever since her exhausting night she hadn't been eating or drinking much and was acting pretty depressed. Maybe there was internal bleeding, infection, or something else we were unable to detect. It was the first time I felt so, so sad about a goat dying on our little farm. She was our first goat. Both my husband and I learned how to milk on Snowflake. She was patient, a good milker, strong, had good mothering instincts, was quiet, and was what we called the "Queen Bee goat". She'll be missed.

Well, I better get to cleaning, give my son his reading lesson, and try to find time for a nap! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Winter Kid Kwips

A Busy Life

There's never a dull, lazy moment when you're the mother of three children under the age of five, the baker, the cook, the housekeeper, the teacher, the wife (helpmeet), a friend, and an artist living on a farm. I find little time to write, but I'm sure you all understand! I remember growing up when I found time to write in my journals several times a day and didn't really have much to write about most days. Nothing exciting anyway. Now, my life is full of busyness and I'm sure if I weren't so tired I would be able to think of more to write about! I could write about the mouse poo I found in the cupboard under my sink this morning and the lazy cat who messed up my curtains during the night instead of getting that mouse. Or, I could write about my naughty puppy (looking more and more like a dog everyday), Lady who got herself in trouble for nipping at sheep heads and has to be on a cable all the time now. Maybe the hot topic could be new lambs, cleaning, whining, or cold wind. A good writer could make any of those subjects sound interesting. Well, maybe not whining...

I'll try to get back into the habit of writing, because I enjoy sharing my thoughts, ideas, my life. It's really all about priority anyway. If I made more time for writing I would simply have to make less time for something else. Maybe browsing my favorite websites could be taken off of the priority list. I know I won't be able to write here tomorrow since I'll be away having city adventures. I'm going to visit my parents who, as of today, have been married for 30 years! Now, that's something worth noting! I'll also be going to my favorite health food store and stocking up on important items and treating myself to something special... maybe some very rich, creamy chocolate cake. Yum. Anyway, after my day in the city I'll try to get around to updating this blog I so thoroughly enjoy when I allow myself the time to! I hope you all have had a lovely weekend and have a great Monday!