The end of an era

We've had a lot of changes around here in the past month or two, and the idea of selling the goats has been tossed around quite a bit in order to keep up with the changes.  I finally decided it was best for us to find them another home.

A woman that used to be on the 4H board emailed me and was looking to add some girls to her small herd so she could breed them.  It took about two weeks for us to coordinate schedules, but she finally came by over the weekend to see them and then came back today to pick them up.

The girls were actually very easy to catch as they each came to the gate and waited while we grabbed their collars and both of them walked right into the trailer.  Maybe it was a sign.

It was strange not having them attempt to shove past me into the chicken coops when I was locking up tonight and it was strange to not have to lock the gate to the goat pen behind me.

I am a bit worried about having more predator issues now but I'll keep my fingers crossed that we won't have any major issues.

Over the next few weeks I hope to take down the top layer of fencing that we had to put up over the years to keep the goats in.  It's been so mangled and messed up by them that it's looked horrible for awhile.  Then I want to start using the goat pen as more of a dog run so the puppies can be around the chickens and learn to accept them and they can also get some better exercise.

Lesson learned

We went on a short weekend trip and decided that taking one of the dogs would make things easier for the pet sitter and would give us a chance to do some one-on-one attention and training for the other dog.  Because Cash is usually more mellow, we decided to take him with us.

Boy was I wrong.  Cash was not happy with the kennel he slept in over night and when we picked him back up the next morning, he just seemed completely lost and confused as to where Paisley was.  We took him to a dog run area and he just paced the fence line looking for her.

We heard from a friend that Paisley seemed much more quiet and a bit sad while we were away as well.  It looks like we won't be able to separate them again.

On the way home, I think Cash was being as patient as possible.

And once we were home, although Paisley was hyper as usual, it wasn't long before she came and climbed into my lap and fell asleep.  Maybe she was just glad to have us home.

Baking and Granola Bars

We hosted a Homestead Summer Camp this week with two kids.  We did a lot of baking and making including bread, freezer biscuits, hot pockets, dried fruit, canned tomatoes, and granola bars.  The youngest helped make dough for his pizza pockets.

Another day, we made the granola bars from scratch.  They did not involve any baking and were really easy to make so I was surprised when they tasted really good!

We will definitely make them again, although I get the feeling that they need to stay in the fridge in order to stay firm, so I may have to find a way to bake these to keep them a bit more firm during a school day.

First attempt at dehydrating herbs

 We dehydrated a bunch of fruit this week. We tried kiwi, peaches, several types of apples, pears, mango... Basically all of the fruit that we could find in a local farmers market store.

The watermelon was attempted, but I'm not sure how good it really is.  A lot of it was still pretty soft even after 24 hours.  I think the oldest will eat it all within a day so at least it won't be wasted completely, and lesson learned.

Tomato Canning 2014

We finally got around to canning again for this summer.  First we hit our favorite produce farm and picked well over 100 pounds of tomatoes. 

Then we dumped it all on the table and waited until the next day to get to work.

A Little Ghost Story

I think it's time to tell this story....

Last year, I had just come home from my usual 4AM trip to the gym and was standing at the stove cooking my usual 2-eggs-for-breakfast meal.  The house was silent since the boys were asleep, at the time we had a male renter who was also asleep, and it was still pitch black outside because of the time change.  I was just about done cooking when I heard...

"Hello?"

It was a female voice.  A young, childish, female voice.  I froze with my hand holding the spatula over the pan of eggs.  I tried convincing myself that the voice was outside and someone would knock on the door in just a moment, but the truth was that I heard the voice come from the end of the hallway, where the boys rooms were.

There was no one there.

After a few moments, I ran to my computer to send a message to my real estate agent who makes it very clear that she believes in ghosts and loves to hear ghost stories.

A little Gardening and a little Canning, or a lot

Our basil and tomato plants have gone crazy.  The tomato plants are growing all over the garden and in my flower beds, where I didn't plant them.  The basil plants are huge.

So I finally cut the bunches and hung them up to dry in the kitchen.

Welcome Home from the Pet Sitter

While we were gone for the week, we did find out that one of the chickens had died.  We don't know what happen to her, but she had been broody so I wonder if she wasn't eating or drinking enough.  A friend came to bury her because I didn't want the pet sitters to have to deal with that part of the job.

When we got home there was a bag at our door with some homemade cookies and salsa inside and a journal that the pet sitters had made.  It was a mom and her two school-aged kids and the journal made me laugh, especially the pictures, so I wanted to share it.

Off the Farm and to the Beach

Every once in awhile I try to get us off the farm. It isn't easy because we have to find someone to take care of the animals for us, but this time I found someone to come by three times a day for the goats and chickens and we took the puppies with us and headed to North Carolina to the beach.

We took our time driving down and stopped just about every 60-90 minutes to let the dogs out for breaks.

Paisley and Cash

Whether it was a good idea or a bad one, we got two puppies.  We haven't told many people as I am still grieving the loss of Faith and I didn't want anyone to think we replaced her, as there will never be any way to replace her.

It has been two weeks now, and I figured it was time to make it public.

Cash is a fairly mellow little boy and will often sit calmly down next to me and just look at me.  I've snuck him on to the couch  (where they are not allowed) to cuddle with me twice and into my bed for a few hours while we slept one night.  He learned to come first and mastered "sit" within one day.  He's a cute boy and tends to be more passive.

Paisley is pretty active and full of energy.  She is constantly trying to jump at us, unfortunately with her mouth open and wanting to play.  She takes all of the toys or treats that Cash gets and instigates all of their wrestling matches.  She's worn herself out a few times and so she was the first to be snuck into my room to sleep for a few hours one night.  She learned her name first and learned to "sit" within 15 minutes.

They are siblings that were born on April 1st from a litter that were Shar Pei and Pitbull mixes.  It wasn't my intention to get a pit, but since these are mutts and definitely have some distinct Shar Pei looks to them, I agreed.

We are crate training them, which I've never done before.  They have to pee so often, it is crazy, but they have been really good about either going outside or having an accident on puppy pads that are set up on one corner of the living room.

So far they haven't been allowed out of the living room or on the furniture.  They sleep in separate crates, although they were next to each other until today.  We finally moved them so they are about 4 feet away from each other and through a doorway.  They can still see each other but the goal is to eventually have them in separate rooms.

They will be going on vacation with us to the beach because I was worried that a pet sitter wouldn't keep up with the potty training and we would lose ground.  They've done okay in the car for the two trips to the vet and I'm planning to take longer to get to the beach so that we can stop to let them out more often.

I'll save everyone from my sad and pathetic feelings that have come up about Faith since Cash and Paisley have come into our lives and I won't admit that I've caught myself looking up at her urn and asking what the heck was I thinking when they are whining to go outside at 1 in the morning.

**Yes, we did name one of the goats Cash when we had him for the first few months of his life, but we liked the name and used it again.