Was that a goat I just saw?

What we hardcore animal raisers will do to get an animal home!  Dear hubby decided that we needed milk as well as meat around here and so the decision was made to sell the Boer goats and go on the hunt for dairy goats.  We found some about 2 hours from us and with great anticipation we made ready the pen that our new girls would occupy.

The day came to make our trip, but one thing wasn’t considered….Where are we going to put them??  We had 10″ of snow just 2 days before this and while the snow was quickly melting, the stock trailer was buried in snow and mud and the truck had somehow lost it’s plug in for the lights when someone didn’t remember to tie the cord up to the bumper and so the truck and stock trailer were not an option.  So, there I stood staring at my 2005 Ford Freestar wondering how many goats I could fit in that van.

I know the lady we got them from, while being very polite about the whole thing, had to think we were nuts for putting goats in our van.  Such is life.  It’s not the first time we’ve had people think us a tad odd.  And so our journey resumed with 2 adults, 4 kids of the non hairy type and 3 kids of the other kind in tow. 

We made it home safe and sound and nothing too exciting to report and the girls settled in well.  Now we wait for the next exciting day when babies arrive! 

Winter Reflections

Well, Christmas is over and the year is quickly coming to an end.  I found myself yesterday unburying myself from a mountain of empty boxes, wrapping paper and new toys that were strewn from one end of the house to the other. 

Today I recaptured my living room from the Christmas tree, took down the wreath off the door, took down the lights and reflected over the past year.  My how this year has flown!  2007 has been a year of intense challenges, trials and changes, but it has also been a year of blessings, new friends and excitement.  And so as I sit here looking at the snow falling and watching the horses pick away at a bale of hay, I wonder what next year will bring?  I look forward to buying seeds for the garden, to setting up pens for kidding season and a new season of rabbit shows plus working on soap and lotion this winter. 

And it is with this that I wish each and every one of you a very happy and successful new year!

New additions

I haven’t written in awhile. Things have been so hectic and so much going on that I don’t think I could have settled my thoughts down long enough to write if I wanted to. On August 4th we met with Steve in MO to pick up our Angora goat does. They had quite a trip coming all the way from the humid mountains of northern GA to the dry windy plains of KS.
The trip was filled with happiness, excitement, and sadness as Steve had a tragedy on the way in Tenn. A semi came to close to his truck catching the cage in the back of his truck that held the goats killing one doe. But all the others made it safe and sound and they have now been here for 3 weeks and are doing well! I couldn’t be happier with them. They are beautiful and Steve did a wonderful job picking them out for me. He felt soo bad about what happened to the one doe, but life goes on and we have two of her daughters to replace her.
I was soo excited to meet Steve. We had been close friends for so long and to see him in MO was an awesome opportunity. I grieved when I had to tell him good bye, but not before we had some good laughs in Wal-Mart parking lot while DH tried to fix the tail lights on the truck. We ended up having to drive home with the hazards on.
Everyone made it back home safe and sound, but boy were we whipped when we got home on Sunday! We put the girls into their new home, waited for the others to introduce themselves, and then we went and passed out in the bed for about 4 or 5 hours that day. It had been a 16 hour drive non-stop.
And so becomes our venture in Angora goats. We’ll be excited to see what our buck Awesome throws with these new girls. We also have plans on perhaps getting a Pygmy buck to cross with young does to size down their kids and to have some cutsie Pygoras for people for pets.

Breather

Well, the 4th of July is officially over.  My parents came over and that was nice since we very rarely ever get visitors since we’re so far out, but by evening I was worn out and ready for bed. 

We had a thunderstorm roll in about 5:00 and my parents left early rather than be stuck here behind flood waters that have been trying to receed.  That was welcome news since I made my way back to the bedroom and collapsed for a few hours.  By the time I woke up it was dark and the storm was over.  We had a nice evening setting off fireworks.  Thankfully DH and I have retired from lighting and now just sit back and enjoy, but this year the wind was just right that it turned 4th of July into a contact sport and so I ran for the safety of the porch.  LOL

Now we settle into the long dog days of summer.  Hot humid days without a cloud in the sky.  Days for relaxing on the porch swing, watching the hummingbirds and butterflys along with the mud dobbers.  We have one week of quiet before things pick up again.  Next week my spinning classes start that I am very much looking forward to and the following week is IBLP.  Then on the 22nd we pick up our new Boer buckling and then the first of August we drive to Missouri to pick up our herd of Angora goat does and 3 Boer doelings. 

Enjoy the summer.  It passes by so quickly! 

A little time off

Even farmers and ranchers need a day off and so we decided to visit the Sedgwick County zoo.  I hadn’t been there for years and I must say that it has GROWN!  It’s almost too big to cover in 1 day especially on a 95 degree day with no wind and with a 3 year old with18″ legs.  LOL

They had a new penguin exhibit which we just had to see and you would think that no one in Kansas had ever seen penguins before.

 Kids check out penguins

It was a fun day even though it was so hot.  By the time we got back to the van our backs and feet were thoroughly sore and I was most grateful for getting back into airconditioning.  But had to share a couple of photos of our fun trip to the zoo!

Gardening

 Squash plants

Spring is one of my favorite times of years because it is then that I get to watch my husband with anticipation as he runs our rear tine tiller through the garden, breaking the dirt that the winter snows and rains have worked so hard to compact.

We don’t have the ideal soil here.  It’s a clay soil, what some would call gumbo.  When it gets wet it’s sticky and sticks to the soles of your shoes and when it’s dry you could swear that it’s part concrete. 

The last few years we’ve been here our garden has met with tragedy for one reason or another.  Where we live there is no water under ground and so we have to haul water.  This makes it extremely difficult to water the garden and so we are at God’s mercy and when He decides to send rain.

Last year was a cool wet spring and we lost all of our tomato plants to blight.  The year before there wasn’t enough rain and everything died from a lack of water.

This year we had high hopes for our garden.  With a new location, renewed energy and excitement I watched with anticipation as hubby worked the soil.  This year we decided to plant all heirloom tomatoes.  I started our seeds indoors in February.  This is the very first time I have started seeds indoors and it was a new adventure, but by the grace of God we didn’t lose not a single plant and we had probably a 97% germination rate.  Almost every single seed germinated and we only lost 2 plants later on. 

When it came time to plant I sunk my hands down in the warm moist soil and dug out a hole.  Carefully pulling off all the lower branches and burying my plants half way up the stalk.  With each passing day I have watched these little plants thrive in our new garden spot.  It’s almost been like watching my children grow. 

 One of my heirloom plants growing tall & strong.

The plants have done more wonderful than we ever thought possible and we praise God that our garden has done so well so far.   It’s a joy to go out and see the work of your hands flourishing in the sunshine.  All the labor that began last winter now starting to pay off with every little tomato that sets. 

Our children too have been enjoying the garden, but for very different reasons.  Little travelers that come to rest in the shade of the tomatoes.  I guess our plants are a blessing to more than just our family and hopefully they will continue to be so if we have a large crop of tomatoes that we can share.

And so it is with this that I wish everyone happy gardening this season and may all your crops be bumper ones.  )

The Beauty of Kansas

I am often in awe of the sheer beauty of Kansas.  So many people think that Kansas is flat and boring.  Full of wheat fields and farmers.  While we do have more than our share of wheat fields and they are beautiful, there are some scenes that to this day take my breath away.

There’s so much beauty all around us and I so often wonder how many stop to notice and actually let it move them?  I think God sometimes puts these in front of us to make us stop and notice His handiwork. 

 

 

Pretty isn’t it?

Reflections

Kansas weather is interesting.  There’s a saying that goes…”Don’t like the weather in Kansas?  Wait 5 minutes.”  I’ve heard weather men say that it is extremely hard to predict the weather here because of the unique spot that Kansas sits in along side the Rocky mountains.  I don’t know if all that is true, but I do know that life is an awful lot like the weather here.

One day things can be calm, no breeze, sunny blue skies with small puffy clouds and all is peaceful and just like the weather, it can also change on a dime.  It’s almost as if the Lord sees that we are relying too much on ourselves and not enough on Him.  I heard someone say once that when we start to stray, the Lord will do whatever it takes to bring us back to our knees. 

2007 has been a year of intense changes, stresses, trials and struggles.  It is times like this that I can choose to either lean on Him or brace myself against the winds and struggle on. 

The wind was blowing exceptionally hard the other day, more so than usual, and as I was driving down the highway I saw this bird flapping as hard as it could to cross the highway, going against the wind and no matter how hard that bird tried, he couldn’t move.  Finally he gave up and turned into the wind and was swept away faster than any current could have carried him.  Swept away by the storm, like we so often are. 

But I’ve seen Buzzards in winds just as high and they spread those great wings and ride the currents.  Being carried up and down, their wings barely moving and admist the prevailing winds, they make progress.  I believe this is how God would have us to be.  If we would but spread our wings, trust in Him, obey Him and even admist an onslaught, He will carry us forward. 

Lord, may I spread my wings and ride the wind with you as my guide, rather than fighting my trials and end up being swept away by them.

Visitors

Our morning wake up call.

I started this blog to tell of the successes, failures and experiences that we have on our life on the farm.  New things seem to happen almost every day and I am awed at the things I’ve seen.

Today was a wonderful day of unexpected visitors.  Early this morning before the sun rose, there was a tap tap tap on our bedroom french doors.  Often in the winter we have a Cardinal that comes tapping on the glass.  I haven’t figured out yet what fascinates birds so much with those doors, but it was a nice surprise.

Later, our son found some more unusal visitors.  We went out to investigate and up in the tree was the cutest little baby owls.  5 little fluffy owlets in the tree peering back at us as intently as we were at them. 

What?!