Making Tough Decisions around the Farmette ..................

I've made a tough decision and although I feel sad about selling the goats , I know I must. When we bought the goats about a year and a half ago , we built a shed and installed a large lot around the shed. We had plans to fence in a larger area around it so they could browse and graze during the day and would be housed in the smaller lot/shed at night to keep them safe from predators. But things didn't workout as planned , Dh had already taken a pay cut when we got the goats and shortly after that he was put on short time. He's been laid off every other week for over a year now and we're not sure what the future holds.

So we had to cut back and the fence was put on hold , I thought the job situation would get better , but it still looks bleak. I've been thinking about this for awhile and last week I made the tough decision to sell them. I ran an ad on Craigslist and a wonderful local couple called the next day , they came to see them and agreed to purchase them. They'll be here for another week , while they get prepared to house them.

I'm going to miss them dearly, but I know for now it's the right thing to do and I'm very thankful they'll be going to a good home. I hope to have goats again in my future when the economy gets better and we're able to get fencing up. It's been a wonderful experience and I'm thankful for all the wonderful blog friends whom have helped me gain the knowledge of taking care of them along the way.

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Around the Farmette .....................................

There's not much going on around the farmette except for the extreme summer heat. Buddy has found him a cool spot though , he spends the early morning hours on the pool deck , then he moves to the concrete pad as the day heats up.


Dh finally dug the waterline and put the spigot up near the chicken coop and goat pen. That is a big help with taking care of the animals during the heatwave we're having.

The echinacea looks beautiful ............

and the first sunflower has bloomed.

I moved my milking wagon ( LOL ) to the shed were the garlic is drying. It's cooler there and less flies to deal with while milking. Hope we get some rain soon , the garden isn't doing so well with the hot and dry weather we're having.

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

She's Growing Up ............................

Little Joella isn't so little anymore .............

( 3 Months Old )

she's almost the size of her Mom !

~ Many Blessings ~
JoyceAnn

Auntie Jazz & Little Joella ....................................

battle over the garden bench .

~ Be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn

Little Joella ..............

I finally named Baby J , she'll be called Little Joella .......

although at the rate she's eating , she will not be little for long.

Look closely and you'll see she already has little spikes appearing.

She looks like her Daddy , but she's sweet like her Mom.

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

A Sad Day at the Farmette ................

( Jazzlyn pictured on the left )

Jazz went into labor yesterday , but it didn't go well and she lost her baby buck. It was a devastating experience , although I know we did all we could to help her with the situation , it just wasn't meant to be.

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Nope , My Name Isn't .............................

Snoopy , but it could be .....................

I love to snoop ! I found the old chicken tractor and just had to explore , Mom said it would make a good play pen for me.

But there's so much to see and do , I don't think the play pen is a good idea at all.

My Mom keeps a close watch over me and looks out for predators , but ............

sometimes I stray to far away and start crying.

Naaana and Mom allowed me to browse a little while today , I loved running around the field.

I sure was hungry when we returned to our stalls , I had to eat before we went in.

Then it was bath time and time to head back to my nice dark and quiet Snoopy house to nap.

~ Sweet Blessings ~

Baby J

It's a Girl !!

Jo finally gave birth to a beautiful daughter today , she and baby are doing well. But Naaana is exhausted and a nervous wreck , so I'm heading to bed to sleep it off (LOL).

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Garlic ~ Goats ~ Guineas

I'm really hoping for a good year with the garlic , the garlic didn't do well last year due to drought conditions. We had more rain Sunday and we're suppose to have rain coming on Thursday. It's time to fertilize , I'll be spraying the plants with fish emulsion next week. If all goes well I hope to start selling at the Farmer's Market this year.

I think the girls have decided that they don't want kids or maybe I'm wrong and they're not pregnant. They're beginning to make me second guess myself , but I'm pretty sure their udders are filling with milk.

I decided that we didn't need 15 guineas around the farmette , so I listed the 8 that were hatched in the Fall on Craigslist last week. Last Friday I had a lady come and purchase 4 of them for tick control , she said ticks were awful at her home and last year the doctor removed a tick from her youngest daughter's eardrum and she really needed something to help get them under control. I'm happy , I know they've gone to a good home and will help rid them of their tick problem.

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

It Works ...............................

Monday after I dropped my camera in a bucket of water , I brought it back in the house , took the batteries out and placed it front of a fan for the day. Yesterday we had a cool day and the heat was running , so I sit the camera on the heat vent and left it there all day and overnight. This morning I decided I was going to give it a try , really wasn't expecting much , since I thought it was ruined. But it actually worked ( yay ) , so I went outside and started snapping pictures. I weeded around the daylilies yesterday , they're growing fast.

We got some much needed rain Monday night , the garlic looks like it has grown an inch since then. The plants and seeds should thrive now.

The chickens aren't so happy , they've been confined to the fenced in area now that I have plants in the garden. Their egg production has really picked up over the last 2 weeks , gathered 7 eggs today.

The lettuce has sprouted ............................

and look at the strawberry plants I bought last week from a local lady that had an ad on craigslist. I need to get them planted soon.

and yes ......... we're still waiting (LOL).

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Monday , Monday ...................................

I had a rough start this morning as I was toting water to the goats. I dropped my camera in the water bucket , yikes. So no new pics today , had to dig through some old ones.

The pic above was taken a few years ago as we were planting potatoes. We planted potatoes this past Saturday , Dh and I planted 3 rows and we still have potatoes to plant , we'll probably plant them sometime this week or we may wait to Saturday. I also have 8 more broccoli plants I plan to set out today. The weather has been nice , we're suppose to have stormy weather tonight. I sure hope we get rain , we really need some.

I thought Jo was getting ready to go into labor Saturday , but it was a no go. I'm still watching them closely , I'm sure it can't be much longer before they kid.

How was your Monday ?

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Naaaana .................................

keeps asking us when we're going to kid. We don't know nothing about kids , except those wild grandkids that try to chase us each they visit Naaaana. So I hope she's not talking about that kind of kids. Here lately it seems like we're always hungry , we sure don't have time to worry about kids !

~ Nanny Blessings ~

Jazz & Jo

Sunday Afternoon Goat Walk .............................

Sunday evening the goats and I took a stroll through the woods. I finally captured a descent photo of Goatee's Goatee (LOL) while he was eating the cedar tree.


You can't really tell what Goatee's doing here , but he was butting and attacking those yellow dock stems , silly goat.

The girls enjoyed the field , they found some green grass that appeared to be mighty tasty.

We're still waiting for them to kid , maybe the full moon will bring those babies out (LOL).

~ Be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn

What A Day ...............................

Jade , our German Shepherd is sick. So I've been nursing her since Monday , we took her to the vet tonight. But before we left I went out to check on the goats and found Jo with her head stuck in one of the panels you see to the right in the pic above. DH bought a panel with six inch holes , we were afraid they would get their heads caught in it , so he welded a second panel to it , leaving about 4 inch holes. We thought the problem was solved , but she got her head through it and couldn't get it out. When I got to her , Jazz was butting her and her ear was bleeding. Thankfully Dh had just came home from work , we got her head back through. Her head was near the area he cut and welded to the other piece , there was a rough edge there and she kept snagging her ear while trying to get her head out. I cleaned her ear good with peroxide , she also looked like she had blood or discharge on her bottom. We thought she might be going into labor , but after closer inspection ..... I think Jazz had butted her and broke the skin. I don't know why Jazz was butting her , I guess she was trying to help knock her loose. Jazz was extremely upset , more so than Jo and she was the one with her head trapped , she kept butting Jo and making a barking sound. I finally got them in their stalls , fed them some sweet feed and they settled down.

We took Jade to the vet , she has a bacterial infection. He give her an antibiotic shot and some oral antibiotics to take for the next few days. I've also got to worm her and keep her separated from Shadow until she's feeling better. Now I'm hoping the goats don't go into labor tonight , as I'm feeling pretty stressed after today's events. Well , I'm getting off the computer and heading out to do 1 more check on the girls and Jade before I head to bed.

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

No Kidding ......................................

Friday came and still no kids , guess I didn't have an accurate due date for Jazz either. So , we're still waiting .......................

The girls are much rounder and their udders are filling up , so I'm sure it should happen soon. Guess they're waiting for bad weather (LOL) , I've been told they'll kid on the stormiest night. I feel like the first time expectant father , but instead of pacing , I spend a lot of time walking out to the goat lot to check on them.



I've been busy with my herbal studies , added a couple more post about Dandelion over at " Herbal Spirits " if you're interested.




Click Here ...... http://herbalspirits.blogspot.com/




What's keeping you busy these days ?





~ Be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn

Around the Farmette .................................

it was very peaceful , after ............

everyone had their breakfast.

The goats were enjoying their hay ............

the keets are now adults. Their heads have turn white and they've developed their calls/voices.

This chicken has decided that it wants to be a guinea , it hangs out with the guinea.

We cleaned out the goat pens the other day , I threw the straw in the garden. The chickens have been wonderful helpers , they've been busy looking for bits of sweet feed and spreading it all over the garden.

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn