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Monday, January 20, 2014

Trials and tribulations

We are winning the war on starlings in our chicken coop! We think. . . we're not sure how they are getting in, we re-fabricated screens, window coverings, doors, latches, vents and anything else we could possibly improve on. We scraped and bleached every surface and re-bedded the coop for the 4th time in a few weeks. Our neighbors had tried an anti-bird sonar device for their barn with limited success, so after ditching the threatening plastic hawk (the buggers perched on it) we tried an old internet method we ran across.


CD's and reflective objects apparently disorient and terrify birds, so 48 hours in to our experiment, so far so good! My next idea was sticky traps, Rog rolled his eyes. Again with the ornithophobia.




Its a milkroom! Complete with walls, lighting, a sink, heating, cooling and hopefully far fewer flies than we are generally blessed with. As you recall from last years Christmas wish list it was a far-fetched 'want' of mine. Rog and his dad decided to move forward of their own accord with little pressure from me - I swear!  I'm doing my part as supervisor and lunch / snack provider. 

The pigeons laid two more eggs shortly after their first chick died. They should hatch any day now. 

My reaction to the new clutch of eggs. . . 
In other news, sweet little Hemi didn't make it... :-(   We think he contracted a virus, possibly from one of the local strays that coincidentally occurred at the same time he developed a nasty infection in his leg, likely from a fight. Poor little guy had quite a lot of sickness in his short life.

Hemi as a kitten making himself right at home.
Up next - last minute birth preparations. We've been building walls, scrambling to make order of the new milkroom (yay!) in order to erect the pens in time for the first babies to arrive. Time to wait out this second blast of cold weather and out soon to buy some thick wool socks and a heated blanket in case it sticks around until the first.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

2014 - Looking Ahead

“I would say happy new year, but it's not happy; it's exactly the same as last year except colder.” ― Robert Clark

That's the door which leads from our living room to the back porch. That's the lock. On the inside!
The cold is taking its toll  on us. The long commute is longer, work days are less productive. The goats are puffed and shivering and despite thick bedding and carefully mounted infrared heaters, it is negative 2 degrees in the barn this evening. We're loading up the expectant does with extra hay,  as ruminants create body heat by ruminating! So far they all seem to be handling the weather ok, moving a bit slower, for sure, but eating and drinking and hunkering down without difficulty. 
The chickens are locked up tight with a stray starling who is pooping more than any bird ever should. Grrr...
We're unsure at this point of the status of the beehives. They are self sufficient and bat their wings furiously to maintain temperatures within the hive. Opening it to check on them would be catastrophic so we wait.
Remember Rog's post about the homing pigeons? The not-so-pleasant surprise eggs? Well, three to four weeks had passed and (presumably) momma bird continued to lay on the eggs, well past their schedule 17 day hatch cycle. Assuming the eggs were dead, we planned to clean out the roost box when we cleaned the coop the following week. The warmer weather had momma bird showing more activity and she leaned, venting a pretty large well hidden baby bird and one unhatched non-viable egg. I was both disappointed and a smidge happy, trying hard not to stifle  Rog's excitement. 


Within a week it was fully feathered out, gangly with an oversized awkward beak and a little clumsy. 


Twice we recovered the little bird from the floor of the coop and returned it to its nestbox. Its wings never seemed quite right, its leg strength seemed excessively weak. Unfortunately the little pigeon would be our first loss during the cold spell. I didn't celebrate - I swear!! Rog's disappointment was contagious. What a terrible time of year to hatch a baby bird, it certainly didn't stand much of a chance. One thing that homesteading / farming on any scale will always remind us is that life is cyclical and death is certain. Despite our best efforts, nature often wins. 

“Many years ago I resolved never to bother with New Year’s resolutions, and I’ve stuck with it ever since.” — Dave Beard
This one I just might!

“May the New Year bring you courage to break your resolutions early! " ― Aleister Crowley

Number 1 Resolution: Be more efficient. Energy efficient, time efficient, chore efficient. Whatever. So with the colder weather the house gets stuffy. Namely things like comforters, throw blankets, etc, particularly when you share your house with 3 dogs and a misfit cat. So I've always observed our Amish neighbors hanging laundry in the cold snowy weather and wondered - how does that work? Why not hang it by the stove? I decided, they're far more traditional than I, it must work. Cold air is dry, laundry is wet, maybe it evaporates quickly? So I did it. 

A freshly washed down comforter. 

Turns out it wasn't so efficient after all. I peeled it off the line, stiff and frozen, brought it inside and dropped it on the floor to preserve my fingers. It stood. On its own. 
It took 2 cycles on 'high heat' to dry it. One to thaw, one to dry. Energy efficiency? Failure, despite good intentions. 

“The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk. The drunkenness culminates on New Year's Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you’re married to.” ― P.J. O’Rourke

Pucker up!


“Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to.” — Bill Vaughn

We made it to midnight and had an excellent dinner with friends. The pups were not entertained by our brief, chilly fireworks display. However, Luna made a resolution to work on her table manners in 2014.

...no elbows on the table...forks from outside in...drink on right....bread on left.....


“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one,” – Brad Paisley

Next resolution. Finish the book that's now been hanging over my head for a few years. I blame my friend for inviting me to a writers workshop two years ago last May. I have a bucket list full of unrealistic life goals, one of which was to write a book. So thanks Momma J- totally your fault that I started it in the first place and took it off my bucket list and put it near the top of my 'to finish' list. A little over halfway done...I think!


“New Year's Eve, where auld acquaintance be forgot! Unless, of course, those tests come back positive.” — Jay Leno

Yeah...no test needed. The oven timer is ready to pop! Hoping for a break in the weather before the first of the month. The more active the girls are, the easier the births will be. Have I ever mentioned that trying to rearrange and deliver a stuck baby goat is like fishing for raw chicken legs in a bowl of warm jello? The fun never ends around here.

“First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald
I might have to make a new resolution if birthing season doesn't progress smoothly.
Last resolution: Stop being afraid of this!

I think I'm well on my way with this one. We cleaned and reorganized stalls last week, which meant moving and relocating the beast. I caught her and haltered her like a pro. I was feeling so smug that I petted her a few times - she's realllly soft. Dense, fluffy and satiny. And she didn't seem to mind one bit. 

We took this opportunity to do a little zinc treatment to her underbelly, she handled it like a pro. We heard her warning call for the first time too, when Kaelyn got a little close in the side yard. It resembled a car starting with a little horse mixed in. It scared me but I think Kaelyn rolled her eyes. 

Lastly, please send some good vibes towards Hemi the kitten, he's not doing so hot. Injury led to a bad infection and prolonged illness to food refusal and we're wondering if he'll pull through. He's inside in the warmth and we're giving it our best effort! He's really stinking sweet. I thought Luna was comforting him but when I looked over a bit later she was cleaning dried egg yolk from him face.

 One item from my 2012 Christmas wish list is becoming a reality! More to come. . . 

Friday, January 3, 2014

Holiday Round Up


Christmas came and went and I neglected to post my yearly tree pic accompanied by wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season from Capra Lane. So here it is. Happy Holidays!

I think I was a little distracted, Christmas came far too soon after Thanksgiving to really build up any excitement. Plus falling on a Wednesday really put a crimp in my vacation time. We were so swamped with other things we bought our tree at Home Depot- no charming tree farm, no shivering and swearing as we dragged our behemoth tree from the farthest corner of the property. No cocoa from the Santa-ish salesman. Soon it will be goat food and will be appreciated all the same!


Like every year, Kaelyn waited patiently for Santa's arrival. Instead of chewing on the new bones he brought she rifled through a bag of old neglected toys we had put together to donate to an animal shelter. She hid them all over the house - after I collected them for the third time and placed the bag up on a higher shelf she piled her remaining toys in the living room and guarded them for the rest of the day. 



Tinder and Luna jockeyed for position in the sunbeam before Luna decided to be resourceful and use the library table. The joys of owning animals. . . 

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This year I had the grand idea to wet felt some soaps as holiday gifts. I easily roped my friend M into it as well. 14 hours later we produced these. Cute, charming, unique. . . 'my' bar fell apart in the shower after a few uses. Perhaps I should have tested one before handing them out. I must say, not a very fun process, except for the company, the snacks and the beverages!



Capra Vie topped off the year with several custom ordered gift baskets for the holidays. We annihilated our stockpile of products so soapmaking will resume soon. 


The weather has been crazy to say the least. We've been blessed with frigid temperatures reminiscent of February (during goat birthing!) not November-December and had some serious wind storms the worst of which exhibiting creepy tornado-like qualities.  This trash storage structure easily weighs 500 lbs and was lifted and tossed aside leaving me wondering how our collection of old boats yachts littering the driveway managed to survive. We lost some gutters, some shingles, some insulation but not too bad. Several of our neighbors lost roof sections, century barns were torn to shreds and previously wooded properties became barren in a hurry. 


I did say I always wanted a pond. But not between me and my house. We are entertained by Dick Goddard's weather forecasts frequently - "Don't Drown, Turn Around!"


So I promptly drove through it. At one point, there were whitecaps. It thankfully receded before the deep freeze came, we've lost bumpers and license plates trying to play Titanic in the past.


It's time to take a break from Holiday feasting.


I don't want to see a ham for a long while.


Unless its attached to one of these!



I'm even ready to say goodbye to the pizzelles for the year! 


But I know someone who may disagree. . .