At least it isn't snow...

The wettest year on record is nearly over. Our place feels a lot like March-April at the moment, resembling a stagnant waterlogged swamp. Luckily our 22 tons of stone came just in the nick of time to re-stone part of the barn floor and partially repair the driveway. Our "pond" in the middle of the driveway had whitecaps today thanks to the wind. Again, at least its not ice or snow, we just heard on the news that the past few days of rain would have equated to 45 inches of snow!

Enzo has moved on to his new home near Chardon, OH where he joined a new group of lovely Saanen girlfriends. He was a great buck to own- very gentle, an overgrown goofball most of the time, but it was time for him to move on since we brought a new junior herdsire onto the farm earlier this spring. We repeated the Enzo~Serafina breeding this  year as we are quite fond of Hilary, our 2011 spring kid from the same breeding.

Who said goats don't smile?? These girls look pretty happy as they soak up the sun during one of the last warm fall days in November. We've been busy winterizing the barns, installing wind shields, cleaning pens, installing heated buckets. It seems like we just took them down... depressing....

Kaelyn is already prepping for winter, this blanket will not leave her side until April.

Finally caught up on holiday soapmaking. We have about 200 bars ready, scents are: Mint & Ivy, Autumn,
Oatmeal & Honey, Lavender, Oak & Eucalyptus, and Earth. Fancied up the lip balms too, now available in regular or tinted, flavored with eucalyptus oil.

The best news of the week? The girls are finally dried off for the year! No more milking (for now), no more pasteurizing and cooling. Life is good for the time being. However, we have 19 goats bred this year (!) and they start freshening mid-February. That's when life gets tough again. We are now accepting reservations on kids and will be offering at least 6 milkers for sale this spring as well.

In local summer fair news, we here at Capra Lane bred the Reserve Grand Champion Dairy Market Wether at both the Ashland County Fair and the Huron County Fair. Congratulations on 1st and 2nd place showmanship placings as well!