One Year Later (March '20)

What a year! So much has transpired over the past year and I find myself overwhelmed at the thought of updating the blog. But, if I don't, I'm not likely to remember a thing.

I'll get the sad part out of the way and tell you that Gimlet, our beloved milk goat we got at the beginning of the pandemic, died just a couple of weeks after she arrived; presumably due to a toxic weed. It was so so sad and took us all quite a while to recover. Her baby, Bluebonnet, became a bottle baby and we picked up tiny Daisy a week later so she would have a sister. They are both thriving (and still causing all manner of trouble you'd expect from bottle babies). Hopefully they'll be in the milk business next winter which means goat cheese for us!

Baby Daisy!

Baby Bluebonnet!

We had plenty of time on our hands to love on our bottle babies!

Their first night in the barn the kids couldn't stand the thought of them being alone so they slept with Daisy & Bluebonnet. Hots and I went out around 11:00pm to check on everyone and found what resembled the aftermath of a frat party scene. And all 5 kids were sound asleep!

L and Daisy

J w/ the goat girls plus Sage

COVID 19: Spring Break

We'd planned to make a road trip over Spring Break, but called it off the Thursday before and were super glad we did as things with the virus amped up quickly over the following several days.  Here are some things we enjoyed over Spring Break on lock down.

Hots tilled the garden for me so I spent a couple of days last week getting the rows raked and the veggies planted.  Playing in the garden while I work is one of the kids' favorite activities and it makes my heart happy having them join me.  Fire always adds excitement.

One day we hiked the ravine with the cousins and Kaydie.  It's pretty steep but everyone did great!

 Naturally L found a tree to climb.  Can you find him?  Sage?

Even Bennett made the hike!  (With a little help from L and Kaydie.)

Got the puzzle idea from a friend and we actually finished this one today; only took three days and the kids loved it.

Sunday evening walk   :)

Not sure who's enjoying this whole social distancing with all plans canceled thing; the dogs or me. ;)

Soaking up this time off!

Welcome to the Farm, Gimlet!

For as long as I remember I've wanted a Jersey cow.  My grandfather had one when I was very small and I have vague memories of him bringing milk in at breakfast at the farm.  My childhood best friend had one and I have solid memories of drinking the milk warm at breakfast at her house. Then when I was sixteen I had saved up enough money to buy one so my dad and I drove to a dairy to get one but the ones they had for sale were almost black; didn't look anything like what I'd imagined all those years so I walked away.

When we moved to the hill country and got our meat goats I started to think about a dairy goat as possibility sometime down the road.  Then I started following Bee Tree Farm on Facebook.  Fabulous operation near Austin and the owner posts the good, the bad, and the ugly-she's real.  Bee Tree sells their kids as 3-day-old bottle babies (after having been on their mom for that time) and the cost is minimal.  For the past couple of years it has seemed like a great option for next year.  

Sadly, a bobcat killed one of our replacement nannies last week so Kaydie suggested we get a replacement or two; meaning meat goats.  

It occurred to me that with all that's going on nationally I just may have time for a bottle baby now.  I ran it by Kaydie since we're partners and all and she gave the go ahead to see about a bottle baby.  

I texted Jenna at Bee Tree, acknowledging my super late request, and she responded immediately with a package deal.  A first time freshener, two-year-old Gimlet, and her soon to be born kids; due Monday.  It was Saturday.

Took me a few minutes and lots of discussion with Kaydie to wrap my mind around an adult goat and then we decided to go for it.  We anxiously awaited the birth and made plans for Gimlet's lodging, etc.  On Monday the baby was born in a field of bluebonnets and we planned to pick the pair up on Tuesday.

Check out those Alpine ears!  She's half Alpine and half Nubian.  Regarding her name, Jenna explained the kidding season that was Gimlet's as "horrible" and "the year of alcoholic beverages."  I'm sure if we named our babies that first group would've been a doozie! 

The welcome crew was fired up and so excited to meet Gimlet and baby Bluebonnet, as the kids named her.

Lots of loving on her and helping her get settled.  She's so gentle, which is a change for us.  We do have a few gentle ones in our herd, but none this gentle.

Now that we had a milk goat who would need to be milked in a few days, we needed a milking stand. After looking at several photos online, we looked at our available supplies because I vowed not to buy a thing.  Other than those baby chicks I'd bought on Friday and two new goats...

L was a super helper!  He did lots of measuring, used a straight edge so well, and did pretty much all of the sawing.

L showed SK how to measure and she became an expert at that straight edge.

After a super challenging work week, Hots jumped in just in time to do the hard work-design and build the head gate and feed platform.

L was the only helper today and he was a good one!

Until he left to climb our tree.

We had to enforce a no climbing rule until the pandemic passes.  Not a good time to need the ER.

Hots did a great job and really does like Gimlet.  I'm telling him I got her as his therapy goat to help with all the stress of the times.

First time on the stand!  She did great, but it was definitely a two-man job getting her settled.

She enjoyed the treats!

I built the tall girl model for obvious reasons, but want it to be safe for Gimlet.  On her second try she did even better and had no problem getting onto and off of it.

Gimlet's second time up and everyone got a chance to milk her!  SK was on baby duty so Gimlet could see Bluebonnet most of the time.

Here's our first milk!  I forgot to get a pic in the stainless cup, so this spaghetti jar pic will have to do-ha!  We put it right into the fridge for a couple of hours before having a family taste test.  We all gave it two thumbs up!  But agreed it was just weird drinking goats milk. 

Plan is to make cheese and yogurt so I'll keep you posted!

Praying Over My Old Mom's Purse

Driving to church on Sunday (the boys had gone early to greet), SK and I had this conversation.

SK:  Momma, when one parent dies, can the other parent get married again?

Me:  Well, sure.  They can remarry.

SK:  And the new parent will take care of the kids? 

Me:  Yes.  They would take care of the kids with the other parent.

SK:  (pauses before stating nonchalantly)  Don't worry, I'll still miss ya.  I'll still miss my old mom.  And I promise to pray around your purse every day.

Me:  What?  Why would you pray around my purse?

SK:  Well, I would just pray around your purse and I would ask Daddy to take me to your grave so I could pray around that," which led directly into me reminding her only my body would be at my grave while my soul would be in Heaven with Jesus so perhaps

1. I skimmed over her whole idea of a me dying/a new mom/praying over my purse (What?!) and/or 
2. we've been hitting this "death isn't really a problem" thing a little too hard.

Back in May...

Here's L with his drawing, "Pop Heart," on gallery night at Starkey.

J's is appropriately titled, "Limousine Cow."

And here he is with his Study Group project.  They create a people group and work all year to complete the project; done entirely at school.

We also took our first kayaking trip since Hots' shoulder surgeries and the only photos I have are these-L found a tiny crawdad-because it was also the first time SK was on her own kayak and to sum it up, wailing and gnashing of teeth.  

Since then we've been a couple of times and have seen a tiny bit of progress.  Fingers crossed.

How is it already September?

Somehow we've completed THREE weeks of school, basically skipped the month of August as far as blogging goes and now that I think of it, I can't really remember much.  Ha!  Life is BUSY.

School is going great for everyone and, after some hesitation at starting Kindergarten, SK awoke the morning of her first day excited and has enjoyed every day since. 

Grandmama suggested a while back that perhaps her lack of excitement regarding school had something to do with her not being able to be in charge.  Accurate. 

L is enjoying his school where he's now one grade away from top of the ladder and J reports he loves "the freedom" and has even been making it to class with all of his supplies.  Thankful for a good start to the school year!

And for the first time in 11+ years I'm wild and free but somehow have managed to keep a FULL schedule each week.  I'm like those retired folks who say they're busier in retirement than when they worked! 

I have enjoyed getting some things done around our place and have finally become quite familiar with the tractor.  The first week I tore up the sidewalk between us and the cat lady since that path is one to nowhere.  It was satisfying work and I enjoyed the physical aspect of pulling up the cement and pavers.  Lots more to do and I'm looking forward to tidying the place this fall.

Here are a few things to note regarding the kids for your reading pleasure (& so I don't forget).

-On the way home from school one day L was telling a story and used a word we don't use.  I corrected him and we chatted briefly about words we use or don't, etc.  SK announced loudly from the back seat, "Sometimes I have bad words in my mouth but I tuck them way back in the back of my mouth."

-This evening L came in from collecting eggs, put the bucket on the counter, and then proceeded to pull THIRTEEN jalapeno peppers out of his boxer briefs.  Just when I started to think that he may be turning into a decent human being after YEARS of attempting to domesticate him, he pulls produce out of his undies. #boys

-J keeps up with current events and recently initiated a discussion with his social studies teacher about the happenings in Hong Kong.  They chatted a bit and then he asked her if she'd mind preparing a lesson for the class on the unrest.  (He recounted this last week to Kaydie, who told me.)

Here & There: Part II

We see some really neat animals/organisms here in the country and I'm always amazed at the detail of each one's appearance.  This moth was HUGE!

What is it about boys and being naked?  Ours spend most of their time at home in nothing but underwear-because I require at least that-but jump at any opportunity to be completely free.  The garden is perfect for their preference since the garden soil stains clothing BADLY and I'm practical.  Plus I LOVE spraying them off with frigid well water with the hose.  It's pretty fantastic.  

This was taken way back in the spring when I was very late preparing to plant.

 They pride themselves in their ability to be mud covered, head to toe.

This cedar tree was shading my garden so I cut several large limbs over a period of a few days to feed the goats during the process.  They enjoyed the cedar and so did the boys.

Here's the appropriate time to share my geriatric moment.  I'm a relatively new chainsaw user and am always super cautious when using the chainsaw and pole saw since do-overs aren't usually a thing where these are concerned.

So in prep for this job I'd let Hots (who was at work) and Kaydie (who doesn't like for me to do anything dangerous and who'd be over shortly) know my plans.  I cut into the first branch which was maybe 10' above me and about 12" in diameter, carefully placing my feet and repeatedly analyzing my escape route should it fall this way or that.  I also always clear the ground around where I'm working so as not to trip on anything lying around.

All went well and the limb cracked and leaned to one side so I put the pole saw down a ways away and started pulling on the end of the limp that was just within my arms' reach.  It cracked and swayed a bit in the right direction, then cracked loudly and started to fall so I stepped to the side of the tree quickly and was flat on my back almost instantly, wondering what had happened.

Turns out I'd stepped on a 3' x 4' flat rock that was at a slight angle in the dirt and still had dew on it, making it SLICK.  When my boot hit it, I just wiped out.  I don't think I would've hit my head since my head didn't jerk back, but because of my height my head was off of the rock and over the dirt (but not on it!) when I landed. 

My phone was in my back pocket so I had a pretty interesting bruise on my back end, but other than feeling old for just having ended up on the ground so suddenly, I was fine.  And thankfully I was up to tell about it by the time Kaydie arrived.

This cedar cutting & subsequent goat feeding should work well for us for some years to come!  (And I sure hope those cute boys will help me out next time, too!)

J has really enjoyed orchestra and he got to entertain a Kindergarten class one day.

One of our favorite Starkey Elementary traditions is the annual Easter Egg Hunt at a neighborhood yard.  This was J's last year and it was a raging success-the entire Fifth Grade hunted together.

I wanted to be at J's the entire time since it was his last so Hots went with SK, then dropped her off with me at J's.  He was so sweet to her and made sure she felt included.  That girl has no idea how good her brothers are to her.  :)