Spring is Beautiful and Bittersweet

The renewal of life never ceases to amaze; much like the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains is always awe-inspiring. New little ones fill our hearts with joy but they all cannot stay forever; and neither can spring. As we move towards summer, many of them find new homes and we are just glad to have know the pleasure of their company. We are also mindful to be thankful for the increase and appreciative of the abundance of life under our care. ________________________ Today we noticed that one of our Highland cows, Merry Kate, is in labor so we fully expect an overnight delivery. Lil' Hot Shot is not far behind as her udder is filling steadily. These two lovely ladies (doeling kid from this year and a bred yearling) left Sunday for their new home in Marion. We will be down to 10 goats from 18 soon but Hot Cocoa (solid black with oatmeal cashmere) is due to kid in a few months.

Fuzzy Yellow Kudzu

The ducklings are growing like kudzu and I believe they eat, drink, and output more than the cattle! Cider, the Vizsla, sure likes to babysit...he claims he's a bird dog, not a gun dog.

BO Ducks

The Grace of Goats

We are very pleased to report that Milly, Molly and 4 wethered friends will all be going together to a new home not all that far away. Milly and Molly were our very sweet foundation does from Virginia and we will certainly miss their presence here. Seeing them standing gracefully on their back legs, necks outstretched, reaching for thorny black locust leaves was like watching a farmyard ballet of sorts. We are keeping Molly's young doeling from this year as Molly's replacement and we'll enjoy watching her grow to take her mother's place.

Cashmere Wethers for Sale $75 Each (SALE PENDING 4/5/11)

Wethers are castrated males that will look feminine (small dainty horns, less developed bodies), act feminine (well, as feminine as any goat can manage), and smell feminine (and at the very least NOT at all like intact male bucks). These former boys were born the first two weeks of February and my how they've grown! Standing on the rock so proudly is #36 Lightning Boy (cream white). Hiding behind the hay is #37 Fancy Boy (silver white). Near the fence is #35 Flicker Boy (cream white). And lower on the rocks is #34 Racer Boy (silver white). They will all have white cashmere that can be shed, combed or sheared next spring and would make wonderful fiber-producing friends, pasture ornaments or weedeaters. ________________________________________________________________

Lamb Races are On!

Our Shetlands lambed throughout the month of March. The two eldest have begun to strike out in independence, bolting away from their dams to race and romp freely across the pasture in leaps and bounds. About 10 others are squarely under the control of their mothers for the time being but in a couple of weeks they'll be like a school of fish darting this way and that. Tagging will be this weekend or the next, weather permitting. At that time I'll publish a photo and info list for those interested in purchasing lambs or breeding age ewes.

It's Either Threatened, Watch or Recovering Around Here

This time we're doing threatened breed. Buff Orpintons are commonly known variety of chicken but we do things a little different and ours are going to be ducks which are on ALBC's threatened list. (American Livestock Breeds Conservancy at http://albc-usa.org/) They are yet another hardy "heritage" multi-purpose breed being added to the farm. They should produce a respectable amount of large size eggs in a varity of tints; are a decent weight for the table, and have ornamental quality feathers. The are supposed to be cold and heat tolerant and thrive in confinement or free-range which will offer a lot of flexibility. Why ducks? The largest reason is because I have no desire to deal with roosters for my sake or the kids; and they eat bugs and lay eggs as well as many chickens. Chicken and their eggs are relatively common and inexpensive at the grocer or farmers market but duck is difficult to find. They eggs are more nutritious, less likely to cause allergic reaction, and loftier in baked goods -- but not as frothy for meringues. Most local ducks are overweight Pekins or high-strung Khaki Campbells. Buffs will be somewhat unique for the area. Known as Buff or Orpington or Buff Orpington, the same farm that originated the chickens also bred ducks with similar qualities. They are a lovely light cinnamon beige and creamy color and the male drake has a seal brown head. We have purchased Buff Orpington duck stock this year from Metzer Farms in California. They were hatched today, sexed, shipped, and should arrive at our post office by Wednesday. They will take 8-10 weeks to grow full size and completely feathered. We'll start with 2 drakes and 8 hens. The Highland Cattle and Shetland Sheep are on the recovering list at ALBC. Cashmere goats are most related to Spanish which are on the watch list.

Out of Eve

Early this morning (sometime before 7:30 am) our eldest ewe, Little Eagle Eve, delivered a single white ram lamb. He's very sweet and friendly. He is the spitting image of his dam and is sired by Hidaway Andes Mint.

We don't normally buy alfalfa cubes but they were nearly the same price as cracked corn at the farm store so we're trying a bag. All goats and sheep got a sample cube today. About half thought I was trying to feed them a rock and the other half devoured them straight away.

Should be more lambs arriving about mid-month. Kayla, our kindliest fleeced ewe, is due the 23rd.

Keeping score?

BOYS 4 : GIRLS 2

All bucklings will be wethered and offered for sale.

Only one more doe due to give birth soon, Molly. I'd estimate by the size of her it may be twins.

The 2 youngest does of Flicker have had their kids. The badger faced black doe had a silver buckling yesterday and the silver doe had a white buckling today.

Today all the new babes got fleece dog coats in size XS (at $10 a pop -- ouch), a friendly petting, and a dose of goat drench. The silver doeling that is a week old now was put in a fleece zip-up coat in size 18 months which was much more affordable than a dog coat ($2.50) and fit perfectly. We're going down to 17 degrees tonight with wind and possibly snow so I'll sleep much better with them having a snuggie on.

Both of our automatic stock tanks sprung mysterious leaks and will need to be cleaned, repaired and adjusted. In the meantime we'll have to turn them on and off as needed at the valve near the house.

Lots to Love in February

We're on a roll now...the sister to the doe that delivered a doeling on the 2nd delivered a silver buckling on Saturday, the 5th. And now, the mother of the two girls just delivered white twins between noon and 1 today. It feels like spring already; the multiflora rose is starting to come to life with tiny leaves already and some spots in the pasture have a green cast to them. Perhaps an early spring? After another HARSH winter I'm ready for it, NOW!

Arrival of "Storm"

Whew...a night of howling wind and torrents of rain was followed by a beautiful morning. While getting in the truck to take the boys to preschool, I noticed that our bottle-fed goat from 2 years ago (born July 4th) was showing signs of impending labor. Finally about noon, at 50 degrees, she was actively pushing and at 12:15 a doeling was born. She is white with gray accents and is fairly robust and lively. She was standing and nursing by 1. Will be a chilly and windy night so have to go get them this afternoon and take them to the 4x8 tarped kennel for shelter.