View from the farm

August 20, 2010 An Early Fall

Good morning…from the farm.

Signs of an early autumn are all around us.  You can see trees whose leaves are already touched with yellow or red.  Goldenrod and ragweed are blooming in profusion.  I yank the ragweed out whenever I can, but it’s a loosing battle – especially since Woody hasn’t been able to get over here to mow these fields.

Even the grass in front of the big pen - which I cut very low with the weedeater – has re-grown to the point that I can almost lose Mia in it.  See what I mean?

Later.

August 15, 2010 A Little Comic Relief

Good morning…from the farm.

My goats have gotten me trained.  Before we leave the farm, I always make sure that they have plenty of water.  As soon as we return, they all start hollering so that I will fill their buckets up again.  This year’s doelings and bucklings have taken it one step further.  They wear the bucket like a hat and rattle it to make sure they catch my attention.

Not surprisingly, I get them water as quickly as I can.

Later.

August 5, 2010 Robins, and our cat

Good evening...from the farm.

I have two animal pictures to entertain you today.

For the third year in a row, a robin has nested under the corner of the porch.  Two years ago I got a picture of the momma bird on the nest, but I didn't get any pictures last year.  Today, when I went out to the Jeep, I noticed this pair, and I was able to get their pictures before they realized that I hadn't come to feed them!

 

My daughter's cat, Sassy, is as strange as any cat I've ever encountered.  She is 13 years old, and still looks like a kitten.  Recently, she decided she liked an old, flat, pillow on a shelf at the head of the bed, to sleep on.  It's just, she doesn't sleep like other cats...

We're convinced she's really a small alien in disguise!

Later. 

July 19, 2010 Flock of turkeys

Good evening...from the farm.

Down the road a bit, where I saw the fox, and some deer a week ago, must be popular to the local wildlife.  Today we saw a whole flock of turkeys, complete with strutting males.  I tried to take a picture, but mine came out blurry.  My daughter's one picture came out the best of all.

  

Earlier today I got a nice little jolt when I realized the date.  Forty one years ago, on this date, I was married for the first time.  We spent the next day watching the moon landing.  (Well maybe not all the time!)  It's almost impossible to believe how long ago that was.  My memories feel like I'm looking down the barrell of a telescope BACKWARD.
Later.

Young goats

All except one of our young goats were born in April.  There are five bucks and two does that we find "excessive to our needs".  Since I would prefer them not to be eaten, I'm trying to do something before we send them to auction.  Here are some pictures of the lot of them.  I'll try to identify the ones that we can't keep.

Both of these bucks are available.

Both of these bucks are also available.

This buck is available.

 
 This doe - the twin of the previous buck - is available.

Finally, the white doe with the brown head and the white diamond on the far left is available.  She is the twin of the buck with the brown head and brown spot on his shoulder on the far left, top, who is also available.

If you, or someone you know is interested, please contact me.  You can use viewfromthefarm@frontier.com as an email address. 

 

 

July 17, 2010 Elisha's Home

Good morning...from the farm.

On the way in to town yesterday, I saw the Elisha's Home sign and on the spur of the moment decided to go see them.  I am hoping to find a home for at least a few of our baby goats before we have to take them to auction. 

Elisha's Home is a Christian ministry on a farm near Montrose PA.  What caught our eye years ago was the fact that they had a tour barn set up so that children could come and see the animals up close.  I am enchanted with the elaborate walkways they set up for their goats.  Someday I could like to have something similar.  You can find out more about their ministry at their web site:  www.elishashome.com.  Let me show you some pictures of their tour barn and animals.

Now, here is the tour barn.

 What goat wouldn't love to live and run around on this playset!

The pot bellied pigs have old bowling balls to play with in their pens.

 
Of course, when I drove up all the goats were out and running up and down on the walkway, and the alpacas were grazing in the field behind them.  By the time I had chatted with  Dr. Peg and Margie and gotten permission to take pictures, all the animals were inside and didn't want to come out.  Better luck next time.

Thank you to the folks at Elisha's Home for letting me take pictures and for having such a wonderful place for kids to see animals.  And, a special thanks to them for all the good they do in our community.

Later.
  

 

June 18, 2010 Another Butterfly for the Collection

Good evening...from the farm.

I haven't been up to par the last few days, and I have fallen behind on my posting.  My appologies.  Unfortunately, I'm not as young as I used to be, or as young as I think I am.

Here's another butterfly to add to my collection.  Actually, it's almost a whole butterfly.  Check out the bottom middle of the page.

This is like a find the missing picture puzzle.  The butterfly folded up his wings just as I snapped.  Can you see him?

The good news is the bees are still coming by the dozens.  I'm still glad to see them.  Reminds me, I want to go to out local honey outlet and pick up some spring flower honey.  It was great in hot tea last winter.

 
 Our goats and llamas were happy to see the sun after a couple of rainy, dreary days.  You can see Tish, the llama, next to Mimi, one of our Nigerian Dwarf goats enjoying an afternoon nibble.  Of course, in the next minute, two bigger goats came over and drove her off.  You notice Forty-four in front staring at me instead of eating?  She's expecting that any minute I will come and milk her - which she likes.  She gets lots of grain when I do.

(This is making me crazy.  I haven't had any problems until I got to this picture.  I have tried uploading it 8 TIMES!  If it doesn't work this time, I'm taking a break until the middle of the night.)

 

The jokes on me.

While I was working on the feeders yesterday, the newest little goat, still being fed by her mama, decided to go on walk-about.  I was able to corner her and I thought, I'll plunk you down in the pen with the other little goats, so you can get to know them.  They had a great time playing.

That's her by the red bucket.

She doesn't back down, and she was willing to take on all comers.

 

Of course, she knew when to make a strategic escape.  Then, her mom in the pen on the other side of the barn, started calling to her.  I decided to get her out and put her back in with her mom.  The joke was on me.  It took me 45 minutes to catch the little twit.  You have no idea how fast little goats can run!  On the third try (!) I fastened a small panel to one side of the pen, chased her in that direction, and caught her - along with three or four of her companions - who would have happliy gone anywhere with me, and let me catch and pick them up all the time.  The differences between bottle fed, and dam raised babies!  Remind me to think about it, the next time I'm tempted to do something like that!
  

June 12, 2010 Vegetable garden problems

Good morning...from the farm. 

I'm still planning to plant a vegetable garden.  Last weekend I managed to get the weeds cut down, and I've got the plants.  The garden by the red barn has a nice collection of milk weeds that I didn't want to cut down since the Monarch butterflys need them.  So on one side I'm working arount that problem.  The other garden, by the metal barn is a different problem.  I got a roll of rabbit fence, and when I started raking yesterday, I disturbed a rabbit nest with three little bunnies in it.  Now I'm trying to figure out what to do.  It seems kind of silly to plant there when the bunnies are actually living IN the garden bed.  If I had put up the fence first as I planned I would have fenced the bunnies inside the garden.  As Eyore says, oh bother.  Maybe the mother will have moved them since I disturbed them.  I'll keep checking.

Later.

June 11, 2010 You know you're living in the country when...

Good morning...from the farm.

For some reason I couldn't get my pictures to download from my camera to my computer yesterday.  It finally worked after rebooting the whole system three times.  I need new equipment!

I had a bit of excitement yesterday when I took a bucket of water out to the metal barn.  When I walked in there was a small snake, about a foot long, in the middle of the isle.  I put down the bucked and ran out to find something to drop over the snake - with the intent of moving him someplace else.  I tried to put a plastic storage box on top of him, but with the hay and rocks on the floor, he just slithered out.  When he did, and headed towards the baby goats pen, I started screaming.  Of course all the baby goats rushed IN to see what was going on.  In all the excitement, I lost track of the snake.  Drat.  Now I'm tippy-toeing around in there when I go to feed or water my animals.

At least one worry is resolved.  I stopped over at the American Legion to take a break after taking pictures of the gas well.  Some friends there assured me that the snake I described wasn't poisonous.  Thank goodness for small favors!

I also saw something I haven't seen in a long time on the way into town.  There was a bird feeding on roadkill.  Now usually what you see is one of those big blackbirds.  This time it was an actual vulture or buzzard.  I've seen them in Ohio, but haven't seen them here.

Finally, when I was getting on the internet this morning, I happened to click on odd news.  Imagine my surprise.  There was a news article from Scranton.  Seems a 400 pound black bear managed to get himself on the roof of the Viewmont Mall.  They had to tranquilize him and haul him off.  Reminds me of the bear in my parents driveway up on East Mountain.  Just another day in Pennsylvania.

Later.