Farm TV

Does anyone know how to take control over time?  We all get the same number of hours in a day, yet some accomplish much and those like me wonder how they do it!  I was cleaning my Inbox and found this picture of the goats.  I took it with my phone (it's rare that I actually take the camera outside) so the quality might not be that good.  I was aiming at the goats on the beam, but when I got inside and looked at it on the computer screen I realized I had all of the goats we owned on that particular day in the shot.

On the beam are the triplets-Popcorn, Firecracker and Mushroom (Goober Gus named them).  At the bottom of the beam is Annie's daughter.  In front is Bambi-a rescued goat.  In the lower right corner (really hard to see) is Molly's rear end and her daughter.  Behind the beam is Annie and behind the post, barely visible is Sugar.  Since taking this picture we have sold Bambi, Sugar and Firecracker.  However, we also gained Trixie, Lilly and Josephine.  Trixie was also sold.  You'd think we were running a farm store here!

Tony took this picture a couple of weeks ago-it overlooks the river valley we live in.  Clouds are rare around here, but not too much this time of year.  Neat picture, isn't it?

 

This is the tarantula that Goober Gus found outside but was too scared to capture.  Mom wasn't afraid though.  Yeah, I'm bad!  When Tony got home he tried to let it crawl up his arm, but it just jumped to the ground on the Forest Service side of the fence.

This was taken back in May.  In an effort to keep the peach tree alive, get grass growing and let the ducks have a little fun, we'd turn the sprinkler on.  I forgot and created a little lake for them, but they didn't care!

 

Farm TV

I don't imagine we're the only ones that consider watching the antics of our animals more interesting than what's offered on cable or satellite TV.  Lately though it's been so hot that just sitting outside to enjoy watching isn't something we do.  We go out to tend to their needs and get a brief glimpse of their games before we get back inside to "cool off" in our 80° house.  Since we've had highs in the 110's lately, 80° isn't so bad!

I haven't written much lately.  Too busy/too much brain fog/not enough creative thought process.  I'd like to share more frequently, even if it's just a brief story about what we saw that day.

Our "TV" has 12 "channels".  We are currently the proud owners of:

• 1 cantankerous cow who gives false pregnancies
• 2 young pigs
• 1 emu
• 3 turkeys (hoping to have a tom for breeding,  but so far we can't tell)
• 8 ducks
• 40 chickens
• 2 rabbits
• 1 Australian Shepherd puppy
• 1 cat
• 2 Barbados lambs
• 2 Alpine dairy goats
• 2 young Alpine does
• 1 Nubian dairy goat
• 3 young Nubian bucklings
• 2 other goats-rescued, not sure of their breed, mom and buckling

Not on the property is our Alpine buck.  He lives with friends and has a young Nubian buckling to "train".  I don't know if you're counting but I think that's 71 animals here and 2 more elsewhere!  I'm sure glad we have 2 pastures to feed the big animals so we don't have to buy hay anymore.  Next on my "feed" list is to have a garden for all of the poultry birds and the rabbits.  Oh, and to grow winter squash and beets to have around in the colder months for all of the animals.

We discovered yesterday that the goats like the mesquite beans that fall from the trees that line the forest service property behind us.  Many fall into the yard...more free food!

I'll close with the description of what we saw yesterday evening while milking/tending animals.  The little bucklings-that are just now 3 weeks old-walk up a beam that used to be a cross beam for a shade structure, but it fell down on one end, so it's a perfect ladder for walking up to the roof of the shade structure.  They go up and then jump down onto a big wooden spool.  The young does get in on the action too and it's funny to see them all clambering for position on the beam.

Hopefully this will be the first of many farm tv reports-and more frequently too.  If I think of it in the morning I may go out and take pictures of as many critters as I can.  Pictures are always nice.