A Step Back

With all the inconveniences of the pandemic, I’ve done quite well–toilet paper shortage, masks, quarantine, work from home, and vaccines have been nothing. Now I am really experiencing the first thing to upset me.  My camera is still marching towards its demise.  I could really tell when I was doing the photo shoots last weekend that it was having problems, and I have to keep it going to do the upcoming newborn shoot, so I got out my old camera.  It’s like starting over.  I am playing with it and trying to remember how it works.

2TC

Coral

Daisy leading the herd in

Benji–hard to take his picture when he’s always jumping up to see what’s going on.

Flora

The herd coming in

Perdita

Purl (Perdita in back)

Xerxes (front); Freddie (back)

I hope it doesn’t give out on me too.

More Rain

After a rainy last Sunday, we had more rain Wednesday and Thursday.  The amount of the state in a drought is decreasing.  Of course, I’m still in the area of severe drought, but I’m hoping the additional rain (not on this map) will at least put us back down to just a moderate drought.

It is the first time in ages we’ve actually had mud.

Caroline

Cinnamon

Rosie

It was wonderful!

looking like fall

And it made for an extra enjoyable sunset Friday.

coming up from pasture at sunset

Our temperatures are also cooling down to more normal.

And in totally unrelated news, I made my last payment today on my acreage.  That means the house and garage

and barn and front pasture are all mine.

I’m dancing a happy dance today!

More Girls in Heat

Since I last updated you on the breeding progress, I’ve had a couple more girls come into heat.  I was a bit surprised to see Zinnia in heat.  Really.  She looked like she was in heat and Xerxes bred her.

Zinnia

But she was really acting like she was in heat last Friday.  I know because my otherwise wonderful girl can’t keep from getting her head stuck in the fence when she’s in heat.  It’s rather annoying actually because I had to remove her head from the fence to milk her that morning.  Then I had to remove it from the fence again when I was getting ready to leave for work.  I got smart and left the hole open (instead of bending the cut chunk of panel back into place).  That worked because she was not stuck when I got home.

Anyhow, I don’t know what is going on with her.  I’ll just wait and see if she gets her head stuck again.  Chiffon was also in heat.

Chiffon and Xerxes

I wasn’t sure about her when she was with Benji, but Friday evening, she was definitely in heat.

Most recently Aphrodite and Venus seem to have come into heat.  I really wanted to have as many of the girls kid in March as possible.  Partly because it’s just healthier for the moms and kids, but also because my mom and I want to go on vacation next summer, and I don’t want little kids to worry about.

Aphrodite

My list of girls to have June babies is growing.  Dang.