Fun in the Addition

The new area that the goats acquired when we re-did the fence has the remains of a fallen tree.  It was completely hidden in the five foot tall grass that was knocked down into a nice soft straw-like mat.

Front: Flora; Center: Gill and Tilly; Top: Trace, Cinnamon, Tansy, and Flower; Back: Tiger and Cinquain

Aphrodite

Cupid

Gill, Cinnamon, Pluto, and Moira

Hilda with kids Stitch and Purl

Athena

Cinnamon bullying Tansy; Tiger below

Onyx

This means that the goats are enjoying playing and lounging in this new area.

Some Wild Things

red-headed woodpecker

Bobolink on the fence and Hilda, Bonnie, and Aphrodite

red-winged blackbirds were not happy with the herd and me–probably too close to their nest.

a hopper hitching a ride

red-bellied woodpecker coming in for a landing

on the tree

birdsfoot trefoil and clover

eastern meadowlark

Six

multiflora rose

bobolink

Mr. and Mrs. Bobolink

bee on clover

one of the wild kids

eastern meadowlark

barn swallow

squirrel

red-headed woodpecker

Plans Change

I always have several things going on around here and trying to figure out how to get everything done in a timely manner sometimes is a challenge.  Three things all came together on Friday.  Aphrodite was in the Love Shack with Archie.

Archie

I have to plan for Hilda’s babies coming because I’ll need the Love Shack for that because she’s a brat (important as the story moves forward).

Hilda

I also need to wean some kids to start milking.  I’m almost out of my Mozzarella from last year.

Addie

So, Friday morning I decided it was time to wean Freddie and Fannie.  It’s a difficult thing to figure out because those kids are super experts at figuring out how to escape and get back to their maas.  Freddie I could easily put up with Xerxes and Uno, but I needed to put Fannie somewhere.

Freddie

I decided to catch her and put her in with Aphrodite and Archie.  Then I could move all of them to the front pasture sometime next week.

Fannie

When I caught her, I did notice Hilda was standing, and it made me wonder, but she’s not due until June 20th (at least the closest I could come to a due date for her by extrapolating forward from the last time I saw her in heat).  Anyhow, when I came back out later to see about catching Freddie, it was obvious that Hilda had dropped and her udder had popped.  Babies were coming.

Hilda

I put Freddie up north and started trying to figure out what to do with Hilda because she was trying to head out to pasture.  That was not going to happen, so I worked to get her back in the barnyard and shut the lane.

Then the fun began–Fannie was crying for her mom; Hilda was in labor and smacking at everyone who came close to her because she couldn’t find anywhere she wanted to give birth; Uno kept jumping Freddie;

Ava was answering both of her kids shut in different places.  So the plan changed.  I let Freddie and Fannie out.  I’ll have to re-evaluate weaning tomorrow or whenever.

Ava

Aphrodite and Archie got moved onto the front pasture.  I hope Aphrodite doesn’t take Archie out on pasture and lose him there.

Aphrodite and Archie

Hilda got shut in the Love Shack.

Tomorrow I’ll let you know how that turned out.