In the Pasture

It was nice to be home on the weekend without horrible cold, rain, or snow.  I decided to go for a short walk in pasture.  Of course, it was really short because the goats were right there on the front hill.

Myson, Cookie, and Marge

Maisie and the herd

They are happy to be able to go back out to pasture to eat again.

Moira

Cupid

Annie and Penelope

I’m glad not to have to feed them hay again.

Clover

Margarita

The llamas were right out there on the front hill too.

Aurora, Odie, and Maybeline

They spend so much time in pasture and it’s dark so early that I hardly get to see them right now.

Aurora

Odie

I miss the long days when I get to do these kinds of walks after work.

Despite My Best Plans

I swear some years breeding goats is like kicking yourself in the teeth.  No matter how hard you try, it never works out the way you want.  After all my craziness of trying to make spring break kids while I was sick, I keep finding girls whom I thought were bred coming into heat.

Cupid

Yesterday, it was Astra.

Xerxes and Astra

She was hanging out by the fence, and making out with Xerxes.  Then I came back out to do chores and saw this.

Um.  April fool’s babies it is.  I brought her back out and fixed the fence.

She was not happy with that.

Zeus wasn’t too happy either.  Xerxes wasn’t about to let anyone else near Astra, but he thought he should get a girl too.

Zeus

Don’t feel too sorry for him because last week he jumped the fence while Bambi was in heat.

Bambi

I swear.  Now I’m giving shots to all of my little girls because the last thing I want is my babies having babies in the middle of winter.

Penelope

And I locked up the last two little bucks.  I put them in the Love Shack with Tony.

Ringo and LilyAnn

Of course, Ringo managed to escape by morning, so this evening, I have to catch him and try to find someplace that will hold him.  I’m running out of options!

Moving Mama

We took a sudden cold turn after the weekend, and I decided I had to move Mama Phoenix.  After losing her feet and beak to the polar vortex last winter, she can’t be out in the cold.  That tiny tongue stuck out of her mouth would freeze way too easily.

Mama Phoenix

I cleaned up the rabbit hutch I got for her.

Penelope wondering what’s on her picnic table (Cupid behind checking it out)

And I brought it in the house.  Of course, I have to worry about Rocky.  He’s the only one I was afraid who would not treat her well, so I tested to see how far he could reach through the spaces.

Rocky

That was not what I wanted to see.

I put chicken wire around it.  Then I brought her in.  I have a cardboard on the back so she doesn’t get too hot with the west sun shining on her.

Mama Phoenix

She’ll get put in a pet taxi and shut in the bathroom at night for her own safety (call it protective custody from Sky and Rocky).  As you can see, Sky was quite interested in her.

Although, he was way better than I thought he might be.

Bob was not interested.  He was just peeved that she was where he wanted to step onto the table when he came inside through the window.

Snickers didn’t even pay attention to her.  Leo doesn’t care.  She’s just another new friend.

Rocky…

Well, let’s just say we know who the biggest chicken in the house is, and it isn’t Mama.

She’ll get to spend the days on the table enjoying the sunshine and the company of the cats.