Rain Tent

I really did feel bad about putting the moms up with the March kids because there really isn’t enough shelter, and goats don’t like rain.  They have the Quonset hut and then a small lean-to.

Squanto and Sacagewea; Moira and Angela on top

When it started sprinkling this afternoon and I saw we have several chances of rain in the next few days, I decided I had to do something.

I tried tossing the old tarp over the feeder that’s been up there on its side forever.  I kind of worked until Bubbles and John tried using it as a hammock.  They kind of fell through.

 

Although, a few of them did try it out when the next round of sprinkles came through.

Pepe, John, Bubbles, and Tootles

I doubled down and got some cattle panel chunks and another old tarp and created a bigger rain tent.  Hopefully nobody hops on it again.

looking from the east

looking from the north

The rest of the herd was a bit confused, so they were checking it out.

Wendy, Wanda, Poki, and Moose looking from the south

Penny was in there with her kids.  She left them when she went back out to eat more.

Frisco and Pipsqueak

It works.  When I checked Vinnie at 1:00 am, it was sprinkling, and it had goats beneath it staying dry.

Pepe was nice enough to pose this morning.

Of course, I did have to dump the water this morning.  But it works!

Even the gosling was enjoying it this morning.

As long as it doesn’t rain very hard or have wind or get any lightning it will be perfectish.  Then I’d have to decide who to kick out and where to put them.  But it should work for sprinkles.

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Rainy Weather

We’ve been fairly rainy this spring.  We actually got lucky here on Thursday evening.  The storm went just north of my farm, and dropped lots of rain and hail on the town where I teach, but we didn’t see a drop of rain–just a bit of wind.

Aurora

There’s a lot of water in the ditch.

We had rain yesterday and more today and more forecast throughout the week.

Joani and Tinkerbell

Everyone around here smells like wet dog.  They can’t even get a dirt bath (it would be a mud bath).

Aurora

Maybeline and Odie

Yeah, we’re pretty muddy; although the picture below was taken before the worst of the rain came on Saturday.

Annie, Cutie, Myson

It does make the grass grow, but I haven’t been able to get my garden planted.

My crops haven’t been planted.  It really makes it hard to get a lot of things done when we’re overly wet.

clouds moving in over the barn peak (with a turkey vulture)

And don’t even start me on the roller coaster temperatures either.  That’s the kind of swing that makes animals sick (llama ulcers).  Seriously.

Hopefully, the weather will calm down soon.

A Rainy Start to Break

We finally have managed to get our temperatures above freezing!  Yay!  Of course, we have major rain with it.

Pistol and Antigone are the white shadows in the building.

It is a lot of rain.  And there’s a lot of wind.  I suppose I should be grateful it’s not sixteen inches of snow with those howling winds.

But we are all ready for some sunshine.

Sky

I think the water on top of the snow has been hard for the wild birds.  Even without having been feeding the birds all winter, lots of them showed up today.  (I did put more dog food out for them.)

male cardinal

female cardinal

junco

I even had three wild turkeys go by in the corn field.

wild turkey

And then it turned to snow.  But we’re supposed to get back up to warmer weather and more rain for much of the week.  Sigh…

Fionn eating in the Quonset hut

Hopefully, the rain and warm weather will at least get rid of the snow.  Then we will be in mud season!