Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[NH Homesteader]

Boo crazy goat! Mine are the same way, good on the stand but only on the stand! Brats!

Spring... Sounds good. I haven't even started seeds yet.

How're all those pigs?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Oh my goodness, lol! Pigs! I need to get some of 'em processed! I have no pig left in the freezer with the exception of one fresh ham and a slab of pig belly that needs to be baconized. I lost a couple babies in the big freeze I guess I didn't realize it at the time because I could never get 'em all in one place to count...Not really sure what happened to 'em but they just aren't there anymore. I hate that! No more will I let 'em run the pasture when they've got babies...they'll need to stay confined. They had a great place to hunker down under shelter with plenty of deep hay.... sigh...

Pigs or dogs or something ate the wires offa my trailer so I've gotta get it re-wired to haul 'em to the processor. Never had optimal weather for home butchering. Need for that to happen quickly. Spring break in a couple weeks, maybe I can work on it then. Geeze, my spring break list starts adding up quickly.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I just looked back through my thread and don't think that I mentioned selling some of the piglets a few weeks back. Sold three of 'em for a hundred bucks! Woo hoo!

 

[NH Homesteader]

Woo hoo for selling and butchering pigs! Sorry you lost some. That's always a bummer.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Been getting a few things accomplished today...but gonna stop and go see the parents. I need to go pick up a prescription for mom and a supplement for dad. I was gonna go tomorrow since it's supposed to rain. Changed my mind though cuz of those stupid goats. I've checked and rechecked my notes and they should be at 145 days today...but no sign other than udders. Ligaments are soft, but there. I haven't seen any sign of either one of them losing their plug - but you don't always see that anyway. I feel pretty sure they're NOT gonna kid today, lol. So, I'll go see the folks and hope that tomorrow will bring more progress in the baby department.

I've got more 'mater plants in the dirt. I planted four in tubs yesterday and I put 4 more in tubs today. I cleaned out one of the raised beds and so far have six more in the raised bed. I think I can get about 9 more in there if I crowed them a little...six more if I don't. I don't mind squishing 'em in a bit because the soil is so good and if they act like they're not getting enough to eat - I've got plenty of compost and/or aged manure. In fact, I went out to the red shed and brought up a cart full of dirt/manure that I broadcast in the bed and some more in the tubs. I'm going to come up with a pvc and screen cover to keep the stinkin' stink bugs out if necessary. It'll be fairly easy if they're concentrated in the raised beds.

Put Cocoa on the stand since she was such a beee-yotch trying to milk her in her pen. I took two cups and barely made a dent in what she's got. I literally could have taken two quarts with ease! I'll pull from her a couple times a day until I actually start really milking so that her production is maximized. Need to get her wormed so I won't use the milk for us until a couple weeks have passed. Conan however will probably appreciate it.

Grabbed Dusty, the Nubian giant, and worked on his feet a little. Ashamed to admit that he hasn't been trimmed since late last summer. As sweet as he is, he is a bear about his feet. It was so wet for so long, and then there was the rut.... So, I made some progress today and I'm sure he's appreciative, lol. NOT!

Also worked on Felix's (the Nigi) feet too. He's much more of a gentleman and didn't have nearly the over-growth that Dusty had. I'm still thinking of selling him. But, he does make pretty udders....tiny teats, but pretty udders. But, I'm supposed to be phasing the little goats out. That means Chester is on the short list too. Literally! He's the littlest pygmy buck I've ever had! He's pushing a year and he's shorter than Conan. Maybe I should just wether him and keep him around for pure sweetness. Too many decisions...

Gotta get cleaned up and head out for a visit.

 

[NH Homesteader]

I vote for keeping chester a wether. We all need a useless pet wether, lol.

 

[Mini Horses]

Hope your parents are doing well. Haven't seen any negatives lately, so assume all has settled down & working out ok. They probably enjoy having others to "visit" with at the facility, plus the attention from staff for their daily needs. Plus, you get some sleep!

At least you were able to accomplish something. My buck needs feet trimmed BUT I cannot stand his leg smell! I need to Vaseline his front legs as I see some scald. Darned bucks! Plus mine is big!! I collar & tie to fence but he won't stand still, so I actually have to side him to the fence and wrap a length of flat rope around the fence @ his rear gut to keep him where he needs to be. He doesn't fight it but, it is a pain. He then stands well but sometimes takes his foot away. Good thing I've had practice hanging on to horse feet!

Off today & got nothing but feed chores done. Winds at steady 30-35 and you can't do much with that. This is 2nd day of that noreaster off our coast. At least it's a dry one. Tomorrow I will spend all day "finding" & picking up stuff!

I have my first broody!! She is braving this weather, even when the lid to her chosen dog shelter came off. I put it back on & properly hooked it -- there she was all huffed up and STAYING!! Guess I will get a clutch of eggs under her tomorrow night and the caged run area to keep her safe & others out. She's early but, oh, well. Will have first chicks & goat kids about the same time.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Wasn't dry in New England! The pics from Mass are amazing. Major flooding.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Oh no on flooding! I've seen enough of that to last forever... Really hope it goes down quickly!

Every visit with the folks is a new adventure. Dad was napping when we got there, but he got up. He kept asking us why we were visiting at 4 o'clock in the morning. I kept telling him it's 4PM - not AM! Mom... well, she was stuck on some letters. Kept repeating P R L Y... I wrote it down for her and asked what word it was...nothing. So I played with the letters a little it and added a vowel. PLAY? PRAY? Nothing... just kept repeating P R L Y. Dad saw the word PLAY and so we had a couple games of tic-tac-toe, lol.

Dusty isn't mean about his feet - but he will NOT stand still. Maybe I should try your trick
@Mini Horses. I need a new set of feet trimmers. I'm terrible at leaving them out in the barn - usually close to the milk stand. It's a covered area, but they still tend to get a surface rust on them. I need to find an easy way to get them sharpened. They're not cheap so I need to take better care of them.

Yay for having a broody! If she stuck through all that weather it looks good! I hope you at least got some relaxing done since ya can't do anything in that wind. When I'm absolutely forced to stay inside I can usually settle down with a book or something.

Had a glass of white wine tonight. I'm not normally a white wine lover, but this was pleasant. Lately red wine makes my legs cramp something fierce at night. I've been taking potassium, calcium, magnesium - drinking lots of water - and keeping the heating pad close. Must be part of the reason I'm just not enjoying wine much lately - so maybe a change will be a good thing.

We're supposed to have some rain tomorrow so maybe I'll get a little reading time or should probably put it to use as cleaning time. Hoping the grands will be spending some time here - even though we haven't firmed up ANY plans yet. After the folks were here and I re-arranged my whole house - I need to put the kiddos room back to a kiddos room. Their room was used for some storage for awhile - and it's time to re-establish it as a bedroom.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Yeah look!

https://www.boston.com/news/weather/2018/03/02/photos-boston-noreaster-storm-march-2-2018

Oh dear... Glad you had a good, although confusing, visit!