First baby of the year!

Its a Boy!!

and Rudy is soooo very very ready for a playmate he was right in the middle of it expecting him to play already. After Momma spent a good amount of time cleaning him off, I fixed up a comfy spot in the barn and they are both resting comfortable. So glad it was in the 30's today as I arrived after he had been born by at least an hour.

Stylish ...the black bull in the photo even came to check him out but don't think he realizes this is his first offspring.

Meanwhile Tess stood guard outside the fence at a very respectful distance.

Of course tonite I will be nervous and go check in before bed but at least no 3 o'clock check for me.

Removal Day

First up Rudy and his fine little nubs of horns...vet came out and snipped them off while I was at work. Rudy is extremely friendly and had a habit of coming up behind you with his head down and bashing you behind the knees and simply pushing hard like those baby calves do with each other. While he was just playing,,I kept thinking when he grows to about 1200 lbs that head butting game was going to be dangerous. Then I noticed the pointy little protrusions of horns and I made a quick decision. When I went in to check him that night after they were cut off, he kept shying away from me and wouldn't dare let me near. Today now he is finally forgetting the painful ordeal and allows me to scratch his butt and rub his sides. I am slowing working my way back towards that chin scratch he is extremely fond of. He will come around and I sure know the removal of those horns are extremely important if I want to keep him a bull. Trust me...its for his and MY own good!

Meet some of the my Pack!

From Bottom left to right
D.J. age 9, Sparky (rat terrier, 3)
Top left to right
Angel- 6 yrs, Chris-12 yrs (my smiler), Tess- 5 months and growing (pyrenees/collie) and far right, Missy (3 yrs) lab cross

They all have become well behaved and ranchified quite well. Tess is my goat dog, who when strangers show up, she is in the goat pen giving them notice to stay away from the goat. Sparky the little rat terrier is our inside/outside little pain in the hiney. DJ follows me where ever I roam always looking for excitement and Chris is the Smiling Walmart Greeter. Angel and Missy have that lab cross that makes them a friend of everyone. We like our brood...even when
they stay up late at night howling back at the coyotes. Chris has managed to be bitten enough by rattlesnakes that I think she's immune. DJ has also used up one life and Sparky walks a thin line some days.
Angel and Missy are just soo very very happy when the son takes them anywhere in the pickup.
They live a good life and never a dull moment around here.
Good thing I've taken a few lessons from the "Dog Whisperer" and have assumed my place as the Alpha Dog here. Keeps the mishaps pretty few and far between...but then again...Spring is just around the corner and with that always comes a little mischief.

Leisurely Afternoon Drive Home??

Weather said 40 mph gusting this afternoon and we had another 3-4 inches of fluffy stuff ontop of more than a foot and a half of barely settled snow last night. Wind is not a good combination. While I kept an eye on the storm in town at work...I finally decided to grab the boy from school early and get for home. I didn't want to be stranded in town. I have one more cow about to calf and I am a little anxious. Next time ..I just won't go to work! Hopefully the electric poles don't come down in the future..they make good ditch markers. Seems it was the only way sometimes I could gauge if I was on the road or not....My son and I were both a wreck by the time we got home. It will take me all day tomorrow just to dig out again, so another snow day..YEEHAAWW!

Soap Opera

So I said I would post some pictures of soaps and No...I don't do Soap Operas, but did once upon a time. Although, I was hooked on a couple of them, that phase of me is over....way over...

So onto a little Real Soap making

The Green swirl soaps are a fragrance of eucalyptus and energy.

The Bluish soaps When Pigs fly and plain ones are a Lilac and Sweet Grass,,,now thats a really nice light scent.

The purple swirl handmade marked soaps are Cucumber Melon and Lime and if I would had a little more green mica that would of been a better coloring but I like swirling stuff.

My friends and family will be tickled with the new scents and Shanster if your out there, send me an email with your address..I really want you to have a When Pigs Fly! Not that that says anything,,,I just love the quirky and that's not saying you are quirky either....OK...I stop with that! You are just a sister in Kind and I wish Everyone a Happy Blue Moon and Wonderful New Year!

Boredom Buster and Snow removal

Well...I was trapped in my home for a few days and a raging blizzard happening outside. I decided I couldn't nap the entire time and remembered I had all this frozen goat milk soap just waiting for me to make a batch or two of soaps. I made 3 batches and was a little creative with the colors and the fragrance. It sure felt rewarding to get so many different scents and soaps cut and drying today. I made Cucumber/Lime and a very nice fragrance of lilac and sweetgrass, also a holiday scent of Energy/Eucalyptus. They all turned out nice and I will show photos tomorrow.

Today I am showing the snow removal and some pretty amazing piles of snow left over from the Christmas Blizzard. I now have tunnels of paths to the barn and to the goats and to the haystacks. Also a tunnel to get the cars down the road and out to the Highway. It took two of us all day and many gallons of gas. Oh...and thankfully my son could pop the tire back on with a little ingenuity, ether and a match. I couldn't watch him do that part...made me nervous. We were up and running in no time again and everything stayed running.

My newest addition, my guard dog, alright..big Pet dog did something interesting though. I was busy doing chores and she follows me all around keeping an eye on me. It is the only real time she leaves the goats, when I am outside doing stuff. Anyway I was forking some hay into the cows and she ran under my feet and sat down and was looking up at me. I looked down to see she had brought me a pheasant and laid it at my feet. Still alive but pretty cold and had been snowed into a hole no doubt. I put her in with my chickens and later saw her come out of the coop this afternoon and flew off down the draw. I really think that Tess would of chewed on her if I hadn't taken her and put her in a safe spot..but I like to think she was being a good girl and rescuing a lost one. My photos I show today are of the haylot where I spent 3 hrs piling snow and cleaning out the hay feeder. Seems we only got 12 to a possible 22 inches of snow but the wind put it in some pretty amazing piles. I think it was pretty hard to tell what we got for snow as I think most of it blew to Kansas.

Who wished for a Snow at Christmas!??

....and it can stop blowing anytime now! Regardless, we did have a wonderful Christmas and a memorable one at that. No power outage and the fridge was well stocked. Also everyone outside is comfortable and protected but I note a little "cabin crazy" in the goat arena this morning. Hopefully this afternoon when the wind finally puts the last of the snow in its final resting spot, I and my trusty Bobcat can make a dent in it! ...the second photo is of my basement walkout sliding doors...NO walking out those anytime soon!

Merry Christmas all!!