Captain Comes Home

I almost forgot to post pictures of Captain, the new buckling we built the outside fence for! He is very cute but will soon be a force to be reckoned with so the fence I put up for now will have to be replaced in the spring. The goat people I know say it won't hold up to Captain at his full height and weight. For now, it's hard not to think of him as a pet--he is so cute! This is Gabriel petting him through the fence.data:post.body

Country Sky

Okay, so I don't REALLY live in the country--but mostly. This is the kind of sky that always got blocked when I lived downtown. You knew it was there but couldn't really see it and it was a big bummer. I'm very grateful to be able to enjoy the sunset again!data:post.body

Tall Friends

After picking up our two does we waited a few weeks to get the "little" buckling named Captain. Once again, I was busting tail to get his fencing in before he arrived and was working frantically. For some reason, this time Tim kept checking on me and even offered to help... The greatest thing happened that day though. Our friends, Nick and Christy from Minnesota were visiting town for the holidays and stopped by while I was trying to finish up. Nick is VERY tall and he set my posts for me--a job I usually need to use a ladder for. Tim hammered in all the staples because apparently my farm muscles haven't kicked in yet. Thank you boys!data:post.body

Christmas on the Farm

Our new house has a fireplace, which is one of the more exciting aspects of this move. We did absolutely no traveling this Christmas because we were so tired from moving. I think you can see a little of the roaring Christmas Eve fire behind the kids in this picture.data:post.body

Daisy and Fudge

Here are Daisy and Fudge in their new home.data:post.body

Stowaway

Okay, so he wasn't really a stowaway but everyone needs a good barn cat (or kitten), right? Rosie was more excited about the kitten than the goats! Turns out, our friends needed a home for this little guy, whom we named Mouse, so when we picked up the goats (in our mini-van turned farm vehicle), we took the kitten home too!data:post.body

The Fence

The goats are scheduled to come on the 20th (that's today!!) Unfortunately, late last night I was still not finished with preparations for their arrival. I had built my first ever gate, which I am very proud of, but the roll of fencing still stood against the barn wall, awaiting my touch. At 10:30 last night it was starting to sleet and my eldest son, Ezra had called it quits with helping me and gone inside to bed. No problem I thought. I can nail this fencing thing on my own.

If you have ever tried to unroll fencing by yourself, at night, in a cold barn, with nothing but car headlights to light your way, you may be able to imagine what began to unfold. It certainly wasn't the fence. As I struggled with the roll of fencing I decided to take off my work gloves because they were getting in the way. I also decided to put my cell phone in my pocket in case I needed it for some reason. So far, that's one for two. Taking the gloves off wasn't the smoothest move I've ever made. Long story short, 15 minutes into my fruitless attempts to unroll the fence, my three middle fingers were hopelessly caught inside the wire fencing. The more I pulled, the tighter they were trapped. I could see after just five minutes that one of my fingers was turning blue and I was starting to panic. Great, I have a farm for a grand total of 15 days and I lose my fingers in a farming accident? Typical.

I suddenly remembered my cell phone and pulled it from my pocket with my free hand. I called my knight in shining armor who was in the house, having done the dishes and put the kids to bed single-handedly in order that his lovely bride could fulfill her dreams in the barn. One ring, two, three, four, voice mail. I tried again. One, two, three, four, nothing. Apparently my knight is a heavy sleeper. By this time my fingers were swelling and throbbing. I had visions of hacking them off like the mountain climber who got caught between two rocks. Would I have the courage to do it?

I dragged my overly dramatic brain back to reality and did what any sensible farm girl working totally alone in the dead of night in an ice storm would do. I called 911. I told them to turn off their sirens so my kids wouldn't wake up and waited for their arrival. 15 minutes later the nicest group of guys and one woman, showed up to help me with wire cutters that made me quake in my too big muck boots. After a few harrowing minutes in which I was entirely too close to the massive jaws of those cutters, I was free and trying to bend my fingers. Miraculously, there was no damage--just bruises, and I was eternally grateful to the Chesterfield Volunteer Fire Department.

BUT the best part is yet to come. When those guys got finished rescuing me (and making fun of my sleeping husband) they looked around, picked up my tools, and put up that fence lickety split! They did in fifteen minutes what I couldn't have accomplished in 3 hours! After praying all day that God would help me finish that fence, it wasn't the answer I was expecting--but then God is like that.

The above picture is of my three children, spreading out straw for the new inhabitants of our barn!data:post.body

Swimming in Goats

So I'm getting two doe goats from my friend Michelle but it turns out she has one more lonely buckling who doesn't have a home yet.




What was I to say?data:post.body

Visions of Goat Kids

So we have a farm.






Now we need...goats. Thanks to my sweet husband who indulges my love to take on more than I can handle, we will soon be adding two new members to our family. Daisy and Fudge, two Oberhasli dairy goats, will be arriving at our new farm in a couple of weeks. Rosie and I are beside ourselves. The boys are happy, but not delirious like we are.

Fudge is the one pictured here. She is almost 7 months old and cute as a button! The most exciting part of all of this is that the goat not pictured (that would be Daisy) will be giving birth to goat kids in the beginning of February! Then the real fun begins as we get to milk her!data:post.body

It Begins

After years of dreaming and a whirlwind week of decisions, we decided to make the leap from downtown living to semi-country life. We closed the deal on a small house nestled at the edge of a rural subdivision on December 5th, 2008 and moved in the next day. We were the proud owners of (plus or minus) 5.89 acres of land. The kids and I couldn't contain our excitement about the land. My hubby was thrilled to own a huge three car garage. So, it began. Our urban farm adventure.data:post.body