The Goats: Part Two

Well, to our great surprise, my old, grumpy nanny goat had twins on Monday.  It's strange how the older an animal is, the less they show before they have their baby.  I mean that on younger cows or goats, you can study their bag.  As the time for them to calve/kid comes their bag fills with milk and really gets big.  Also, you can tell by other parts of their bodies.  But, Miss Carmoll, my goat, didn't show any signs of kidding so soon! 

 

I guess she knew what she was doing, though, and she had both boys out of the wind and in the shining sun.  *Good girl.*  Her bag isn't the best and so we have to help the boys nurse, but it won't be long and then they'll be big enough and strong enough to feed themselves.

 

But, yet again, this goat has proven to be a great mother, unlike the way she acts when we milk her.  People who know that I own her always ask why I still have her.  True, she is a pain most of the time--she kicks and head butts and anything else to hurt a person, but yes, I still have her.  She's one of my favorites, in fact. 

 

Anyway, here are some pictures of the newest kids and I had to add this last picture of the other three.  Kids are so cute, don't you agree?  : )

 

Billy 1 (until we get a better name)

 

Billy 2 (until we get a better name)

 

Carmoll and her babies

Rapunzel, Prince (we decided that fit the boy), and Oval 

Laura Ingalls Wilder

*Picture from Google*



I found out (thanks to Google) that today is Laura Ingalls Wilder's 148th birthday.  Wow!  I wonder what she'd think of this world if she could see it now as it is.  A bunch has changed, even in the years I've lived.  What a totally different life people live as the years stack up.

 

I don't rightly know why I'm doing a blog post about this lady, but something sparked inside me and I felt I should share my thoughts.  Or something to that point. 

 

My mom had watched some Little House on the Prairie episodes growing up and a few years ago, my whole family started watching them for our Family Movie Night.  Each week--usually on Friday night--we would pop corn over the stove, pull out a bottle of pop, sit down in our "TV room", and watch a couple of Little Houses.  It was such a clean show with pretty good morals and one our whole family, whatever the ages, could enjoy.  We laughed and cried, rolled our eyes on some occasions, and were warmed by the show. 

 

Well, a few episodes later, we now have all of the seasons, one through nine.  We still do our Family Movie Night, though we've long since finished all of the episodes, we find other great movies to watch.

 

I'm no expert, but I don't think there could've been a better actress to play Laura than Melissa Gilbert.  I'm really glad she did and I believe she helped Laura Ingalls Wilder become more real to me. 

 

I have personally read all of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie book collection.  I started reading ones at a nearby library until they didn't have the next one I wanted.  So, for my birthday in 2011, my grandma bought me the whole set.  I still have that set in my room, in fact, and I never plan on getting rid of them.  All of her books were well written and I went through them pretty quick I believe.  And like they say, the books were better than the movies.  I still liked both, however.      

 

*Picture from Google*

I recently found out about Wilder's autobiography, Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography, and I desperately want to get my hands on a copy!  It sounds like it could be a really good book.  I hope it shows readers an even deeper insight on the life of this well-known woman.      



 

I also admire Wilder for her writing ability.  Being a writer myself, it is always encouraging to see fellow writers succeed in writing, and it helps me to think, "I can do this, too!"  And I know that we writers (at least I do) need that encouragement.

 

Maybe you like Laura Ingalls Wilder for different reasons, or you don't care about her at all, but either way, I just felt like making this post.  So, I hope you enjoyed and have a blessed day.  : )

 

"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all."

 

~

 

"Remember well, and bear in mind, a constant friend is hard to find."

 

~

 

"The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes, and surely it is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies."

 

~

 

"There is nothing wrong with God's plan that man should earn his bread by the sweat of his brow."

 

~ 

 

"Remember me with smiles and laughter, for that is how I will remember you all.  If you can only remember me with tears, then don't remember me at all."

 

~Laura Ingalls Wilder

 

 

The Goats

Here you go.  I got some pictures of my little goat kids.  We haven't decided on a name for the boy (above picture), but we named the girls.  The black one is Rapunzel and the one with the most brown is Oval.  The mama goat is taking excellent care of them and even had them by herself.  They will be so much fun once they learn how to use those wobbly legs of theirs!  : )
   

 

Feb. 5th

Hello, hello! 

This week's picture is of one of my latest taxidermy projects.  As seen, it's an old deer skull (one we found dead) and a rattle snake on top, sneaking into the eye socket.  I skinned the headless snake, waited a few days, and then sewed it together while stuffing it with a piece of wire and cotton.  I jokingly said that it was my "cotton mouth" snake.
Dad helped form it in the right position and now it sits on our end table in the living room.

Lately on the ranch we've been keeping busy with homeschool, a little sickness (yuck), checking cattle, doing chores, and in our pastime we read, play card/board games, watch a movie or two, look at Pinterest/Facebook, or finish up whatever projects we're working on. 

Speaking of Pinterest and Facebook, at the end of each post, there are buttons you can click to share my blog.  So, if you are enjoying this blog, why not let your friends enjoy it, too?  I'd greatly appreciate it.

All of the chickens, cats, dogs, pigs, doves, cattle, goats, and horses are doing well.  AND... Dad called a bit ago, saying that one of my goats had her kids!  Yay!  I'm sure there'll be a post about that soon. 

So, keep checking back here.  I'll try to post every Thursday, unless something comes up.  ~Savannah  : ) 

Caught in the Grip of Death

This post contains parts of a dead animal.  If that bothers you, I'm sorry.

 

The other day while checking things, we came across a dead deer.  But not one which had just died.  This one died from simply misjudging the height of a fence.  

 

While the mule deer was jumping the fence, her back leg hung up in the barbed wire.  She went over, thus entangling herself to the point that she was stuck for good.  We didn't find her until it was too late.  Looking at the ground below where she hung, we could tell that she had panicked; the grass was kicked up until only dirt was left.  Because she yanked around, a bunch of her hair was left hanging on the fence.

 

We guess that while she was in her panic some coyotes heard her and came to satisfy their hunger.  This is all that was left by the time we found her.

 

Sure, it can gross people out, make them think "how cruel!" but it's a fact of life.  No humans were out there at the time she got caught, so no one had any idea she was stuck.  We just found it interesting and I wanted to post it. 

 

Thanks for bearing with me.  : )

   

On the Move

Paradise's ears and Dad riding ahead.

This week's post is about moving our new heifers.

 

Recently we bought 40 new heifer calves.  On the 16th, we branded the girls by running them through the chute instead of using horses and ropes.  Then on the 19th, we moved them on horseback.

 

The heifers

 

The day was perfect with temps. in the 60's and 70's and no wind.  The two and some mile ride was great for cattle, horses, and people alike.  The heifers moved themselves and we only had to direct them, making the move easy.

 

(L to R) Little J. on Tres, Mom on Lucky, and Big J. on Bullseye.  

See--in the picture below--how the heifers are in a line?  Cattle follow trails called "cattle trails", but in this instance, these are pickup tracks that they're following. 

 

 

When we reached the destination pasture, the heifers were introduced to our other cattle.  Then came the time for the newbies to learn what a hot wire fence is.  One by one they'd begin sniffing or studying the thin wire.  All at once they'd jump back, and/or bellow, letting us know they'd been shocked.  We watched them for the longest time because it was funny.  Some did learn that the hot fence would shock them if they touched it, and still others didn't, which means we'll be riding again sometime soon.  : )

Checking Cattle

Our red hills.

We went out to check some cattle yesterday afternoon and I got a few pictures to share with you.  Firstly, we checked my goats.  The ornery things have been getting out lately, so we have to check them often.  But while there, we checked one of our horses and our newly purchased longhorn cows.    

(L to R) Bashful, Dopey, Happy

Do the names sound familiar?  If not, it's alright.  They're named after the Seven Dwarves.  A few years ago, Dad had bought three old longhorns to see how they handled.  They were named Snow White, Grumpy, and, though not a Seven Dwarf, the third was Droopy because of her drooping horn.  They were fun and ever since the last one was sold, we'd been wanting to buy some more.  It finally worked out. 

So five girls came to our ranch. 

When these new ones came, we had just enough to finish out the Seven Dwarves, and that's what we did.  We all like the names and think it is quite cute!
  

My dad with Baby the horse, all the longhorns, and my goat.

These new cows are very spunky unlike the previous three.  They are years younger and entertaining to watch, too.   

(L to R) Sneezy, Doc, Happy, Dopey, and Bashful

When we had finished that, we drove through some pastures and checked our other cows--the Corrientes.  They are also some of my favorite girls.  We gave them some more cake and salt and broke the tank ice for them.

 

Corriente Cow 

 The Corrientes are turned out with Angus bulls, so the calves, when they're born, won't be full Corriente. 

Angus Bull

 And to our great joy, we got to see an eagle soaring about our ranch.  Because I don't have a camera lens to zoom in closer, you'll have to look hard to see the bird.  : )