Northern Prairie Chevre

2009-10-22T15:10:00.002-05:00

What a dreary, cold, wet day! They said it was going to be raining today and tomorrow, but I sure was hoping they were wrong again. On a brighter note, all the girls are bred except one. She's a second year milker, and we're anxiously waiting for her. Beginning to wonder though! All of our available doelings are now sold. That leaves us with three for replacements for next year.

Thank you!!!

2009-08-17T10:13:00.002-05:00

We at Northern Prairie Chevre want to thank everyone that came out to our open house yesterday!!! What a day it was!! We were very concerned with the weather first thing in the morning, but it couldn't have been a more beautiful day!!!

It's so rewarding to us to be able to share our little bit of country with you all. We have so many guests go to the barns to visit the girls and babies that also visit with Gary and Wendy while out there. They enjoy showing how loving our girls/babies are and sharing what information we can about how we raise our herd. They all mean so much to us.

Thank you also to all our vendors who give up their Sunday afternoons to come out and talk to our customers about their products as well as give samples. It means a lot to us. And, Milton, your burgers are DELICIOUS!!!!!!!! And we appreciate everyone that comes into our store to help make us successful in what we do! We appreciate all of you who come month after month to see us and the many new faces we see each month as well!!!

We hope everyone enjoyed the singing of Beth and Rick. I specifically asked them to come because I LOVE listening to them at the DSM Farmer's Market. As busy as we were in the store though, I didn't get out to listen to them until 4:20 - and they were just getting everything put away!!! Bummer!!!!!!!! Next time!

I have to share a little story about one of the animals you never get to see out here and that's one of the bucks - Dante. Dante LOVES balls, and I do mean LOVES. He has a basketball and a smaller child's soccer ball. When he has them in his pen, he pushes them with his head and talks to them. Now that it's close to rut season, he's very amorously talking to the ball - tongue going a mile a minute like he's trying to entice one of the girls. What a hoot to watch!

Until next time... Kathy

Next Open House

2009-08-06T14:39:00.003-05:00

Wow! This one snuck up on me! Our next open house with Prairieland Herbs, Picket Fence Creamery and Flowers by Donna Jean is Sunday, August 16 from noon to 5.

This month we'll have the band RBJ. They sing the oldies and I absolutely LOVE them!

Karla from KG Photography will also be available to take pictures of you and or your family. Or, if you'd like them taken with "our kids", she's willing to try that too. Getting "our kids" to hold still might be a whole other story, but... She is VERY REASONABLY priced and takes GREAT photos. Purchase $20 worth of merchandise from Miss Tillie's and you can put your name in for a drawing for a free 8x10 and sitting.

Milton Sheeder is planning to have BBQ Beef sandwiches - yum!

Louise will be drawing pictures that may go on some of her note cards for Chicken Chat. She's amazing to watch.

Snus Hill Winery and Jasper Winery will both be sampling their award winning wines. Be sure to check them out.

Mary will have classes on hooping and hoops available to use and for sale.

Cyd's Catering will have some appetizers for sale in our cooler!! They're delicious!

Of course, Gary will have tours of the barn and introduce you to the girls and Honeybump. Ask him to show you how Punky gives kisses!

The babies are growing by leaps and bounds. You won't believe how much they've grown.

Be sure to drop in the store to say hi and taste the samples on the table!

We're Done!!!!!!!!

2009-07-16T16:45:00.001-05:00

Much to little Max and Jasper's dismay, yesterday was the last bottle!!!!!! Five months of bottle feeding is a whippin'!

It all started off very calmly (well as calm as it can be in a pen full of kids!) until I started walking out without giving them a bottle this morning. Jasper is the loudest and made no bones about letting me know he wasn't happy!! Hopefully they've calmed down by tonight. Gotta' love 'em!

Open House

2009-07-13T09:29:00.002-05:00

Well, the weather didn't cooperate with us entirely, but we still had a good turnout overall. Unfortunately, the entertainment we had scheduled wasn't able to perform because of the rain, but we're trying to get them set up for our October 18 open house. The Onion Creek Cloggers and Band will have a meeting next Sunday during practice to see who all is available and will let us know! Keep your fingers crossed!

We had two boys in particular that fell in love with the kids for the second year in a row. One of them is from Florida and is here on vacation with his family. Last year they fell in love with Skipper. This year it was Max and Jasper. They were very enthusiastic and would've taken them home if they could!!! Of course, OUR kids just ate up all the attention they got!!

If you didn't make it out yesterday, I hope you'll make it for our next open house. Be watching for details.

We had two little girls leave us yesterday and went to Long Grove, Iowa over by Davenport. Delia and Tatiana will become 4-H projects for a couple of young people. My gosh, only two left, but the barn seemed so much emptier!! I know they'll be well taken care of and that helps so much!

A GREAT BIG thank you to my aunt, Pam and Wendy's brother, Gary, for all the help they give us during our open houses. We couldn't do it without them!

July 13, 2009

2009-07-13T09:24:00.002-05:00

I'm DELIGHTED to say that Rosco is back home with mom and dad!!! They got a call from someone over by Polk City (several miles away from where he was lost) that he had just come into their yard. They went over immediately and Rosco was thrilled to see them. I'm told he's a little thin, but seems healthy otherwise. He's getting checked out by their vet tonight.

Thank you to everyone who kept an eye open for this special little guy! Kathy

We need your help!

2009-07-08T20:10:00.003-05:00

Some good friends of ours lost their dog July 4 during the fireworks. Rosco was lost near Highway 210 west of Slater, Iowa. He's a Blue Heeler mix, shy, but a real lover. "Mom and Dad" are desperate to get him back and have been looking for him every day. If you find Rosco, please call Luke at 515-201-7171 or Lana at 515-669-1160.

Thank you so much for your help! Kathy

July 7, 2009

2009-07-07T14:53:00.002-05:00

Well, the heat has finally gotten here. Needless to say, the girls don't like it much at all. We're already seeing a big drop in milk production. The fact that we can't get good alfalfa hay right now isn't helping any either!

We're getting ready for our next open house this Sunday. We'll have the Onion Creek Cloggers and Band, Sugar Clay Winery samples, chair massages, Hula Hoop demos, The Leather Factory will be having mini workshops, and Karla from KG Photography will be available to take family pictures or pictures with our kids!! You'll also be able to put your name in for a drawing for a free 8x10!! So much to sample in the store. And, don't forget the babies and girls will be looking for some loving! Honeybump too!!

SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-15T09:53:00.002-05:00

What a shock we had last night! We went to do chores and found one of our does (that we didn't think could get pregnant) in labor and close to delivery!!! We had Lola and her pal Margot next to a buck for nearly a year. The buck got over the fence one time for just a short but, but we didn't think Lola was in heat. SURPRISE!!!!!

She blessed us with 2 bouncing baby boys. One is brown with white on his head and ears, the other is pure brown. Cute as can be! So, instead of being done bottle feeding in two weeks like we thought we were going to be, it will be another two months!

Need names!!!!!!

May 13, 2009

2009-05-13T15:07:00.002-05:00

Well, it doesn't seem I'm any better at keeping this current than I was on the regular website. I'm sorry!!! Ok, let's see where to start.

We ended with 39 kids in total from 17 moms. 23 were doelings and the other 16 were bucklings. The last were triplets born to Dotty on March 31. We had one doe, T-Bird, that freshened 11 days early. Only one of the triplets survived. She was 5 pounds and was able to eat and everything on her own with no problems. Just a little smaller than the others. Needless to say, she's VERY spoiled. Her name is Nalla and she loves to be held and rocked in your arms. In fact, she prefers it to walking!

We've been very fortunate to have many of our babies go to very loving, caring homes. That makes it much easier on us to see them go - although the barn always seems empty once some leave. Nearly all are weaned - just 8 still getting morning bottles yet this week and 3 get bottles 2x daily. The rest are eating hay, grain and browsing on pasture great.

We've had two open houses so far this year. The next will be Sunday, June 14 from noon to 5pm. The first one was snowed out - only three brave souls dared to come out. It wasn't fun! The second one was this month and was a beautiful day and a wonderful turnout. We had a jazz band from Valley High School in WDM, which was absolutely great! Also two wineries, Cyd's Catering, Louise from Chicken Chat notecards, Pat from Randol Honey and Larry from Quilted Gardens Nursery. Oh, and I can't forget Mary and her hula hoops! What a great time! Our 4-legged kids were totally exhausted by the time they greeted everybody and received all the attention they got. Bet they slept great that night!!!

I have a piece of bad news. We lost one of our Great Pyr's, Stosha, this morning. Gary and Wendy went to the barn to start chores and she was in the alleyway, but not right. We loaded her up and took her to our wonderful vet, but unfortunately, he wasn't able to save her. I was with her and thankfully she didn't suffer at all. It always feels like a chunk of our hearts have been torn out when we lose one of our loved ones here on the farm.

Come on out and see us June 14 for our next open house. We look forward to seeing you!

Kids are here!!

2009-02-24T11:50:00.001-06:00

Well, we're off and running! Caylah and her daughter, Dasani both blessed us with 2 does each on February 11 and we've been going pretty strong since then. I'm happy to say the girls have all been able to all have the kids on their own, and both moms and babies have all been healthy!

Ten does have freshened so far. We have 13 doelings and 9 bucklings so far. Cera is due to freshen this Saturday. I'm praying she's on time so I can attend my great-niece's baptism. We'll just have to wait and see though. She's been pretty miserable for a month now, so I've been trying to convince her that freshening a day or two early would only benefit her!!! :-)

The kids are eating great and romping around the barn like crazy. The last two born were to Pete (Kimberly Pete) Sunday night. We checked her at 7:30 after milking and she was showing absolutely no signs. At 9:00, we went out to feed the little ones in the kid barn and I went to check her again and came back with two doelings in the basket! Surprise!!! We had one little spotted buckling that is already spoken for. Much to my surprise, he had two brown siblings! Not quite sure where that came from. We have a lot of black in color this year. When we first started the business, we couldn't get a black kid to save our souls! All except the last two born Sunday are named. We had a hard time with names at first, so they were #1, #2, #3... Glad that's over.

The girls have been showing they're hormonal with minds of their own right now. All that have freshened so far have had kids before and know the milk stand. For some reason, they're thinking maybe they don't need to get on the stand right now. Sure hope that changes fast! Trying to make it fun for them by giving extra treats, so hopefully they'll get the hint soon.

Freezing January!!

2009-01-14T08:19:00.002-06:00

Wow! January in Iowa has been a hum dinger! Lots of snow and this week is below zero temps! Right now we're wishing we were back in Hawaii!!! The girls are all snug as bugs in the barn. They're in deep oat straw and snuggling up to one another as well. Today and tomorrow are to be exceptionally cold, so we're keeping them all closed up and they're thoroughly happy girls!

Hawaii was great and very hard to leave. It was 80s and light rain when we left Hawaii and 20s and snow when we landed back in DSM. What a welcome home! NOT!! Gary and Lana did an excellent job taking care of everybody while we were gone. They kind've snubbed us for a short while when we got back - little stinkers!

The girls are getting heavy with kids. We've had several contact us for kids for this year. Sure would be nice if we had as many doelings as we did last year. Really anxious to see what all we get this year. Caylah is the first one due on February 9. She's our oldest and a great milker. We had hoped to have 25 freshen this year, but they had other ideas and we think we only have 17 or 18 bred. They really DO have minds of their own.

Our sweet Amore' had what we think was a pinched nerve. She carried her front left leg for nearly a week and we saw it kind've twitched as well. We did our home vet work on her with no results, so called our local vet. He checked her out and confirmed he thought it was a pinched nerve and said there was a "chance" she'd get better and suggested separating her from the others so she didn't get bumped for a few weeks. Well, we have her separated (she has the run of the alley way) and we treated her as he suggested PLUS we've been giving her "goat massages" and have really seen a BIG improvement. The leg is no longer twitching and she has begun using it. Thank goodness!!

We lost our 19 year old Kizzy (parlor cat) about a month ago. It's so strange to go in and not see her there. She was healthy to the end - age just caught up with her. She gave so many people enjoyment when we had tours.

Time to sign off for now. Stay warm!

11-18-08

2008-11-18T06:54:00.002-06:00

Wow! Is November ever being a miserable month here in Iowa! Unfortunately, along with it, I have some sick girls. Our weather is in the 50s one day, the 20s the next, the 40s the next, the teens the next and it's causing respiratory problems, unfortunately. We are anxiously awaiting a much needed, long awaited getaway to Hawaii coming up this Friday and trying very hard to get everyone healthy before we leave. Don't worry, we have VERY RELIABLE help while we're gone. The girls are dry, so all that will need done is feeding, watering, cleaning and loving! Gary will be doing the morning shift, while Lana will do the evening shift. They're the greatest!

The little girls have now nicely settled into the big barn with the older girls. They're all doing great and growing like weeds. The only problem for us is they think they have to be under foot and "help" us when we clean. They're all little rascals!

Reminder to all that we have our November open house this coming Sunday the 23rd from noon to 5:00. As usual, it will be in conjunction with Picket Fence Creamery and Prairieland Herbs. Come on out and enjoy a crisp country day!

Will talk to you when we get back the first part of December!

October 22, 2008

2008-10-22T12:37:00.002-05:00

Wow! What a cold, blustery October day here in Iowa. We had rain this morning, now it's just miserably damp and WINDY!!! The girls, bucks and babies are all hunkered down inside the barns. I was just out to check everybody and they're all snug as bugs!

We had an open house along with Picket Fence Creamery and Prairieland Herbs last Sunday. The turnout was great! You never know what you're going to get weather-wise in October, but except for it being a bit windy, it was perfect. We had several guests that sat and enjoyed the entertainment, samples and fun in the yard, as well as visits to the barn and store. We even received pictures from a few families that took picture of the events of the day and the girls/babies. I can't tell you how much we appreciate those pictures. Unless we have extra bodies to help us during the day, we don't get any! So, thank you to everyone for the pictures that were shared.

If you've seen the front page or were out here for the open house, you already know we lost our precious Toby. He was 9 years old and old age finally caught up with him. He just stopped eating one day and there was nothing we could entice him with to get him to change his mind. He's with Molly now, but we sure miss him!

We have 17 (I think) girls bred now. We're still waiting on a yearling, Lydia, to come in to heat and a few others. We began the drying up process Monday. They'll be milked once a day for a week, then once every other day, etc. So far they don't seem to mind too much. Several were ready to dry up anyway.

Keep warm! Will write again soon.

Rough Day

2008-10-02T08:41:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a day I could've done quite well without. I had our vet, Doc Dan, come out to take a look at a few of our goats and two of the dogs. First up was Alisha, our little doeling with Spinabifada. She was having some problems that were determined couldn't be helped with love nor medicine, so we made the tough decision to have her euthanized. I held her and kissed her while he performed the euthanization. It's so hard to see a little gal so sweet and lively have to be put to sleep.

We had a buck that we purchased several years ago that the people did a very poor job of disbudding. Doc Dan had to sedate him, then he used a flexible wire type saw to cut about 2 inches off the horn so it wouldn't continue to grow into his head. Then I had to check on him every 1/2 hour or so to make sure he didn't bloat from inactivity. We had him lying upward rather than flat down, so that helped. Poor guy was out for HOURS!!!!!! And he snores!!! He's back to his normal buckly self today.

Then we checked on another buck that had developed VERY poor feet/legs. We weren't using him any longer for breeding and he spends the majority of his time lying down or on his knees. It was decided for his sake, we should euthanize him as well so he didn't run the risk of getting pneumonia with the colder weather coming. These are the days when I'd just like to stay in bed with the sheets over my head.

Our oldest gal, Sadie - our first one born on the farm has lumps in her throat. We're pretty sure she has cancer, but she's still eating and getting around just fine, so thankfully, we didn't have to do anything with her. She's 12 this year and a real sweetie, so we're hoping she's able to handle this for a long time to come yet.

Honeybump, one of the 2 year old Great Pyrs has been gimping around for awhile on her back leg and whimpering occasionally, so we checked her out as well. He thinks she has hip displaysia, so she's now on a medicine to help to slow down or stop her problem. Also has pain meds if necessary. Toby was checked out as well as he's 9 and also gimping around. Doc Dan thinks his is arthritis, so he's on the same meds.

On the positive side, we're about 1/2 way through breeding. We bred Cera last night and tried Jenny this morning, but she's not quite ready. So hopefully we'll have just February and March kids.

That's all for now. Will write more soon.

September 25, 2008

2008-09-25T13:10:00.002-05:00

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you one and all for visiting us on our 8th anniversary celebration! I can't begin to tell you how pleased we were to see so many people come out to celebrate with us. What a blast we had! The dancers did a wonderful job of entertaining the crowd, Milton sold out of his steak sandwiches long before the day was over, and he brought ALOT along! My son, Chris, didn't have the right recipe for the fried cheddar curds, but we promise he will before we try it again. I really think it was the deep fat fryer (at least that's what he's telling me) that was the problem. We had only practiced it on the stove before.

The wine vendors were having contests! Every time Ron sold one of his Jalapeno-Raisin bottles, he rang a bell. Well, that just got Chris and Deb into it all the more. Can't begin to tell you how many bottles of wine we sold thanks to those three! And don't forget the microbrew beer! Mike handed out cups and cups of that. We had many, many people bring their lounge chairs and sample wine and beer, and watch the dancers on that beautiful September day!

Pat sampled her creamed honey and thanks to her samples, we saw a lot of it leave the store! It's so yummy - I think people were stocking up for winter too!

As for me, I was in the store - VERY BUSY - THANK YOU!!! My aunt, Pam and her friend, Pauline, were my helpers for the day and they were kept busy nonstop! I think we all slept really great that night! We had samples, samples and more samples of all the delicious foods we have in Miss Tillie's. If you weren't able to make it to this one, please mark October 19 on your calendar to attend the next. We'll have the same great samples available.

Gary, Wendy and Lana were kept very busy in the barn answering questions from all the wonderful people that went to visit our girls. The babies were exhausted by the end of the day from being greeted and loved up so much. They didn't mind one bit!!! The more attention, the better. Of course, we had to pay for it the next day when they screamed at us every time they saw us and wanted us to come back. Ha!

So, now it's time to get back to normal - at least until October 19! We're lining up more hay for the girls and guys for the winter. Breeding started about 2 weeks ago. We already have, I believe, 9 bred. I think it will be a busy February!!

Well, must go help Connie in the kitchen some more. Will write again soon. Kathy

Picket Fence Info

2008-09-18T12:15:00.003-05:00

I was able to get Picket Fence's information for their open house. They're celebrating their anniversary too!!! All three farms sound like a lot of fun. Come on out and take the tour of all three! Hope to see you Sunday!

Following is Picket Fence's ad!

5th Anniversary 3-Farm Tour &
Sample Sunday
Sept. 21 Noon to 5 p.m.
Admission is FREE!
(Held in conjunction with our great neighbors to the north, Prairieland Herbs and Northern Prairie Chevre, also celebrating anniversaries of 10 years and 8 years, respectively.)

That's right, Picket Fence Creamery is 5-years-old! To celebrate, we have quite an event planned this weekend. We'll have guest vendors galore, a $5 lunch, pony rides, a hay maze, and lots of local food samples and wines to try! In addition, everyone will receive a commemorative gift with their purchase!!! By the way, we've had the dairy farm 23 years.

LOCAL FOOD SAMPLES SATURDAY AND SUNDAY! That's right, it you can't make it Sunday, drop by Saturday for some great food samples, and wines by Prairie Moon Winery of Ames.

*Local food samples: caramel apple ice cream, cheese balls, elk sticks, Two Sisters breads, muffins, and salads, caramel apple pecan butter, fresh cheese curds, Iowa wines, and of course..."the best chocolate milk this side of the Milky Way!"

SAMPLE SUNDAY SPECIAL ACTIVITIES, SEPT. 21:
*5th Anniversary $5 lunch under the big top: Freshly grilled brat on a bun, fixin's, chips, milk or water, and ice cream - all for only $5! (Kids' hot dog meal, $3.)

*For the kids: Say hi to Lil' Bob and Ginny, take a pony ride in the pasture (free will offering), wind your way through the hay maze, and pick up some free pencils and posters! FREE KITTENS TOO!

*Guest vendors: Penoach Winery, Russ 'n' Franks BBQ, Watkins (six onion soup, Mexican dip, and organic coffee), Allison Moss with her snuggle blankets, Pegi Bevins with her wool scarves, and Rose Behrens with a flax demo.

*Music provided by Julie and Robert of HB Productions, Altoona.

SUPER DEALS:
Fresh cheese curds, $3 per bag; 90% lean ground beef, $3.49/lb. with 10 lb. purchase; any large Pasquale's pizza, $4.99; local Macintosh apples, $5 for a 5 lb. bag; 1.5 lb. ham loaf, $5.99; fresh apple crisp and quart ice cream, $10; and more in-store bargains!

Just arrived:
*Cafe Diem coffees, Ames, introductory price of $2.99 per bag; South Union Bakery breads from The Gateway Market in Des Moines; Beaver Creek Farm's homemade cherry preserves; beef jerky from Boyd's Sausage Co., Washington, Iowa; Santa Maria Wines, Carroll, Iowa; Tabor Home Wines, Baldwin, Iowa; and Elvis muffin and cappuccino muffin mixes from Knoxville, Iowa.

Browse our store full of local foods from 90 Iowa families...and counting! We have the finest selection of local meats in the area: beef, pork, chicken, eggs, lamb, elk, buffalo and goat...all on grass and no artificial hormones!

Check out our selection of gluten-free mixes, country gravey mixes, and our new "shoofly pie" mix!

WOW! Local, organic pears, grown 3 miles from this farm - only $1.29 for a 3 lb. bag! Included are instructions on how to ripen the pears, and a great pear crisp recipe!

Deal's Orchard cider: 1/2 gallon, $2.99; gallon, $5.59.

FREE commemorative gift and recipe booklet with your purchase!

Chemical-free apples, onions, tomatoes, garlic, pears, peaches, zucchini, and more - all LOCAL!

8th Anniversary Celebration

2008-09-16T11:15:00.002-05:00

Ok, don't faint. I'm going to TRY to make a better attempt at doing a blog at least weekly. Key word here is TRY. There is something going on this Sunday that I definitely wanted to share. I hope I'm not too late! We are celebrating our 8th Anniversary as a company and Prairieland Herbs, our neighbor is celebrating 10 years!! Here's a little of what's going on this Sunday, September 21 from noon to 5!!!:

· Dance Arabesque from Des Moines and Benu Dance Troupe from Lincoln, NE will perform and have ethnic clothing and jewelry for sale.
· The Atlantean from Des Moines will have a variety of ethnic merchandise.
· Snus Hill Winery from Madrid, Tassel Ridge Winery from Leighton and La Vida Loca Winery from Indianola will sample their award winning wines
· Olde Main Brewery from Ames will be giving out samples of their beer!
· Relax with Shannon, Massage Therapist, who is offering chair massages - $10/10 min.
· Milton from Sheeder Farms will be grilling steak sandwiches for just $6!!
· Mary Boyvey, Hoopnotica Certified instructor will be offering free classes on the hour, and have hoops available for all ages to try and/or purchase
· NEW – Hand and Foot Scrub and Lotion from Canus
· NEW – Dog Shampoo Bars from Canus – excellent for dry coats & fleas!!
· NEW – Sun Creek Jewelry – beautiful and affordable! New shipment just in!
· Stock up on Sheeder Farms meats and eggs.
· Elk sticks, burger, summer sausage and steaks from Skeeter Creek Elk
· Pat from Randol Honey will be sampling her delicious creamed honeys. SALE!! Goat milk and honey soaps just 2/$6!!
· Kids – enjoy the swings and sand box in the front yard.
· Not many babies left, but they’re looking for loving and hugs! The girls that make this whole business possible also LOVE attention! (Don’t forget the best guard dogs in the whole state too!!!)
· Come on in to Miss Tillie’s for samples of our cheese and MUCH MORE!

At Prairieland Herbs:

10% off ALL purchases!
Guest vendors include: Funkie Organics - funky hemp and stone jewelry
Kristi Poole - handmade paper beads
Nikki's Designs - handmake sterling silver jewelry
Sally Kilkenny - handmade jams & jellies
Mary DouBrava - Reiki sessions

Jill Beebout will be having free, 15 minute storytelling at the top of every hour, beginning at 1 pm! Fun for the entire family.

Herbal Cooking Contest - Bring your best dish and join them for a cooking contest and potluck. Judging begins at 4pm. Three categories: Herbal Breads, Herbal Desserts, Herbal Dish or Beverage. Prizes given in each category!! 1st place - $25 Prairieland Herbs Gift Certificate; 2nd place - $15 Prairieland Herbs Gift Certificate; 3rd place - $10 Prairieland Herbs Gift Certificate.

Stay afterwards to share and sample the herbal delights!!

Our other neighbor to the north, Picket Fence Creamery will also be joining in on the fun, but I'm afraid I don't have information yet - once I do, I'll update. I know they'll have TONS of samples from 80+ families in their store, kids events and so much more.

We hope you'll join us!

2008-09-15T15:51:00.002-05:00

What a crisp, cool day this is. I'd swear it's Fall already and there's still three weeks to go! The Farmer's Almanac says we're going to have a colder than usual winter. Just makes me want to get up in the morning! NOT!

All of our babies are gone except the 7 we're keeping for next year. The last ones left last week - boy, is that ever hard! We ended up keeping Nevaeh and her sister, Amore', Tora, Lindsey, Toodles, Angelina and our special needs child Alisha. (Alisha was born with Spinabifada. She's healthy in every way except she has no feeling in her tail and doesn't have the urge to go potty, so doesn't have the instinct to sqwat. She's a sweety though! She'll be a wonderful pet.)

We started breeding last Friday. Caylah thought Dante' was the love of her life, so they got to "visit" and then she hung out at his gate for nearly 24 hours being loved. They're so silly when they're in heat. We've decided to cut back our milkers drastically - I think we're going down 10. We do have a few milkers we would like to find homes for if you're looking for one. Also some very nice retireds yet. They're all big lovers.

We purchased a new milking machine from Hamby's a couple of months ago. What a change - all for the better!! It milks so much more quickly and seems to pull much less on the girls. Our other machine was pretty old and not doing so good any more. I think the girls are relieved too!

Toby, our oldest Great Pyr is really showing his age. He's 9 today. He's getting a little harder of hearing, but can still hear those coyotes!

Will write more soon!

Journal Entry: May 22, 2008

2008-05-22T10:14:00.006-05:00

May 22, 2008

Well, we're trying something new! Our new webmaster, Kim, suggested that I try blogging rather than going through her each time I want to post a journal, so....

We've had several tours lately. The girls, babies and dogs really enjoy strutting their stuff for an audience! The babies all think they need to crowd the fence to nibble on everyone's clothing or outstretched fingers. The retired tour groups that have come to see us so far really seem to enjoy this as well as sharing goat stories of their own. Of course, I have to share my own stories that happen here. Never a dull moment. Speaking of stories, I forgot to post one the last time I sent in a journal that is endearing to my heart. It has to do with my son, Chris. He's now 32 years old and has always tried to act as though he doesn't like the majority of our goats. Well, we had one doe in particular that was past due, Rosella. We had been going to the barn to check on her nearly hourly, but nothing. Late on the coldest night of the year, Wendy and I went out to check on her and their lay a lifeless little doeling. I scooped her up and took her to the house and tubed some warm colostrum into her, but she was still pretty lifeless. She was still gooey and wet, but Chris whipped his shirt off, grabbed her and put her against his chest and put a couple of quilts over them and sat with her until she came to life. AND, for the next two days, he sat with her either beside him on the couch or in his lap. He fed her and she followed him everywhere. We asked him to name her, so he did some research online and found the name Tora which means Tiger in Chinese. Now when he comes to the barn, she crawls up his leg for attention and loving, so he scoops her up and obliges. Of course, I go over and ask for some loving too and she turns her head away from me toward her "dad". How rude!

Our sad news is, we lost our Grandma Posie. She was one of our first milkers when we began the business. She had arthritis in her shoulder VERY badly and got to the point she couldn't walk without pain, so we knew it was time for her to leave us. That was sooooooo hard. I'll always remember the joy she gave to so many people that could go right up to her (she had free access to the alleyway and was fed, and slept there, so she didn't get shoved around by the others). She loved the attention and hugs she got from everyone and showed it by smiling at them. Posie Girl, you're missed very much!

The babies are growing by leaps and bounds. It's so fun to watch them running and jumping and chasing one another. It's the simple things like that that make this job all worth while!

Will talk again soon! Kathy