Crazy Day!

Today started out with a phone call from a couple of girls who have brought their 4-H goats to our farm for safe keeping. Because it's inconceivable for them to get transportation every day, twice a day, to our house to take turns feeding all the goats, they have agreed to come over periodically, to clean out the goat area. Of course, they wanted to know if Alec would be around to help them. (Wink, wink!) They arrived and did a good job hauling the 'pooh bedding' out into the area where we want to put a garden and orchard in someday soon. Just as they were finishing, I let all the goats out into the yard to do a little latent weed clean up and get a bit of a romp in. They loved it. Both of the girls were worried that they would run off and possibly get hit by a car or get lost. I assured them that the goats knew where they lived and would, more or less, just wander around the yard doing their goaty thing. They voiced concern about getting them all, safely, back into their enclosure. I reassured them that by asking them politely to go in, along with a little sweet grain, will work well to get goats to do just about anything. Although they've heard the story numerous times, they still don't believe that Dave and I used to raise goats and care for them, including milking, twice a day, for several years. Although we'd never profess to be 'know-it-all's,' when it comes to goats, we definitely understand the goat personality and behavior.

Next, we moved on to Lily, our horse. Otherwise known as our BIG dog with the long swooshy tail. We added a new member to our clan, Tiz, the spotless Appaloosa, last summer. She's a great companion to Lily and they are best friends but, when it comes to food, she's a real P-I-G! She has nosed Lily out of many a feeding, both hay and grain, enough so, that Lily has lost a lot of weight. The kids and I have gone out 2 times/day to personally make sure Lily is getting the grain she needs to gain weight. Little did we know, that Lily was experiencing a condition that is common among horses that are lowest in the pecking order. Her first few mouthfuls of grain are huge and not well chewed. She does this because she fears being nosed out by the other horse and not getting any. The problem it creates is the grain forms a dam in her esophagus, not allowing the rest of the grain to enter her stomach. The end result is a lot of chewed, but not digested grain, coming back up and dribbling out her nose and mouth. I called the vet and learned what I needed to do and promptly moved her to the pole barn in a paddock the Dave put together for her, using pallets and a field gate that was not being used. She is snug in there now, with free hay and her own little water bucket, with the built-in heater to prevent it from freezing. Tiz calls to her occasionally and she answers, but she is, once again, eating and drinking with no problem. Tomorrow, she is getting worming medication and another go at the grain. Only this time, the grain will be slightly moist and spread out on a cookie sheet to prevent her from getting a big mouthful again, causing the same problem.

Onward and upward, I always say. Next job was to go get some long over due firewood. We drove out to Deckerville and picked up a trailer-full or firewood, not having correct change, so we will be going back for more. We hand-filled our trailer, 4' x 8' x 2' with Ash wood. Upon arrival home, Dave announced that he had no intention of unloading the wood, because he needed to get some sleep before going to work tonight. The kids and I unloaded and stacked the whole load on the front porch, to make obtaining the wood, easier in inclement weather. Won't Dave be surprised when he leaves for work?

Now, it's the end of the day. I am feeling satisfied that we have accomplished some things that were in need of getting done. Tomorrow, I am off to take Alec to the school at 0700 hours for pre-Baseball conditioning and then to the post office to drop off 50 envelopes with 50 letters to high school, middle school, and elementary school band parents in preparation for the annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser. (I also created a flyer, 50 of them, to be posted in multiple locations to advertise this dinner.) I think I will also apply for a full-time job, as being a stay-at-home mom is a lot of work and I can't find anyone willing to pay me for doing it to help with paying the bills.