MsDeb's Journal - Lookin Out My Back Door

MsDeb said:

Because I don't want to forget. (And why I wish I'd kept a journal when my children were little...sigh.)
Yesterday evening we were working on getting the tar paper on the goat shed roof, which requires trips in and out of the goat pen. We thought we could get away with just wiring the gate in the middle. WRONG! Tripod immediately sniffed it out, got down on her front knees and wriggled herself out.
Poor Hazel, who,at 3 months, is only about an inch taller than Tripod and much less than half the width, was left inside all alone!!!!
(Insert loud MAAAAAing and goat trauma drama here....)

So I unwired the gate and pulled it open a couple of feet. Hazel just stood there. I kept calling her and finally she got down on her front knees, just like Tripod had done, and crawled through the gate. Apparently it is Goat See; Goat Do around our place.
And, in the category of never having a camera when you need one, neither of us had our phones while on ladders and roof so we both missed getting a pic of Tripod trying to crawl through the roll of tar paper. She got about half way. If we hadn't given her that tapeworm medication I think she would have made it.

Never a dull moment! View attachment 5058

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That is just too darn funny!!!

MsDeb said:

One more major victory in our battle with the easy-build-it-yourself goat shed. Got the tin roof on today. Yay! We were supervised by Tripod, Hazel and Rita. Also, Tripod managed to knock over each tin panel we had leaned against the fence.
In other news, Tripod (who now walks on all four legs and I'm thinking of changing her name to Spawn of Saten) has taught Hazel to stick her head through the bottom rectangle of the fence. The tiny one. So as I attempted to run some more wire through the bottom of the gate Max (who was out grazing) decided to take an interest. In me. I can now add "Get over here, I'm being pissed on by a horney goat." to the list of things I never thought I'd say. Please accept my apologies for not taking a picture.View attachment 5164View attachment 5165View attachment 5166View attachment 5167

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OMG! That is hilarious! Hopefully when it's my turn I will remember this and laugh . . . It's only fair, right?

I miss my goats. They are still out there but circumstances are preventing me from getting my goat time. First, it's cold. That, in and of itself would be enough. I wasn't really thinking about how little time I'd be willing to spend with them when it's cold. Also, one of our human kids and his family has (temporarily) moved in with us. Remind me that the key word is TEMPORARY! But our son wants to help while he's looking for a job and so he's doing the morning feed. It keeps me from being a half hour late for work and from being cold so no complaints here. But I still miss my goats. In the afternoon when I get home hubby has taken care of feeding and such and....well, lets face it....it's cold so I go inside. Last Saturday was warm enough to get outside and do some yard maintenance so we let the girls out and they followed me around while I cleaned out the latest winter exposed trashed area left by previous renters. It was so much fun to have them bumping into me and their noses into everything I was doing. Oh wait....that was the grandkids. The goats were there too, but were much less interested in broken glass and rusty beer cans. But it was a nice afternoon. Makes me look forward to spring. Or at least more nice winter days.

MsDeb,

I know exactly what you mean. Life events sometimes means a little less goat time(). I miss just puttering around the barn and having my goats seeing what in the world the human is up to(). It is just relaxing and brings happiness to the soul to be with themD), so the little time lost is quit noticeable.
Spring will be here before you know it, but here is praying for some decent winter days while you waitcaf) for it to get here.

Very shortly my kidding time will be here and I with my coffee and winters cap will be spending enormous amounts of time in the barn.

boy can i identify MsDeb. been gone for a few days. no barn, no goats, no sheep, no chickens, no ducks and no dogs. thought i would go nuts. it's going to take me a weeks worth of barn smells to chill out and relax. make the most of the time you have

Having a very large family I find going out and just sitting with the goats and dogs is relaxing and peaceful. Tunes out the hustle and bustle of a busy house and the mom mom mom... of course the goats go mah mah mah So I guess there is no real getting away from it all! Taking care of them in the am and pm isn't the same, that I would love to have more help with.
And of course there are the dogs... they bring a whole different kind of enjoyment.
"Temporary" arrangements can still be stressful, hope you find some time in the midst of it all to have a few minutes here and there for yourself.

MsDeb, Thanks for making me laugh this evening! I love the pictures of the goats helping build the first shed!

Wow, 2014, what a year you have been! This time last year we were still living in our 5th wheel at the lake with no foreseeable plans of a change. It was quite a surprise in April when we found and rented our little dream acreage. Within weeks we had borrowed goats and shortly after that we started our own goat collection. Then our dream dog, Finn, came along and stole our hearts. Next on the list is chickens.
However....a year ago I wouldn't have dared to dream of a house and goats and great fluffy dogs. Who knows what the next year will bring. That would be the whole purpose for embracing each day and enjoying it for all it's worth.
But last night I did have a new vision for a dream home. This is definitely one of those "If we hit the lottery" or "If that Publisher's Clearing House guy shows up with a giant check" dreams. As I listened to the weather man warn of single digit temps with below zero wind chills and "If it's possible, bring your animals inside" (I swear David almost caved in on that one.) I imagined my combined house/barn home.
I've seen the ones with the living area above (think Patrick Swayze/Roadhouse) and a guestroom above would be nice, but for heating purposes I would prefer have another type that I've seen. One long building with living area as one half and barn as the other. Actually the one I saw was a house combined with a mechanic shop but why wouldn't a barn work?
A nice-warm in winter-cool in summer-lots of windows-wood burning stove house with our dogs, goats, cats, chickens, etc., all within easy checking-in distance. Of course this barn/home would have lots of outdoor space for grazing, trees for climbing, room for critters and grandkids to roam with lots of coziness to come home to.
Meanwhile, other than the occasional craving for more goats and big fluffy dogs, I am quite content with where we are and what we have. Feeling extremely blessed!
Happy upcoming 2015 to you all!

Happy New Year to you! The future is looking good.

don't you love it when you can sit back, thank the Lord and say "life is good". hope you have a blessed new year