I have not posted anything since January so it is time I did. This is the time of year where winter seems to stretch out indefinitely. One long gray cold snowy day after another. I know there are things I can do inside the house or shop, but I still seem to be stuck in zombie mode, plodding through the day with nothing to show for the time spent. I can hardly believe the day is gone when I feel I have done nothing productive. There are many things to do before the kids are born in mid April, but I can’t seem to stay motivated to get them done.
On Wednesdays I have the place to myself and I do tend to get outdoors more. I always have the goats and chickens to tend to, feeding and watering and collecting eggs. This last week I had to re-build Buck-O and FatHead’s hay feeder because they stood on the old one and tore it out of the wall. It took me a couple of weeks to figure out how to make a new sturdier one from the scrap laying around. We will see just how long this one lasts. This is the third attempt at building a feeder to stand up to big buck shenanigans.
I need to have the girls pen cleaned out before (just before) April 1st so the kids have clean straw to land on when they arrive. I also need to make sure my goat first aid kit is complete and I have colostrum and milk re-placer handy just in case. The girls shelter is showing signs of wear and tear from 3 years of use and occupancy. Everything I used to build the walls was from the old roof tear-off and they have not been easy on my poorly thought out construction.
The shelter is now way too small for the number of goats I will have this spring and I need to build more fence and a newer shelter where the boys are now. That means finding a better place for the boys. A better shelter for them would also be good. the one they have now barely shields them from the weather if the wind is not blowing from the north. When the wind DOES blow from the north we usually have rain or snow with it.
I am not even considering that I may have 1,2, or 3 kids from the vet’s goat since he wants the milk for his bum lambs. And if Mark and Nancy don’t sell their buck by next fall we may do a trade so that nobody has to buy a new buck. Oh, and I hope I don’t run out of hay before I can turn them out to pasture. That will also require more fence building.
Besides the building crunch, I could be working on things inside the house like small painting jobs that need to be done and cleaning in the basement that I have been putting off for years. I have been planning my garden for this year, and looking at all the things I want to plant, the seed could cost somewhere around $200. I guess I just need to find my focus.
Since Marky is working so much because it is tax season, I have been doing the cooking. This is good since I am trying to eat according to the primal blueprint. I can therefore cook the way I need to and not just eat whatever is prepared. I have been thinking about my eating habits and that has me thinking about the animals eating habits. If I as an omnivore don’t NEED grains (and processed foods), do the dog, and cat(s) and goats need the grains? I know that the goats are herbivores and even though they like grains, am I causing a digestive problem for them? The vet has told me that they are fat, though everyone around here says she tells them the same thing. Should I be doing something different that will improve their overall health?
I think I need to go get some sleep now. These great mysteries can wait til tomorrow.