Fair Weather Milker

This first week of March has been testing my grit - I've discovered that I am a fair weather milker. For many days it has been raining, not warm rain, but, seeping into your skin cold wetness.

Keith & the dogs make the best of it,
but when I'm in the barn with the wet goats I just can't get myself in the mood to milk.

I see myself trying to catch Daisy, being thrown on the wet floor, then later in the day walking her from the parlour to the goat yard being hurled down the slippery snow path...and I think to myself - "do I really need the milk?" I know the Kidds are still nursing so the Ladies won't dry up, and then that's it, my minds made up - I won't milk that day.

Poor Tuffy gets kicked out of the shelter into the rain by Girly-girl.

It's just been nasty and cold out.

Keith keeps telling me that the rain will help melt the snow which means Spring will be here in a week or so, and I almost believed him - until yesterday when we got 3 inches of snow and this morning it was 10 degrees outside.

Well at least the sun is shining.

But I'm wavering in my mind weather I want to milk or not...

The barn animals seem to be handling the weather flux just fine.

Franny & Lizzy are growing and still sweeties.

Girly-girl is still Queen of the Goat Palace.The roosters are turning into very beautiful birds.

and the hens are still laying eggs, though not as frequent.

I tell them that their babies are doing just fine.

9 out of twelve eggs have hatched. One took three days to hatch! We still have one egg that has cracked, so maybe another chick will be added to the clutch.

It has been too cold for us to move the chicks to the brooder we had set up in the milking parlour, so Keith rigged up a mini brooder in the office.

It's lovely having cheeps in the background as I type on the computer.




A little video of the newborns - the redness is from the heat lamp, but I don't dare turn it off, I don't want them to catch cold -

They are only days old and are already eating & drinking on their own.

A parting "art shot" bark on the cherry tree.