Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! My new year's resolution? Write in my blog more often! Well at least that is one of them. We had a nice Christmas, and a lot of fun. New Year's eve I planned on relaxing with a glass of wine, but ended up building a temporary goat pen in the barn (with the glass of wine....) because Butternut has decided she is going to take out all her pent up emotional issues on Biscuit, her friend and stall mate. They came together as a pair and never fought before, although Butternut was always the bossy one. In our herd, Butternut is the fourth goat from the top and I think that's what's really... um... got her goat. So I think that's why she's decided to get nasty to with Biscuit. Biscuit is the sweetest little goat in the herd, and also the goat on the bottom of the totem pole. They never fight when outside, just at night when it's time to go in the barn for the night. But thankfully I had an easy fix that I put together new years eve with the help of Max, the Great Pyrenees. Well he didn't really help, he just stole my gloves, my tools ,my screws, my wood. He loves stealing things and sneaking off with them. Thankfully he just piles them all up beside his bed.

Our blind bottle raised Ram, Braveheart, turned 2 years old this month. Hard to believe 2 years ago no one thought he could possibly live. 2 months of worry, emergency Vet trips, sleepless nights. Now he is a handsome, healthy, full grown ram, who acts like a baby. I will have to share some of his pictures here. He lived in the house for about 4 months. He lost his sight when he was about 1 1/2 weeks old due to one of the infections he had... but it has not slowed him down.

Barley checking to see if there is anything good in there... which he does every morning

Hilda & Biscuit on Christmas morning

The girls and Barley

Max on Christmas morning

One of the Flemish Giants I bottle raised last Easter, all grown up.

So since Butternut is seperated at night all is well in the herd again. New Year's day I built my first gate too! Kevin had to help some because there is no way I could done it all alone. It works, that's the main thing.

One of our deer, Rudolph, showed up a few days ago without his antlers. For two days I have looked everywhere but with no luck. Yesterday I managed to get completely turned around out in the woods. Thankfully I did not panic and started looking for something I would recognize. I finally found something.... a fence! and the "tree of life" as I call it. However, both those things are in the opposite direction of where I thought I was going. Thankfully as soon as I saw the tree of life, I knew one of our trails was nearby, and the Porcupine creek. From the Porcupine creek, we have a trail all the way home. It just reminds you how fast you can get turned around. But it's important for me to go out in the forest on my own, and learn how to get around. I did the right thing by looking for something I'd remember. Of course, thankfully, I am not in a strange forest. I have been a lot of places on our land and know most of it fairly well, and some of it like the back of my hand. In a strange woods, it would be different.

Today we split wood and hauled in another ash to leave in the wood yard to have cut up. I worked in the barn and cleaned, and cleaned cages inside the house. We have been out of bread for a few days so I baked fresh bread, biscuits, and now I am making dough to try out a donut recipe I have been meaning to try for a while now. If it works, I'll share it. I was able to get a two storey ferret nation cage for the Prairie dogs for Christmas. They are awesome cages, with a lot of room. I was so excited to find one at our local petsmart. Kevin & I usually just go out together for a day and buy things we each want or need, and get dinner. That's a big deal for us because we don't shop or go out to dinner very often, which is fine by me. It makes it more enjoyable when we do, and everytime we do go to the city, I am so thankful when we get home and so exhausted.

Tomorrow we will head to the feed store since it's been a while and I'm running low. I wish I could just do one stop shopping there! My feed store is one place I enjoy going to and doing shopping!