With the festive season (which I'm not so festive in) came bulging bellies and cranky girls. The goats have started kidding and the sheep will soon follow with their lambs. I'm not much for New Year's resolutions or any of the other traditions that come with the holiday. I like to believe that each day is a chance to start new, to fix the oops made yesterday, to create a better atmosphere for tomorrow. So if you were hoping that I'd resolve to blog more, you will be disappointed.
So here's the scoop on the ranch. Babies! Fence that needs fixed. Babies coming. I have been blessed with a new milking barn. I should be ready for my milking pleasure tomorrow. The chickens have successfully made it through their molt and are producing beautifully. The steers came back from butcher in nice little packages and we confirmed that both Jerseys are pregnant through ultrasound. Oh and um....Babies!
Here's what happens when it's dinner time:
I don't mean the goat's dinner time. I was headed to Woodland to deliver milk and give the kid 'what for' for being a kid when Shelly texted with a message full of happy faces. It said, "Come home PLEASE, babies on the way!" and had about 30 happy faces to that. The kid and I think that the face button is the only one she can really see without her old lady glasses, so she pushes it a lot. Needless to say I turned the truck around and headed home. I thought the 30 happy faces meant "URGENT", so I went a bit faster than I usually would. When we arrived home at the barn, we found Shelly sitting in the aisle way playing games on her phone. She explained that Wynonna Goat was breathing heavy, seemed uncomfortable, and was occasionally yelling loudly. I went in and checked her out. It was obvious that she was getting ready to introduce her children to the world. Shelly and Bean decided that they'd go home, let dogs out and back in, fix some dinner and be back to check on me! WHAT? So I was elected to sit it out with Wynonna, this was her first time after all. Before the girls left I asked for a sandwich on their return trip. I also told them to be sure and bring my camera down as I only had my cell phone. They confirmed that they would indeed bring me a sandwich and the camera. I expected them to return in 20 to 30 minutes. So I settled in on my stool and watched Maggie and Jema eat their dinner.
Maggie and Jema were not sympathetic to poor Wynonna's plight. They continued to munch away as Wynonna nested and bellowed occasionally.
Eventually she found a nice place, although it wasn't in the new clean straw that I had just put down. It was in the overflow hay, which is okay I guess. Not the decision I would make but then we aren't talking about me. Before long there was a nice bubble. Actually it was quite a long time. I was starving and had expected my sandwich and camera long before this happened.
Soon after the bubble, came feet. Well one foot, but the next made an appearance soon without any intervention. That made me happy. By this time Wynonna was screaming like a banshee. She was throwing her head around and swearing at Ole (daddy) even though he was no where near her to hear. She threatened to steal Taco Dog and sell him to the Egyptians if I ever put her near a buck again. Ha! If she only knew how I felt about that little ball of fur, she'd have picked another dog to threaten me with! I still didn't have that sandwich or the camera.
Then with a mighty push and a very loud scream out came this ball of slime. Wynonna flopped her head down and sighed. I let her lay there for a few seconds as I cleared the airway of the kid. I picked up the slickery critter and laid it up by Wynonna's head and instinct took over and she started licking and taking care of the kid. I still didn't have a sandwich or a camera. Now Maggie decided she was interested in the evenings events and came over to give Wynonna instructions on cleaning the new baby. Apparently Wynonna's technique was not to Maggie's liking and tried to steal away the child as is Maggie's usual behavior. I shuttled Maggie out of the stall and let Wynonna have at it.
Eventually Shelly made it back to the barn. She didn't bring me a sandwich, claimed she didn't know that I wanted one. The camera never made it down to the barn either. So I had to bring it down later. She was able to see the second one slide out with out any of the drama that the first one brought.Other happenings around the ranch included CAKE!
Bad Penny the Border Collie continues to be a work in progress.
My beautiful Isadora gave us quite a scare one evening.
After eating and hanging around the house for a bit she started acting oddly. She was obviously uncomfortable, hunching over and drooling. We rushed her down to Colorado Springs to the doggie ER and x-rays showed that she had a "double bubble" or her tummy was twisted. She had surgery and is now recovering quite nicely. Scary time for me.
She's spending more time in the house instead of romping around with Hamlet. I don't mind but I think she's getting annoyed with me. She making great use of the space in front of the wood stove and lounging on the human couch every chance she gets.
Bridgette Goat had a monster of a kid instead of having the usual triplets that need help coming out. I was relieved.
Right after the biggest storm we've had to so far, Shelly's tractor broke. It just broke like a toy. She was getting ready to plow the ranch and the blade broke right off. I really think somewhere there was some operator error but she's adamant there was not. Go figure!
And of course babies!
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