tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39982109501952839502024-03-13T11:04:46.116-07:00S&G HomesteadeOur two-and-half acre adventuredfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.comBlogger315125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-62472408242580119782021-06-16T11:11:00.001-07:002021-06-16T11:11:11.418-07:00Changes<p> After almost twenty years of providing email subscription for blogs, FeedBurner (bought out by Google a while back) will be dropping this service starting July 1st. I have started a blog for my art, and will be running a full-fledged email list alongside it, and invite y'all to follow me there at <a href="https://kmgunnart.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Katrina Gunn Art</a>. Y'all know it's serious if I am using my actual name. </p><p>Things here at the Homesteade have settled into a routine, including the wild turkeys and deer eating my efforts at gardening, so life has a mostly-soothing predictability to it. I have decided to actually attempt to improve my skill at using a digicam (including the one my son sent to me) so from time to time I may post photos of either my critters or the wildlife or plant life here if I can manage to get the camera to capture what my eye sees. I'll also be snapping photos to use as reference for my drawings and paintings.</p><p>So, basically this is a sign-off for this particular blog, along with an invitation to check out my new art blog.</p>dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-210184538594812172021-05-25T07:30:00.001-07:002021-05-25T07:30:13.945-07:00Return of the voracious caterpillars<p> Look what has come back to strip my remaining two fennel plants!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6pUwsbVhuTsEtWW5f_zdKX6aI2NI9DEQu6c3VYgNp7gdg0SGw1ZGKg3pAQgdLURtj3B2l2hJOJONFdoxDkHQ68uSZ7lbdhC_WzSBkBDlWXz4TYxnL8pXgceyRGOzQUKuff-x0wQNNwFC1/s1632/21may25-sm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1632" data-original-width="1224" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6pUwsbVhuTsEtWW5f_zdKX6aI2NI9DEQu6c3VYgNp7gdg0SGw1ZGKg3pAQgdLURtj3B2l2hJOJONFdoxDkHQ68uSZ7lbdhC_WzSBkBDlWXz4TYxnL8pXgceyRGOzQUKuff-x0wQNNwFC1/s320/21may25-sm.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">swallowtail butterfly caterpillar on my fennel</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I'll work on an actual update ... after I draw and paint the caterpillars.</p>dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-56280496054906339412021-03-13T08:44:00.000-08:002021-03-13T08:44:28.225-08:00Francis has number six<p> This is Francis's first kid, but number six in six days to be born here. He is a little baby giant - even a little larger than Molly's triplets even though the triplets are almost a week older.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJ3O9tM05xa5zT72EBd7LigsdZTCMH-XtY1U4xcXZApX7uGcH4_YmzE4WNmMKdzESXuJRxTUizUVTwc64bmHjExFrEWwIFzNihpgrLtHdk6KLmMfjoB_41UozvYxIIZAGksYC8HyQ6FvT/s1200/20210312_164620.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJ3O9tM05xa5zT72EBd7LigsdZTCMH-XtY1U4xcXZApX7uGcH4_YmzE4WNmMKdzESXuJRxTUizUVTwc64bmHjExFrEWwIFzNihpgrLtHdk6KLmMfjoB_41UozvYxIIZAGksYC8HyQ6FvT/s320/20210312_164620.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cocoa Puff with the five older kids</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiloJYkrVsWAmAT7-7g0FNFm1gD9pDKqnhiqCE_-gsL6ETiPjZncHUrseEjyVOyDNYjYjiacqiZfJaxzCcERSTKUJc-XJXx2UC801AZ4QHnPenTG__wUQ7QF3zjUdj7N1zXrbHr_ZwsDEyE/s900/20210312_164616.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiloJYkrVsWAmAT7-7g0FNFm1gD9pDKqnhiqCE_-gsL6ETiPjZncHUrseEjyVOyDNYjYjiacqiZfJaxzCcERSTKUJc-XJXx2UC801AZ4QHnPenTG__wUQ7QF3zjUdj7N1zXrbHr_ZwsDEyE/s320/20210312_164616.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Francis and baby Frodo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wN9tLkqud-PVgLY-AC6UQBLg5ITqAjB7AClHC7DocuKJvhwgiPm678SLGyEbIAolj5ExyDF0eD1YgzVTQvTgjJ9xHnp3NECbQjt4SqQX_Ub0H3K-wswUAf_SduyznTtFcfslJUMho9XG/s1176/20210312_164608.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1176" data-original-width="1050" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wN9tLkqud-PVgLY-AC6UQBLg5ITqAjB7AClHC7DocuKJvhwgiPm678SLGyEbIAolj5ExyDF0eD1YgzVTQvTgjJ9xHnp3NECbQjt4SqQX_Ub0H3K-wswUAf_SduyznTtFcfslJUMho9XG/s320/20210312_164608.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">closer look at Frodo</td></tr></tbody></table>I started calling him Frodo last night, and hubby asked why. I said, "He looks like he's trying to figure out why he's here and what he's supposed to be doing!" Well, since we have a Frodo, then we need a Sam, and Molly's black and white boy is being a stubborn Sam. I guess that makes Molly's firstborn son Bilbo, although I broke with that theme for Molly's daughter. I call her Peggy Sue, like the old Buddy Holly song. One of Puff's daughters has white back socks, so I think of her as ChiSox (Chicago White Sox from baseball) and the other girl, with the blue eyes, I think of as Cover Girl because she posed so perfectly the other afternoon.<p></p>warhead01http://www.blogger.com/profile/10490268064704462703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-38789916834256079572021-03-09T13:58:00.004-08:002021-03-09T13:58:45.230-08:00Two more goat kids<p> And just like that, the kid count jumps! Cocoa Puff did her usual no-advance-notice and no-noise kidding maybe an hour ago. She had twin girls again, upping her girls-only streak to six. I told her she really ought to have a boy sometime soon. I took a bottle out to make sure the new girls got some colostrum in them ... and the goat who drank the most from the bottle was Cocoa Puff. I guess, "Once a bottle baby, always a bottle baby." Not as many photos this time, mostly because Puff wanted to clean the camera as well as my arm.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKhtWjcrbmSMGjuXWPWgcLfI5wi2ki48EdmUiFgPLA-IipwBWLF64jRAYYDO4YoqqXK9vx0_2abYFDycK2zw4mVm7Y4WJyl2qNA-Y1hyeeThPVHm4B4zofL-NW-A_e1MPB8wxQIMzc-vt/s1633/100_4193s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1633" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKhtWjcrbmSMGjuXWPWgcLfI5wi2ki48EdmUiFgPLA-IipwBWLF64jRAYYDO4YoqqXK9vx0_2abYFDycK2zw4mVm7Y4WJyl2qNA-Y1hyeeThPVHm4B4zofL-NW-A_e1MPB8wxQIMzc-vt/s320/100_4193s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">blue-eyed girl</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImJbEjvi7YZGsJl3yMiftt2N5g5R8t_PZVUKVnFbPpZqViJH1Nu1Tl3hLpES3IHdgPcBchaVOcJqoF1sb5O-SwpIU2KnjUq3pYketmzsV4zj9AvWXWZJMnuqbWjB9KxiO9jOCw59HGkjC/s1632/100_4194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImJbEjvi7YZGsJl3yMiftt2N5g5R8t_PZVUKVnFbPpZqViJH1Nu1Tl3hLpES3IHdgPcBchaVOcJqoF1sb5O-SwpIU2KnjUq3pYketmzsV4zj9AvWXWZJMnuqbWjB9KxiO9jOCw59HGkjC/s320/100_4194.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">amber-eyed girl</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7uW4BNljDtd1WaXQtJr-A16C_ajhzBFXZVP5Dt2OBVOx6_DIAsqe-NXixppDzXe2YM7QxjQIu3NWoCWop-pLSr8cGAf1roWYhyphenhyphen4VSMdzkMv5DL-5t7_wPmbPFBLQJyshRRtnuiHeI7kd/s1632/100_4196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7uW4BNljDtd1WaXQtJr-A16C_ajhzBFXZVP5Dt2OBVOx6_DIAsqe-NXixppDzXe2YM7QxjQIu3NWoCWop-pLSr8cGAf1roWYhyphenhyphen4VSMdzkMv5DL-5t7_wPmbPFBLQJyshRRtnuiHeI7kd/s320/100_4196.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the twin girls decide it is rest time</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-10973581874143324382021-03-06T11:07:00.001-08:002021-03-06T11:07:21.899-08:00First goat kids of 2021<p> While a month later than I originally thought, Molly has given birth to the first goat kids of 2021: triplets again, two boys and a girl. Not easy trying to get all three kids in a picture, especially with Molly trying to chase off curious cats.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj49AmH79QqU1_jqXHHXh_8Jn222Z68f756ym_1ry7NKL6_SP4VUjOGkG9YsCymT7DLVRztGaju0a8pqHa9TiXWu515dSj38-t-7RlZNm7fZ9e4bPlcmdd6i-Vxau6bPl5J_QFG3VTkieOk/s1632/100_4185s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj49AmH79QqU1_jqXHHXh_8Jn222Z68f756ym_1ry7NKL6_SP4VUjOGkG9YsCymT7DLVRztGaju0a8pqHa9TiXWu515dSj38-t-7RlZNm7fZ9e4bPlcmdd6i-Vxau6bPl5J_QFG3VTkieOk/s320/100_4185s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">boy, girl, boy</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaiO2AviiRe27R9Gw-H2tBZwHtC2NDTDDLVg3H4bmuShcNkTmY0U91ILUv9nsk4VkVg4Oj_TCbMhXhHb8Dn6YfvvFWc-ShoRtq2cdyHCv8dzEG54o5o21bT9Hp6LWC391EwoNfMxaxXOR/s1632/100_4187s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1225" data-original-width="1632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaiO2AviiRe27R9Gw-H2tBZwHtC2NDTDDLVg3H4bmuShcNkTmY0U91ILUv9nsk4VkVg4Oj_TCbMhXhHb8Dn6YfvvFWc-ShoRtq2cdyHCv8dzEG54o5o21bT9Hp6LWC391EwoNfMxaxXOR/s320/100_4187s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">two boys trying to figure out the meal plan</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhWL5QK2ZeZKa8cJ_WRoqRIdE3BSsg6iE73lnmFG4Z8GmybmoPOUkntOSScGQAl8EAEAcCYNtcexsya49rUPAm0sQ0fdhfWzpvTjxzE2PUhafwCpv2L4q5_euJZk6yclw4qEXhKqk5l5tx/s1632/100_4188s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1632" data-original-width="1224" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhWL5QK2ZeZKa8cJ_WRoqRIdE3BSsg6iE73lnmFG4Z8GmybmoPOUkntOSScGQAl8EAEAcCYNtcexsya49rUPAm0sQ0fdhfWzpvTjxzE2PUhafwCpv2L4q5_euJZk6yclw4qEXhKqk5l5tx/s320/100_4188s.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">girl with pretty markings</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTwjsw2co4zlhZDczFuteznk5UHXGyFPbw9zJGahqptcd7_D6TwMUQbkONQ5oR3P7mUY-CbG-rQQAsddhwuHHMm2WsmHpt7uJdEzfS6t2e38iNYMUbHf2u_3DCqLo047pq6sVJeLTPWrg/s1633/100_4190s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1633" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTwjsw2co4zlhZDczFuteznk5UHXGyFPbw9zJGahqptcd7_D6TwMUQbkONQ5oR3P7mUY-CbG-rQQAsddhwuHHMm2WsmHpt7uJdEzfS6t2e38iNYMUbHf2u_3DCqLo047pq6sVJeLTPWrg/s320/100_4190s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">girl and firstborn boy</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI5lnBzSK4OTE28W2TGO6eM7skng72GRblYCwBZJ4J1Qa70M3DC7tDzI-9kVTcBYfkOYraPF5lBS59pxcID2G40_mMN2uMkdLC9qx_g-zSNwvLm-kdkMBFVb9Wf20-wnZu8DXEW5lZBNmd/s1632/100_4191s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI5lnBzSK4OTE28W2TGO6eM7skng72GRblYCwBZJ4J1Qa70M3DC7tDzI-9kVTcBYfkOYraPF5lBS59pxcID2G40_mMN2uMkdLC9qx_g-zSNwvLm-kdkMBFVb9Wf20-wnZu8DXEW5lZBNmd/s320/100_4191s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">girl boy boy</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-jGqVCH4nD9N11r18WIRpSKBCmFaqPrf1m-MltT2Zn95PNGYdiBQpquG3Yblga_Dym-nNxac51kPC-ctbmqDvDWP1o7jfSb_cFxKMOWm-Ao7e-r5JnnGvM8buxYODnpBlwOz9lRodiAzX/s1632/100_4192s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-jGqVCH4nD9N11r18WIRpSKBCmFaqPrf1m-MltT2Zn95PNGYdiBQpquG3Yblga_Dym-nNxac51kPC-ctbmqDvDWP1o7jfSb_cFxKMOWm-Ao7e-r5JnnGvM8buxYODnpBlwOz9lRodiAzX/s320/100_4192s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Molly nuzzling the kids</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I think the girl is so pretty, as well as the second boy (black and white). I expect Cocoa Puff to add to the total in a week or two, followed by Francis either at the end of the month or beginning of next month.</p>dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-25489374073581575812021-03-05T07:54:00.005-08:002021-03-05T07:54:58.613-08:00Dutch-banded rabbit kits<p> Last evening as I fed the rabbits, I checked Cassie's nestbox again - she had pulled fur last week but not kindled. Well, she gave birth to four wriggly, energetic kits ... and THREE have the Dutch banding coat pattern! Woohooo! I only had one born last year to Belle and Blue-Boy, who was regular furred and could not take the August heat and died. My goal since crossing in the Dutch gene has been to get a blue Dutch-banded Rex-furred rabbit with the heat tolerance of the Florida White I crossed in last year.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_XS66JzstrlH460J5T99thJfeCV506U6uEV0XR1gudyFdQPKO7gvR_Z-EmaR0GhsaASqrsDa4u_vFCBsOaNGIaDD_p4OwMXGR8L-3HjpA1ZtSlmm0FmN2EYG5cZtR0TpQbVua-AhcMAO/s1632/bunnykits05mar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_XS66JzstrlH460J5T99thJfeCV506U6uEV0XR1gudyFdQPKO7gvR_Z-EmaR0GhsaASqrsDa4u_vFCBsOaNGIaDD_p4OwMXGR8L-3HjpA1ZtSlmm0FmN2EYG5cZtR0TpQbVua-AhcMAO/s320/bunnykits05mar.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">four newborn rabbit kits</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Newborn rabbits have very little fur, so it isn't a certainty, but I think I have one black banded (the runt of the litter) and two blue banded. Since Cassie is a Rex-furred daughter of Jack, and Blue-Boy (the sire of the litter) is the son of Shalimar who was Rex-furred, there is a decent possibility of getting at least one of them with Rex fur. Wish me luck!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYycgSGWRG_Bx-kJqqcdEiat7wY_WQhNeZoEuEyEfI10rR5zuBCJCfqc9A-G1zTtSWdoqorDPJBlfXmMJeRJ5TZaEVW-xocmseDEReecqeV0C4tjiPuJ94ZRy3CwdpK4HcvoInWSnbMI7B/s1633/bunnykits05mar2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1633" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYycgSGWRG_Bx-kJqqcdEiat7wY_WQhNeZoEuEyEfI10rR5zuBCJCfqc9A-G1zTtSWdoqorDPJBlfXmMJeRJ5TZaEVW-xocmseDEReecqeV0C4tjiPuJ94ZRy3CwdpK4HcvoInWSnbMI7B/s320/bunnykits05mar2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The three Dutch banded kits</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-54923665460757766262020-09-03T07:14:00.000-07:002020-09-03T07:14:02.356-07:00Swallowtail butterflies<p> A couple weeks ago, my four fennel plants were getting stripped of leaves. Hubby mentioned it, and asked if I wanted him to pull the culprits off and feed them to the chickens. I said, "No!" Not only do the chickens not like the taste of them, they weren't hornworms but swallowtail caterpillars. Tuesday morning, as we were feeding the chickens and rabbits, the butterflies were emerging from their cocoons. This has happened before, but this time we got pictures when one of the butterflies stayed on my hand as I was moving them up high enough the cats couldn't reach them while they waited for their wings to dry.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHx6RYe3rVCQTe7tzeFX-X641kcF8Rc1ByzwvbPgGnuL6pJDvcfR6T2DPu3E42iHkBzCW3kT3gsG0WUvit_iVa3U2t9SHy4NOsScKutsPa1XNfb-IAobeD6ccc3clO25yx0rBgcIu0r4PC/s2048/20200901_093022%25280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1351" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHx6RYe3rVCQTe7tzeFX-X641kcF8Rc1ByzwvbPgGnuL6pJDvcfR6T2DPu3E42iHkBzCW3kT3gsG0WUvit_iVa3U2t9SHy4NOsScKutsPa1XNfb-IAobeD6ccc3clO25yx0rBgcIu0r4PC/s320/20200901_093022%25280%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swallowtail butterfly on my fingers<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Now, for a bit of interesting news ... I finally signed up for a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/km.gunn.31">Facebook account here</a>. It's strictly for business - critter stuff and art - no I won't be doing memes and definitely will not be acknowledging politics or currents events there. Just my critters and my art, for anyone who wants to follow along on that (and has an account).</p>dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-81025057943870789212020-04-22T12:20:00.000-07:002020-04-22T12:20:03.393-07:00Goats again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: left;">More pictures of goats!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hope looking away from the camera<br />(Maude in the background)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Molly's ear; Hope in back, Franklin's rump,<br />and Maude ducking under the chair</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Molly wants to be the star of the photo shoot</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Star, almost posing</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Star on the bottle, Karl at far left</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stinker on the bottle - after four and a half weeks of resisting it</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglY6OOxYDG7HM2sH_ePRQBAR_YsDsy9JrjtCZc3lZIh7021-8ynsxh9xup4SsKXZfztGEcIHHT_8TERXlMhjXNV874b0aTd-Z2EoK0s4F_U89CCvUdKkr0oc2eturb3NyKUqVkuh_UbSma/s1600/20200410_161542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglY6OOxYDG7HM2sH_ePRQBAR_YsDsy9JrjtCZc3lZIh7021-8ynsxh9xup4SsKXZfztGEcIHHT_8TERXlMhjXNV874b0aTd-Z2EoK0s4F_U89CCvUdKkr0oc2eturb3NyKUqVkuh_UbSma/s320/20200410_161542.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Star, with an expression like her great-grandmother Chocolate</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKLfwwXAMhR7yl1LejueylzfJDk-kVhCkAOGM5s2qJ7rMx8nQcjxMfuUOOnSiqrdKr19thlos8g9w8ovsDfl6oJgMutd-oMP_FZ1Pd8iVondhuv-50bNM9bKG5qt7ZPHZXh10B59vpwtF/s1600/20200410_161650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKLfwwXAMhR7yl1LejueylzfJDk-kVhCkAOGM5s2qJ7rMx8nQcjxMfuUOOnSiqrdKr19thlos8g9w8ovsDfl6oJgMutd-oMP_FZ1Pd8iVondhuv-50bNM9bKG5qt7ZPHZXh10B59vpwtF/s320/20200410_161650.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stinker (top) and Star (bottom) finally bottling</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prim and Brownie in the background,<br />Stinker and Star chugging bottles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCF7mMNLt20vJJaXYVA6HFws8a5kNjgTj3jaJ1OPkaA4POrc6gpZ39VqHPKvdRy_seDMf3W44n6t67er4ff-MXN-mHMF8sxtwwiQ2xbc-MZ8g_307RKjEeyy-siIdqTP9nVxAAQ01suXog/s1600/20200410_161710%25280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1500" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCF7mMNLt20vJJaXYVA6HFws8a5kNjgTj3jaJ1OPkaA4POrc6gpZ39VqHPKvdRy_seDMf3W44n6t67er4ff-MXN-mHMF8sxtwwiQ2xbc-MZ8g_307RKjEeyy-siIdqTP9nVxAAQ01suXog/s320/20200410_161710%25280%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">did I mention these two didn't want to be bottle babies for the first month?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karl, Molly's rejected firstborn</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnkz8QCUFsniaEC6v0L3DZ2NziigsT7Em_Uv21fOfCXv2TsJ6l5zulYrJ955_TybaNa7ugpI3TRcAf7JpONh64ymV_RbGHtWBMneMeHrPkIgxaPtO8KOSh71doouz3Oy2nsuPrGFCyZ30/s1600/20200415_083954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1100" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnkz8QCUFsniaEC6v0L3DZ2NziigsT7Em_Uv21fOfCXv2TsJ6l5zulYrJ955_TybaNa7ugpI3TRcAf7JpONh64ymV_RbGHtWBMneMeHrPkIgxaPtO8KOSh71doouz3Oy2nsuPrGFCyZ30/s320/20200415_083954.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maude on left, Franklin also scratching his rump,<br />with Cocoa Puff in the shelter</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKar6ELWMpdwvnZEyFI83PD2qHXd3rc3qcfElfjeJZWL9jXXPIZHP6PtngtDLIFO043m-9oFggLvHinWltDqB5WMJGOCkWRx1ayqoOvvrMdCEdPyh3UDeOCYRqmFs6ujiVfBlkvWWescHy/s1600/20200415_084012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="723" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKar6ELWMpdwvnZEyFI83PD2qHXd3rc3qcfElfjeJZWL9jXXPIZHP6PtngtDLIFO043m-9oFggLvHinWltDqB5WMJGOCkWRx1ayqoOvvrMdCEdPyh3UDeOCYRqmFs6ujiVfBlkvWWescHy/s320/20200415_084012.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cocoa Puff, Molly's triplets - Maude and Karl in the midground,<br />Franklin and little Hope back by the shelter</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBFmSI09rPFDKV0QM1LgbuOscn4SOvLrxcAkLJvL8xG1wfzBVUUWXBlI7LhjDoxFi92lSgC1c0p-anUWesKWX2jfa_jG9tFpsxbpzJ0NL9HWJpI7RR1Ob3qC5xiJSyLGItbbV_Lx5cED0/s1600/20200415_084020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="1100" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBFmSI09rPFDKV0QM1LgbuOscn4SOvLrxcAkLJvL8xG1wfzBVUUWXBlI7LhjDoxFi92lSgC1c0p-anUWesKWX2jfa_jG9tFpsxbpzJ0NL9HWJpI7RR1Ob3qC5xiJSyLGItbbV_Lx5cED0/s320/20200415_084020.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Franklin and Hope, when she was tiny</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYqW53DEhkmG9jOzqPizpCuvraxThNJRFDnxXYm8sUxFGfFJXYb3C8mq-mVOBnweflDa1g1ejExyWegF8OHXFi4rvZ9meGu2vapPstOqNbvlZWx3yT7xGKUL5scMwO2fq3MIqRP1wkfmK/s1600/20200415_084029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="1100" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYqW53DEhkmG9jOzqPizpCuvraxThNJRFDnxXYm8sUxFGfFJXYb3C8mq-mVOBnweflDa1g1ejExyWegF8OHXFi4rvZ9meGu2vapPstOqNbvlZWx3yT7xGKUL5scMwO2fq3MIqRP1wkfmK/s320/20200415_084029.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maude and Karl</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj769-L8iRtyLmjc-rFPekJXMXSofsSY9-FyH53UnmhQ2QLgZK6nWbHe-ivlCU6w_Yu7FALqdRCNiMsB00hX6GGZsdzwEbTtaz8Lp5xg-XTSEjA4hwMejkkf5xY43sbiKC3hTQWRinuUykd/s1600/20200415_084044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="1100" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj769-L8iRtyLmjc-rFPekJXMXSofsSY9-FyH53UnmhQ2QLgZK6nWbHe-ivlCU6w_Yu7FALqdRCNiMsB00hX6GGZsdzwEbTtaz8Lp5xg-XTSEjA4hwMejkkf5xY43sbiKC3hTQWRinuUykd/s320/20200415_084044.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the triplets, Maude, Franklin, and Karl, with Hope in back</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2YLSETH4jnU4K3pJKfnU_-T-WxlsOlYefINUZ6pQfGvqUzT1DeMwZkI3idhggDHp-2afqZxDeya4cQOVCGwuvpsRWM-XLB29KlX6RSGUS3hxgf6Fe9p60lX-KZYtV0SIRVaDfkzELtWg/s1600/20200415_084109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="1100" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2YLSETH4jnU4K3pJKfnU_-T-WxlsOlYefINUZ6pQfGvqUzT1DeMwZkI3idhggDHp-2afqZxDeya4cQOVCGwuvpsRWM-XLB29KlX6RSGUS3hxgf6Fe9p60lX-KZYtV0SIRVaDfkzELtWg/s320/20200415_084109.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">front-to-back: Franklin, Maude, and Hope</td></tr>
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A big picture dump of this spring's goat kids. First were Cocoa Puff's twins, Stinker and Star. I've had a buyer since December wanting two *boys* for pets, so of course the Chaos Puff had twins girls. Star was an obvious name ... Stinker earned hers by bouncing off my back and shoulder any time I paid any attention to her sister. It hit me the other week, when Stinker laid her head on my lap while I was trying to bottle Karl and Hope (and Stinker was trying to steal one or other bottle) that Stinker really, really wants constant attention. She isn't going to be picky about what kind of attention, just as long as she is the center of my attention, and her alone. If she ever calms down, she'd probably make an excellent pet.<br />
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Four weeks after Puff's twins, Molly had triplets again this year. She rejected her firstborn, and it took me a day to figure that out because she has been the doting mother every other year. As I like to do, I was there midwifing for her, and she no sooner jumped to her feet after Karl was born than the next contraction hit and she laid right back down. I pulled little Karl out of the way and dried him off , then did the same for Franklin although she had time to catch her breath and start cleaning Franklin before Maude was ready for her debut. Molly did NOT get a chance to clean Karl off - I did all that for her. I was just helping, ya know ... she has only one tongue but is on her third set of triplets. Well, it took until the next day for me to figure it out - Molly has to do at least a little of the clean-off, or she thinks, "Not my kid." I'll need to remember that next year.<br />
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So, I finally had the two boys for my buyers. I called them even before showering after the triplets were born, and they were eager to come out and see them, name them, and put a deposit on them ... before the state of Florida decided to do a lockdown (or, if you prefer the euphemisms like "shelter-in-place" or "stay at home order"). When the boys turned four weeks old the other weekend, the lady called to say they could take the boys once they went down to three a day bottlings. That was this past Sunday. I'm not sure who was more excited - the lady or her son - but each will have a pet goat. Franklin resisted the bottle for a week, then on the eighth day he converted and began pushing Karl off the bottle every chance he got. With Puff's twins, I sort-of gave up after six days ... now I know to go at least eight. Franklin really was trying to prove the truth to the expression, "as stubborn as a goat." Hmphf, I *am* a Capricorn though.<br />
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Now, the saga of Madison, and her one live twin Hope. Madison wasn't due until two weeks after Molly kidded, but when the triplets were only three days old, she went into labor. The little girl who ended up named Hope was first born, and not too hard of a delivery, although Hope could not even try to stand until later that night (born in the late morning). The second twin, though ... oof. At first I thought it was breech, but then realized that was a single fore foot. I tried to push it back in to reposition, but Madison's contractions were just too strong. I did move it enough for her to push it out ... dead. With its head turned back to touch its hip, the other foreleg tucked under the body along with both hind legs, it was in the yoga-position-from-hell as far as birth presentations go. I don't know if it died in utero or if it snapped its neck in the birth canal, but it didn't even twitch.<br />
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We put Madison in the small pen to recuperate by herself, and put the surviving kid in a cardboard box so I could look up what to do about a premie and try to get warm milk into her. I had told hubby that night, "If she survives to morning, I am going to name her Hope." Well, as you can see from the pictures, Hope was indeed still alive the next morning, and able to stand a little longer than the night before. Huzzah! Madison seemed to improve, even getting herself tangled in the electronet fence at least once, but her milk production was next to nonexistent so Grandma Molly to the rescue. <br />
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Then, the afternoon of the fourth day, Madison seemed a bit lethargic. By evening, she was laying down mostly, and we both had a bad feeling ... which was confirmed the next morning when we found Madison dead. Oof. This was only the second goat I've lost (Chocolate was the first the other year, and for almost the same reason) and also the first bottle baby I've lost. Francis, Madison's sister and also a bottle baby from last spring, doesn't seem pregnant even though she was bred ... and I am not upset by that. Right now, both Molly and Cocoa Puff are giving a lot of milk - I brought in about a gallon and half this morning! - so I feel no urgency to rebreed Francis. Maybe ... just maybe ... Prim might finally be pregnant again, after having milked for 34 months and drying off this December. Maybe she's just fat and sassy on spring grass (well, she's always a bit sassy) but her udder has not gone all the way down and may - just may - be starting to gear back up.<br />
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Well, this has turned into quite the long update, but there has been a lot of stuff going on here. For the record, bottling a rejected kid and an orphan kid takes up a LOT of time, especially the first week when their tiny tummies only hold about three hours' worth of milk. Today, Hope is officially four weeks old and can now go down to only three bottles a day.</div>
warhead01http://www.blogger.com/profile/10490268064704462703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-30892186226618635882019-09-04T10:53:00.000-07:002019-09-04T10:53:04.384-07:00The storm has passedWe still have both power and internet! It's still windy, but the rain may be over for now. Thankfully, it was not as bad as Michael or Irma ... not by a long shot. We may have one small tree down in the back of the pasture, but that's it.<br />
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Words of wisdom from the storm prep this time: "There is just no reasoning with a broody hen." If she still wants to sit a nest tomorrow, I will let her.dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-23824911073360389052019-08-30T07:26:00.000-07:002019-08-30T07:26:13.671-07:00Hurricane preps already completedJust a quick note here to let everyone know we did our hurricane preps Tuesday and Wednesday, before it was even upgraded to hurricane status. With it slowing down and now not expected to make landfall until Tuesday, I may need to get more chocolate chip cookies before it hits.dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-81125731867485592932019-04-15T06:36:00.002-07:002019-04-15T06:36:19.784-07:00Goats for sale and progress bottling the keeper girls<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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First up, a short progress report on bottling Molly's two daughters, who will be two weeks old Wednesday. I'm not entirely sure which girl was born first, but Madison (as in Dolly Madison), the girl with the smaller white spot on her forehead, took to the bottle almost immediately, and yesterday took down at least 8 of 9 ounces in the big bottle, plus squabbling for a teat once I let Molly into the pen. The other girl, whom I originally was going to name Flanders (as in Moll Flanders) but looks more like a Francis (like Baby in Dirty Dancing), finally got a good latch-on this morning and chugged half the big bottle on her own. So, two bottle babies out of three! And as Meatloaf sang, "Two outta Three Ain't Bad," especially since these are the first of Molly's kids I've ever gotten on the bottle. The boy, Pitcher (as in Molly Pitcher) is still not sure about the bottle idea, but I hope to change that the next few mornings.</div>
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Because my pasture will only support six adult goats in a dry year, keeping Molly's two daughters means I will need to sell two of the adult herd. So far, I've decided on selling Tangie, the pretty girl who tends to have singles, but also has the temperament to make a good pet.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijG_SCm6zvN2tGQU5WI7GDuxSnAl-iIX581x-WV572ls0CO5LSHm6BoYZgLAj7AxJppOoJYnx_MvIoBVbY-RFNiG6YzrVNTo3fmQwxHDwlkeWQyj-cSxSuOGAc3XpwQ6Eh85yayl7BqqfX/s1600/0415190835d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1244" data-original-width="1494" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijG_SCm6zvN2tGQU5WI7GDuxSnAl-iIX581x-WV572ls0CO5LSHm6BoYZgLAj7AxJppOoJYnx_MvIoBVbY-RFNiG6YzrVNTo3fmQwxHDwlkeWQyj-cSxSuOGAc3XpwQ6Eh85yayl7BqqfX/s320/0415190835d.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tangie, ADGA registered adult in milk</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNtMaJ7jwrnqm77mkd5Czm8yrPiBOR79UHl2EgoGCrgAZ8XfoEA-Yzsza7WcGYdNH7F9jYC4fSstYUK0oVZWhxlmHDtmUNtO8Gd72TITSh8JOufVSRoNLhNMLlgSs7WKVauehBE1NiI3H/s1600/0415190840.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1209" data-original-width="1271" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNtMaJ7jwrnqm77mkd5Czm8yrPiBOR79UHl2EgoGCrgAZ8XfoEA-Yzsza7WcGYdNH7F9jYC4fSstYUK0oVZWhxlmHDtmUNtO8Gd72TITSh8JOufVSRoNLhNMLlgSs7WKVauehBE1NiI3H/s320/0415190840.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cocoa Puff's ornery little imp, whom I call Cinnabon</td></tr>
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I'll be taking sales pages up for each to TSC in Palatka today when we do the feed run.</div>
warhead01http://www.blogger.com/profile/10490268064704462703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-9208542094890908782019-04-12T04:32:00.001-07:002019-04-12T04:32:35.361-07:00Another set of triplets from Molly<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Molly finally kidded last week on Wednesday (the 3rd), wrapping up this year's kidding season in fine style with healthy, good-sized triplets. The first two were girls, as I had told Molly before taking her to be bred that I would very much like two daughters from her and Harry. I was beginning to wonder if there were only the two when Molly laid down and delivered the boy. According to one of my goat books, this is unusual, as "95% of the time" when both genders are in a kidding, the boys will be born first. All three are horned, which means I need to fire up the disbudding iron, and hope I do a better job than I did with Cocoa Puff. I'm working on switching them over to the bottle, as bottle babies are so much friendlier. The punchline here is, after over 7 weeks of refusing, yesterday morning Cocoa Puff's daughter Cinnabon decided she wanted to try the bottle.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhFgOnOTlY41XAAPUPxZmg8w7kuMFDqMh6UioMzSb2q3lHl395e3Vbce6S2vZ2SEypE0clez70H-1mHsi3oGRcbX4JV7aAmaJoQVKJuTY55VX-uQN1-KvXlIMj9EAN8XEccMkSbnrdAykP/s1600/0406191522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhFgOnOTlY41XAAPUPxZmg8w7kuMFDqMh6UioMzSb2q3lHl395e3Vbce6S2vZ2SEypE0clez70H-1mHsi3oGRcbX4JV7aAmaJoQVKJuTY55VX-uQN1-KvXlIMj9EAN8XEccMkSbnrdAykP/s320/0406191522.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Molly loves that camera -<br />she always thinks it is food."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAnqw9bUPKxmpKiYvBtkVuAMgwHMqArzVKCPc7f-WLk5qGi0kpaMBuW7gDtYuBbZWmfw4YYOq1WKwiKFJKrrAyHCOVt0tcfsDH3ycOpUKvWTAVWLx5YkseTAm7BskRAL1_pINafFA4B-37/s1600/0409191835a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAnqw9bUPKxmpKiYvBtkVuAMgwHMqArzVKCPc7f-WLk5qGi0kpaMBuW7gDtYuBbZWmfw4YYOq1WKwiKFJKrrAyHCOVt0tcfsDH3ycOpUKvWTAVWLx5YkseTAm7BskRAL1_pINafFA4B-37/s320/0409191835a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">almost like three peas in a pod</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGtu2TWBqK2MfZXPUF8epRsrrpHKpZa9Fn0x6eJm9JMQXPbhqrtAKE8RskQHjS91ftfWSCFFERFKDz-lCsrrjBFzFujyic_uWrqKJg_fHF2M9FG3Xn7qJ7BDym6fl5sSad2_wWz8bv56qK/s1600/0409191835c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="1500" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGtu2TWBqK2MfZXPUF8epRsrrpHKpZa9Fn0x6eJm9JMQXPbhqrtAKE8RskQHjS91ftfWSCFFERFKDz-lCsrrjBFzFujyic_uWrqKJg_fHF2M9FG3Xn7qJ7BDym6fl5sSad2_wWz8bv56qK/s320/0409191835c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">now you can see all three faces</td></tr>
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warhead01http://www.blogger.com/profile/10490268064704462703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-88912372128691125072019-04-02T09:16:00.002-07:002019-04-02T09:16:52.563-07:00A picture a week of a garden box<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz-_S1KdFsm6xJeqqMKXgk-R2ApFKbDupxERnVd_oc48I8W6Fi5xIxTbfDqiRKJ_ASHNCijOBBi7tl5NfijzCOO_pmRbn9jcvcdJxCeIg0zWxLmfOXpftZiOHJKt63DeFjBocuJaOp4JoX/s1600/0228190836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="900" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz-_S1KdFsm6xJeqqMKXgk-R2ApFKbDupxERnVd_oc48I8W6Fi5xIxTbfDqiRKJ_ASHNCijOBBi7tl5NfijzCOO_pmRbn9jcvcdJxCeIg0zWxLmfOXpftZiOHJKt63DeFjBocuJaOp4JoX/s320/0228190836.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Just hubby's weekly pictures of the lettuce and broccoli bed, with the last three being the most recent, where you can see the lettuce bolted, although not before we got several good salads out of it. The broccoli has sort-of bolted, in that right now there are only three crowns not yet past eating stage. They should all do side shoots in good style, though, so all is not lost.</div>
warhead01http://www.blogger.com/profile/10490268064704462703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-68371084911274068462019-03-21T07:11:00.000-07:002019-03-21T07:11:05.820-07:00Springtime<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">latest two hatches of Wyandottes</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">light-colored chick appears RED,<br />but still a full Wyandotte</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lacey and kits</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brooke and kits</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the broccoli and lettuce bed</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dutch-Boy, at Frank & Caroline's</td></tr>
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Hope y'all enjoy these pics and vids, courtesy of hubby's smart-phone. Commentary later.</div>
warhead01http://www.blogger.com/profile/10490268064704462703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-91110469391849096002019-02-19T14:26:00.000-08:002019-02-19T14:26:02.225-08:00Add three more goat kidsMaggie finally kidded. Three little boys, who all look like their sire, Harry Houdini, except one appears to be polled. The apparently-polled one is also the one most inclined to take the bottle, which will make him the perfect replacement for his sire, who is living up to his name a bit too well for Frank and Caroline.<br />
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Pictures maybe tomorrow, if the ones from this afternoon turned out decent. If not, there will be more pics after the rain passes.<br />
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Oh, Brooke is due to kindle sometime tomorrow, and I am gathering more eggs for the incubators. Busy, busy, busy! We're both tired right now.dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-88662858498114023872019-02-17T15:32:00.001-08:002019-02-17T15:32:22.344-08:00New additionsPics will have to wait until tomorrow, but a lot of new additions here. My second incubator kicked things off, with the first two chicks hatching Thursday morning. Friday evening Lacey kindled a six pack - all six live, healthy, and close enough in size there is no actual runt of this litter. At first, I was worried she wasn't caring for them, or her milk hadn't come in enough for six, so I gave her a small handful of raspberry leaves and this morning those kits had FAT round full bellies. Saturday ended the hatch, with a total of thirty-four live chicks out of forty-one that showed development at candling. I guess the record from two weeks ago didn't last long.<br />
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Now, for the new addition I know y'all will want pics, pics, pics! Yup, a new goat kid, but it wasn't Maggie who kidded this evening. It was Cocoa Puff, who I thought had another week or two. She sure fooled me. One very adorable, nicely marked girl. Meanwhile, Maggie is huge: the proverbial broad side of the barn. We're hoping she at least has twins, for her sake.<br />
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Another addition, but not a baby: I have a new stud bunny. I'll get pics of him when he settles in, as right now he's hiding in the privacy cubby of the new bunny hutch. This one is almost exactly like the one last summer, and is situated under the tress. We had to move the electronet fence after setting it up, but bunnies need shade.<br />
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It's been an eventful weekend, even before the weekend officially started.dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-7152152654980238522019-02-02T08:28:00.002-08:002019-02-02T08:28:52.924-08:00Thirty-three chicksI finally have a GOOD hatch! On January 11th, I set 41 gold-laced Wyandotte eggs, from Solo and the spring pullets I collectively named "the Young Ones." Solo is named such because he is the only surviving chick hatched here last spring, and not so much for the Star Wars character. When I candled the hatch on day 11 or 12, I only saw four obvious clears. Two more were questionable, but I figured I'd let them go anyway. So, I set 37 eggs Tuesday evening, and about a handful of those eggs cheeped at me as I moved them (a good sign!). The first "early bird" chick hatched Wednesday morning, then Thursday they were popping out like popcorn. I know at least one hatched Friday morning, as I saw a very wet chick when I looked in with the Mini-Mag. I remarked to hubby there was no counting them until we pulled them out of the incubator because they were bouncing all around in it.<br />
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Yesterday afternoon, we set up the nursery, and while I added electrolytes and probiotics to their first water, and fixed up the first chick starter (I wet it with liquid from the fermented scratch), hubby pulled the chicks out one at time to count. I came back with food to distract the adult birds out running around, and heard, "Thirty ... thirty-one ..." Sure enough, once all the chicks were in the nursery, there were only four eggs unhatched.<br />
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That's an 80% hatch rate ...I think it's also a new record for here.<br />
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Oh, hubby got me a second incubator as my birthday present, so there are 42 more gold-laced Wyandotte eggs from Solo and the Young Ones. The older hens aren't laying well enough just yet, so after I clean out incubator #1, I'll be loading it up with a third hatch from Solo and the Young Ones. I intend to hatch a LOT of chicks this year. Most will be sold or eaten, but I want to get another hen like Beauty was ... okay, I actually want a dozen like she was. The best way to make progress in chicken breeding is to hatch as much as you can, and it is time to "move the chains" on this idea.dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-25496040925243797882019-01-29T05:48:00.001-08:002019-01-29T05:48:50.215-08:00First goat kid of 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYHRy8xPDbQFFoB-PMkWRiDlfzoE1Uijhyphenhyphen73zybCMF2g5B_cLI7ZBZtrboLJPmxidy7Es6iyPokiAcnhDa_ftvs0FFUMiUlQI5h6-qzJVBcUWpzUhZ5KUqrW_PkxMRVVmlgSwP3fNJytu/s1600/0128191000%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYHRy8xPDbQFFoB-PMkWRiDlfzoE1Uijhyphenhyphen73zybCMF2g5B_cLI7ZBZtrboLJPmxidy7Es6iyPokiAcnhDa_ftvs0FFUMiUlQI5h6-qzJVBcUWpzUhZ5KUqrW_PkxMRVVmlgSwP3fNJytu/s320/0128191000%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tangie standing guard over baby</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqs21cYkCZaK9m2jj8LgmlU_k2u0Fq7iTxqYFSlDIfyNb7kaVOcAlypYAvLnakBwFUTMEGa507POQX-AKIBeQEXACxkez5_y6mK6TKmiRtfZpyY7qwJJAaeSaVI31ogWhUM-YnNEmDIWPJ/s1600/0128191001%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqs21cYkCZaK9m2jj8LgmlU_k2u0Fq7iTxqYFSlDIfyNb7kaVOcAlypYAvLnakBwFUTMEGa507POQX-AKIBeQEXACxkez5_y6mK6TKmiRtfZpyY7qwJJAaeSaVI31ogWhUM-YnNEmDIWPJ/s320/0128191001%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby spends a lot of time like this</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAmWR-xgG0VS4_qnnOTgHSrEN2en4v1Kj0BoRXDhRAVsoeB4j_WKeGfrvIVbaimLfZTdhYBdsccqtbIs18Je1PMPef7VyaBq8z2QMKefwPuuRgcf8DfdkP5MJhRhxqAjC_1RKeP5sqW9H_/s1600/0128191005a%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAmWR-xgG0VS4_qnnOTgHSrEN2en4v1Kj0BoRXDhRAVsoeB4j_WKeGfrvIVbaimLfZTdhYBdsccqtbIs18Je1PMPef7VyaBq8z2QMKefwPuuRgcf8DfdkP5MJhRhxqAjC_1RKeP5sqW9H_/s320/0128191005a%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby beginning to explore as Tangie watches</td></tr>
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Saturday kicked off kidding season here at the Homesteade! Like last year, Tangie signaled she was in labor by "talking" to her yet-unborn kid in the morning, but as the day went on and no baby, I began to wonder if she was having a false labor. I decided to check on her around 1600 (4 P.M.) as the next-to-last check, and by the time I walked around the house to the pasture, she had started to call for help. Baby was a single, which meant she was big. I had been hoping Tangie would have twins again. I had to pull pretty firmly, as baby had herself wedged in with her shoulders square, just like Sweet Pea in 2017.<br />
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Sunday it started raining before we got up, and rained continuously until after we went to bed. Goats and cats began to complain about the weather by the afternoon ... for some odd reason they all seem to think we can do something about that. Yesterday and this morning were downright chilly - below 40F and hubby and I both sound like bowls of Rice Crispies with our "Snap! Crackle! POP!" as we get out of bed. I did make the comment Sunday evening, "At least it ain't snow!"<br />
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Enjoy the pictures.</div>
warhead01http://www.blogger.com/profile/10490268064704462703noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-40686936881178318212019-01-22T06:28:00.001-08:002019-01-22T06:28:33.312-08:00Random rabbit stuffSo, it's what passes for winter down here. Yesterday's high was only 50F, up from upper 30s in the morning, while today it's supposed to get up in the mid-70s with an overnight low of mid- to upper 50s. Tomorrow it's supposed to be a bit warmer, and more humid until it starts raining overnight through Thursday morning, then the temperature will drop again to upper 30s for overnight lows again for a few days. I had acupuncture last Thursday, but by Sunday night it lost to the cold front that rolled in. Ah well, we did get some garden stuff accomplished (more on that later).<br />
<br />
While my back was just screaming yesterday in protest, I did a bunch of reading about rabbit breeding and general feeding and health, and found a couple nice little nuggets of useful info. One I had seen previously, and now saw confirmed is that rabbit pellets may be complete in nutrition at the feed mill, two vitamins are not shelf-stable in the pellets: vitamin A and E. Since they degrade in storage, supplementing goes a long way toward willingness to breed. Black oil sunflower seeds (usually abbreviated as BOSS) will provide stable vitamin E, and in general green vegetation has vitamin A, along with of course carrots.<br />
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I found another little gem in a forum thread I intend to try, likely starting tomorrow, and that is the mineral supplement that's best for bunnies is sheep mineral. One sheep-and-goat block, coming home tomorrow.<br />
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I've also noticed bunnies are bored. I have golf balls in there for them to roll around, and the boys in particular do that a lot. In fact, we figured out that Larry has been rolling his out of the cage, through a bent section of the door frame. Shalimar has been rolling her food dish around, which is a bit of an effort considering I bought no-tip dishes for the rabbits. Chew toys are recommended, in addition to cat toys to roll/throw around, so as a chew I plan to get the girls some alfalfa/timothy hay cubes. Another option will be to put in pieces of cardboard for them to shred.<br />
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On the breeding front, at least three girls are definitely bred. Shalimar kicked things off with the eager-breeder routine, which Lacey did a little less than a week later (and remember, this is her first time breeding). Brooke had been bred by Jack, but when I put her in with Larry the other morning, she willingly lifted for him, whereas she made Jack really, really work at less success. I'm wondering if it was a timing thing, or if Brooke simply likes Larry better. Since Shal kindled at 30 days last time, I estimate her to kindle on February 9th. MaryAnn has not been very enthusiastic about the breeding idea, but Jack acted like he made contact while she was on the run. Gracie has been in George's cage for over a week.<br />
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Finally, I'll be getting a new bunny boy from Frank and Caroline. Caroline said a friend of hers gave him and a couple girls away for free, because she couldn't keep them anymore. This fellow is a Dutch (breed) rabbit, may even have a pedigree, and has a lovely, solid, and thick body. Hubby has a pic of him on his camera, so at some point I'll post up what he looks like.dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-84724618654793292812019-01-15T16:32:00.000-08:002019-01-15T16:32:16.371-08:00Fruit crispNo pictures, as it's in the oven right now, but here is a recipe for fruit crisp I tweaked:<br />
Preheat oven to 350F<br />
generously butter medium glass baking pan (7x11? 8x??)<br />
5 Gala apples, cut into bite-sized pieces<br />
enough dried cranberries to almost cover bottom of pan<br />
approximately 3/8 cup juice (I had cranberry-pomegranate open in the fridge)<br />
in smallish bowl mix together<br />
1/4 cup brown sugar<br />
1/2 cup flour<br />
1/2-3/4 teaspoon cinnamon<br />
pinch salt if using unsalted butter<br />
cut in 1/4 cup (half stick) butter<br />
add 1/2 to 1 cup oats (recipe I started with calls for 1/2 cup, but hubby asked if we could have more this time) mix and spread on top of fruit<br />
bake 35-45 minutes ... we do 35 because we don't feel like waiting longer<br />
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I have apples on hand since they were on sale the other week, but this will work with just about any kind of fruit you could care to put in crisp. We're pretty much going to eat this for "dinner" plus the leftovers will make a nice warm breakfast tomorrow.<br />
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Can anyone tell we're kicking off another "cold" snap here? Overnight low is forecast to be 41F. It only got up to 60F today - which was our overnight low for Sunday. I do not exaggerate when I say we can go from 80+ daytime high to frost overnight in 36 hours down here in the winter.<br />
<br />dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-82175152354932573672018-11-02T07:52:00.001-07:002018-11-02T07:52:44.636-07:00Molly is off for a weekend flingYesterday, after coordinating with Frank and Caroline, I loaded Molly up into the largest old dog crate in the bed of the pickup and took her up for a weekend fling with Harry Houdini, Prim's son. Both Molly and Tangie are still giving a decent amount of milk, which I am attributing to the very wet summer resulting in lush green stuff in the pasture even up through the present (when usually the August heat makes the pasture dry out a bit). Molly's absence was noticeable this morning, as she is still giving a good quart-and-half per morning.<br />
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We're all hoping Molly does triplets again. Frank and Caroline are intending to replace Harry, as he has gotten a bit destructive, and the fencing is his preferred target. Ideally, they want a polled son, which would be a first for Molly, but they definitely want a kid from this year's crop as I am planning to bottlefeed all kids this coming season. I also plan to practice with the disbudding iron where appropriate. It is going to be some work, but I saw with Tim and Andre just how easily bottle babies sell themselves, and the Cocoa/Chaos Puff shows how responsive bottle babies are once they grow up.<br />
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The polite version of yesterday's events is that Harry knew Molly was there before he even saw her. In fact, he met her at the gate - and I had to push her in the last couple steps, as he was right there "with bells on." Frank and Caroline both have a rather, um, "earthy" sense of humor so I'll spare y'all the ribald jokes, but let's just say Harry was interested and enthusiastic, while Molly had a "What kind of nanny do you think I am?!" look on her face. Harry finally got the clue, and when we walked back to the house, he was busy wining-and-dining her, probably whispering sweet nothings to her as he licked her ear. We'll go pick her back up either Sunday or Monday, depending on when hubby feels more up to it. I won't be able to get Molly up in the truck by myself - she does NOT like traveling. At least this time, I didn't get pulled over because someone on the highway couldn't tell the difference between a complaining goat and a "wounded deer," like <a href="https://sandghomesteade.blogspot.com/2018/09/weirdness.html">what happened when we took Maggie up there</a>.<br />
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Just for the record, Prim is STILL milking after more than twenty months. That is exceptional! It's also the main reason Harry is still intact and alive at this point - this breeding has been planned since last year, but Hurricane Irma messed up plans on both ends (they took damage last year). I've been forced to learn a bit of patience, as things happen in their own time here.dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-25225551726233120762018-10-30T08:56:00.002-07:002018-10-30T08:56:42.740-07:00Planting notes for garden box 1Since I've had C.R.S. (Can't Remember Sh ...Squat) since Iraq, I thought to make notes. My wall calendar is a little short on space, as it has notes on setting eggs in the incubator and trying to breed bunnies, so here is as good a spot as any to make notes.<br />
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<ul>
<li>Garden box #1 (the first we set up) was re-weeded three days ago while the moon was in the air sign Gemini (which is good for fruit trees, but not much else I cultivate). I discovered one of the digging forks' handle is totally toast, as if it had absolutely no treatment for the wood at all. This was the one we bought new in '13 or '14. The digging fork I picked up at the flea market of unknown age is still in good working order. Go figure.</li>
<li>Since the moon phase is waning (and we hit the 3rd quarter officially tomorrow) this is a good time to plant below-ground crops. I selected daikon radish, carrots, and beets, with intent to pickle most of the harvest.</li>
<li>Burpee brand daikon long radish, ordered from website so nothing fancy on the packaging. Marked 300 seeds, packed for 2017 (except goats happened last year), origin Italy (I so love what Italians have done with any vegetable that catches their fancy!), lot 20. Three rows, as it's a main focus for this box.</li>
<li>Burpee brand carrot, Burpee A#1 Hybrid (I think I have Queen Anne's Lace growing out in the uncultivated areas around us, which is basically wild carrot and will cross with domestic carrots). Again, a nothing-fancy package from the website. Marked 1500 seeds (that ought to keep me busy this season), packed for '17, origin USA, lot 14.</li>
<li>Burpee brand beets, heirloom Cylindra variety. These are supposed to grow as fat cylinders for easy slicing. Nothing-fancy pack from website, was in the lost-for-a-month package with my Roma tomatoes the other year. Three rows. Marked 1000 seeds, packed for '17, origin Italy, lot 14. I must have planted some a year and half ago, but don't recall if they sprouted or not.</li>
</ul>
<div>
I have this set up as radish-carrot-beet-carrot-radish etc, so the beets and radishes are separated by the carrots. Beets and radishes aren't antagonistic to each other, but according to the c<a href="http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/companion-planting/">ompanion planting chart</a> I like, they are neutral about each other but both love being by carrots.</div>
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Hubby cheered when he came outside and saw me finishing up planting and watering. He says he is very much looking forward to homegrown garden-fresh produce again, now that the worst of the troublemaker goats are contained in a <a href="https://sandghomesteade.blogspot.com/2018/05/goat-pen-complete.html">hard pen</a>.</div>
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Still to do today: test the garlic to see if any still have life in them. I read in a blog discussion a while back ago that garlic doesn't keep well more than 2 seasons. I am also going to check some beet seeds from '13 and '14. Call it a little science fair project.</div>
dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-70982310819758217702018-10-09T13:14:00.002-07:002018-10-09T13:14:57.349-07:002018 Ugliest Molt winnerThis year's prize for the ugliest molt in the chicken yard goes to Ducky, hubby's yard ornament rooster. The hackle feathers pretty much all fell out a few days ago, but that doesn't seem to crimp his style with the young layer hens any.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ducky's ugly molt</td></tr>
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For the record, he is NOT a naked neck chicken, though he sure does look like one right now! All the roosters are missing their tail feathers, except the youngest one hatched this spring. I think even Mac Daddy, the remaining Silkie rooster, is actually missing tail feathers, but it's hard to tell on him. It could just be that I gave him three new hens Saturday night, and he's been macking his tail fluff off since daybreak Sunday morning.dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-27817395258395862502018-09-23T13:24:00.000-07:002018-09-23T13:29:01.511-07:00WeirdnessThis morning, before daylight, I was outside with the dog and heard Molly and Maggie crying. I was worried one of them got caught in the fence, but no ... when hubby and I got back there with our headlamps on, those two had their butts up against the pen gate and were crying and doing the shameless-hussy routine for Brownie (aka Pepe Le PEW, this time of year). So, I got in touch with Frank, who has Prim's son Harry Houdini, to arrange a goaty booty call. We loaded her up in a dog crate in the back of the pickup and headed up to Frank's place north of Palatka.<br />
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Harry was certainly interested in Maggie as soon as she went into the pen, and she immediately squatted and peed for him, and the normal goat courtship dance commenced until Cocoa (Chocolate's daughter, and Cocoa Puff's mom) and Toast (Harry's wethered son)came over to interrupt. Cocoa was jealous ... she really hasn't changed much in that department, and Toast was just excited because a "new" goat was back in the pen. We left Maggie there, and will pick her up Thursday to give the love-goats enough time to work around the jealousy. We also left the dog crate at Frank's, so the truck bed had plenty of room for the feed run.<br />
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Driving back into Palatka, after we had reached a decision on where to grab some fast (junk) food for lunch, we got pulled over by a sheriff's car. He had drove up alongside us as if he was going to pass then dropped back and turned on his lights.<br />
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"Are we getting pulled over?" "I think we're getting pulled over."<br />
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The babyfaced deputy walked up and didn't take hubby's license and insurance card, but said someone had called in saying we had a wounded doe in the back. Now, Maggie is a rather vocal goat, and she was certainly complaining all the way up to Frank's, and she is also the goat whose coloring is closest (but not identical!) to a deer's. However, there are also quite a few goat people who call their billies and nannies "bucks" and "does" just like the deer terms. So, we heard "doe" and were thinking goat, for obvious reasons. When we said we took her up to a friend's to be bred, he asked if we had the proper permit with us, or if he needed to call FWC (Florida Wildlife Commission) about it. At that point, I realized he was thinking deer, and said, "No. We have GOATS!" That cleared things up. He told us bow (hunting) season has already started.<br />
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Yeesh. Apparently, someone thought we had a deer-doe, and that the deer-doe was crying and must have been wounded. When I told Frank about it, when he got done chuckling he mentioned we should probably mark the pickup "Goat Transport" and of course, put "No kidding!" across the tailgate. I had already brought the subject of marking the pickup with ALL the species we do to make the farmers' markets a bit easier. My friend Lynn's comment was, "Gee, don't people know the difference between deer and goats?!? Really?!?" Apparently not, not even down here.<br />
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Oh yeah, to top it all off ... the register at Tractor Supply did a weird error. I put my chip card in to pay, and instead of asking for my PIN it opened the cash drawer and printed a receipt saying I paid in cash. It took a phone call to the regional help desk to fix that on the computer from their end.<br />
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I had to say my usual punchline: "More than just a job, it's an adventure!" when we were just about home.dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998210950195283950.post-65056641460860831762018-05-27T07:13:00.000-07:002018-05-27T07:13:16.046-07:00On the chick hatching ideaI borrowed Frank's spare incubator, and got it almost filled before the rain started the other week. I had already filled my incubator, which has resulted in only two surviving chicks out of 42 eggs set. I only had nine eggs develop, so 33 eggs were clear/not fertile. Three chicks hatched, but one was on its back doing the dying cockroach the next morning. I had also set eight eggs under the Black Swedish hen and Minty, the Ameracauna hen I got from Luanne. Of those eight eggs, only one chick hatched, but he (?) is doing quite well under the Black Swedish hen's care. She was wrapped too tight even before she went broody, and the hormones of broodiness made her absolutely psycho until that chick hatched. Now she is just an angry dragon-mom.<br />
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Refilling the incubator is on hold due to weather. We had about four days without rain this week, and during that time we went to get the new bunny hutch, I went up to Tractor Supply to refill the feed shed, and yesterday went to the grocery to refill our fridge and pantry. Hubby had gone into town before the previous week-plus-of-rain started to fill the two five gallon fuel cans for the generator, as it really only takes an average-strength thunderstorm to knock power out. And now, we have the first named storm of the year out churning in the gulf, but the feed shed has plenty of critter chow, the fridge and pantry have enough food for another two weeks, and we have two full fuel cans for the generator in case a tree comes down on the line somewhere. We're both low on the money side of things, but we won't need to go anywhere except for one appointment up in Palatka.<br />
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Oh, baby bunny update: Gracie's one little kit didn't make it in with Brooke's two huge hungry hippos - but those two are seriously large! Shalimar is down to three kits, and I suspect the one that died was the one I couldn't get to eat when I was handfeeding them. I did do a supplemental feeding on one kit, and will check again this afternoon to see if another is needed. Charky wasn't pregnant, but ought to be as of last night. I'll pop Brooke in with Jack this evening (she was bred to Larry for the hippos) and Shalimar in with Larry this time. This should give me a clue as to where the size of Brooke's and Larry's two kits comes from - or if it's a combination of both parents. I am wanting large, meaty Rex-furred bunnies like these two babies. I'll get pictures of the kits after they've opened their eyes and gotten more fur - baby bunnies are born nearly-naked, and with their eyes closed like kittens.dfr2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865244243226266725noreply@blogger.com0