Spring

There is no middle ground here.

Just a little over a week ago it was pouring~monsoon season pouring~ and cold and dark and damp.

The last several days the sun has been shining & it has been in the 80's.

From sweaters & boots straight to shorts & flip flops.

No spring. Headlong rush to summer.

Missing the slow, gentle spring in the Basin.

Oh well. ;)

This morning our last doe kidded out.

We went out to do chores & found a big buckling already dried off & yelling.

So we ended up with 2 singles & 1 set of twins. 1 doe & 3 bucks.

Works great for us because we breed our Nubian does to our Boer buck & we butcher the kids.

Now once this doe is done with colostrum & giving good milk we shouldn't have to buy anymore milk.

YAY! That is a wonderful thing!

My only real complaint is that I am never ever ever ever ever ever never never breaking in another first freshener as long as I live.

Somebody else can do that & I will be perfectly content to spend a little extra $$$ on a doe who is already milking & knows that the milking stand is not a torture device, laying down on the milk bucket is not acceptable behaviour &  kicking the milk bucket out of my hand will result in unpleasant conequences.

Never ever ever!

It is such fun to have goat kids playing out in the pasture. I'm hard pressed to think of a cuter animal.

The butcher came & killed the pigs today. He figures they were about 300 & 350 lbs a piece.

Perfecto!

I was obsessing over their weight this morning ( as I always do). Worried that they would be too small & we should have waited. Kill fees & cut & wrap prices have gone up so much that we like to make sure we are getting as much meat as we can for our money & aim for 300 lbs with the hogs.

So I am happy.

We plan to butcher last years goat kids, hopefully this week. We kill & dress them out at home & then take them in to be cut & wrapped. We just don't have a practical place to do it here.

We have 49 meat birds in brooders in the garage. They are almost 3 weeks I think? They will be going outside to free range in  another week or so if the weather holds.

If you stuff them with super high protein feeds you can butcher them at 6-9 weeks but we feed ours not so much protein & let them free range for closer to 12-15 weeks. We also like to butcher them at a bigger size. We aim for an 8-10 lb bird (dressed out) rather than a 4-6 lb bird.

We like 'em big.

I need to find someone to plow our gardens soon. It is time to plant.

I plan on having 2 large areas apart from one another. I am planing on putting sweet corn in one area & popcorn in the other. Along with melons, pumpkins, green beans, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots & bunches of herbs.

I already have spinach & lettuce & a few other things coming up in the raised beds.

All of the trees all of the sudden are leafing out. Everything is fresh & new & green.

It doesn't last long here but it is pretty while it does.

Blessings.