Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Photos from the week

We had a busy week. A good busy week. Thursday we had Thanksgiving at my Grandma's house with my whole family. Lots of food, laughter, photos and of course a little dancing and music. Fast forward to Saturday and we had a wedding to go to. Sunday was the final game for the league my brothers/dad/cousins are in. They made it to the final game and were the champions, for the second season in a row.



Monday was a very busy day. We had a late Thanksgiving party/birthday party/welcome home party on Monday night. So, guess what we did all day? Cooked and cleaned, cooked and cleaned. It all came together nicely though and we had a great time. There was tons of food, as usual. We played a few games, hung out, chatted and laughed with everyone. Once most everyone was gone and it was past midnight, those of us who are late nighters kicked off our heels and did some dancing. By that time it was nearly one o'clock in the morning, so we figured we'd better clean up the house and head to bed. Good idea, since we didn't get to sleep till after 2am!

me and Grace,

 Hannah,

Hannah really rockin' out,

this would have been a really cool picture if my sweet little brother hadn't gotten his little head in the way!


While we were a bit more busy with all the partying, farm work still has to be done. Animals have to be fed twice a day, the goats have to be milked twice a day. Ranch life goes on, no matter what.


the old "Grandma" goat on the ranch. She's almost 13 years old.

my Mom with a little package!

Stay warm!

Suriyah

Thursday, November 15, 2012

New Pup & Trauma

The newest addition to the ranch? A new Livestock Guardian puppy! She is half Great Pyreness and half Anatolian. She is out in the yard with the goats, sheep, llamas and donkeys.

The dog she gets to learn from? Our best LGD, Jethro. He is a fabulous livestock guardian and I hope she listens to him well! :)



Roxy is my dog that I rescued almost 3 years ago. Such a good little pup...

Trauma. She is doing so well. I am so thankful. What a difference a few months can make. If you don't remember, she was born back in March to a first freshener doe. We found her in the middle of the night, and her neck was crooked. She couldn't sit or stand. We brought her in the house, and for the next several days I was feeding her, caring for her, and teaching her how to sit. She figured that out fairly quickly. The standing and walking was a bit harder though. She could not stand for several days. Once she did learn how to balance, she would only walk backwards! After a few days of that, she finally figured out how to go forwards. Ever since then, she was been doing great and growing very well. She is the funniest little goat ever, and treats me like I'm her mother (I can understand why!). She also comes to her name when called.


 This doe is visiting to be bred. She was born here out of one of our MiniNubian does back in February.

"MOOOO". This cow is learning that us humans really aren't that scary.

 The does going out to pasture. I'm not sure what they eat out there other than leaves, but their bellies are very full every night!



Have a great day y'all!

Suriyah


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

New design!

I gave the blog a new design today...was tired of the old one! Now I am very tired of being on the computer, so out to the barn I go.

See ya!

Suriyah

Monday, November 12, 2012

BRR!!

It's officially cold. This morning was the first time in many months that all the outside waters were frozen. The sun came out though, which all the animals (& people!) certainly enjoy.







Who's ready for Thanksgiving? We're having a late Thanksgiving Party on the 26th, and this turkey will meet this smoker, Lord willing, and make for some yummy food at a fun Thanksgiving party.



Stay warm!

Suriyah

Saturday, November 10, 2012

A Late Night Sale Barn Story

It's November. Ranch life this time of the year is a little bit slower than the rest of the year.

Most of the does are dry, we about 12 does in milk. Most of the does are bred, there are about 5 does left to breed. We have reduced our herd numbers by quite a large number - the entire goat herd is about 60 head and about 30 sheep. So yeah, while that may seem like a lot to some of you - it doesn't seem like much to any of us. But downsizing is always good during the winter... it means a cheaper feed bill for us!

This doe seems to be f o r e v e r pregnant. Not really. She is fat, and we keep thinking that she is going to kid. But nope. That's what happens when you don't have a due date.

 Most of the kids that we kept from this past year are doing fabulous. There is one Alpine doeling that is a bit behind the others, but other than that lately they are growing very well. Even little Trauma with the crooked neck. The 3 bucklings are doing extremely well also, I need to get some pictures of them.

My mom has gotten some colorful Muscovy ducks lately. Pretty!

"baaaa"... one of the Finn ewes.

Last night was the sale. We almost always go. My brothers work there. So we go, look through the hundreds of animals and typically find a handful of nice ones in there. It is very nice to be able to look through that many animals pretty quickly and be able to pick the good from the ugly. Every time, there is typically a few sheep or a goat that someone in the family likes. Without even seeing the same animals at the same time, we'll all agree that those were the nicest ones. I guess it's called experience and God blessing us with being able to pick out the good from the bad. So last night, we came home with a big Katadin ewe, a pregnant spotted Nubian doe, and a G I A N T boar hog. I mean, HUGE. He has huge tusks as well. The boys usually work very late on Friday nights, so us girls took the trailer home with the animals loaded in it.

There was no. way. I was going to unload the boar hog. I mean, that could've been suicidal. I can handle unloading the sheep and goats though. First, I get the doe and take her back to one of the barn stalls. She was just a little wild, but walked with me fairly well. After all, it was after 11pm, she was at a new place, new dogs were sniffing her, and she had just come through a loud sale barn. I think I would have been a tad bit scared as well.

Next, I go back to get the fat ewe. You have to understand that most sheep are very flighty. When it's a sheep, they are strong and wild, and can take a small person like me for a ride. So plus her being a scared sheep, again, it was dark and "scary" out. I went in the trailer, grabbed the ewe, put her in between my legs and went for a ride. Just kidding. I actually had fairly good control over her. As long as you have the sheep by the chin, you can typically steer where they are going pretty well. We took a fast run around a few sheds and made it to the ram pen she was supposed to be put in. I survived, the ewe survived, and everyone was put away.

The giant boar hog on the other hand, got to spend the night in the livestock trailer.

Suriyah

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Nashville Trip

This past weekend me, 2 of my sisters, my older brother and a friend took a trip to Nashville TN for the Music City Liberty Fest. We had a great weekend, the event was put together very well and it was great to see everyone. Thanks for having us!!

Just a few pictures from the trip.

My brother Norayah, and sisters Ezriyah and Qadoshyah,

The view from our 4th floor hotel room,

A sign that is very true,

Dan Hagan and Barbie Dunn, 2 of the main organizers of MCLF,

Barbie, Ez and Q


A photo from Tampa - me, Mat Larson and Q,

Qadoshyah took the stage for a few minutes and spoke at Music City Liberty Fest. I'll put the video below.

Jordan Page and Tatiana Moroz singing

Jordan has some fabulous songs,

Tatiana too,

Dan did a great job with his songs!

The big group performing Stand Up America by Cat Beach.


Qadoshyah's speech,

Remember to vote today! Stand on principle, and if the ones on the ballot don't agree with the things you believe in, then do not vote for them! But please, make your voice heard and go to the polls.

Have a great day.

Suriyah