My New "Tractor Buddy"....

Back in August, we took a trip to Deb's mom and dad's house in NW Missouri. The main focus was to bring back a replacement Billy goat for our nannies.
Once there, her dad wanted to know if we wanted to take home one of his "friendly" kitties.

On our previous trip over, we learned about his "friendly" kittens:

On that trip, he kept telling us how friendly this one particular kitten was. He took us out to the barn, got the kitten, and set out some food for it. It happily set about to munching the food. As her dad went to pet the kitten, it lashed out with a paw and embedded a claw into his hand......

So now, we didn't know WHAT to expect.

When we were ready to leave for home this trip, he got the kitten he wanted to give us. It DID NOT like being shipped off! When we got her home, I managed to get her into a large pet taxi in hopes that she would tame down. The next day, she latched onto my hand as I was trying to pet her.

We decided to just open the taxi and let her go - if she ran off - ok, if she tamed down, great. We figured we'd never see her again.

She was the wildest cat I've ever seen - and MEAN.

Gradually, she came back from "The Dark Side".

Now she thinks she is a dog, and follows me everywhere.

This afternoon, I was unloading some of the wood my neighbor had split for me. She sat up on the side of the stock racks of the pickup, watching. I was filling one arm with a load of wood when, all of a sudden, a puffy fuzzball "appeared" on top of the wood in my arm.

She came up, rubbed my chin with her back, said "Mer-ee-ow", and hopped off, onto the pickup.

She will follow along when I am doing anything in the barn. If she isn't "helping" then she is sitting quietly nearby, watching. Every once-in-awhile, she will come up to be pet, then go back to watching.

This evening, I was out by my new tractor to check a couple of things and, true to form, here she came. She climbed up the rear of the tractor, and got onto the seat.



It wasn't long before she wanted to get closer:



She just HAS to be right close to where I'm at. I even started the tractor and she stayed right where she was. If I would walk away, she follows, but hops right back on when I get back.



She'll NEVER replace a good dog but, she makes a heck of a nice cat....

Well, THAT'S Odd....

I think it's those darn cats....

Yesterday, I was working on some fence and my rubber boots became CAKED with mud. Not the everyday DIRT mud, but the nasty, gooey, clay mud that sticks to everything and stays there.

I didn't want to take that much mud inside the pickup, so I tossed them in back and put on a pair of sandals to drive back to the house.

I went about the rest of the day not worrying about my mud boots in the back of the truck.

I SHOULD have been.....

I DID notice the feline furrballs had one of "those" attitudes yesterday afternoon. They all seemed like they were "up to something".

They were probably laughing behind my back.....

Last evening, I made a quick trip up to my neighbors to pick up a few buckets of corn that his auger pan spit out on the ground. It will make great chicken feed. Once again, I ignored my boots, and left them standing in the pickup bed.

Had I known THEN what I know NOW.....

So, this morning, I go out to do chores. I slip on the sandals to walk out to the truck where I PLANNED on putting on my boots.

That's when I found the oddity.....

I picked up the right boot and put it on the ground so I could put it on. Nothing abnormal.

When I picked up the LEFT one - THAT'S when I found it.
There was about 1/2" of WATER (or SOMETHING liquid....) in my boot!

It was standing right beside the other one, and IT was completely dry! It didn't rain last night. There was very little dew.

Why would one be dry, and the other - less then 3" away - have so much "water" in it?

Somehow, I KNOW the cats are behind this.....

And I WAS gonna give them some Sardines today....

The last couple of days have been rainy, cool, and WINDY. It is a welcome change from the 80's we have been experiencing. We only received about 4/10ths of an inch of rain, so the corn harvest won't be "on hold" for very long.

I manged to build small corn crib in the barn. I wanted a more permanent one, and one that was more "chicken proof" then the one made from pallets that I had. I left spaces between the boards, but only about 3/8" until I was above "head high" on a chicken. They can still get their beak through, but can't do too much damage.

I still need to finish the door and add some chicken wire around the top half but I moved the corn over to it, even if it wasn't done. I had PLENTY of concerned citizens inspecting from a distance. They sure were disappointed when I was done. I didn't leave them any "loop holes" to steal grain through.

Yesterday, I finished up husking the corn I had picked, and swept out the pickup bed. I'm ready for another round, now.

The goats REALLY appreciate the husks! I dumped several 5 gallon buckets full (packed tight) into their tire. They disappeared QUICKLY.



I was dumped a bucket, then turned to pick up another to dump, when I found Carmel with her head through the fence and chowing down inside the other bucket. I apparently parked it too close to the fence.

Sometimes, goats and chickens have longer necks then you'd realize...



This afternoon, the sun was coming in the west windows of the barn at just the PURR-fect angle. I caught this kitty on the hay, taking a nap in a sunbeam.



Here is a close-up:



She sure looks comfortable.....

Green Eggs and Ham?

Ok, it's not EXACTLY Dr. Seuss....and I guess it would be more appropriately called "Green Oatmeal and Bugs".....



Actually, it is regular Oatmeal, raisins, and unprocessed Stevia.

We visited an Amish store a few weeks back, and bought a pound or so, of this Stevia. We are used to the "processed" kind - and it's usually white. This was still green - like the herb that it is.

The problem with it is - it turns everything it touches GREEN. That's ok on St Patrick's Day but, the rest of the year it's kinda odd. Didn't George Carlin have a bit about eating green things? Oh well, at least the "bugs" in this oatmeal don't crunch when you bite into them......

Today was the day I FINALLY got the grain wagon emptied into the bin. It was MUCH easier this time, since my neighbor gave me a longer auger that would reach all the way to the dirt bank beside the barn.



The pallets under the auger are where my shorter auger goes to.

Every time I add grain to the bin, it draws a crowd of the feather dusters. They are ALWAYS looking for a cheap meal. Since the auger always spits out a few strays, a large crowd gathers to catch them.

Like everything else, this garners the cat's attention. Only THIS time, the cats aren't interested in the food. They just come to watch the chickens make fools of themselves.....



They like to sit in the window of the barn and watch the "side show" going on outside. I SWEAR I can hear them laughing at the crazy "El Pollo Loco" bunch running around like chickens with their heads.....well.....you get the idea.....

I'm just glad the GOATS haven't found out about the show.....

Look What the Chickens Hatched......

Every night, right around sunset, I go out to collect eggs from a couple different spots that the hens tend to like.

They have a couple choice sites "hollowed out" in the hay in the barn. They seem to be liked by more then one hen, as I often find 5 or six eggs in one "nest".

Here is a photo of one of their favorite spots from this evening:



As you can see, only three of the five eggs have hatched so far. I decided that the remaining two are probably duds and removed them from the nest. I fully expect to see a spider web over the nest tomorrow, with the words "Some Chicken"......

We are starting to be over-run with cats again. Just when I figured it was "safe", now the chickens are starting to hatch them. I told Deb that the cats are beginning to be like roaches - you walk into the barn at night, flick on the light, and they scatter in all directions.

One good thing about cats, though - they keep the population of Giant Gorilla Rats down. I have been told that "where there's chickens, there's rats". Odd though, I haven't seen a SINGLE one since the cats (or chickens, for that matter....) moved in!

I guess the fur bodies ARE worth keeping around.....

We managed to pick a little more corn. There is still a LOT out there, but it will all come in sooner or later.

I decided that the best way to pick it was to use the pickup. I just put on the stock racks and left the back and one side off. Deb saw how I had it set up and asked me "why do you have racks on that way"?

"Guess you never picked corn by hand, huh?"

"Nope. "We never had it".

I tossed a couple of ears up against the side of the rack I left on, and she got the picture, right off.

Now, if the wind wasn't blowing 40 mph......

(Always SOMETHING, ain't it?)

It's gonna take awhile to pick all the corn at an hour a day but, it will get done. Then we have to sit on the tail gate of the truck and shuck it. This always brings an attentive audience - both feathered and furred. The feathers want any small cobs, and the furred bunch want the husks to eat. I always toss in a few small ears with the shucks so they find a "goodie" every once-in-awhile. It's fun to see them foraging through the husks to find them.

I almost lost one of the fancy colored Americauna (Easter Egger) Roosters that my BIL, Mark brought over. I was out moving an old Rotobaler around with the tractor. I shoved for a bit, then stopped the tractor. I saw that one of them was trapped between the baler's tongue and the frame, so I went to free him. When I got to him, he was wedged in pretty tight, and partially buried in dirt. I couldn't get him out, so I moved the tractor around and lifted up the tongue. He stood there for a few seconds, then walked off.

I saw him running around normal this afternoon, and he was ok this evening, so I think he'll make it. He's one lucky duck....er.....rooster. I couldn't see him from the tractor seat. If I had not stopped when I did and got off, his "goose" would have been cooked.

At least I still have a few "normal" chickens. I found two new chicks under mom in the brooder house....

Odd Growth on My Goat's Head.....

The other goats were even picking at it!

I first noticed it at about 2:30 this afternoon. Deb and I had been peeling apples to freeze and can. We have been using one of those hand-crank apple peelers. The kind that peel the fruit in one long ribbon, and also core it, while it's at it.

These things make it MUCH easier to peel and core the apples. We both would set down and peel apples for a couple hours and only come up with enough to do a couple pies.

One day, a couple of years ago - in the middle of apple season - we were in town at the local hardware store. There on the shelf was a peeler. It was just under $20, so we decided to give it a try.

MAN, are we glad we did! Now we can do enough for 10 pies in a couple hours! We liked it so much we bought a spare.

The tree in our front yard is absolutely LOADED this year. Last year, the frost killed the blossoms, so we did not have a single apple. The tree is really making up for it this year, though.

There are tons of windfalls every day. I toss several over the fence for the goats, and they chase them down like kids after candy. It's comical to see them, sometimes.
Our neighbor has come over and picked up several so she can can them. We told her to keep coming back! Between the ones on the ground and the ones still on the tree, we should have PLENTY stored up.

I plan on canning some like my mom used to. She would take small ones (or crab apples) and pickle them whole. I THINK I know how she did it, but am always on the lookout for a recipe.

OH yeah.......The goat.

Here is a photo of her head:



I've heard of worms before but, this is a massive attack! Good thing goats eat these kind of "worms"......

I was in the barn working this afternoon, when the newest kittens came out to play. The two youngsters are SUPPOSED to be one gray and white and one ALL white. I don't know WHAT they were playing in but, it was wet and oily! I looked around for something that would have turned him this color but couldn't find anything. It will take him a LONG time to get rid of it, though.



It has GOT to taste nasty, too. I haven't been able to catch these two, so I can't clean him up. The prospect of giving a cat a bath is not one of high importance, nor is it advisable......

Might have to call him "Two-Tone" for awhile.....

Thievin' Little Rat....

It all started this morning.....

We left the farm at about 8:20 to head for Lincoln to do a few things. I got the goats and chickens fed, and did the milking. I even managed to get within a couple feet of the new evil Kitty while she ate (she WAS watching me.....).

She MIGHT tame down a little after all....

Since we wanted to get things done and get back home as soon as we could, we finished up here and headed out before breakfast.

Deb grabbed a couple of snack cakes and a glass of water for us to eat on the way. She also tossed in a bag of whole roasted Cashews that we got at the Amish store in Jamesport, Missouri last week.

Not really a "breakfast of champions", but it was sufficient.

We only got about 4 miles before we hit a snag. We turned off the highway onto a gravel road - only to find that the county operator had drug out a LARGE ridge of gravel from the side of the road. We had to 'jump' the ridge a few times due to where he left it.

When we got to Lincoln, we found out we had a tire ruined - most likely from something the grader dug up.

On top of that, I didn't get any cashews.......

We ended up getting home later then we wanted, but got home in one piece, after haggling over tires and other things.

Now to the thief.....

We decided to part ways with an old friend.
Our 1997 Ford F-150 is leaving the farm. She has close to 350,000 miles on her and has been the best vehicle we have ever owned. She is leaving us with a lot of memories and travels over the past 8 years, but the time has come.

We were outside cleaning the truck out when we saw one of the barn cats carrying something off. She was already about 100' away. From a distance, we thought it was one of her kittens, but realized that they are too old for that now. I yelled at her "Here, Kitty, Kitty"! She paused, looked at me, then turned away again - then shifted into high gear and took off.

She KNEW she was doing something she shouldn't....

I was already following her, and managed to catch up when one of the other cats slowed her down.

When I made it close enough to retrieve what she was carrying, I was shocked at what I found....

I was expecting a bird, a rabbit or a mouse....

BUT NOOOOO....

She had carted off the bag of cashews.

Thievin' little rat.....

The Prodigal Cats......

We have had a kind of eventful last week or two.

We closed on the sale of part of our farm. We had a visit from a niece and her mom. I bought the first NEW riding mower in my life, and we had THREE Barn Cats disappear in one day.

As for the niece and her mom - it was a nice 2 1/2 day visit. We only get to see Kali a short time each year, so it was nice to have her come visit for a bit. This was also the first time her mother had ever been to our farm, so it was nice to have her here, too.

Since it was also Kali's 18th birthday this weekend (20th), we had to kid her about growing up. I think she is glad to be getting older but still wants to enjoy High School longer then her remaining 1 year.



She'll do fine. She's intelligent, has goals for herself, and is very pretty, besides (sorry guys, she has a boyfriend.....). She's a kind of "in between girl" - she grew up in town, but spent a lot of time on the farm. She likes John Deere. She has hopes of being a doctor someday. It will take a lot of hard work but she has the support of family to get where she wants to be.

If I could only get that "John Deere" thing cured.....

WHERE DID WE GO WRONG?

Now, for the cats....

Last Sunday afternoon, I was out in the barn. Around 3:30, I noticed that there was only one cat lounging in the sun. There SHOULD have been FOUR. One adult momma cat and two "teenagers" were nowhere to be seen. While cats do wander, this adult cat had never been out of eyesight for more then a couple hours since she has been here. The two teens weren't even her kittens.

I didn't think much about it until the next morning when they weren't there for breakfast. A good barn cat NEVER misses breakfast.

I figured that a coyote or coon or something "got" them, although it would be odd that whatever it was got all THREE at once. After a couple of days, I just forgot about them, except a breakfast. Towards the end of the week, it was even nice to only feed ONE cat - it makes the cat food stretch WAY longer.

Alas, yesterday morning - Sunday 20 July 2008 - I get to the barn and am greeted by the momma cat. I was shocked to see her back in the barn. I guess she just decided to "Go Walkabout" for a week. She looked none worse for the wear.

Then this morning, I am greeted by one of the teenagers. It was to one I liked the most of the two, so I'm glad it came back. I asked her where she'd been, but her English is a LOT rusty and I don't speak fluent cat, so it's still a mystery.

We didn't kill the "fatted calf" or anything, but Deb had some leftover "Tater-Tot Casserole" that went over REALLY well. The poor cats can hardly walk now....

We were all set to get another cat or two from Deb's dad when we visit, but now won't need to.

Well - I Did and Evil Thing....

Sort of....

I dumped a cat on an unsuspecting neighbor.

Sort of.....

Yesterday, I closed off both ends of the driveway so the goats could get in and help "mow" for me. When I do this, we have to "go around" the long way, and out through a pasture gate.

Well, this morning, I had to make a trip to town, so I headed up the lane across the hayfield and through the pasture. As I was coming out of a small ditch crossing, I looked up to the road and saw a pickup parked there. I thought it was kind of odd, so I stopped for a minute to see what they were doing.

I stopped at the right time. I was there for no more then a few seconds when the window comes down on the pickup and out jumps a big fuzzy cat. The window goes back up and the truck drives off.

I drove up to the gate, got out and the kitty came right over to me. I loaded it up in my pickup and headed down the road toward town - and the pickup.

I thought I knew who the pickup belonged to, but it was one of those deals where "you know who it is, but aren't sure of a name". At any rate. I headed on into town and spotted him down the road a ways ahead. I followed him right up to his driveway.

He was sure shocked when I pulled up and gave him back his cat. I told him that I didn't need any more cats, but the sheriff might be interested in it. He put up a good act and told me the cat jumped out of his truck and he couldn't catch it.

I REALLY don't need anymore cats here. I haven't seen the one who steals eggs since early yesterday (Evil Twin). Maybe a coyote or something got her.

What was TRUELY amazing about the whole thing this morning was: How the guy didn't see my bright red pickup through the trees is beyond me.....

Amidst Grumblings and Squawks......

Two or three weeks ago, one of the cats had 5 kittens. Three died within the first few days. About 10 days ago, one of our dogs found the nest of the remaining two and "snuffled" them pretty good. They were ok, but the next morning, there was only one in the nest. I figured that it got snuffled to the point where mom rejected it.
We've been down to one kitty ever since.

This morning, I fed the Boer goats their daily rations of grain (basically, to shut them up.......). I decided to feed the chickens before giving the milk goats their grain. They were being so quiet (for a change.....), that I didn't want to disturb them.

I have a couple of hens who always make a "Bee Line" for the barn as soon as I let them out in the morning. One heads DIRECTLY for a tub I have filled with hay in with the milk goats. It's comical to she her running as fast as her legs will carry her toward the barn. It's almost like she's gotta hurry before the egg comes.

Once she is on her "nest" she usually lays her egg in a few minutes. She will sit there and let the goats eat around her.

This morning, I heard squawking and carrying on - general hate and discontent - coming from her as soon as she got to the tub. It didn't sound like her normal "I laid and egg!" routine, so I went to investigate.

When I got to the gate and looked over, I was VERY surprised to see the second kitty that had been missing. It was in the hen's nest and she wanted it OUT! I went in and extracted the poor, scared kitten, and put it in the nest with the other one. It was still there tonight, so I guess it was ok with mom (so far...).


I cut a metal door for the "chicken door" of the new coop. I don't have a latch yet - just a wire, but won't need to open it for 2 or 3 days anyway. I used some DE on the floor, followed by some wood shavings. (my neighbor borrowed my planer and is saving the chips...). It should be pretty nice for awhile in there.

Tonight was "Moving Day" for the chickens. There were a lot of grumblings, a lot of squawking, and a few (like Stew, the rooster....) who could care less where they sleep. I really only had trouble with one - Russel Crow - he managed to escape my capture attempt TWICE, but I snagged him in the end. I don't think they were impressed at first, but it didn't take them long to settle in and start to roost.

I had the chicken door open all day and had put some food in the feeder in there. During the day, I had seen several of them go inside to investigate. We'll see haw feeding goes in the morning.

I am in the process of building a small "run" on the brooder house for the chicks. It won't be anything special - just enough to get them used to being outside and to get them some fresh air. I got the poles up and the roof framed in. Now I just need to put tin on the roof and wire on the sides. I hope to have it done in the next 2-3 days.

Now I need to clean the old coop out and get it ready for use as a storage shed. Then I can build the other room in the coop......

So much time, so little to do.......

"New" equipment

It has been raining for the past couple day here. I haven't been able to do much outside, so I have done a FEW little things in the barn.

We also made a trip to Beatrice to take a load of scrap metal to the salvage yard. Under "normal" circumstances, the money would have been enough to use for things we need around the place. Since gas is now $3.45 a gallon, most of it went into the tank. It was still a nice outing and we stopped to pick up a few things we needed.

This morning, I went to a neighbor's house to help him move a couple of things in his shed. He uncovered a still good rear tractor tire that his dad bought in 1947. It was still a good tire, but the rim it had been on was long since rusted to death.

He told me I could have a couple of things out of there . One is an old hammer mill grinder. I am hoping it will work for a couple of projects I have in mind. The other is a three-point sprayer he had made for his tractor several years ago. It is smaller then the towed one I have, but it is also more maneuverable in tight spaces.

It is awfully muddy over there, so I will probably have to wait a couple days before I can get them, but he needs them out as soon as possible.

I haven't been able to work on fence since Tuesday because of the weather, but have got most of what I ABSOLUTELY need to do done. I hope to be able to get back to it this next week - if it doesn't rain.....

The cats are at it again. They must be Democrats, just like the chickens. Evidently, it DOES take a "village" to raise children - in the cat world. We haven't seen one cat's kittens, but she (and the real mom....) split time caring for the one set we know where is.

We USED to know where Deb's cat had her kittens - until I forced her to move them. I have a "Kid Can" in one of the stalls in the barn. I use it for newborn goats. It is made from a plastic 55 gallon drum with a light in the top to give off a little heat. The kids crawl inside through a hole in the side. It has been unused since mid March....or so I thought....

I was searching the barn for "stowaway" nests that the chickens had begun to use. I figured that the kid can would be an EXCELLENT choice for a hen to make a nest. It provided a safe, hidden spot to lay an egg. Since the hole for the kids was turned to the corner of the room, I had to turn the barrel to see inside. I expected to find a nest, maybe an egg or two, or perhaps even a hen on a nest. Instead, I found one SCARED cat and 3-4 babies. Her eyes were WIDE open and she looked at me as if to say "HEY! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING"?.

The next morning, when Deb came out to milk, I told her that I had found the kittens. I took her to the kid can and, remembering the momma cat's eyes, I fought the top lid for several minutes to get it open. I FINALLY got it opened, and we peered inside and gazed upon an empty 55 gallon drum. I scared her enough that she moved them during the night....

We ALMOST had a dead cat today. I collected 6 eggs from a nest in the barn so the goats wouldn't step on them. I had a couple of things to take care of, so I put them in a small bowl I had handy, and set them on one of the feed barrels I have. I went to work for about 5 minutes when I looked over and saw a cat with her nose in the bowl. I snuck up behind her and saw that she had broken two of the eggs and had eaten most of the two.

I grabbed the cat, "roughed her up" a bit and tossed her out in the rain. She is just lucky I was in a good mood. That was her ONE and FINAL chance. If I see it again, the cat is headed for a "higher plane of existence".......

I noticed that after her flight on "Air Kitty", she avoided me the rest of the day....

BUSTED! Caught Her Red "Pawed".....

OK, she has WHITE paws, but close enough.....

I keep the dog food in my office. I use an ice cream bucket that holds just over one gallon. This way, the dogs can get out of bed and immediately eat breakfast, since it's only about 2' from their bed....


The cat, who has decided she wants to be a house cat, wanders into my office every now-and-again. She is always confronted by the dogs, who don't like their food being stolen by a cat. This leads to barking, meowing, hissing, and general carrying on, followed by a mad dash for freedom by the cat, and two dogs hot on her tail.

Tonight we were watching DVD's, and the dogs make a mad dash for my office. It was about 2.48264 seconds later when the commotion started. I figured I better go check and see what the kitty was up to that caused such a ruckus.

I stepped into the office and found a sorrowful looking cat that obviously had no excuse for being where she was. She was REALLY getting an earful from the dogs, too! I finally had to rescue her from her "perch" and toss her outside. The dogs wanted me to throw her out where they could chase her, but I decided that she'd been through enough. She'll be deaf for a couple days and probably have a headache.....

This is how I found her:
















Closer shot:



Poor kitty getting an earful:

LOTS of nifty stuff....

It's been a busy few days around the ranch....

Since the ground is soft this time of year, it makes it easier to build fence. I NEED to open up another pasture for the goats, so I am trying to get some fenced in. This winter, I managed to scrounge 100 steel T posts, so I SHOULD have enough for now (I WILL need more later....).

Today, I happened to be able to scrounge another 35! There are 5-6 bent ones, but they are "straightenable". There were two that I think will be scrap because they are bent almost in a circle....

I also came up with 30+ good Hedge posts from the same place. Some of these are good corners. There were also several Cedar posts and smaller posts I will use as braces in the deal, and a few telephone poles.

I also brought the last load home from the barn project we were working on. Everything is completely gone now and the "dregs" are even burnt. They brought in a New Holland dozer to shove trees around and get the place ready for planting.

The dozer is about the size of a Cat D-9, so it can really tear up a few things. The man running it is VERY experienced at using it. There is a saying in the heavy equipment/construction crowd - "Anyone can be a good operator, but a great operator can FEEL where that blade is". I saw this man pull T posts with the tip of the dozer blade. From the cab, there is no way he could SEE the posts, but he pulled a lot of the without even bending them. He would just hook them on the tip of the blade and lift them straight out of the ground.

One of the last things I brought home today was a galvanized water tank. This one is 5 feet wide, 2' deep and 12' long. I originally had planned to use it as a place to throw scrap metal but, after looking at it, it MIGHT actually still hold water. I will have to clean it up and check it out and see.

I even managed to get a shot of one of my "Peek-a-knees" goat kids sticking his neck through the pallets! Now if I could just get BOTH of them....



I came home this noon and found one of the Kinder moms trying to find one of her kids. We BOTH looked all over the pasture and barn, but couldn't find her anywhere! After about 20 minutes, I happened to spot the tops of a couple of white ears....



I guess the inside of a black tire with some hay to lay on was a nice warm place! It was breezy this morning, so it was out of the wind, also.



Mom was worried, but calmed down when we found her.

I have a rooster that is "low man on the totem pole". The other roosters are trying to keep him from food in the mornings, so he is the first to "bug out" when I open the door. He stays on the roost and watches everyone else eat until he can make the mad dash for the safety of outside. For the past few days, I have been putting food outside for him, and catching him before I open the coop. This gives him time to eat before the others get out.

The first 2-3 days, he didn't like being caught but, this morning, he actually just waited for me to grab his ankles. He still squawked a bit, but I think it was for show - in reality, he WANTED me to catch him. He knows I'll take him to food. Don't know how much longer he's gonna get "Preferred Treatment", though. One of these mornings, he's in for a BIG surprise.....

The "Evil Twin" had kittens this afternoon. 5 little ones. She had them right on top of some hay bales in the barn. Right out in the open. There were three all white ones, one white with "Snoopy Spots" and a grey one with a white belly. It's VERY doubtful we will keep any of these, since we have enough already.

Other then that, not much going on....

We Got MILK!

Not TONS, but we DO have some!

Every night I pen up the three dairy kids away from the moms, then every morning, Deb comes out and milks the two FF Does.

One acts like she has been doing it for awhile and stands pretty well. The other one has to have her legs held and tries to squat. Hopefully, she will get better. It is nice to have a bit of cereal in the morning for breakfast. We haven't had it much for several months.

We were down to using 2% cows milk and it was STILL not "sitting right". So far, we haven't had any trouble with the goat milk giving us a "queasy" feeling, or anything.

It's fun to watch the cats circle around while Deb is milking. They try to sneak closer and closer until one of us shoos them away. They try to climb down the walls, over shelves, and even try sneaking under the milk stand and coming up the corner. We even had one of the Does use her nose to shoo a cat away from her food while she was being milked (cats WILL eat corn....).

I have another hen go "broody", so now I have TWO in my Brooder house!
A couple weeks ago, I picked up a section of rabbit cages. These were the kind that has 4 cages all in a row. They were to big to fit into the brooder house, so I had to cut them in half. I have only put two cages in, so far - and just in time!

The first hen had started her clutch in a rabbit nest box that I have. It is almost the perfect size for the hens, so I made a wooden version of it for the other hen. She didn't want to use it at first, but her instincts finally overcame her and she returned to sitting on her eggs.

I put our Kinder Billy out in a separate pasture for the afternoon. He was bothering some of the other goats, and being disruptive, so he was "banished". He wasn't really thrilled about it, but at least he got to spend most of the day outside. He's back in his pen in the barn tonight. I will need to get him his "own little place" before too long.

Preaching to the Choir....

I have a lot of old salvaged items in my barn. Both IN the barn and parts OF the barn. One of the things I use a lot of is scraps of PVC pipe of different sizes. I have used the in everything from gutters to gates.

One of the handiest uses is as a cat feeder.

I have a door that separates my "old" barn from the "new barn that is about 90% completed. Right inside this door (about 4 feet) is a shelf I made to do all sorts of things. It works as a good place to get everyone's breakfast ready to, as I found out this week, as a "beauty salon" for using the hairdryer on newborn goats. The top of the shelf is around 48" from the ground. It ended up like this because it is on the top of a pallet. I attached the shelf with a couple of hinges so it will fold up out of the way when I need it to. There is a chain on each side to support it when it is in the "use" position.

Just bellow the shelf, on one side of the pallet, I made a hay feeder out of about 3' of "combination" hog and cattle panel (the kind with small holes at the bottom and bigger ones at the top). I put a piece of plywood over the pallet so the hay wouldn't come through. The panel was cut so the the bottom touches the plywood and the top is about 16" away from the wood. I wired and stapled it in place.

It works extremely well. It will hold enough hay to last one goat several days, and allows for them to only take a little bit at a time, so there isn't much waste. I use this pen as a "maternity ward" for the first few days after the kids are born, so it comes in handy.

On the other side of the pallet is my cat feeder. I found that a 4' PVC pipe was the PERFECT size for use in a pallet. I cut a length of the 4' pipe at 19" (every pallet will vary), and the cut that pipe in half - lengthwise. What I had then were two plastic "half pipes" that fit into the inside of the pallet. I situated the pallet so that the "bottom" side was toward the cats, and stood the pallet up on end (the boards should be going across, not up and down). This made it possible to leave the bottom board on and wedge the pipe into the pallet on either side of the center 2x4.
I attached the pipe with two screws into the pallet on each half. What I ended up with were two 19" (approximately) "dinner trays" that were about 2 1/2" off the floor. The "Purrfect" height for the cats!

Every morning, I get the cat food in a coffee can, and put half in each side. They dive right in before I even get finished dumping it in. After the first minute or two, the "jockeying for position" ends, and they all settle in for a nice, quiet breakfast. I usually try to feed these fur balls first, so they keep quiet while I'm doing the rest of the chores.

There's nothing worse then a hungry, yowling cat following you around every morning, wanting to be fed - unless it's a chicken with an attitude.....

This morning, I finished with the cats and was feeding the goats when I turned around and noticed all six cats munching away at the trough, with their tails all sticking STRAIGHT out behind them. Since I NEVER have an "ornery" thought, I don't know where this came from, BUT.....

The first thing I though of was a Pipe Organ in a church.... I wondered how it would sound if I started "playing" those tails. I imagined all kinds of "heavenly" chords emanating from the barn. We'd have a "Cat Choir". Sure, it would take me awhile to learn how to play, but WHEN I DID.....I could just fill the feeder to the brim and I could "play" all day!

A recording contract would be a SURE thing! Everyone would want to hear what we had to offer! We'd make MILLIONS! We'd go on tour, Our goats would have Nanny's (wait.....never mind....), we'd be able to afford grain for the chickens, the cats would get better food.....

Just then, my bubble burst. I realized that the world already had that "yowling cat" sound - in country music......

I only had six notes anyway.....

Poor Spike....

This morning, I headed out to the barn to check on things and feed the goats and chickens. I got to within about 30' of the barn and heard a tiny voice that told me the baby from yesterday was up and hungry. I went in to feed her mom and the other glutenous fur balls.

We have one doe that tries to (and usually DOES) push the others around. She is the first to breakfast and the last to leave. This morning, I noticed right away that she was late to the buffet table. I went into the other part of the barn and found one new baby on the ground and the other just finishing being delivered. This was the doe we expected to birth awhile ago because she was so huge. She almost looked like she had 3 or 4 babies in her! Two was the final count, though, and she's STILL fat!

We built a new barn this summer (attached it to the old one). One of the "rooms" in the old part was full of hay from last summer. I have been gradually feeding it down this winter so I can use the room as a "maternity ward". I still had 30 bales in it, but managed to still have enough room to section off a spot about 6' x 10' for mom and the twins (boy and a girl). I was planning on doing it today anyway, but didn't expect to fill it so soon.

Mom - the one we named "Bossy" because of her demeanor - is a favorite of our young Billy named Spike. He hangs around her all day and sleeps snuggled up real close to her. She lets him eat breakfast every morning, without even trying to head butt him away. He is only about half the size of her, so it can be comical sometimes to see them together.

Tonight, I came back in from the barn about 8:00 pm. I checked all the goats while I was out there. Everybody was snuggled into their beds of straw - except Spike. He was wandering the halls, looking for his "girlfriend". Poor guy. I doubt that she would want him snuggling tonight, though. Her kids are more important right now....

While I was out in the barn today, I found 4 of our cats all snuggled into a wheelbarrow I have in the barn. I had the barrow filled with used bedding from the goat pens. It is mostly straw and hay with some little black "jelly beans" mixed in. It must have been warm for the cats, though. They stayed like this for 3-4 hours.


The only camera I had with me was my cell phone, so it is a little fuzzy. You can make out four heads. There was a fifth cat joining them for awhile, but she was camera shy.

First Auction of 2008.....

I FINALLY got the chance to go to a farm auction this year! It wasn't a real HUGE auction, just a few little things and some large equipment and implements. Most of the stuff on the hay racks was not really worth much. The auctioneers tended to "lump" a lot of things together into one pile to get done faster. I bought 3-4 of these $1 or $2 dollar piles in oder to get the 1 or 2 things I wanted. I pretty much got everything I bid on, and came away spending $13 dollars on small stuff.

The one "High Dollar" buy I made was for a set of tire chains for my tractor. They are for a tractor with SLIGHTLY narrower tires, but should fit mine without any problems. If I need to add a couple links to them (although doubtful), it won't take much. Usually, tire chains go pretty high. I have been watching them for 3-4 years now, and the cheapest I have seen them go for is $60 a piece. I managed to get these for $20 for the PAIR. There are 3-4 broken links, but they will be easy to fix. Otherwise, they appear to be in good shape.

I scared the skin off one of our cats this morning. She looks CLOSE to the cat that has decided to be a house cat. They look close enough that we call this cat the "Evil Twin". She's not really EVIL, but it fits. She is the one that loves jumping into the air to catch dragonflies or bread chunks (or other food). She is actually quite good at catching things thrown at her.

She did't WANT to catch what I threw this morning.

I was out feeding the goats and was getting a hay bale down to put in the feeder. I had it balanced on a gate in the barn and gave it a heave, just as the cat rounded the corner of a fence. She ended up being about 6" from "Ground Zero" when the bale hit. She jumped straight up in the air, the bale tipped over and she landed on TOP of the bale! As soon as her feet hit "hay", she launched herself up and over the gate, through a goat pen and up a wall before she stopped. Her eyes were as "big as saucers" as she stared me down. If looks could kill......
At any rate, it sure got her blood pumping! It all happened in about 3 seconds. SHE didn't even know she could move that fast! I think it aggrivated her more that I was laughing at her......

THEN....About 30 minutes later, the same cat was sniffing around a small shed we have behind our house. The dogs saw her and wanted to go bark at her. The shed is outside of the back yard fence, but it never has stopped the dogs from letting things know it's THEIR yard. I opened the door, the dogs run out barking, and the cat takes off like a SHOT! I guess she was still a little nervous from earlier.....

This afternoon, when we got back from the auction, I parked the pickup in the barn so I can unload it tomorrow. All of the cats decided that they had to "inspect" the new stuff. The Evil Twin was intent on investigating a coil of rope I bought. I had the tailgate open and grabbed one of the tire chains I bought so I could pull it out and take a closer look at it. Unbeknownst to the cat (or me) the rope she was inthralled by was hooked on the chain. Between the sound of the chain and the movement of the rope, it was enough to "launch" her for the THIRD time! She jumped up, and out of the truck in about 1.00003 seconds, nearly killing herself, me and one of her buddies in the process.

I haven't seen her in awhile. She's probably in hiding and wishing that this day would end before she gets hurt or has a nervous breakdown.....

A odd find...and I spoke too soon....

We've had a couple three nice days in the past few weeks. Highs around 40 or so. Mostly, though, the high temps have been in the lower 30's and lows in the tens at night. We even had a snow storm go through earlier in the week.

Today it was 35°, but has since dropped to 29°. The wind chill is 19°. We still have a "smattering" of snow on the ground.

A few minutes ago, I walked out the back door and found a "wooly worm" caterpiller on the concrete. I picked it up and it was alive. I've never noticed one in February before. I have seen them all over in the late summer and fall, but not in the middle of winter.

As for the speaking too soon....
I posted yesterday about our cat ignoring the catnip toy we bought for her. Well - tonight I came in from checking on the goats and collecting eggs. My wife told me to "look around the corner, but don't come in (to the utility room)".
I peeked around the corner and saw the cat on top of her rug on the cabinet, flopping and wriggling all over. She was having a good old time rubbing her face and whole body all over the toy. She pushed it off onto the floor, so I picked it up for her. She right away started rubbing all over it. It's fun to watch a cat play with a catnip toy! My wife tried to get a couple of photos, but I don't know if she did.