outdoor shower {recycled pallets}

No clampett homestead would be complete without an outdoor shower.  This weekend, it will be used by friends who are camping on the property. But, it will also be used by us daily--our chores at the ranch are messy and dusty.

Mike picked up a mess of large and clean wooden pallets and immediately got to work. This design is his own and he put it all together in just a couple of days, with items we already had on the ranch.

I just love it!

I'm sure if you want to build your own...Mike would give you some pointers

...and then there were five

One of the objectives on our ranch is to start a little dairy.  Our Nigerian Dwarf goats will produce delicious, sweet, high butterfat milk. But, because they are small, they produce small amounts.  We knew that from the start, and decided to stick with them.

one...because they take up less space and eat less than a full size goat

two...because they will be a manageable size when full grown

three...because they have a great disposition

and four...they are adorable

There are many varieties of dairy goat, bred for volume and butterfat.  Many dairies have a mixture of breeds in their herd.  Some stick to a specific kind based on what type of product they want to make in the end.  There are many schools of thought, and one thing to keep in mind is that milk enjoyable to drink, may not make the best cheese, and vice-versa.

We have decided to diversify our herd, but stay with smaller breeds of goat.  We found the perfect hybrid in the Mini-Nubian.  Full size Nubians can weigh up to 200lbs...but the minis won't grow nearly that large.  Mini Nubians are a cross between a Nubian doe and a Nigerian Dwarf buck. The first off-spring are called first generation.  Mini-Nubians are then bred with other Minis and as the generations continue they begin to look like a full size Nubian, except with smaller stature.  In theory (and mostly in practice), they will produce large amounts of milk, with the butterfat of a Nigerian.  They take up less space and eat less than a full size goat.

We were soon on the hunt for a few Mini-Nubian does.  Luckily,  one of our neighbors (if you call 20 minutes away a neighbor) had a couple of 5th generation doelings for sale.   It didn't take long for us to fall in love with them...and bring them home.

These little girls are slowly warming to us. They were a bit skittish on the first day, but they seem to be settling in just fine.  They get along with the other goats, and they seem to tolerate the dogs without a problem as well.

We have named them America (the larger doeling) and Donkey (the smaller brown doeling)

Welcome to the family girls!

a little update

It has been 3 weeks since I last wrote.  Time is just flyin' by.  We have been very busy. Dawn risings (Mike), late night planning (Christy), training and tending.  Tomorrow is Mike's birthday and our wedding anniversary (it must be known that we have 2 anniversaries...our church wedding day--the 14th, and our big bash/repeat of vows day--the 16th). We will go out to a great dinner, and toast to the life we have...and then get back to work.

Since we last chatted, we have put 2 small barns on the property.  One has become the sleeping quarters for the goats, and the other the chicken coop.  They went up on Tuesday and have been such a pleasant addition. {More photos coming soon} We are slowly reclaiming the garage (which housed the goats, chickens and ducks), and are starting to use it for its "real" purpose---storing things. 

Ruckus and Rizzo spend their days with the goats, frolicking in the water bark Mike has built for them, in an effort to keep them cool.  Our days are well into the 100s, and we all are easily over-heated. Some afternoons you can find one of us, swinging in the hammock, hoping to get a bit of mist off the "water-bark" spray.  

The ducklings are just a week old, and we can begin to introduce them to pools of water.  They are too young to be left alone, as they can easily drown at this age.  They lack the oil in their feathers to be buoyant, that they would already have if raised by a duck mother, rather than a human one.  They enjoy emptying their water trough several times a day, making a smelly and wet mess in their brooder.  Good thing they are adorable.

We are finding it important to spend some time each day handling all of the animals.  They can easily become skiddish and/or unfriendly, which we do not want to happen.  While it is good practice, it is very time consuming, and  minutes can turn into an hour, in the blink of an eye.

We are still working on the plans to remodel the house.  We have gone through, what seems like, a million iterations, and are close to getting a defined plan and time estimate.  In the meanwhile, we are living a bit like vagabonds.  Currently our weaponry out-numbers our pieces of furniture. But, to be fair, when it comes to defending your livestock from predators, a gun is certainly more valuable than a credenza.  

Speaking of which...

We had a small coyote that was prowling around a bit to close for my comfort.  I had heard him yipping mid-day and as dusk approached.  The other morning, he was at our lower gate, and ran off as I pulled up towards him. Although country coyotes aren't nearly as bold as city coyote, I found myself reaching for the rifle when taking the small dogs outside (particularly when Mike wasn't home).  I thought this coyote might just be young enough to be bold enough to try something.  I know I could have shot him, if need be...but I found myself feeling a bit bad, when Mike mentioned that the coyote was dead on the side of the road yesterday. I should be grateful.

We are definitely not easing into this new life...we are charging at it full-force.  

And loving it dearly

 

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kid's names

this wasn't easy...

i had names in mind...you know, we all do.
especially those of us whom don't have human kids
hearing a name we like here and there and filing it in the back of our mind
if ever we are on a game show
and to win the big prize
you and your significant other
have to answer the question
name two baby names you and you agree on...
..you have those in your back pocket
right?
or is it just me?

well
those names, the ones i like for people...aren't really animal names
i may, eventually, change my mind on that
especially since we have 38 chickens to name
i might just whip out the baby name handbook for dummies and shoot down the list
because the only sure names we have
are lester and earl
why?
mike loves lester flatt and earl scruggs
who doesn't?


i really wanted to name one of the goats dolly parton. i love dolly. also, we were told these goats were bred for their big teats.  so, dolly seemed udderly (get it?) appropriate. i was sure our little blonde goat would be dolly.
but then we got her home...and watched her play
and all i could see was rudolph's (the red nose-not guliani) girlfriend from the animated show.  she is curious and not shy at all.

we named her Clarice

the littlest of the trio is the brown doe.  she is adorable and jumps around and on top of anything you put in her way.  she is a speed demon..and full of spunk.

her name is Pip

the largest kid, is the offspring of he herd queen.  the breeder had taken to calling her princess because she kind of has an attitude.  but, i am not secure enough in my femininity to have any animal named princess. i normally only use that term in a snarky tone. which is totally unfair to a little kid.  so we axed that name.  this goat reminded us both of a mountain peak...white with snow and a bit of dirt and rock showing.  she's strong and stout

we are calling her Matti...short for Matterhorn.

The kids are named. 24 hours after coming home.  Someone alert People magazine, we are ready for our big reveal!

growings on....

the garden is coming together

mike got the orchard fully planted

just as he discovered

he likes apricots

[we don't have an apricot tree}

insert sad face here

36 trees

and now i suppose

counting

the tomatoes are no longer a saga
but viable plants

our berries are coming in great too...

 blackberries

 blueberries

raspberries

some of the trees are fruiting too

persimmon

 fig

pomegranate

and that my friends is some of what is happening in our garden

evening sky

chicks!

last week, i popped into the post office to let them know

1.  we were expecting a shipment of bees

and

2.  we were expecting a box of chicks

and asked if they would ring us when they arrived

early this morning, the call arrived

there was a peeping box at the post office with our name on it

yesterday, we took the time to get the "nursery" together.  no pink paint, or cute crib bumper, but all the things we need for an appropriate brooder

large galvanized tank

pine shavings

brooder light

chick starter food

(organic--not that easy to find)

waterers

feeders

so we were ready

while mike drove to the post office
i threw on the brooder light to heat up their space
mixed up some sugar water
fixed a bowl of warm water to clean chick bums
and waiting for the arrival

the chicks come in regular mail
in a box
packed the day they were born

the odds of one or two not making the journey alive
are high
particularly since
we have been experiencing extreme heat

i was sort of afraid to open the box

good news
all the chicks made it
some seemed stronger than others
but they all looked pretty good

one by one we took them out of the box and checked them out

we lined the pen with newspaper and scattered some feed on it, as we didn't want the chicks to have to search for food upon arrival.  they were starving and ate voraciously
i also had been advised to dip the beak of each chick in the water, so they get a taste of it, and are able to easily find it again

it took about 1/2 hour to get them all settled in

the thing about chicks is that they like to plop down, fully splayed out to warm up and nap
to me
it looked like they were dead

so
i stared at them for the first few hours
nudging them as they bedded down
and then we (mike and i) took turns checking on them every 30 minutes

it is important that they
have enough food
have enough water
have enough warmth--but not too much

we tried a number of configurations of the heat lamp
until we had a hot spot, a warm spot and a cool spot
so the chicks could move around freely, finding their perfect temperature

they seem to be content
and we are really enjoying watching them play
racing across the pen at top speed
for no apparent reason