Spring!

Spring has finally sprung which means kids, kids and more kids!

At the moment, we have 16 new babies on the farm with 4 more does left to deliver. Only of those girls is due soon, the others will be a bit later in the season.

So far this year, we have had three sets of triplets! Those poor moms sure have their work cut out for them. It is a bit comical when all three are trying to nurse at once when mom is only equipped for two.

We'll be updating the webpage shortly with this year's sale list. There will be a nice selection of kids to choose from, as well as some older goats too. We're trying to keep the herd growing slowly to give ourselves a chance to get caught up with all the other farm work that needs to be done.

Regarding farm projects, we are considering constructing a hoop house this year. It will serve the dual purpose of greenhouse space as well as a covering for our root celler. We reclaimed the area above the root cellar this past fall, removing years of dirt and growth, so now we are considering different methods of covering it. The long term plan is to have a permanent greenhouse there but the hoop house seems like the most do-able option for the time being. We're still in the planning phase but we'll update with photos as the project gets underway.

In the mean time, here are some photos of the kids for you to enjoy!

Finally!

We are happy to announce that all the goat kids and chicken peeps have arrived!

With the arrival of 19 young mail order chicks that have been in foster care at a family member's house, we can finally turn our attention away from waiting on babies to show up.

When all was said and done, we ended up with 13 goat kids. Our vary last doe to kid had her babies on May 1st and ended the kidding season with a bang - 3 little does! It was hard to decide on names for them but we ended up calling them Charon, Nix and Hydra after the three moons of Pluto.

All the kids received their first round of vaccines and their ear tags. It's hard to believe but it will soon be time to start weaning the oldest kids from their moms.

As for the chickens, the 19 mail order chicks that arrived today bring the total peep tally up to 35! We had one hen hatch 11 peeps and another hatch 6. All of a sudden the chicken population has exploeded.

This week's farm work includes updating the sale page of the website, and setting the remaining fence posts for one of the new goat pens.

Later this month, I will be travelling to Maryland with three of the angora kids for the CAGBA National Goat Show. It should be a fun and exciting time!

Three To Go!

All but three of the does have kidded and it seems the maternity pen is teeming with kids.

After Ginger had her twin bucks, Maggie followed up with twin does.

That is Cashew on the left and Flitch on the right.

Rhubarb was next to go, breaking her buck streak by giving us our first angora doe born on Lone Pine Farm!

We decided to name her Flea since she is small, black, and hops around a lot. But that adorable little girl is fast becoming not-so-little anymore. She is really growing in leaps and bounds - literally!

Not to be outdone on the Cute-O- Meter, Gyra followed up with a beautiful buck kid.

Yukon weighed in at an astounding 10 pounds at birth! Having all of mama's milk to himself, he is really turning into a tank.

Our last lady to go was Milan, who delighted us with another angora doe and a buck as well!

Sweet Pea is a cream colored doe and Squash is a copper colored buck with some small white spots. Even though they were the latest to arrive to the party, they are finding their way and running with the big kids.

That leaves us with three mothers-to-be, all due in the last 10 days of April. Once all the babies are on the ground, we will start to make decisions about which ones we will keep to expand our herd and which ones will be offered for sale.

In the midst of all this excitement, we somehow found time to make remarkable progress on some of our projects. We have the root cellar just about ready for its new roof, our new well tank has arrived and will be installed soon, the angoras are getting sheared, and we are setting posts for the next goat pens. The weather has been very kind and cooperative, giving us some beautiful warm days to enjoy and then cooling down again to normal temperatures. That little taste of summer was nice but, to be honest, it is much easier to do the outside work with the cooler days we are presently enjoying.

The dog days will be here soon enough!

We Have Babies!!!

How did she possibly know? This goat. How did she know that, of all the times she could have picked to have her babies, the 6 hour window of time Saturday evening would be the absolute worst choice?


I suppose goats are just gifted that way.


Sure enough, as I was making my way to the car to leave for the airport - stopping in one last time to check on the goats - there she was, hunched over and looking very...focused. Not yet in active labor but definitely looking at whatever rock or piece of straw she had chosen as her focal point and gathering her energy.


I coaxed her into the birthing room...er, kidding pen...and went to consult Marc, who was getting ready to leave for work. After reviewing our options - none of which included either of us actually being able to stay with the expectant mother - we decided we would put a call in to Marc's brother, Frank, and his very capable wife, Cathy, and ask them to periodically check in on her until I returned from the airport. They are seasoned goat farmers as well so we knew we were leaving her in good hands.

But still, one worries. Mainly because one does not like to abuse the good nature of one's family members by asking them to put their hands into a goat's nether region to extract a baby should a problem arise.


As luck would have it, the situation did not necessitate any invasive maneuvers, and Ginger delivered two adorable little buck kids without at problem. Considering she is a first-time mom, she did an amazing job getting her two little charges cleaned up, on their feet and acquainted with the dairy bar.


Everything was over about 45 minutes before I returned home, leaving me only the task of setting up a heat lamp to keep the little ones warm during the cool night. Frank and Cathy did an amazing job as pinch-hitter midwives. We are truly lucky to have such skilled and un-squeamish neighbors.


And so, we are proud to present, Lone Pine Farm Chestnut and Lone Pine Farm Filbert.

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

Thank you, Mr. Petty, for putting goat farming to song.

I was hoping - HOPING!!! - to be posting picutes of adorable little kids about now. But alas, the does are holding out on me.

However, since I have to leave to pick my son up at the airport later today, chances are that is when the first babies will arrive. Because goats are like that. Inconsiderate critters, they are.

In the mean time, Marc and I have been keeping busy reclaiming the old root cellar from Mother Nature. We just about have the top cleared off from the growth that overtook it. Ultimately, we are hoping to build a greenhouse there, but for now we'll be happy to get it covered and save the building from the elements.

We are also working on planning out some pastures that we will hopefully be able to rotate the goats and horses through. Any little bit to save on the feed bill is a big plus.

So, for now, no exciting news about sweet little babies. But soon...

Hopefully.

The Homestretch of January

Well, we are winding down the month of January, which means the worst of winter is over. At least in my mind. Sure we might have some more snow here and there - maybe even a March blizzard or two as in '93 - but for the most part, those long spells of frigid temperatures are behind us.

A cause for celebration.

Speaking of causes for celebration, we would like to congratulate Mystic Grange of Chesterfield, NJ, the new owners of Lone Pine Farm Raven! You can see his picture on the sales page of our website. http://www.lpfarm.net/sales.htm We are so happy he has gone to such a wonderful new home!

As for us, we are keep an ever watchful eye on the ever growing bellies of our girls. It is so easy to see with some of them, and with others we never know they are going to have kids until they actually hit the ground. At any rate, we can use every spare minute between now and then getting ready for the big day(s). Just when I think I have everything ready, I will remember that I need to order something or other and it's back to checking lists, wringing hands and many nights where sleep comes in 2 hour intervals.

And yet we do it again every year. Go figure.

In other animal news, I took some time to play with the horses the other afternoon, enjoying the sun and the relatively dry ground. The Handsome Boys were having a great time chasing me around the paddock, kicking the air and snorting like they Really Mean Business. They are so goofy when they're feeling playful. When we all ... ok, when I finally got tired, I brushed them down a bit and noticed Dozer had a cut right at the top of one of his hooves. It didn't look too bad but it was still bad enough to warrant washing, medicating, and dressing. He was a very good patient and stood nice and still while I examined the wound.

Let me just tell you, having a horse's hoof mere inches from one's face is...well...scary. But it's one of those things where you can't let yourself be scared until later because you don't want your 1,000 pound patient to sense your nervousness and get spooked when his foot is that close to your head.

But we both kept our collective cool and the foot seems to be coming along nicely.

The end of January also means the arrival of various seed catalogs in my mail box. Which is nice because they effectively neutralize the dour mood that comes with the various income tax mailings. Seed catalog - yay! W-2 form -Boo. Seed catalog - Yay! Important Tax Information Enclosed - Boo. Seed catalog...and so on. I tell you, picking up the mail is a veritable emotional roller coaster.

So I must slowly gather my paperwork - and determination - and begin the Great Income Taxathon. If I could just lock myself in a room for a week - with a 5 pound bag of Sumatra coffee beans, grinder and Mr. Coffee - I'm sure I could accomplish great things. But as it is, there is always so much else going on at this time of year, pulling my attention away. DON'T THEY KNOW WE HAVE BABY GOATS ON THE WAY?????!!!!!

But alas, this is the Homestretch of January.

A Chilly Start to the New Year

Well, it's only January 4th and I'm already counting the days until February. For some reason, February signals the end of the Really Cold temperatures - at least in my mind. The animals don't seem to mind it nearly as much. The other day when I went out into the cold, windy morning to serve up their breakfast, most of the animals were out of their shelters, just snoozing in little clusters. So much for the effort of trying to give them nice shelters.

The humans are also fairing remarkably well. Winter is a really trying time in the house at Lone Pine Farm since we have not reached that point in the rennovation where insulating and new windows are behind us. However, we are holding our own while we eagerly await spring's arrival.

The holidays were wonderful and, even though we may not have been able to spend as much time with family and friends as we would have liked, we felt genuinely blessed to have the opportunity to see loved ones and share in the holiday spirit.

Right now we are tackling small projects around the house while we hone the largers plans that will keep us occupied this spring and summer. There are always so many little things to do. Despite that, I've decided to try my hand at knitting. So far I have about ten rows of what I hope will eventually be a scarf. I'm going to stick with the knit stitch until I feel comfortable and then I plan to move on to the purl stitch.

College classes will soon start again for our son and daughter, Sebastian and Hannah. The school year is so hectic - it's nice to have them to ourselves for a little while.

Regarding kids...

I've been checking on the ladies of the farm - our does - to see who's belly is growing. It looks like we definitely have some girls expecting. We planned things so kids hopefully start arriving in mid to late March. One year of January kidding was enough for us, and probably the goats too! It is such a fun and exciting time but, until every kid is safely on the ground, it can be a bit nerve wracking too. As it is, I am already working on the kidding kits and gathering supplies. It's hard work running a maternity ward.

And with that, I must sign off for now and go into the World Wide Web to place some orders. We here at Lone Pine Farm wish you and yours a healthy, happy and prosperous new year!