Things are looking up

So the goats seem to have recovered! They were definitely looking better when I got home from work tonight. All hanging out and chewing cud and standing up and looking happy. Not sure why I couldn't get the pictures to line up in order, but if you look below you will see:
1) One of the white crested ducklings, now about three weeks old. Cute isn't she?
2) Two of the layer hens now at three weeks old - getting bigger than the fuzzballs you saw a few days ago!
3) One of the meat hens at three weeks old - HUGE! And you can see from both chicken pictures that they are starting to get their feathers already!
4 +5) Happy, lively goats!! You may not be able to tell, but trust me, they look MUCH better!

Is that lipstick?

See the pink all over Zoe's face? Well, it isn't actually lipstick . . . although Zoe-boe is certainly one of our farms biggest flirts and fanciest ladies, she hasn't yet stooped to make-up as far as I know. That pink stuff, my friends, is pepto-bismol. Yep. No kidding. I spent the day trying to get about 20 cc of the minty pink stuff down the gullets of 21 goats. We had a little case of what they call "Goat Scour" here at the farm today. One poor goat actually got so dehydrated overnight (before we found out they were sick) that he passed away. We were dosing the rest up in an effort to keep that from happening to anyone else. So far, it seems to be working. As of this evening, only one goat is still laying around looking sick. The rest are getting up and eating hay and drinking water like they mean to make it. So keep your fingers crossed. And RIP Artie.

Love,

Turtlewoman

The Mail

So you can't ship dangerous chemicals or flammable stuff in the mail, but you can do this:
Inside this box we found these:

Here is an up close shot of one of the little cheepers. Isn't she cute?

27 in all. 10 for laying eggs and 17 for eating. Well, now we are down to 25 due to a rookie mistake. Didn't realize the first night that I had plugged their heat lamp into a plug connected to the light switch . . . switched off all the lights to the barn . . . no heat lamp overnight for the chicks. Sigh. They made it through the night but two of them later succumbed to who knows what. Now we have 10 for laying eggs and 15 for eating . . . . so we will see how that goes. When I get a chance to get the camera out there I will take pictures of them now. It has only been about three weeks and the meat birds are already close to three times their original size!

Two days after the chickens arrived, we also became the proud owners of 12 ducklings. They are all layers although they could all also be duck l'orange at some point. If I can convince my sister of it anyway . . .

Love,

Turtlewoman

Misadventures

My dad made a comic strip of Waffles! She and Big Pud are frequently seen in just this type of encounter in my front kitchen window. They are both trying to figure out how the heck to get outside . . . and I am the evil kitty-mama that won't let them. If I didn't live right on a road with Hannaford trucks whizzing by at 90 miles an hour about 20 times a day I would TOTALLY let them out. But since the thought of having my beautiful kitty turn into a grease spot under a Hannaford truck pretty much ruins my whole day, I just can't bring myself to do it . . .

In other news, there is a LOT of work to be done at the farm right now. So anyone that is bored - feel free to come down and help weed or build fences or shear goats or . . . .

Love,

Turtlewoman

Back from the Dead

Believe it or not folks, I am still alive out here. Not posting a whole lot as you can see. And currently I am a little lost in the world of the dead as I am completely caught up in Stephanie Meyers Twilight Series. I started the fourth book two days ago and am now about 400 pages in. This is the first time I have been able to put it down without feeling like I was going to vomit. It has really been making me sweat!
But I am here and there are lots of happening as spring comes to the Farm. The perennial beds are a constant source of joy and excitement, as well as a constant source of work! There are new flowers coming up every day - many surprises as this is my first spring here - and I am starting to see the green shoots of some of my old friends from last summer. Here are some pictures - if you want to see more, come visit!
Love, Turtlewoman

Okay, so Buttercup and Crocus may not be REAL flowers, but they sure are cute right? Croakie is one of our newest babies!