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Circle of life
Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 10:05AM Well, we've made it through another inbetween season. This one was pretty rough, with more mud than I can ever remember. Add to that the fact that I have more than twice as many goats as last spring and probably 5x the shareholders/responsibilities... and let's just say it's been fairly exhausting.
But we made it! Yesterday I got the pump installed at the pond and sent a glorious 250 gallons up the mountain. Today I expect to fill the 500 gallon goat tank. Not having to haul endless loads of water frees up time and energy to do other things- like build some large new raised beds with the winters poopy bedding. Yippee!
Honestly, I don't know how I would have gotten everything done this year without lots of volunteer help. My Mom has come up almost everyday to fill the cracks, and I've had several visitors from across Alaska who've donated hard labor to keep me caught up. Thank you Universe!
So far we've had 31 kids born, with just one more doe to go. Frannie's due date is in 5 days... and then we'll be done kidding until fall time. It's been quite the season. I've kept most of the girls for now, and sold most of the boys- at this moment I have 20 kids in the yard. Actually, there are 15 in the yard, and 5 in the house.
The weaning pen is almost ready- I need to pull the biggest 5 kids off the milk bucket, move the smallest 5 kids outdoors, and remove about 7 from their mamas. And we're headed into the large milk surplus time, so I've got to get things ready for a piglet... maybe two piglets. Whew.
We've had some excitement and some sadness this spring. Three sets of triplets, all from my most senior does. Farlight had two boys and girl with no complications. Guava had two boys and a girl, but I almost lost her to hemorrhage. She's nursing her 2 week old kids now, with plenty of milk surplus and is doing great. Finally, Iris had 3 girls! But she went downhill quickly, and I was unable to save her. She kept pushing after the birth and completely exhausted herself. She gave me 4 beautiful doelings and a stunning buckling in the 14 months she spent here. Maybe she'll come back as a butterfly.
And this is what it's all about. You work hard, bring lots of babies into this world, do your best to help them live healthy and productive lives, and then you lay them to rest. I'm not sure why as humans we live so much longer than our family of animals, but c'est la vie.
Summer is a busy time on the farm. I guess I better wrap things up here and get back to work. Peace.
Reader Comments (5)
Lisa, I always enjoy reading your blog posts - you might not realize it but you are an inspiration to others. You sure are a hard worker and you never give up. I am proud of you! Thanks to your mama for helping out. I'm a mama, too, and I love helping my daughter when she needs me. Sorry about Iris - that part brought tears to my eyes - it's the animal lover in me - hate to see it happen - but like you said, c'est la vie! Peace to you and your family and enjoy your summer!
Connie in PA
Thanks Connie! I hope you can come up and visit sometime. I'll put you to work!
Hi LIsa,
I've never posted before, but am a big fan here on the Kenai peninsula. Like Connie said, you are an inspiration! I'm writing with a question about your chicken food, which I'm sure you're tired of discussing after already posting several times about it. Anyway, I've been experimenting for several months now with my own homemade food and am overall pretty pleased with my mixture. My question is regarding the kelp and salt. I know kelp is a great source of many micro nutrients, but I'm wondering if there is a specific reason you include it in your feed? And why the salt? Also, what are your thoughts on beet root powder? I know you're super busy up there. I'd certainly appreciate any advice/thoughts you might have whenever you get a chance. Thanks!
Julie
Lisa Rae where are you!? I have been ready for a long time and I haven't seen any new post from you in so long. I miss hearing about your life!
Hi Julie,
Sorry for the long delay in answering your question. Kelp is for minerals, all animals need salt, and beet root powder worries me. I used to include it in my feed, but as far as I know- all commercial beet root is GMO.
Lisa