Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

I came home for lunch today to check on everybody and I'm pleased to say that all seems well for now. I'll still keep watching that last baby for any pneumonia type symptoms but she looked good this evening. Her lungs sound clear so far. Mom has recovered and looks nice and strong. I would imagine just getting rid of all that weight she was carrying is making her life easier! She's about a 60 lb doe normally. She was carrying 3 babies, all that amniotic fluid, placenta(s), and a larger uterus.... that all added up to a lot of extra weight that she was toting around! I'm glad it's over - for now. There's at least 3 more due in the upcoming months... oh boy!
 
Glad momma is ok, and I agree 2 is better than 3. Glad she as the babies are doing well!
 
Thanks!

They are doing great. I'll disbud the kids in the next day or so, ugh. That's one of my least favorite things about raising goats.

I spent most of yesterday in the garden, yippee! We had some really strong winds a couple days ago and my tomatoes took the brunt of it. Some of them had not been staked or caged and they ended up on the ground. Those silly cages just don't do the job on an indeterminate tomato plant. They have grown up and over the top of those cages, lol. Sooo, I pulled 'em back up, staked the cages, and staked the plants without cages and am gonna just hope for the best. So far - no stinky bugs on the tomatoes - yippee! (even though I've seen plenty of squash bugs ... ugh.) I have been on a seek and destroy mission. I find eggs laid on the squash leaves and I tear off that part of the leaf and get rid of it. I keep finding pairs of the bugs in a ...ahem...compromising position and that makes it pretty easy to pluck 'em off the plant and squash (lol) the squash bugs. I think today that I'm going to rake back the mulch that's around them and see if I can find any more of 'em that are prolly hiding under there.

In and amongst gardening - I made a batch of Cajeta. Truth is - I mostly made a batch of cajeta... it could be a bit thicker so I'm wondering if I can re-heat and re-simmer it until it gets to the consistency that I want... I'll probably give that a try. AND, I've been making cheese almost every day. I hear that Chevre freezes well, so I've been making it and freezing it for a few days now. We love it on salads and even dropped into some soup or on top of eggs. Yesterday's flavor was chopped rosemary... yum! The next batch will be roasted garlic. Can't beat it!

Doing a little laundry this morning too and this wonderful weather makes me want to get my clothesline out. Might just have to put that on my to-do list.

I need to go buy some supplies to finish up the out-back chicken coop. But, I hate to go to town when I'm off and can spend my day with the critters or in the garden. So much to do so little time...
 
I found several bugs in that position last year. At least they died happy.
 
A lot of squash bugs died 'happy' in my garden today, lol. I found at least a dozen "pairs" of 'em... and I musta burned at least a thousand eggs. Checked all of the leaves that I could reach and pinched off any clutch of bug eggs I found. And then to be doubly sure I kilt 'em - I burned 'em!

I'm having a hard time keeping ahead of the weeds this season. Maybe because I enlarged the garden, or maybe the weeds are just 'badder' this year! I've mulched 'em, and hoed 'em, and pulled 'em, and they just keep comin' back. Stoooopid weeds.... But, my latest fight back attack is spreading feed sacks out and holdin' the sack down with big ol' staples made just for that. I've done that in another area but used paper type feed sacks...well...I ran out of the paper ones, so now I'm using those new fangled woven ones. They won't break down so I'll probably remove 'em at the end of the season. Or, maybe I'll just pull 'em back and put some compost under 'em for the off season (should say the "lazy" season - no real off season here). A gardeners work is never done....

The new buckling is becoming....ahem...very bucky. The other day when the doe delivered her babies I came out of her pen with birthing fluids on my hands. For whatever reason - those smells drove him a little bonkers (to say the least!) and I ended up breaking a rake defending myself from the over-zealous little creepster. :hide (Disclaimer: before anyone goes complaining to PETA - it was the plastic part of the rake that broke - I didn't do any permanent harm to anything but his pride, lol!) I don't cotton to no hanky-panky, non-respectful buck action. Stoopid little butthead. But, he now knows all about the business end of a stick, lol. He's gonna be a big ol' boy when grown (if he lives that long, lol) and I can't have him thinking it's okay to act stoopid.

Okay, break is over and it's time to go finish feeding and get the milking done. DH is on his way home and his back is hurting again so I want to get it all done before he gets here and feels compelled to help.
 
I just finished weeding, and already have weeds coming back up!
 
If you leave those woven bags on the soil long enough, it might kill off the perennial weeds like bindweed and couch grass. That's the stuff I hate weeding because if you leave even the tiniest bit of root it just comes back stronger than ever. The annuals are easy- just get them before they go to seed.
 
I have a whole mess of those bags in the barn - I think I'm gonna get to splitting them and getting ready for this garden season! Keeping ahead of the weeds is near impossible for me, even though here our growing season is VERY short :D I think I'm going to til up my front yard and pretend to plant a garden there - since the garden is the only place I seem to grow thick, lush grass!! :p
 
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