We’ve been helping our goat mentor with kidding as she is by herself this year. We’re at least able to keep her company for a few hours a couple of evenings. One of her does had five kids with four surviving a couple of nights ago. We were there for the first two.  One  was a little black dude that she named “Peanut”. He looked to be about 4 pounds or so.

The second night we went over, she had the cutest little kid… looked like he was wearing black and white spotted pajamas. I named him “PJ”.

We’ve nearly finished planting seeds into flats. So far I’ve planted 14 (36 pots each) flats. We’ve done cabbage (red and green), broccoli (2 plantings), cauliflower, 6 different varieties of basil, catnip, artichoke, spaghetti squash, green peppers, pepperoncini peppers, and jalapeno peppers. I also planted a flat of Utah celery, but it is so slow growing I’ll be surprised if we get a crop.

The goat milking project is going quite well. Annie, our multi-colored doe is still nursing all four kids, so I rarely milk her. I do have her come to the stanchion  for her sweet feed. That way, I can check her teats for teeth marks and rub  them with bag balm. She’s so  good about standing, I don’t even  bother to lock her in. As long  as she has grain in front of her, it’s “Don’t bother me, I’m eating!”

Posey, our black doe is the milker. She’s giving me about 13 cups a day. Not bad for a first year doe. We’re using  most of the milk for our dogie lambs. We make sure our neighbor who gave us her two goats gets a gallon a week. Once the lambs are weaned we’ll  have milk to make cheese.

Mom  bought me a really nice  magazine with several recipes for different  kinds  of cheese. I really can’t wait to get started. Our milk is sweet and has no “goaty” flavor. If we didn’t say it is goat milk, you wouldn’t know what kind of milk it is.

Cindy has been putting in a lot of time on her aquaponics system. She has the upgraded unit in operation with goldfish and koi in the fish tank. So far, she has planted peppers, lettuce, and  a couple of tomato plants. I think she said she also had a little cabbage she snitched from a seed flat.

Today is kind of “down  day”, so I’m smoking a 10 pound pork butt. I put it on about 8 this morning and know  it won’t be ready until about mid-night. That’s ok, as we’ll eat it over the weekend.

Incoming search terms:

• milking goats

Not so fast, rookie.

It might be 80 degrees in the afternoon, but with blue skies, not a cloud in sigh… the temperature can easily drop below freezing by dawn of the next morning. All it takes is a storm moving east hundreds of miles away and let it’s little cold tail swing through the atmosphere… and boom, we’re below freezing.

At over 5000 feet elevation, the surface cools much faster. Add to the fact there is next to no concrete or blacktop, no large trees, or massive shrubs, and the air simply goes up, up, and up. The faster it leaves, the colder it gets. And… that can happen in any month around here, even  June, July,and August.

So, we are plodding along, following the planting  plan, and hope to have a bumper harvest in July.

Here’s what’s growing.  We have little leaves showing on the Savoy Cabbage, Red Cabbage, and  Broccoli. The celery is peeking up. I no longer need a magnifying glass to see them. Also,the cauliflower is breaking through the planting medium.

We had purchased several plants (not organic, and to be planted in a separate area or pots) a couple of weeks ago. Sadly, we left them in the greenhouse (unheated), and they got frosted pretty badly. They  included several kinds of mint, some strawberries, an artichoke, and some basil. Some of these plants were to be transplanted into Cindy’s aquaponics setup.

Speaking of her aquaponics project, she has peppers growing, and lettuce coming up through  the  pebbles. All the goldfish have been transferred from the house aquarium to their new home in a very large tank (better than 100 gallons). They don’t seem to mind the colder temperature.  Once I’m done with the south bed (seedlings), she will  rebuild the old blue barrel system,  giving her even more room.

The sheep are raising their young very nicely. We ended up with one “house lamb”, who is back  in the big pen but is getting a couple bottles of milk each day. We had to rebuild the lamb feeder as the little lambs got to where they could jump over the top… not good!

We got five “dogie” lambs for our efforts at the neighboring sheep ranch. They’re occupying a small garden area adjacent to the chicken pen. We built them a little pen using pallets, and then covered a portion with plywood and a warm blanket hanging to  the ground. That keeps the wind  at bay.

We have three lambs pre sold, are keeping a couple of ewe lambs, and one ram lamb. That means that right now, we have 12 lambs available for  sale. They should reach 100 lbs in July.

There are still four “springers” to lamb. Hopefully with the warmer weather, the survival rate will be better. There are never any guarantees as to what a first-time lamb will produce. We hope for  twins, are ecstatic if we get  triplets, and satisfied if we get a single, healthy lamb that they feed.

In  the goat department, we have three one little boy for sale from our Pygmy goat. His daddy is a Nubian/Boer cross. I would think he could be a very tasty spit-roasted treat.

Among the Nubians, we have three little boys, each of whom are available for sale.

We sold “Buttercup” our cow. Some folks in Enterprise were looking for an animal to add to their freezer.  They also happened to have a Beefmaster bull that is about 12 months old. He will come to our farm and breed Coco,the heifer calf. They’re about the same age, so this should be a real adventure.

They were first going to pick up the cow last Saturday, but we had a snow storm. Here, not  there. That’s right, we got more than 5 inches of snow and 17 miles down the road, they got nothing.

We did move her on  Sunday. It only took 3 of us in the pen to encourage her to the trailer. I got the “Coco” duty. My job was to keep her separated from her mother… not a particularly easy job. Thankfully, she chose to stand back and not push me around as usual.

We’re continuing to plan for and source our high tunnels. Since it’s acceptable for us to install them ourselves, we are  being extra careful to get the best deal possible, not necessarily the lowest price, but best overall deal. The NRCS requires a 4 year warranty by the manufacturer.

We have neighbors who are building  hoop houses as a side business, but we can’t use them as they source the pipe for the supports separate from the cover. The nice thing though, is they have offered to help us. We’ve already made some changes in our plan based on what they’re doing for a neighboring farmer. We’re going to install separate frost-free hydrants in  each tunnel with their own shutoff valves.

Lastly, I’ve been cleaning animal pens, stacking the manure and  spoiled hay for future use in compost and erosion control. Sure glad we have the only man around… John Deere to help with that task. The cow pen is done, except for adding some sand back to the pen. The French Alpine Goat (who we think is pregnant) got her pen cleaned last week after a second escape. No, she didn’t go over  the fence, she climbed out her little window… no more  window to watch the other goats. An extra piece of plywood keeps her pretty secure.

Looking forward to May when the patio furniture goes outside.

Incoming search terms:

• farm-bulls pen
• goldfish aquarium setup

Now, Bonnie and Ray are in the process of building their own home to the  west of us. We have been in awe of their skills ever since we moved here. While they are retired, they’re not slowing down at all. From digging their own basement, to pouring the foundations, to putting in their own septic, framing their house (somewhere around 3000 sq ft), to finishing the inside… and on and on.

So butchering chickens should be a snap.

Not so fast… First off, Bonnie was traumatized as a small child by a rooster who attacked her. Her fear has continued to this day. While she was willing to supervise, she wanted no part of this process.

I’m not sure what we were thinking, as even though we’d rounded the boys up last night, we’d forgotten to sharpen (or even find) our butchering  knives.

Cindy is the chief chicken catcher around here. She has quick, accurate hands, and little fear of flapping wings. To get the first rooster out of the dog crate (man are those things handy), she tipped it on end, opened the door, found a leg and yanked.

One of our customers, who is from Palestine, has been teaching us how to butcher in the “halal method”. This process is a very quiet one. In the case of chickens, it involves grasping the chicken  under the wings between your thumb and the rest of your fingers. If your hand is large enough, you can reach out and capture the head, just under the beak, pulling the head back to expose the jugular. With a really sharp knife, you slice open the jugular and hold the chicken head down until it is fully bled. No flopping, no running, no trauma, and best of all, no risk to the butcher.

I think Ray was duly impressed.

Now, on to the rest of the story.

After two trips back to Ray’s house, he finally came up with some good knives. Cindy came up with a fairly good knife from Mom. Since they were getting these birds without the skin, we could skip the plucking duty.

I’ll  spare you from all the details, except for Bonnie, who’s walking around with her nose all wrinkled, watching Ray and me struggle to skin these birds. They’re NOT FRYERS. Born in mid-September, they are no longer really tender.

Once free of their feathers (and skin), Cindy took over to remove the innards.

Now, as we handed the carcasses off to Cindy, I asked Bonnie if she wanted the feet (or the cock’s comb), and  she shrieked … NO!

What she didn’t know (or even care to know) is that chicken feet and comb’s are part of the secret to the richest chicken broth in the world. European and Asian chefs routinely use these parts.

To use the feet, after thoroughly washing, place them in very hot (at least 165 degree) water for a few minutes to scald them. This makes removing the skin much easier. Once that is done, add them to your stock ingredients and  continue cooking as usual.

The comb requires even less care. Wash it thoroughly and then make a few slits in the comb.  Add it to your stock.

I prefer to remove these parts before serving chicken soup, but the more worldly folks find them quite tasty.

As an aside, I can remember my grandma boiling chicken feet and then chewing on them on Mondays after the Sunday dinner. I can still see her hanging laundry with a chicken foot hanging out of her mouth.

With the carcasses securely in a bag, Bonnie and Ray quickly returned to their place to finish the job of washing, cutting, wrapping and freezing their fresh home-raised birds.

I can almost taste the chicken and dumplings!

In the image of the traditional CSA, we will develop shares to be purchased before the planting season. By having you pay us at the start of the season, we are able to purchase seeds, and inputs (like organic soil conditioner), and get things going as early as possible.

As the produce grows, you will get a box of whatever is growing on a weekly basis. Like other farmers who offer true CSA’s, we will ensure you get more than you pay for. If you’re so inclined, we invite you to help us at our farm. There is always weeding, and then packing the produce.

Coming to our farm get’s you additional goodies, as we’re way out in the country, and we want you to be well-rewarded for your efforts.

We’ll most likely develop a drop-off point in both Enterprise and Cedar City as we grow.

One thing…  please don’t consider us like some of the other “big CSA Coop’s”. When we do offer shares, it will be limited, and personal with us.

If you live in Iron County Utah and have an  interest in joining our CSA, reply here, or get on our Four Country Gals Market News list.

Incoming search terms:

• organic farms that sell produce for St George ut

We’ve graduated in the eyes of several of our mentors.  We’re no longer rookies, newbies, or city girls.

It all began when one of our neighbor’s house burned. We were on scene very early and got the only pictures for the fire investigator. Another neighbor is the real hero as he broke down doors to see if anyone was inside. Thankfully, no one  was home. He also turned off the main propane supply valve.

Something we may never have mentioned last year, was that one of our mentors, “Flip” the guy who shears our sheep, and is the source for our breeding stock, told us “we’re smarter than he thought” when we told him we’d gotten rid of our horses.

This past week, we’ve been “apprenticing” at another sheep ranch. We get “paid” in dogies or bummers. Pedro, the shepherd, and his wife Rosa, care for 500 head of sheep. This year, more than 400 chose to lamb within 10 days. And that was after 20 cows dropped their calves within  15 days.

Needless to say, Pedro is bushed!

So, we were over there to see how we could help. He still had about 100 ewes to lamb, and nearly 1000 lambs to care for. His barns are bulging, and all the outside pens are full.  He has so many lambs, he got permission from his boss to turn 250 ewes and their lambs into the alfalfa circles, where the new growth is only up about an inch.

When we got there, he was trying to get lambs moved, lambs watered, lambs banded and marked, jugs and pens cleaned, everyone fed and watered, and still observe the still pregnant ewes. Oh, and Rosa (his wife) is caring for 15 little dogie ewe lambs.

That’s where we came in…  we could watch the pregnant ewes, and let Pedro know if there was a problem. Now, you need to understand. Pedro has 35 years  experience. He is a US Citizen, and speaks pretty good English and  better Spanish. His wife speaks only Spanish. I had 3 years of high school Spanish 50 years ago, and Cindy speaks no Spanish.

So, we’re standing there watching the ewes when we realize one is in trouble… where’s Pedro? The first person we can find is Rosa. She calmly walks to the ewe, grabs a hind leg and lifts it up until the ewe falls over. I could see where this was going and moved to help. We had a lamb with one leg back instead of both legs forward. I got the privilege of re-positioning the lamb and pulling it, cleaning it’s sac of the mouth and getting it to the mama ewe. Within minutes, she had two more lambs. She was so exhausted it took both Cindy and me to lift the ewe to her feet about 20 minutes later.

Pedro was astonished that we would step in and help like that. He has now declared us “shepherds”. What an awesome feeling.  It’s been a long 5 years since Pedro had to come help us with a ewe in trouble. I still remember him asking “where’s your straw”, and having Cindy wonder why he needed a straw. We hadn’t prepared a proper bed for the ewe or her lambs.

Of course, obtaining the NRCS grant has elevated us in the eyes of our neighbors. No one here has ever considered something like that. While at the fire, the Fire Chief said he’d heard we got the grant. His son was on the approval board, and couldn’t help but brag to his dad about it.

While things have stayed under control here, I’ve been active on the Local Harvest forum. We’ve had a number of discussions, some a little intense. I’ve maintained my demeanor and have been able to help diffuse a few arguments. Those are always over “organic” and certification, or CSA and some of the new marketing/sales schemes calling themselves “CSA’s” and whether or not they should use a different designation.

As a result, I received a very nice complement from another mentor.

Lucy Goodman Boulder Belt Eco-Farm Eaton, OH http://boulderbelt.blogspot.com http://www.boulderbeltfarm.com“

That really meant a lot to me, as I’ve considered Lucy one of my online mentors for several years.

Now that we’ve graduated, we really have to live up to all this… no  resting on our laurels.

Let me tell you the tale of our first milking…

We gals don’t have a ton of experience. Yes, our mentor has taught how to milk, and we’ve taken care of a couple of her goats a few times over the past four years. We also are getting adept at stripping ewe (sheep) teats for new lambs.

None of that set us up for the first milking adventure.

Here are the players. The goat… Posey, who is totally clueless, a screwball, and the daughter of a ding-a-ling, who turned out to be one of our mentor’s best milk goats.

Bev, who prefers working in the garden and taking care of our administrative needs. She’s also the one who works a part-time job driving school bus.

Cindy, who’s always up for an adventure, loves animals, has mothered everything from chipmunks to raccoons and foxes. She’s a former Park Ranger, cop, commercial pilot, and all around fun gal.

Me (Shari), who learned to milk cows as a kid, but hadn’t done anything like that for better than 50 years. Remember, I’m also the most obese of the group.

The site:

The goat pen, the alley way, and the goat stanchion, which is bordered by hay bales.

So, the day after the goats were born, we thought we’d best be getting some “first milk” (colostrum) from Posey. Her babies really needed  it, even though Cindy and  I had put the little babies on teats as soon as we got them dried off after they were born. We weren’t real sure Annie would continue to take care of all four, and Posey, was just standing around yelling her fool head off.

Cindy went into the pen to get Posey by her collar while Bev and I made sure the milk bucket and stanchion were ready. That was as simple as ensuring the big eye bolts were handy for the head lock, and there was food in the hay tray.

We got Posey out of the pen without much drama. Since we don’t leave the sight or smell of the other goats, they don’t get all upset. Well, Posey thought she should visit Zena (in another pen), and Apollo, the ram in his pen before going anywhere with us.

“Oh hell, as long as I’m  out, let’s go visit the cows, too.”

After a few minutes, we got her turned the right direction towards the stanchion. That’s when the fun began…

She had been up on this stanchion late last summer to kind of get the hang of the whole thing. She wasn’t real keen on having her teats touched at that time, but at least she mostly jumped up and stood still.

This time, she must have known things were different. The brakes went on as soon as she got to the stand. Bev had positioned herself at the head of the gate, and was offering hands full of nice green alfalfa. Cindy and I were attempting to lift her front legs onto the floor of the stanchion. No go for several attempts.

Finally, after nearly choking her by pulling on her collar, we got both front legs up…  now to get the most important part up…  her rear end and legs. She weighs better than 100 pounds, and I’m sure most is in her hind quarters, especially when she isn’t wanting to climb upon something.

She firmly planted her hind feet, stiffened her front legs and refused to move. I had her by the collar, trying to get her head as far as the head stall, so Bev could take over. Cindy was very carefully pushing from behind and trying to find some leverage that would tip her point of balance in our favor, when suddenly she hopped up on the stanchion, nearly sending Bev through the adjacent fence.

Quick, grab the bucket before she changes her mind!

I sat my fat butt on a bale of straw and reached under this very nervous goat. She’s rocking around and picking up her feet, much like our mentor’s goats did for us when we milked them. They knew we were rookies. After quickly massaging Posey’s teats, I went for the first squeeze.

Whoa! Where did that foot come from? Where’s the teat? Cindy’s got the solution. She picks up the nearest hind foot and holds it firmly so I can begin this milking process.

She has nicely formed lengthy teats. Each one fits across the width of my hand perfectly. I begin to squeeze from the top of the teat down, finger by finger, only to realize I’m  shooting the milk directly into my jacket sleeves. Geez, it’s below freezing out here. Long sleeves are necessary.

So, I check my position and go at it again. Squirt! Right onto the front of my jacket. By then, Bev is laughing so hard she’s about to pee her pants. Posey seems to be enjoying the hilarity and starts really moving around. Cindy’s still pushing on Posey’s butt trying to keep her forced into the head stall and still holding the leg up, just in case Bev lets go of her collar.

By the fourth attempt, I’m putting the milk into the bucket, one squirt at a time… not even attempting to milk with two hands this time. I’ve got milk on me, milk on Cindy, milk on Chewy our farm dog, and milk all over the stanchion.  Fortunately, I’ve also got milk in the bucket.

After about 10 minutes, Cindy and I trade places and she finds out what I’ve been going through. Milk all over the place again. Of course that means, I’m pushing on Posey’s butt while holding her right rear leg up.

By now, Posey has run out of food up front and is quite tired of our antics. She’s getting harder and harder to keep in position. We’ve got about 6 ounces of “first milk” which we’ll freeze for use next year.

We let Posey go and find she’s much happier jumping off the stanchion and going back to the pen.

But,she’s not heard the last from us.

Into the pen we go… I grab one goat, and Cindy grabs another. By holding them firmly against the small goat house, the little one’s find there are ready nipples… Dinner! Or is that Breakfast! Here’s the funny part (or is it is sad), the little kids don’t get to suck on their mom’s for much longer than we got to milk Posey.

Maybe  it’s a goat thing.

Incoming search terms:

• Got milk carton cindy lane

First into the seed pots will be red cabbage, savoy green cabbage, and  Utah celery. We’ve made paper pots this year. That’s a task for someone who has little or no life. While it is good for the environment, and aside from the cost of the pot maker, it’s pretty cheap, if you value your time, it’s not cost effective.

There is an advantage to the paper pots. No transplanting required. Once the seeds are planted in the seedling medium, with a little worm castings added, they will remain in the same pot until time to set into the ground. Then the whole pot will go into the ground, where the paper quickly decomposes.

If we were using the Jiffy strips (5 x 10), we could get 50 pots into a standard seed tray. With the paper pots, we can only get 36. For this year, that is sufficient as we have 40 foot rows. Looks like about one flat per row for seedlings.

We’ll be starting about half our plants in the hoop house, with the remainder being direct sown into the gardens.

Our hoop house is being converted to the aquaponics system home, so the sooner I can get the seedlings moved to the garden, the happier Cindy will be. Only the north garden box is being used through the season this year. That box will contain most of the herbs we grow.

We’ve learned that one of the conditions of the new large hoop houses will be no seedling containers (no  containers of any kind) allowed. We must direct seed, or raise our seedlings in a different structure. Not sure yet if we’ll construct  any raised beds. Probably not, as we’re also required to have a cover crop during any off season. Also,  we’ll be using a drip system using drip tape. That makes it kinda hard to account for different elevations.

For this year, our “feature crop” is broccoli. We’re planting an entire 15×30 bed. It is one of the most popular crops sold  at the Cedar City Downtown Farmers’ Market. It’s also one of our favorite veggies.

So, here’s what we’re starting in the pots, over the next couple of months.

• Burpee Red Cabbage (Organic) Mar 29 – set out May 10
• Burpee Green Savoy Cabbage (Organic) Mar 29 – set out May 10
• Burpee Utah Celery (Organic) Mar 29 set out Jun 7
• Burpee Broccoli, Waltham 29 (Organic) April 12 set out May 24
• Burpee Cauliflower, Snowball Y (Organic) April 12 set out May 24
• Burpee Genovese Basil (Organic) April 19 set out Jun 14-21
• Burpee Cinnomon Basil (Organic) April 19 set out Jun 14-21
• Botanical Interests Basil Doce Vita Blend (Cinnamon, Genovese, Tall Lemon, Lime, Mammoth and Purple Petra) (Organic) April 19-May3 set out Jun 14-21
• Burpee Hot Pepper, Jalapeno Early (Organic) April 26 set out Jun 21
• Burpee Sweet Pepper, California Wonder (Organic) April 26 set out Jun 21
• Burpee Pepper, Pepperoncini Greek (Organic) April 26 set out Jun 21
• Burpee Squash Vegetable Spaghetti (Organic) April 26 set out Jun 21
• Burpee Tomato Beefsteak (Organic) May 3 set out Jun 21
• Burpee Tomato Gardeners Delight (Organic) May 3 set out Jun 21
• Burpee Tomtato Queen of Hearts Hybrid (Organic) May 3 set out Jun 21
• Burpee Sunflower, Mammoth, Autumn Beauty Mix, Ornamental Mix (Organic) May 3 set out Jun 14
• Burpee Pumpkin Small  Sugar (Organic) May 10 set out Jun 14
• Burpee Squash Waltham Butternut (Organic) May 10 set out Jun 14
• Burpee Brussels Sprouts Long Island Improved (Organic) May 10 set out Jun 7

Our direct sow Certified Organic crops go into the ground between May 24 and Jun 21, with as much as possible ready for the Cedar City Downtown Farmers’ Market opening July 25. Here’s what’s going directly into the ground.

• Burpee Beets, Detroit Dark Red
• Burpee Arugula, Selvatica
• Burpee Carrots, Chantenay
• Burpee Swiss Chard 5 Color Mix
• Burpee Lettuce Great Lakes 118
• Burpee Lettuce Black Seeded Simpson
• Burpee Kale Dwarf Blue Curled Vates
• Burpee Squash Dark Green Zucchini
• Burpee Garden Bean Blue Lake 274
• Burpee Bea Speedy (Dwarf)
• Burpee Cucumber Garden Sweet Burpless Hybrid
• Burpee Kohlrabi Purple Vienna
• Burpee Cantaloupe Hearts of Gold
• Burpee Radish German Giant
• Burpee Radish White Icicle
• Burpee Spinach New Zealand

In addition to the various kinds of basil, we’re also planting a fair amount of cilantro, and chives.

If you’re particularly interested in purchasing  from us directly at the farm, please call for directions and  an appointment.

Incoming search terms:

• arugula certified organic grow season
• lambs for sale in utah
• growing time of white icicle radish
• growing herbs in utah
• converting a hoop house to a garden cottage
• burpees red cabbage
• burpee queen of hearts tomato
• burpee queen of hearts hybrid tomato
• burpee organic beefsteak tomato plant
• burpee broccoli waltham seedling pic

Last year, we were given a couple of Nubian bottle baby kids in exchange for helping Jill at Cricket Song Farm with chores. One’s mother died shortly after birth, and the other one, an orphan  herself, was a real ding-a-ling.

In late May, an we got a call from one of our customers, who had located a pair of Pygmy goats. Would we take them and feed them until the youngest one got a little bigger? Oh and by the way, the other is a “nanny”.  If you’ll breed her, then we can split the offspring. Deal!

Then the price of hay went sky high. We knew a neighbor who had a young French Alpine doe and a young Nubian/Boer buck. We made a deal with her. We’d take the goats off her hands and she could come and milk our does whenever she wants. Her original reason for owning goats was to make cheese for herself.

We put the buck in with the girls in mid-October. He knew exactly what to do, even though the girls weren’t really sure of his intentions, or attention. Eventually they stood for him, and five month  later…  we’re goat grandparents!

Our parenting adventure began a week ago in a snow storm, when the pygmy goat (gift from our customer), presented us with four of the cutest little kids we’ve ever seen. Three little boys and one little girl… totally drop dead cute! Not a one of them  even resemble their mama’s coloring.

Then, on Thursday evening, our Nubians went into  labor… both of them!

We had thought the black one (Posey) would give birth days earlier than the multi-colored one (Annie). We had carefully observed what we thought were good matings. Well, they had other ideas.

We were doing the evening chores when we noticed “stringing” by Annie. That’s not the way it was supposed to be. Uh-oh, Posey is stringing  too… just not as much.

Within a few minutes, Annie was in full labor, and letting the world know about it. Even our neighbors a quarter mile away heard her. Cindy and I were in the little goat shed with her, holding her head, and  encouraging her… Breathe! Push! Breathe, Breathe! Push, push push!

Now, this goat shed (like all our animal sheds) is made from an irrigation  system parts crate set upright on a long side, with an 8×8 addition. We do that by laying 4×8 sheets on their sides and  framing them in. Then we add a tin roof and fill in any open spaces. After cutting an 18 inch wide door, and a 1.5x2ft window in an  adjacent wall, we lay a floor of wheat straw.

So here we are, consoling this goat as she has first one kid, and another. She’s pretty clueless  about the first kid, so Cindy is applying firm pressure on kid’s  the front feet as the goat finally gives a big final scream and push. Out pops a slimy, wet and wiggly baby. Cindy quickly cleared the kid’s mouth of it’s birthing sac, while I helped the mother goat back to her feet, and into a position to smell and see her baby. She did some cleaning and cooing, but in no way, was she interested in letting the  little guy nurse.

That was my job… get the little guy to nurse.

Within about an hour,  Annie delivered another little boy. She was most interested in caring for this little guy. I jumped at the opportunity and quickly attached the first little guy to a teat. He drank and drank, while she cleaned and cleaned.

With only an hour or so until dark, it was decision time. What to do about Posey, who was still eating, and blissfully unaware she was in labor. Cindy and I both knew we couldn’t leave her and expect to have live kids in the morning… We’d be spending as much time as it took until she had her kids and expelled her afterbirth.

Ok, so it was nearly 60 degrees during the day. On the desert, at night, the temperature drops significantly. We could expect the night time temps to drop below freezing. Since we were spending the night in the goat shed…  a rather crowded place when both  does were inside, we’d need lights (flashlights and an LED lantern). With our heavy jackets, hats and gloves, we thought were in fair shape.

So we settled in, alternately making sure the little one’s on the ground were full of milk, dry, and comfortable. Annie was in and out of the shed, taking time to eat and drink. Posey was wandering  around outside. As long as she was in our sight, we stayed in the shed.

We had fresh straw down, but when you’re obese like me, on your hands and knees, and crawling around, you can’t always see where there is pee, poop, or birth fluids, especially after dark. My knees were wet, and eventually, so was my butt.

Because there was a big wet spot outside the door, which we had to crawl through, we had laid a small piece of plywood. My knees were taking a beating… I was in and out that door more than a dozen times over the course of the night.

Cindy was in about the same shape… but being a bit smaller, she didn’t have as much difficulty getting  around.

About midnight, we were so cold (and wet) we went to the house for some hot instant (yuck!) coffee, and to warm up and use the facilities.  Cindy was wearing  her muck boots, and couldn’t figure out why she had cold feet. When she removed her boots, she discovered her feet had been sweating… not the best boots to wear, or not the right socks.

Break over, we returned to the goat shed. Now,  Posey wasn’t being a bit noisy, like Annie. She was standing completely still in the pen. But, we could see she was in labor. Not wanting to deal with kids landing on the cold ground, we finally coaxed her into the shed.

Throughout her labor, she never made a noise. Her water bubble just kept growing, until nearly touching  the ground. A couple of small cries (grunts) and  she suddenly spit out the first kid. Cindy grabbed a clean towel and began cleaning the little one’s mouth and nose. She went to place the baby in front of mama, when Posey, in her total stupidity…  looked at the baby and left the shed. There we were… cleaning off another slimy little baby goat.

How in the world were we going to get her to nurse that kid? Hey… betcha Annie won’t know who’s nursing. She had returned to the shed to check on her little ones. We quickly cornered her and placed the new little kid on a teat… Success!

We’re still trying  to keep an eye on Posey, as she has gone back to munching on her alfalfa. It’s now shortly after 1 AM, it’s getting colder, the wind is coming up… we old gals are getting really tired. Hurry up Posey…  do what you’re gonna do and get it over with.

Sometime after 2 AM, she drops another one… a little girl that looks just like her. Again, she has no interest, so it’s back to cleaning, drying and grabbing Annie to nurse another little one. This little girl is much smaller than her brother or her cousins, but is just as cute and precious.

Now I’m standing outside and watching the rest of the barnyard. The cattle are lowing, and the sheep are mawwwing. Nobody’s sleeping. Daddy buck, Apollo, is strutting around and beating his head against a fence. Both cows are hanging out on the fence line, struggling to see what’s happening. The sheep are pacing from one end of their pen to the  other. Even  the little Pygmy in her pen is answering every bleat from Annie and Posey, as if they’re telling of their adventure.

As I look up at the sky, the stars are out, way to numerous to even begin to count. I can see the Milky Way, the Big Dipper, and in the south sky, Orion. I’m not much of an astronomer, so can’t identify the other constellations. Jupiter has risen much higher than Venus. The red-eye flights to  Las Vegas, Phoenix and Dallas-Ft Worth are zipping southward. A low-flying  chopper comes over from south to  north, probably Life Flight, even though we can’t identify it. It’s jet powered… that’s our only clue. I watch it as it goes north and finally over the mountain top about 60 miles north of us.

By 4am we’re about frozen and decide to bring the Blazer around. Posey isn’t interested in going into the shed with her babies, but we do need to watch for her afterbirth. I unlock and open the gate while Cindy pulls the very cold Blazer into position. At least we’ll be able to thaw our hands and feet. Within the hour, Posey drops her afterbirth. Cindy quickly cleans it up by mixing more straw and pitching it out of the pen.

It’s 5am. We say good morning to Mom, and  fall into to bed for a few hours sleep. Three hours or so later, and Bev is home from her school bus run, fixing us home-grown fried eggs, sausage, taters and toast.

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The NRCS is assisting with approximately 75% of the total costs (hoop houses, installation, drip irrigation system, soil improvement, winter crop cover, and the cost of Master Gardner course for one of us).

The purpose of this grant is to help us extend our growing season to three season. That means we will be able to direct sow in  late February to early March for lettuces and cole crops, as well as sow for long season crops like squash and pumpkins. Right now we don’t dare plant anything until after May 10, unless it’s seeds in the greenhouse, and we’ll start them on March 29. We’re susceptible to frost in any of the 12 months (yes, that includes the middle of summer).

Our goals are to extend our growing seasons,  greatly improve our soil (won’t have wind erosion, or dune building), and conserve precious water. We’ll extend the season by growing something year round. We will be able to greatly improve the soil with green manuring, adding soil conditioner like humic acid and peat moss. Our biggest issue is the high salts, and high calcium, which keeps the PH too high. With limited water rights, we keep a close eye on our water usage, and with the drip system in an enclosed structure, that will greatly lower the transvaporation,  increase the humidity.

As we learn how to successfully create compost, we’ll be able to add that also. Right now, we’re having a problem meeting the heating requirements. It could be a lack of moisture, or not enough microbes on the base (we’re on a desert).  Things don’t decompose here, they just dry up and blow away.

Since we’re now at the start of our season, we may wait until this fall to build the hoop houses. That decision will be made with the folks from whom we’re purchasing. If it’s possible to get all the bridge financing in place quickly and their schedule allows, our lives could change dramatically.

In future years, we plan to offer a limited number of CSA’s. We’ve also been invited to additional farmer’s markets, but that may be beyond our resources. Our local grocery store has expressed an interest in our produce, too.

If you’d like to pursue a grant like this, talk to your local NCRS office. They used to be known as the Soil  Conservation Service. Our agent mentioned the new Farm Bill is likely to include expanded grants for hoop houses, as the initial reports are quite favorable.

Be prepared for a couple of things, you have to become Certified Orgranic, and once you get your grant, they will pay you to become a Master Gardner.

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So we go traipsing out to Suzy’s pen (actually the pig pen… but not yet used). Cindy goes up and over the pallets in her Dr. Denton’s (no boots this time), and crawls into the little shed. We’re snapping pictures like crazy.

I took a minute to check the sheep, and  lo and behold, we have a new set of twins. It’s rare for our ewes to have their babies at night. Thankfully these little tikes are in good shape.  We’ll wait until daylight to determine the sexes.

Everyone else is calm, cool and collected… well, quite sleepy too, wondering how come  their humans are out in the dark, shining lights and taking pictures. As for me,  I can’t wait to crawl back into my nice warm bed. After another med change, and an RF ablation on my back, I’m totally enjoying laying in bed, and turning over without the aches and pains.

Ah, daylight now and when we go out, the little kids are already exploring their new world. Mom has gone out with  us, and it absolutely amazed at them. As we can, we get one for her to hold and cuddle.  We have 3 boys and a girl. Looks like we’ll be keeping the little girl.  We may also have to supplement the milk, depending upon how they’re doing in the next day or so.

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