The goats' corner

I know it's not nice to boast, but I just have to brag about Matt's skills. He's been rebuilding practically everything around here. Even though we know how much time and effort goes into this stuff, having pictures along the way always makes it that much more amazing.

When he started on the corner of the barn that would soon be the goat pen, the siding was rotting away, there was no foundation, and gophers were undermining what little support there was. The great thing is that the ancient wood shingles had already been replaced with corrugated metal roofing (on this portion). Matt used a jack and a post to raise the slumping corner, removed the decaying wall, poured a concrete footing, replaced the wood at the bottom...









...framed it in (including a door and window), put in tar paper (and even put some salvaged rigid insulation in the wall)...




...replaced the siding, then built a door (also using some of the old siding), and a mesh window.


He built a wall inside to separate their sleeping quarters from an area where they'll be able to stay dry during inclement weather, then separated that from the interior of the barn with another wall, and a door with some of his signature ironic humor.

Rain hangout

Sleeping/eating quarters

Welcome to goat jail

I'm so proud! And the goats (and chickens) love hanging out there.

Fur and feathers

Good thing we really like our critters, because most of our daily chores revolve around them!




The goats are getting practice mowing Sammy's yard. Even though it's mostly dry grass right now, there is enough live mustard, dandelions, sheep sorrel and other weeds to keep them occupied for hours. (Yes, invasive species police, I know the plant above is Crocosmia, but Matt likes it and it's contained in a planter...)
Last week we managed to make it through their first hoof trimming. They're not too patient about it, but at least they are tame - and small.


Luckily, Sammy's pretty calm during haircuts and nail trimming.

We've joked that it would be fun to "shear" him and make a sweater to sell to someone (as really soft wool), who would smell wet dog when they wore it in the rain. :)


Chicken whispering.

Before and after

On Saturday, Matt and I bottled the beer that he brewed with Bill a couple of weeks ago (while Bill and Vanessa were visiting - documented on their blog!)

Our awesome friend Amber - inspired by Matt's memories of his stepdad, Bob, who passed away earlier this year - designed and reproduced labels for the bottles. Matt and I named the first batch (made in January) "Bob's Bad Ass Brew," which seemed like a fitting name to honor Bob - and Amber took the name and ran with it.

Raise a toast to Bob tonight...

Growing like crazy

For the past week or so, mornings have had a hint of autumn chill. But most days have had at least some sun, with just enough days of coastal fog to remind us to appreciate the bright days.
All the plants and animals are working hard to put on as much growth as possible before the season ends!



The goats have had a couple of trial runs in the electric net fence, away from their usual yard. Matt built them a little lean-to for hanging out under or on top of. They seem to like it out there at first, but then start screaming for us to come pet or feed them.

They have names now - Redwood, Madrone, and Oak - and are really showing their different personalities. One characteristic they share is being very unhappy about the process of being weaned! It's going to continue to be loud around here for a little while...

These are more of the Early Girl tomatoes, which I must admit I am impressed by. It's pretty surprising to get large fruits from a tomato plant grown outdoors - only a mile inland.



The peppers, however, have been coddled and grown in the greenhouse.

And the flower garden continues to delight us with bursts of color.

Fun times

A couple of weeks ago, Vanessa and Bill came for a visit. It was such a wonderful break to get our minds completely off of work! We put them to work bottle feeding the goats, so somebody else could get their fingers bitten, too!






This last picture is for Vanessa - the overabundant zucchini we dehydrated (for adding to soup, etc). Shocking how a million pounds of zucchini can all fit into a canning jar!

Naughty, or charismatic?

Or maybe a little of both...

Introductions

How do I manage to fall so far behind?

It's hard to believe that it has been almost 3 weeks since the goats and chickens were introduced, and started coexisting in the barnyard. The first few days, until the goats' own indooor area was ready, we left the big cardboard "brooder" in the chicken coop with them all - with "doors" cut into the sides. The chicks had a slightly safe haven, although the goats immediately started trampling down one corner.

Now, they are housed separately - and during our workday are not together since the goats apparently love chicken feed. But, many evenings and weekends they get to hang out together in a common grazing/scratching area.

New crop of potatoes

After the last harvest (and trying to clean off potatoes since, to eat) - and because of the fact that the ground is rock-hard and a pain to dig - I decided to try growing them above-ground in straw. I amended the soil underneath, embedded the seed potatoes in it, laid out soaker hose and covered with straw (and will continue to add straw as the plants grow). It'll be interesting to see how the yield compares. I know for sure they'll be easier to scrub!

This time we have five different varieties than before: Bison, Bintje, All Red, Purple Majesty, and Sangre.

Harvesting

So far we've picked a lot of chamomile for drying, and a lot of zucchini mostly destined to be grilled or stir-fried. The two "big" harvests were garlic and potatoes. Thirty pounds of potatoes for the 4 varieties harvested so far. The Inca gold plants are still green, even though all the potatoes were planted at the same time.

Not still chicks...

...But not quite chickens. They are pretty much fully feathered now, and are easily able to perch on the edges of the brooder and anything else nearby if we don't put deer fencing on top. But they're still peeping, not clucking. And they seem so small to consider putting outside! Besides that, until we finish the goat pen, their future home is occupied. We thought about keeping them together in the coop, but it seems like the chickens would mess up the goats' hay, kick up a bunch of dust, and otherwise make a big mess...