Merry Christmas

 

 

 

It Takes a Village

Recently our herd has come together in ways that even I would never have imagined. It all started when Mouzza had her quads. The shepherdess thought that it would be better for Mouzza to only have to nurse two of the babies. So she politely asked Mouzza if she could care for two of the babies in the house and leave two of the babies with Mouzza? Mouzza was fine with this and it was decided that the shepherdess would take the two doelings into the house and leave the bucklings with Mouzza. In hindsight they should have switched this but who could have known at the time? All was going well with the arrangement until the bucklings, being bucklings, decided that they were starving all the time and Mouzza started getting thin. Well, to be honest she looked good in my opinion but the shepherdess worries too much and she started fretting about Mouzza. I think she was seeing more thinness than was really there. So the shepherdess asked Mouzza if she could take the bucklings into the house to live with their sisters and bring them back out in a couple weeks. Mouzza was not 100% sure about this arrangement but decided she would take a small break, but only if the shepherdess promised to take the utmost care of the babies. Well, we all know that is not an issue. The shepherdess rarely sleeps and making sure the babies were well cared for around the clock was not going to be an issue. She did say that the sleeping arrangement of the bucklings would be a bit different as they were used to the bunk bed method which she was not really prepared to continue. 

The original sleeping arrangement of the boys. Mouzza is a wonderful mama, very patient.

All went well for a couple days. Mouzza called out to the shepherdess from the pasture just a handful of times to make sure all was well with her babies but she didn't fret like some of the other mamas do. One of the bucklings found an alternate sleeping arrangement and was content with it.



"Look brother if you just curl up like this is it wonderful!"

On the third day away from his mama one of the bucklings decided that he was going to go on a hunger strike unless he was reunited with his mama. The shepherdess being a worrier started up the worrying even though the younger shepherdesses kept counseling her to be patient. For days she fretted about the tiny amounts of milk the buckling would eat and for days he held tight to his vigil. After a week of this the shepherdess decided to give in and let the buckling go back with Mouzza. Mouzza, however, had grown accustom to her freedom now and decided that the living arrangement suited her just fine. This made the shepherdess even more worried. Two more days went by with the bucking hardly touching the bottle. Cinna is also a worrier and she started worrying about the shepherdess. Then Cinna, being of great wisdom for such a young doe, suggested that, "Perhaps, it takes a village to raise a buckling." She decided to let the buckling nurse from her when she came into the milk room one night. Then several of the other does, including Mouzza, decided that they were fine with this arrangement too. So now  the shepherdess is no longer worried ... well, not about him at least. Thank you Cinna. 


Flip Flop helping the village.

Serengeti is not really comfortable with the nursing situation but is happy to share her grain.

"God willing and the Creek don't rise."

Our creek almost spilling over it's banks ~ literally 15' higher than normal.

'God willing and the Creek don't rise'.  It is argued that this remark was first said by Benjamin Hawkins. Hawkins was a college educated and well-written man who lived from 1796 ~ 1810. Some argue that he made a grammatical error with the capitalization of Creek. However, it is said that he wrote it in response to a request from the President to return to our Nation's Capital and the reference is not to a creek, but The Creek Indian Nation. If the Creek "rose", Hawkins would have to be present to quell the rebellion. Since that time many historians have tried to find the origin of the phrase but without concrete evidence of it being said or written by Mr. Hawkins. It, like most sayings, has been passed down through the generations as a cute folkism with many interpretations. I was muttering it yesterday morning when I woke to find our gentle creek raging and swollen with the run off of our recent storms. I always thought it was another way of saying that no matter what, an obstacle could be conquered. Kind of like saying, "Come Hell or high water ..." perhaps both of these sayings were different interpretations of the same phrase, uttered back in the mid 19th century. I will have to add it the the ever growing list I have to ask God someday.

Sweet as Sugar

This is Sugar. She is the newest member of our family. She is a three year old Royal Palm Turkey hen and her name fits her perfectly. Thank you Diane for letting Sugar come to live with us.

 

2012 Fall Kidding Summary

Our Fall Kidding Schedule was short and sweet. There were only four does due to kid. So now that is is over, it seems to have passed by with a blink of an eye. Of course while we waited it for the does who went days past their due dates no blinking occurred. Those days were filled with hardly any shut eye at all.

We started off with four beautiful boys between Serengeti and Cinna. One large black buckling for Serengeti and three smaller boys for Cinna.

Followed by quads; two bucks and two does, for Mouzza.
 

Last but certainly not least, we welcomed two big doelings from Flip Flop.

All are doing well and we couldn't be happier. Kyrstyn and Kynnedy took on the job of midwives and did a splendid job. It is so wonderful to see them jump in and bring these beautiful babies into the world, safe and sound. It is always wonderful when doelings are born or an anticipated buckling but just the fact that all the does and their progeny are healthy and have come through the process fine is more than a blessing. The Lord is so good to us.

Bad Eggs

Do you ever wonder if the eggs in your refrigerator, or out in the chicken house, are still edible? Well, here is a simple test to determine the age of an egg. Fill a large drinking glass or tumbler with water and gently drop the egg in question, into the water. A fresh egg will drop to the bottom of the water and lie horizontally. As an egg ages the air cell in it grows causing it to float. Over time a fresh egg will no longer rest horizontally but it will begin to sit more vertical. If the egg is just slightly beginning to lift from one end, but is still staying at the bottom of the water, it is about one week old. An egg that is two to three weeks old will become obviously vertical but still remain at the bottom of the glass. When the egg has become too old to eat, it will float.

 



Notice the eggs in the photo. The egg that is floating is no longer edible. It has exceeded its shelf life. The egg on the bottom of the glass is very fresh and has a few more weeks to sit around the refrigerator.

Zucchini (continued) recipe #4

Use #4 ~ Salsa ~ Just the word makes me salivate.

OK ~ So I guess this isn't really a recipe but more of a suggestion. First find your favorite Salsa recipe and add finely diced zucchini to it before you can it. You can even add it to fresh salsa. Our Salsa is never the same twice. Sometimes we add corn, sometimes black beans, sometimes both. :-) It is wonderful and healthy no matter what fresh savory ingredients are added.