MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

Dillon UPDATE

Dillon has had a bump on his head for about 6 weeks now. He went under the fence (without my knowledge) and came in the pen with me while I fed the big bucks. I never heard a whimper out of him so it is tough to say if one of the bucks butted him or not. He had started shaking his head about that long ago. I looked in his ears to see if maybe he had an infection. They were both clean as a whistle. I let things go for another wee of so. About three weeks later, I noticed the hair on his head sort of standing up a bit. I felt it and he sort of winced and shook his head. That was when I assumed he might have actually gotten butted but I still didn’t know. I thought maybe it was just bruised, maybe he ran into something while he was playing with Festus it would just go away in a few days.

At the end of that next week it still hadn’t gone away . He was still shaking his head and it seemed to get larger. I took him to the vet and they put him on some antibiotics that would get into the bone, thinking the bone was actually bruised and then maybe infected. He took those pills for two weeks without change other then it now seemed to get larger and smaller from day to day as well as shift from one side to the other.

Friday I took him once again to the vet. I had an appointment in the closest office (St. Marys) and was the last to be seen. The vet looked at him and his ears and tried to feel ANYTHING…nothing. He decided we should take X-Rays. I then had to drive to Celina (home office) and was the last to be seen there. He took three X-Rays and you could actually see whatever it was on the top of his head. Of the two vets there, neither could determine what it was. The bump looks like it is making his forehead about an inch higher than it should be just behind his eyes. They both decided to give him STRONGER antibiotics than he had the last time and take them for three weeks.

He is going to be starting the second week tomorrow. The bump seemed to be smaller this morning but I can’t really tell. He squirms around when you want to hug him or whips you with his tail when you just try to pet him. That tail could put an eye out! It is just hard to tell if after this first week there is any difference at all. Neither one of the vets were willing to rule out a tumor. A Tumor is what I suspected last week when we went and I am always thinking the worst, that is just my personality I guess, sometimes I’m a living walking Eeyore.

Here is a terrible picture of his head (my cell takes horrid pictures)



On a good note though, he came to me weighing 12 to 18 pounds, 3 1/2 months later he is weighing in at 65 and that’s roughly 8 months old.

My Newest Low............

Well, I have officially brought myself down to the lowest of lows. With Christmas on the way, everyone wants what they want for Christmas. Who would have ever thought that a True Natural Born Cornhusker would EVER….I mean EVER ….WILLING buy ANYTHING to do with TEXAS??? One does not know how much it pained me to get on that web site today and shop for a Texas fan that is NOW part of my family. Just looking at the multiple web pages of gifts for purchase makes me want to stick hot pokers in my eyes. I didn’t just rush in there and rush out, I didn’t want the gift to end up being stupid, and in the long run make me hated. I wanted to get him something that he would like at least. A 14 yr old teenage Texas fan living in Ohio….It’s all his father's fault. At least that is who I am blaming!!

At least it wasn't Oklahoma.......................

"GO HUSKERS"

Soapbox....

I had been waiting for a certain phone call for about three weeks. Just when I thought I was in the clear (two days before the actually event) the phone rings. Catching me off guard, I didn't look to see who it was, I just answered it. I heard the voice and thought, "OH CRAP". "Hey, you are going to help with the Pancake Breakfast Saturday...right?". Without missing a beat I said that yes, I would be there. I figured, it's not all that bad anyway, just do it and get it over with. Every year the local Historical Society has a Pancake Breakfast that coincides with the Visit with Santa at the local Firehouse. Now I am not a member of the Historical Society but every year without fail, I am working there. Thanks goodness I am in the far back room cooking the sausage and pretty much that is it.

I plugged my truck in on Friday night so it would start easily in the morning and set my alarm for 4:30 a.m. Saturday. I rarely need an alarm, but I thought, just in case....I got up right on time and decided NOT to do chores that early, figuring I would be back home in about 4 hours anyway. I had let the inside dogs out and sat in the chair to watch TV for a minute and then let the dogs back in. They came back in and I got them fed. I got the the Firehouse around 5:45...a little late in my book, and I only live a mile from the place (too much TV I guess...)

I go directly to the back to find two guys already frying. Getting there late, I was left with the two old skillets. I plugged them both in and got them heated up in no time. Each skillet held I think it was 12 links. The three of us got 50# of sausage cooked up in what seemed no time at all. I was the runner as well. Making sure the front had the sausage to put on the plates. So when I turned my links in my skillets I would run up from to see how far ahead we were. The one guy had to leave so I took over his skillet as well. We cooked another 20# up between the two of us and then he said he had to go. He at least cleaned up his skillet. I cooked the last box of sausage up and got everything up to the front.

I am not sure how many workers they had in the front but I know it was at least 9.
Half of them were sitting at various tables talking. I told my superior that I had to leave for a bit, but that I would be back to get MY OWN breakfast since I hadn't had time to sit down. I got tied up while I was away and got back into town 12:50 pm, it was supposed to run til 1:00 pm. I stopped quickly hoping they had things cleaned up, or at least STARTED clean up. Nope, five people were sitting there eating, three workers were at the table with them talking. One was standing there with a towel in his hand. Another three people were actually working. One was flipping pancakes one was cleaning tables and the other was holding the plate for the cakes.

Since it was put on by The Historical Society, I know most of the members are older and I don't really MIND helping. I don't really want to waste half of the two free days I have to get things done during the week, but I don't complain about it. I just do it. But this year, sort of torqued me off. Seems when the 1:00 pm clock chimed, everyone left except the guy in charge and I. Now I also help this same guy farm from time to time so I would help him whenever he needed it, no big deal. BUT EVERYONE ELSE LEFT! I am not even a Historical Society Member!! I think all the members THINK I am because I am there ever year , but I am not.

As soon as I was done eating, I started on getting the two grills cleaned up. While I did that he worked on getting the laundry together and cleaning up the bowls and such in the kitchen. When I got done with grilles he got the gas lines unhooked. Tables were taken down, all cooking utensils boxed up and ready to go into storage. Everything that he needed to take home was put in the back of his truck. Everything that needed to go the Historical Society storage was right next to the door where so he could pull up and load it easily. I asked him if he needed me to help him unload the stuff at home and adamantly told "NO". I did ask him if someone was going to help him pull the one grill out on Sunday or Monday to get it into storage and he told me yes, someone was going tot help him.

Like I said, I know most of these people are older, but it still seems like SOME of them could stay if for nothing more that moral support than so be it. I have found this to be the case in most clubs I have belonged to. Every week, myself and one other person would be the one out there carrying 15 targets at a time setting them one by one. Cutting out shooting lanes and such then setting the other 15 targets on the other side. There is always Bible School, drawing and painting all the back drops, getting costumes and such put together....two of us there to do it.

I'll step down now off my little collapsible soapbox, because no matter how much I sit here and complain, it wouldn't matter anyway. I would still get called to help and I would still do it the next time, without complaining face to face with any of the members. If someone asks me to do anything, I can never say no, even though I hear "NO" 9 times out of 10 when I ask for help.

Welcoming December....

On this side of the office today, we get to work a little closer to nature....I walked into a silent office this morning to find black plastic covering my huge floor to ceiling window. I had to slip sideways in-between my desk and the plastic covering to get to my chair. Since about 8:30, they have been sawing, hammering, grinding, chiseling and discussing while trying to take the huge 5ft x 7ft window out. What Fun! The view from my desk, sorry it is too close, couldn't get it from the floor up.



This office is divided into four sections: Upstairs, with two halves, first floor with two sides and a conference room, and a basement. Of course the window would happen to be two and half feet from my desk. The black plastic is duct taped at the top and nailed along two sides. The bottom was left to float up and down with the breeze we have today. The window came out about 9:30. We also have a temp of 33 degrees and 10mph wind. My boss, who is prone to migraines, started complaining about 5 minutes after he walked in. Everyone on the other side of the office comes over here and laughs, while we are all three wearing our winter coats and toboggans.

Since the office where I work is located out in the country, and today the only the SECOND day of deer gun law, I can hear every shot taken this morning. We are also in a sort of airport fly zone, so that is another PLUS! At least the opening is located on the back side of the building, therefore cushioning the highway traffic noise.

The plotter repairman finally called me back, after not even showing up last week. He informed me that the part didn't come in last week like it was supposed to. He said it is supposed to be in tomorrow and he'll be here to fix it , whatever...
Yep, this is going to be a GREAT DAY!!!

Repair Man Cometh.......

Well, the plotters repairman came yesterday. He called me en route yesterday afternoon and apologized to me. Apparently living in the state of Ohio your whole life doesn't necessarily mean you know the geography of it. He started out in Columbus and had to travel to Lorain, OH which is a suburb of Cleveland. He said he was driving through traffic but still planned on being here at my office by 3:30. When he got here, he told me he had no idea where Lorain even was he thought it was a little closer to Lima. Lorain and Lima are around 120 miles apart, depending on where in Lorain he was. He got here about 3:45 with his breif case and tools, but no part. He said the part was on back order and he thought he would at least try to get it working until the part arrived. He was here for about 45 mins and decided he couldn't do a darn thing. The part is suppsoed ot be in on the 25th and he would be here as soon as he could that same day with the part. I don't think anyone here is even working the day before Thanksgiving, so it looks like I will be coming in to make sure the plotter gets fixed. No big deal I guess. I could use the time and the pay.

Chilly but not so much so.....

It's a little chilly here this morning. The thermometer says 40 but I am afraid I have officially started to count in the dreaded WIND CHILL FACTOR.



Wind speed is around 10 mph...so let me do my calculations........
Ummm...yep, it's chilly. The Sycamore trees on the other side of the river were shaking, I KID YOU NOT!

I should have built a a wind break on the east side of the shed last weekend, now I will have to do it in a little bit cooler temperatures. The temps are not so bad, it just the wind, I don't like WIND.

Friday the 13th

Well, my day hasn’t been going very well at all. I am trying to put promotional sheets together and having trouble finding the pictures I need to use or the proper text that needs to be spoken. These pages are supposed to be waking someone up…SCREAMING at them telling them, THIS IS THE FIRM I WANT!!! My printers aren’t working right, I keep getting people asking me questions about their problems, people are arguing over what I should or shouldn’t use in my work, and now neither one of the plotters or is the giant scanner is working.

Input on projects is all well and good, but not necessarily taken well when you are already having a bad day.



Yeah, right, like I am supposed to find ANY technical support on a Friday Afternoon?!

**** MONDAY UPDATE ****

The service guy called me back. He had me go through the same thing we went through the LAST time this happened. He finally decided that he was going to have to order a part. It might be here by Wednesday, then he can come and install it.

Seems to me when you spend $27,000 on a piece of equipment right at a year ago, they'd be at least a LITTLE apologetic about the situation. Here's to hoping he gets here Wednesday, he wasn't too convincing that THAT would even happen.

Ok, so here's the story...I got this new phone (verizon). It's a smart phone , I guess that is what they call them. I put all my contact information in there as well as everyone's email address. Since I am now paying for internet access it is cheaper for me to send emails over my phone than sending text messages (which I am not really good at).

The key board on this phone (HTC Ozone) is so small I can hardly even read the keys. Not ever really doing texting and emailing over a phone I really didn't think about the use a keyboard when I got the darn thing. So now I am trying to get my computer to talk to my phone so that I can back everything up. Seems the WINDOWS MOBILE 6.0 has some sort of error and refuses to run certain programs so I have to reinstall. The only thing is, the Active Sync on my computer will not allow not me to back everything up from my phone because it as well is broke. I uninstalled my active sync and tried downloading it and reinstalling it.

I have now come to the realization that Microsoft, I am blaming Bill Gates, has done it yet again!! I cannot sync any of my contacts UNTIL I make Outlook my primary email program, or whatever. I don't WANT Outlook! I don't want anything to do with Outlook. Outlook in my opinion allows all kinds of viruses of to invade my personal space. Microsoft has made (not by design) itself easily infectable!

So, as far as backing up my portable device....it'll be using the old fashioned stuff, a pen and a piece of paper.

Just a few remaining question:

WHO the HECK are some of these contacts in my phone????
Who the HECK is Lynn...I don't even KNOW a Lynn??
What about TG...who is THAT??! WHAT is that??!!
Who put these in my phone and where can I find them?

Well, little Dillon went to the vet Saturday morning to get his last round of puppy shots. It's amazing how one might happen to stumble on a 'Diamond in the Rough' from time to time.




I found this little guy in a cardboard box, it must have been the last day of August of this year. I forgot how much he weighed when I found him but it wasn't very much. The poor little guy was so skinny, every bone in his little body was visible. Just a little over two months later, this is what I have now.



He was in the house for about 5 hours Saturday, investigating, sleeping and climbing on me. He is a happy, friendly, clumsy puppy. He is an AWESOME 'little' guy....I say little in terms of age I guess, because his weight is now over 60#. He is just a little shorter than Festus now but they play together great!



Dillon plays with Festus in short bursts but he continually looks for me. He is almost constantly under my feet, tripping me, pushing me, waiting for me. If I am doing something and get out of his site while he is playing, he searches me out. I still don't understand how someone could toss a living creature out???? They will never even know what they missed out on.........

I got to work sort of WAAAY early this morning.....I pulled into my normal parking spot, turned the lights off and continued on my way into the office. Took my coat off slung it over the back of my chair and sat down and got to work. The boss told me he'd be in early today and I have a project that needs to be done today so I wanted to get things going just before he got there. I did not even SEE another person come in until almost 8:30. Startin' time is 8:00 boys!

Anyway, I went to lunch with someone today and so I got to ride shotgun. As we pulled into the drive coming back it almost looked like my lights were on. Hmmmm....I walked up to the truck and peering through the window, indeed, Yes, my lights were on. Seems I had managed to turned the headlights off but didn't get it pushed down quite enough to turn the running lights off...(sound effects)...wah..wah wah... Jumped in the truck and attempted to start her up......as she spoke back to my in clicks and electrical sputters, I determined that unless a bit of good luck would come my way, I was walking the 18 miles home at the end of the day.

I stumbled around in the barn for a little bit and came upon my goal!! A CHARGER!! I went back out to the truck popped the hood and set the charger up. I know I have an extension cord in my truck almost Always so I went back in the truck to dig out the cord. Got, hooked everything up. Ran the cord down under the fence rail, through the poison ivy and into the building and pulled it in. I let it charge for about 20 mins and went back out and tried to start her up. She fired right up for me!! I put everything away and came back in.
I left her running and I am going to go back out and in a little bit to shut it off.

I love my truck! So what if all the plastic parts are being held on with duct tape! So what is she has over 300,000 miles in her! So what if the drivers side mirror won't stay in place! So what if the tailgate won't stay shut anymore (who needs a tailgate)!! I LOVE my truck!!!

I'm buying some lottery tickets tonight!!

My vacation also included a trip to Bishop Hill, IL. My sister camp with my Mother and I the FIRST time we went. We got into town a little late so we didn't get to see most of the shops or restaurants. We DID get to go to the Village Smithy, a great little quilt shop. I of course bought a couple of shirts and a hooded sweatshirt. The tee shirt for myself of course was "Got Glögg with picture of a a viking underneath. I will have to get a picture of that and post it.

This is the one of the only pictures I took while visiting Bishop Hill (and this was taken just outside of town on my way out).




My sister and I then went through a corn maze which we were informed that the fencing (set up the night before for the haunted cornfield, were taken down. We had to get through 12 check points to complete and of course get our free PIE PUMPKIN upon our departure. We got through #1 & #2 easily enough, but we ran into orange fencing everywhere. We were trapped! We had to cheat and step through three rows of corn to another path and then we were off . Is it cheating when they don't give you maps and you use your cell phone to take pics at the checks points of the maps?? We decided not to tell the authorities about the cell phone use and take the pie pumpkins home anyway.

I think it was the next day my mother and I went BACK to Bishop Hill. She needed quilt material and I helped pick some out. I also bought some more souvenirs. We ate lunch at PL Johnson's Restaurant. It is a very nice Old Time place. Wooden floor boards that sound hollow when you walk across them. Lots of stuff on the walls, it was pretty neat.

I took this pic with my cell phone right by the Park in town I guess is what you would call it, I don't remember seeing a name anywhere although I am sure that it had one.

One day the second week of vacation we traveled to Riverside, IA. For those of you who don't know anything about Riverside, it is the Future Birthplace of Capt. James T. Kirk, of the Starship Enterprise on a five-year mission: to explore strange, new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."

James Tiberious Kirk will be born in Riverside, IA on March 22, 2233. We saw the monument to prove it.



I very rough version of the enterprise was also found there. Look like it has already had a few test flights.



A bronze bust to the future Captain was on display at the museum, where the very help woman in charge that day informed us that she hopes to get money from the town so that the museum can purchase the complete series of "The Next Generation"

Here are a couple of panoramic pictures I put together....you know, pasting together individual picture in PhotoShop...Not a real great representation of the how it REALLY looked but I tired my best in taking the pics. Anyway, this was taken on the highest hill I could get to startign out on our trip BACK to Iowa, still on my Aunt and Uncle's Property.

Upper image

Lower part off the roads edge

Now that I see it, it looks like I should have left the upper image a little bit larger. It is WAAAY too small. I may have to try that again....

Well, I have been back from vacation for about a week now and after getting caught up at work I thought I could get a couple lines in....

I got out to Iowa in about 6 hours and the next morning my mother and I left for the Sand Hills Area of Nebraska. We were going to stop for a bit in Winterset, IA so that I could visit the John Wayne Museum. We drove around through the countryside looking for some of the Madison County Covered Bridges, we found three of them before we reached Winterset.

Mom at the Holliwell Bridge

After viewing some of the bridges we arrived in Winterset. Apparently the town was having a John Wayne Festival and that tiny town had absolutley no place to park. Unbelievable....We decided to stop again on the way home. On our way back to I-80 I saw the coolest silo. So I had to turn around to get a picture of it!!

Silo just south of I-80 in Iowa

We arrived well after dark at our destination, or so the GPS Lady informed us. Little could she have known that she had us almost totally lost. No lights could been seen, no dark outline shapes of a house, barn or anything could be see. We were however on the right road, just not were we NEEDED to be. We had no cell phone reception so we were out of luck there but we stayed on the road we were on and and just kept looking for a house on the corner (that was all the valid info we had at last cell call...LOL!!...We did eventully find my Aunt and Uncles house and had dinner. They also had another aunt of mine visiting from Washington whom I hadn't seen in probably 30 plus years. So it really was a reunion of sorts. We then loaded back up again and followed my other Aunt and Uncle to their home a little further south. I got the car all unpacked and we finally got into bed. about 5 mins later, I asked my mom if she heard turkeys??? She told me no and to go to sleep.....HA....the next morning.....

Turkeys grazing I guess....

These were in the trees all around the house, they were in the pasture right aross the road, they were obviously in the front yard. I am a hunter and let me tell you, I had the shakes. Had I only brought the shot gun. I am not even sure I needed a gun, I am fairly certain I could have hit them with a sling shot. Oh well, they will live on I guess.

That's all for now...have work to do....I'll try to post mor later.

Been on vacation for a week now!! First day brought my two dogs and I to Bettendorf, Iowa. The next day, My Mom, Festus, Flint and I loaded up again and made our way to up around North Loop Nebraska. It was pitch black by the time we got there and the GPS lady told us we had reached our destination. HA!! We couldn't even see any lights ANYWHERE!...We had little to no cell phone reception.....We did know the name of the road so we finally found where we were supposed to be so we were fine. We arrived to anywhere from 5 to 10" of snow. I will post some pictures when I get home, lots to tell about...I will be going to a corn maze sometime this week as well as the FUTURE home of Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise!! Pictures to follow at some point. Oh yeah, I got a call from my brother who is doing chores for me right now and everything is fine, like I hadn't even left. See you for now.............

Well.....my fantasy football team is now officially in LAST PLACE!
I started off the season with all the scrubs the league had to offer.
All I can do is pick up a little bit better scrubs one at a time.
It sort of sucks losing a game by 80+ points.
With BYE weeks coming up, it is tough finding players
that I can use in place of the BEST of the Worst.......
At this point, just looking forward to next season is
my best option so it would seem

Why is it we humans get pets?

Why do we feel the need to to enrich our
lives with these four legged creatures?

They always leave us by the time we
are just getting to know them.

Why is it we allow ourselves to get so
attached to something we know will break our heart?

WHY?

Long time no post!! Things happen and sometimes one just does not feel like posting to the world.

I went to some fair shows with the goats this summer. They got some ribbons and a few of them came home with some Reserve Grand Rosettes.

This is Husker Haven Moon Pie. She was not even supposed to be here! I had no intention of breeding her mother, but sometimes (like I said earlier) things happen. I knew I ha not taken her mother TO the buck and I knew he was locked up. The only other explanation I had was I had a buck kid from the previous year around and he must have had a good day is all I can say. So along came Moon Pie. She is 3/4 Saanen, 1/4 Nubian.




I actually had another kid that is also 3/4 Saanen and 1/4 Nubian.
Her name is Husker Haven Compass Rose. Same circumstance. This past kidding season a friend of mine came over and helped me get all the buck kid taken care of, We wormed everyone and got them all up to date on shots and got them disbudded.

The last fair I went to was in Lima, OH. The fair ended on a Saturday and I wanted to help out my friend. I told her I would come back up to the fair grounds Sunday and pick up her goats and take them back to her house for her. I wanted to pick up a buck she had at home so that he couldn't bred any of her does. Containing him is like trying to contain Rudolf !!! Anyway, on my way back up the fairgrounds It was very foggy that Sunday morning while I was traveling the back roads to the grounds. About 1/2 way there I noticed and larger sized cardboard box in the ditch. Strange, since the road had a curve in it and was surrounded by tall corn fields. As I passed the box , I just happened to look in the mirror and a little head popped up over the top of the box. I had some choice words to say and hit the brakes. I tried to back the truck and trailer up and keep my eye on the box and the sides of the road I decided I was close enough and put it in park. I got out of the truck and walked into the ditch. Quietly called "Come here puppy"........out of the box came a chocolate brown puppy. Poor skinny little guy!



I took him home and got him fed and everything. I kept him separate from the other two house dogs by keeping him in the bathroom. I figured cleaning up the linoleum floor would be easier. The next morning the bathroom floor was cover with blood and whatever. I thought I was going to hurl. I called the vet and told them I was on my way. They ended up keeping him for a week on IV's, he was Parvo positive. I should have taken a different route back to the fairgrounds, but as fate would have it, I didn't. The vet did take a lot off of my bill and I greatly appreciated that. When I finally got him home he stil had to be kept seperate from the other dogs for at least a week. I decided to put him in the barn with the goats. He had his very own 12'x'12' pen and to keep him company, I put a buck kid in there with him. For two weeks everyting was great, then one morning I went out to do chores and opened the door to total mayhem!! Blood on every wall, all over the fencing, water trough, feed pans.....I knew exactly what had happened. The puppy just wanted to play....everyone was fine, except loss of blood and some shredding of ears. I took the puppy out and he now will live in the stock trailer until the vet says he is ok (he has a re-check visit set for the 30th of this month), then he can get a flea bath and get his medicines taken to keep him healthy. He will then also be allowed to come in the house, maybe he'll stay out of trouble that way!

Here is the latest picture of him, the cloud around him is caused by his ever wagging tail!



I named him Dillon, I figured, I already had a Festus hanging around here, I had to have a Dillon : )

That is all I have for today, have to get working

Last weekend I managed to get the pasture fence hooked up to the barn so that I can get the goats out into the pasture, so that is good. Now I don't have to walk the goats around to the end gate one by one.

The weather this past weekend was AWESOME. I managed to get the head stanchion painted for the milkstand. I still have the drop-down pieces to get cut and attached and get the rubber mat laid on it then it will be complete.

The second part of my day on Saturday, I spent getting the tractor set up for mowing. I pulled the mower deck out and tipped it up to make sure it was all cleaned out. I got two of the three blades off and sharpened them. The third blade would not come off, I ended up just using a file and sharpening it that way. I know it wasn't as sharp as the other two. Next was to get it under the tractor and get the PTO hooked up. What should normally take about 5 mins to do, took me about an hour. For the life of me I could not get the gears to match up. I was covered with grease, Festus was covered with grease. I might have used the milkstand as a bench, because it appears to have grease on it as well. I guess the rubber mat will cover that up. I got it hooked up and as I drive the tractor out of the barn, I'm not sure but I think I could faintly hear some music playing. it sounded something like "Taaa Daaaaaa".

I always start along the highway and work my way north. For the past five years or so I was working on sort of a wildlife area clear in the back, with nothing but native plants and such...for the past three years the deer have eaten every tree and bush I planted. This season, I am planning on setting trip wires and dynamite, something akin to Carl Spackler of Caddy Shack fame. Not that i don't like deer mind you, but if they would just wait and let the plants get a start BEFORE they eat them maybe they would be able to regenerate. I had plans to put in a dry stream bed, or maybe scrap somewhat so that I could get a little wetlands back there. It's already damp back there when we get rain, scrap the top might just help keep it longer, bringing in wildlife...But they have to give it time and as many deer as I get back there I should open up a "weedy, woody & nut crop" walk thru...at least maybe then They would get only what i want to give out, it wouldn't be a "take at will" type restaurant. At least until it gets established and can support more.

Yesterday I had a set of Nubian twins born. One boy, solid black with a little white top-notch and a girl, sort of the roan color with white ears and a bunch of spots of white throughout. I might have one more to kid yet a Saanen. She looks like she is making a little udder, but maybe she just thinks everyone else is doing it and she didn't want to be left out. If she is bred, it was a mistake, because I never put her in with the buck.

Just getting the "BIG" milkstand finished up. Should get it painted this weekend. I need to finish putting the head locks in place but that is about it. Get the kids weaned one bunch at a time and I'll be ready for soap making........wonder what time I'll have to do that?

I was sure surprised when I got home from work yesterday! Husker Haven has never had anything with spots before. But there he was! Sure wish he would have been a she but that part is out of my hands. The two doe kids born weeks ago were a bit on the small side but all the rest of the nubian kids have been nice sized kids.

Even though this one is a buck, it at least tells me that two of my does have the potential to produce some spotted kids. I have at least one more nubian to freshen yet...This kidding season is not even over yet and I am already looking forward to next year.

Twin girls born this morning
They really are still alive, they only "LOOK" dead They are only about 10 mins old. I brought them in the house because I had to go to work and didn't want them to freeze (being a little too damp still). Gave them colostrum and left them in the tub with the dogs sleeping bag. They are both fairly good sized kids.

The count : 10 buck kids 5 doe kids

I believe I still have 3 does yet to kid.

Meet the newest addition at Husker Haven. Six month old "Zeke" Don't ask me about the name, I allowed my brother to name him. I might have to think about the ramifications next time I allow someone to name anything here. He is a little unsure of the LGD's in the pasture and is really not overly excited about "Lucy" llama either. He actually kicked her twice this while on his meet and greet session this past weekend. Leads me to believe he'll be OK with Lucy, but I really am not sure about the knee surgery's he has planned for the LGD's in the near future. I am think a lot more Meet and Greet sessions are in order. Kids are boucing everywhere you look here as well. The good thing is, I have a 70% to 30% buck to doe ratio goign this year. With only four more does due (I hope no more surprises), I'm hoping to keep the same ratio going. I haven't gotten any really good pics of the kids, as it is hard to catch them as they dart to and fro.

And So it Starts..........the 2009 Kidding season

The season is a little later for most I guess but I wanted to have kids that weren't frozen when I got home form work so I bred them for a little later kidding dates. Kids were on the ground when I arrived home Tuesday evening, twin bucks. Out of all my Nubian does that were bred this year, I was hoping that she would have a doe. Had I wanted a buck out of her it would have taken me YEARS to get one. I guess bucks are OK, should be able to sell them both as a breeding animals. I might have some more kids when I get home from work today.



Sorry, the pic is not the greatest, my camera isn't doing real well these days. I'll get more pics when I can.

I picked up the new milk stand the weekend before last, but with the poor weather, I couldn't do anything with it. But this past weekend I got the old indoor/outdoor carpet torn off and the stand part power washed. The weather turned bad again and I couldn't get it bleached to clean it up, so it has been sitting out in the rain for a week now. I also have to get a new stanchion made, just to make sure it is clean and ready to go.



I picked up the new milking machine Saturday night, so that is taken care of. Being able to milk 6 goats at a time will cut chore time down. Hope the goats will hold off on kidding until I get everything ready to go. I suppose I can hope but I know that isn't going to happen!!! Kids should start arriving around the 10th...oh wait...THAT'S TODAY!!!!!! I don't even have the big boxes in the barn to keep them warm!!!! Guess I'll be doing that in rain when I get home from work today. With the downpour we are getting now, I see a lot of mud in my near future...................

Great Expectations..??..

I did some driving last weekend and have some more to do this weekend! I acquired a 6 goat milk stand. I have to clean it up a bit and replace the stanchion part of it to adapt to my feed pans. Hopefully I will get that done early in the day Saturday. The temps are supposed to be in the 60's (today they are in the teens)!! I then have to make a run to get my milking machine back.. You see, I traded my milking machine for Lucy Llama a couple years ago. That was a bad move on my part. I should have BOUGHT the Llama and had both. Anyway, I have to pick it up this weekend and get that paid for at some point. I have another milking machine that I have to pick up yet as well, from the same place I got the stand. After loading the behemoth of a milk stand in the truck I had no more room for the machine so another trip is warranted.

Kids should start arriving next week. The getting up earlier and staying up later will follow closely as I think all my does should be done kidding by early April with the first round of fresheners (10) due from 3/10 to 3/20. If my chart and chicken scratchings are correct I should end up with 30 +/- kids this season. Just taking into account that goats normally have twins. At this point I wouldn't mind if they were all buck kids, that would make all my later decisions easy.

Someone tell me again WHY it is I do this???



Oh yeah....................

Ok, so after the wind last week, I knew that my roof on the front barn wasn't so good, but I didn't realize until Thursday Afternoon, that I was missing not only the steel. I was missing sheets of plywood as well.....I normally don't get home from work late in the day so by the time I get the inside dogs out and taken care of, it is dark by the time I am ready to do chores. So, I didn't notice that the old barn had a skylight of anykind....I did wonder why I had chickens in the driveway two days in a row but couldn't really come up with an answer as to how they got out. So Thursday, answered all my questions.....I didn't have the time to repair it until Saturday so had to deal with the rounding-up of the chickens until then. So I picked up grain Saturday morning and then got right into repairing the roof. I had to get new 2x4's screwed into the sides of the existing 2x's...in the worst spot anyway, then put the stringers on and lay the steel back down. I did lose some steel, but I didn't have anymore to replace that so it is just bare plywood, which won't last long. It took me about half the day the get everything back down and such but it took me until late Sunday to finally find the missing plywood. It was on the south side of the highway about 70 feet east of my mailbox. It amazed me that it didn't whack my power pole or the wire itself, but there is was, laying the the ditchand from the looks of it, I don't think it touched anything on its way there. So everythign is back to the condition it was in last week, minus half a shhet of steel. Hopefully this summer I can get that part of the barn either torn down or re-built.

I watched and listen to the weather for a couple days, so I knew it was coming. The wind was supposed to start here yesterday around noon but that really did not happen. On my way home from work is when I could start to feel the long expected wind. It wasn't all that bad until about
10 to 15 mins after I got home. I'm not much for wind or storms, but all I can do is hope for the best. According to the weather reports we were supposed to be getting 40 to 55 mph sustained winds with gusts up to 60 mph. The new barn pictured here has already withstood 70mph winds , but with what was coming and knowing that you have a HUGE kite in your back yard, will still make you nervous.

Well, This barn is still standing this morning, it looks the same as I left it last night. The barn in the front was not as lucky. Half of the steel roofing on the west side is curled and flipped up against the peak. The stell sheeting that I took off the the old hog house is everywhere, heck some might be in PA, I'm not sure. The big metal feeder I had out in the pasture got blown across the pasture and into the fencing that comes off the back side of the old barn. I also heard a noise last night while I was sitting there feeling the house shake. I knew right away what the noise was, but didn't see it until this morning. It was a strange slapping noise. When I went out to do chores this morning I took a flashlight and checked on everything. That is when I found that the front of the house had some damage as well. Thanks goodness it was only one piece of siding. So, all in all things are ok here, no one was hurt, nothing collapsed,......and we move on

After giving this a little thought.......with the way the basement pump is pumping, 2010 might just be time for the Village of Uniopolis to have an indoor water park. I could be become almost solely responsible for growing economy of the little village. I could create jobs! Not only the construction phase, but once it's built, all the people that helped with construction could then be employed to work at the various rides!!!! Not to mention the concessions!! Maybe this rain is sign!!! Maybe it's my destiny!!

Well, seems last week we had almost a foot of snow on the ground. It hasn't been that many days since we were in -22 degrees F. It has been warming up a bit the last couple days to the point where I don't even have to bundle up to go outside. This morning around 3 or 4 a.m. the rains started! We are supposed to get around 2" today. As I was letting the dogs out this morning I flipped the basement light on to check on the basement repair mans handy work. I am now the proud owner of the Colorado River BASEMENT EDITION! That $5000 to keep my basement high and dry was money well spent! Having an INDOOR Rafting Adventure this close to home is AWESOME!

So, the Saga that IS my life, continues.