Alpine & Angora Goat Babies 2009

The first three Angora Goat babies have been born! They are so cute with their curly hair and tiny bodies. Here three of them decide to take a nap in the hay bin!

It's been so cold lately we cut off sleeves from some old sweatshirts and cut holes for the front legs and put them on the babies to help keep them warm.

This is Ivy and her two new babies born on Valentines Day- We decided to call them Val & Tino!

Here is Val & Tino (in black sweatshirts) with Bounce (tan sweatshirt) & Downey (pink sweatshirt) in their play area. They cuddle together in a box which helps to keep them warm. I think we'll need another box real soon as Cari is due next and she is so large I think she's going to give tirpplets!

Making Laundry Detergent

My laundry bucket is just about empty so I need to make soap today. In the past I've used the old fashioned recipe of Borax, washing soda, Fels Naptha, and 5 gal of water. I think today I'm going to try something different and put some of our left over bits of goats milk soap to the mix and see what happens. Or, perhaps I will grind up the left over bits and add powdered Borax and washing soda to get a dry mix. I'll do the old fashioned way with water and try the powdered was also and see which one I like.

I do have to say that the cleaning ability of the home made detergent isn't as stellar as the store bought versions, but it's kinder on my septic system, kinder to my skin, and with pre-treatment of stains I still get clean laundry.

Zeus is now called Bounce, sideways diapers work well on boys!!

Since Zeus lives in a laundry basket he has now been ranamed to 'Bounce', he bounces in and out of that basket all the time!















Notice the diaper, DD decided to put it on like an upside down saddle. Not only was it difficult to keep on but the diaper didn't cover his pee hole and we wound up cleaning up a lot of puddles until she got the idea to turn the diaper around.

Works great!!

First Alpine Kid of 2009, Zeus

This is the first Alpine kid born to the farm in 2009. His name is Zeus and he is pictured here being dried off while his mom noses him. She had a difficult time giving birth and didn't make it. She went over the Rainbow Bridge when her son was about 12 hours old.

Zeus now lives in the house, he didn't have a twin so there is no one to keep him company so we have to let him stay in the house and get treated like a little prince until some of the other mothers give birth, then he will be put back in the barn with some friends to play with and cuddle with for long early spring naps.

For some reason Zeus adores my youngest daughter, as does Suki, whos nose is quite out of joint since the little buckling has taken her favorite seat!

Sunrise Over Mount Rainier

Life in the Pacific Northwest has many advantages, we are nestled between two mountain ranges so at certain places on clear days we can see a 360 degree view of the Cascades on one side and the Olympics on the other. I took this shot on a clear day last fall and thought I'd share with you.

Today I'm sorting fleeces and washing them up, it's hard work but someone has to do it and thank goodness I've got a warm day (if you can call 40F warm), with no breezes to do it in.

I put up my DD's old baseball pitchers net against the banister on one side and the picnic table on the other. Then I pull out some fleece and hand pick the VM before dumping a couple of hand fulls into hot-hot soapy water for a half hour or so to soak.

Then I put the soddy mess of wool on the pitchers net to drain while I change the water. I put the dirty water to work on my garden, it's cool enough after a half hour outside to throw on the plants. Once I've got another pot full of hot-hot soapy water I let it soak again for another half hour, then I rince about three times in hot water and then let sit on the pitchers net for a few hours to dry while I sort and wash the next batch.

I do take the damp fleece inside in the winter, it is the rainy season so it's best to dry on the wooden rack in the bathroom with a fan blowing on the locks to help it dry faster. In the summer I leave it all out in the sun to dry naturally. Once it's all dry I bag it all and throw it in the carding room until I'm ready to start carding. Just can't store dirty wool in the house, it stays outside in plastic bags until I can get to it...then stays in plastic bags in the carding room until I can get to carding it.


Hope you are having a great day!!