global warming... or a very bitchy mother nature?

summer is here. and it's a real booger. this heat is relentless. i don't know why i bother checking the forecast. it is always in the 90s with a high heat index and heat warnings week after week forever and ever. sometimes mother nature might get a wild hair to drop down to the 80s. but it's a high 80s. and she counters that with extreme humidity.

luckily, we finally have had some rain. however, the rain arrived in spontaneous thunderstorms followed by immediately sunny skies. never enough steady rain to fill our ponds (which dried up again since last post). fortunately, our pigs have made a wallow deep enough in their pond to collect water when it rains. the duck/geese/goat/sheep pond is now mud only. so an old bath-tub is a make-shift swimming pool for water fowl. and water troughs and dishes are set out for hoofed creatures. animals don't seem to mind. it just adds a lot more work on us humans.

it has been enough rain to perk up the fields and the garden. cucumbers and tomatoes galore! the bigger the better! lots of pickles and salsa from here on out.

back to the heat... how hot has it been? it's been so hot, our computer fan burnt up. until we have time to repair, i am using a back-up laptop which does not have a slot for my camera card. so you will have to settle for words only.

if there were photos... they would be of our male goats and male sheep. the boys are back in town (front lawn). yes, it is time for the sexes to be separated. our flock is big enough now to make this possible. and the lawn is full of beautiful green grass and wild flowers. the boys are thrilled. the GLOPs are happy to be reunited with their hoofed friends. and i love looking out the kitchen door in the morning while i make coffee to see tito and marton peeking in asking, "what's for breakfast?"

somewhere in storage there is a box containing an adaptor for my camera that i believe can be plugged into my computer for instant download. if so, photos will be forthcoming. to be continued....

in the meantime. pray for steady rain, cloudy skies, and cooler temps. and while you are at it, pray for peace, and love, and unicorns, a clean gulf coast, and magical garden gnomes that will do all your weeding whilst you sleep. a girl can dream.

spring fever.

wow! it was 84 degrees yesterday. and 4 days before that it was below freezing and i had to bring baby goat marton inside for the evening. spring weather is crazy!

marton is doing well. we had a scare with him 2 days ago when he had a touch of frothy bloat and constipation. two things that are incredibly serious in baby goats. i caught it in time. and was able to administer enemas which eventually revived his peristaltic action and alleviated the gas from his rumen. i am so relieved. i was not about to lose our newest little guy. it was pretty much the nastiest thing i've ever had to do. and i'm sure he was as confused as i, but it worked. and he is thriving now in this warm spring weather.

i had my 6 week follow-up with my plastic surgeon regarding my implant replacement. it went great. i've healed up nicely. and have been allowed to start doing yoga and farming again!

tried my hand at a little garden work today since the sun was shining. but got very winded after only 1/2 an hour. which was discouraging. but it's hard to get upset when it is an absolutely gorgeous day outside. i did get a chance to peek at the soil in last year's garden. it is a beautiful rich dark color. can't wait to till it and start planting our seedlings. the tower grove farmer's market is coming up in just 5 short weeks! opening day is may 8th. look for more info on our provenance farm blog.

seedlings a growin'

as for my breathing issues, i was able to get an appointment with a great pulmonary specialist next week. he comes highly recommended. and am hoping we can get to the bottom of what is happening with my lungs. wish me luck.

and now, some gratuitous doggy photos (taken during last weekend's thunder storms). all dogs took full advantage!

the GLOPs

little bit (in MY chair) because...

the beagles claimed little bit's chair

and choppy in jason's chair

rainy monday.

storms in belgrade brought the GLOPs inside today. just for a while. since we moved the girls into the front field, they get to enjoy more time spent with the family and occasional admission to happy joe's and the living room. meanwhile, del ray and little bit practiced CPR while porkchop watched the clock.

sleepy roses

lounging lil'ann

mouth to mouth

time for dinner yet?

random thoughts and images.

last week, the turkey poults graduated to free-range status. they have taken to it well. love the bugs and pond water and tall grass. i think they have doubled in size since.

delray, little bit, and the chop have been enjoying their new fenced-in-yard freedom. but it does get them tuckered out.

the GLOPs have moved to the front field so that the goats, sheep and pigs can graze in back field. change went smoothly. and little bit loves her big sisters.

the bit and lil'ann

and me, well, i keep busy these days, mostly in the garden. mostly on weed/grass control. tired of dirt stained hands, i finally gave in and painted my finger nails a dark brown. but the garden is getting there. transplanted the pepper plants over the weekend. and have been slowly replacing our 30 or so tomato plants we lost during the storms.

positive thinking.

wish i had something good to post. but things have been not so pretty on the farm. stressful is more like it. winter has been rough. most of the problems revolve around the GLOPs (our guardian dogs). their goat hair-pulling escalated into physical harm on our older goat, bernadett. it breaks my heart to see bernie in pain. but i'm hoping and praying and doing everything possible to rehabilitate her. she spent the night in the house (and i babied her by giving her lots of wheat bread, alfalfa hay, and vitamin water). we gave her a shot of penicillin, some aspirin, and a dose of probiotics and wrapped up her wounds. today i moved her to an isolated kidding pen in the barn. she seems more comfortable outside. and tonight, i'll probably put her daughter bianka in the pen with her to keep her company and warm.

so, what do we do about the dogs? we are going to have to keep them separate from the goats during the day. their chewing on the goats is actually common behavior for livestock guardian dogs of their age. and most people don't allow young dogs 24 hour access to goats. we gave it our best shot, and it didn't work. so this weekend we are going to begin fencing in our front yard (which is over an acre). the GLOPs will be in the front yard during the day, and sleep with the goats at night. fencing the yard was something we wanted to do anyways so that our indoor dogs could be outside off-lead.

in the meantime, i have to keep lil'ann on a lead during the day. she is the instigator. she seems to have an irresistible desire to "play" with the goats. she's not very pleased about being in "time-out" but it's better than the alternative (giving her up or her accidentally killing a goat).

i love bernadett so much. she has so much personality. i need positive thoughts right now to help get her through this tough time. we need her here.

bernadett

now playing on goat tv...

and yes, there are two dogs piled in with the goats.

sorry the picture ain't the greatest. i didn't subscribe to the new fangled digitial transfer. i'm a rebel. and a hippie. and a borderline hermit.

deficient dogs, braying burros, and one cured chicken.

our GLOPs have been bad. well, actually only one GLOP, lil'ann. she's going through a very destructive adolescent phase. you know the dogs that pull all the stuffing out of toys and scatter it across the lawn... well, imagine if they had a furry goat to play with instead. i believe she learned this horrible habit when patrik was sick and his hair was falling out. just recently, she started doing it with our healthy goats. regular scolding has not helped. neither has a tea tree no-bite bitter spray. it is very stressful on the goats, obviously. and very stressful on jeliza-rose (her sister) who finds this behaviour very upsetting. i have been able to salvage most of the hair but we are afraid one of the goats will get seriously hurt. so drastic times, seek drastic measures. a shock collar and a video camera have been obtained. i've been spying on her for the past few days from the comfort of my living room. so far, she has been absolutely perfect. maybe she figured it out. maybe her phase ended. maybe it was the full moon. regardless, i'm waiting here inside with my remote control just in case.

meanwhile, cripple creek needs a new name. she is doing brilliantly. and has grown most of the feathers back on her head. the weather has been exceptionally warm so she has been enjoying being out and about.

and stella loves to holler. especially when there is the possibility of food involved. today's surprise afternoon carrot snack was loudly received.

out for a stroll with cripple creek

oh my god! carrots!

patrik moves out.

today patrik got to move out of our basement cellar and back to the barn. it's been three months and he's got about two inches of new hair growth. it was a perfect day. sun was shining. temp in the 50s.

the whole gang was waiting to welcome him back

lil'ann was all grins

marla greets patrik with a friendly smile

842 screams "hay! it's what's for dinner!"

if only the truth could have been this picturesque. but alas, goats are goats. marla didn't so much offer a smile as her horns. bernadett & bianka also displayed some major head butting action. seems the girls didn't think a smelly billy was necessary. he's staying in a private barn suite tonight. hopefully things will settle down tomorrow. 842 & the GLOPs, however, were truthfully portrayed above.

a word from the GLOPS.

hewwo. dis is wil'ann. i was given puhmishun to make an announcement. furst off, GWOPS wuv snow. it's twoo. we do. it doesn't bodder us at awl. secondwy, our twin pygmy goats viowet & daisy just turned one yeewrs ode dis week. happy burfday cwackah goats. we awso hurd dat some baby chickuns waz hatched. i tink wike sevunteen of 'em or someting.

dat's my sistah jahwiza-woses finding out how many chickuns waz borned.

awso newswuthy... owiver da beagle waz adopted by a nice wady named patty. he moved to da city wast night to wiv at hiz new fowevah home. and finawy, we haven't escaped in monfs. da new ewectric fence is a weel doozy. oh, and baby snakes stinks.

stinks!

windy.

everyday i check the weather. everyday there is some sort of severe weather advisory. snow. ice. freezing rain. wintry mix (whatever that is). but today is supposed to be sunny and warm (if you consider 40 degrees warm and i do at this point). yet still, there they are... those three pesky red letters, " severe weather alert." 35 to 40 miles per hour winds are ripping through the fields right now. i got attacked by our barnyard gate while feeding the goats this morning. it slammed shut on my arm. several times. the chicken coup door (although secured) blew open and a little white chicken escaped. buckets, branches, bowls are blowing across the lawn. i'm pretty sure the wicked witch is headed this way on her bicycle. and of course, the GLOPS are still escaping. but a new electric fence is being delivered early thanks to a certain fella named santa claus. now let us pray that the electric lines stay put....

catch up.

spent the last few days "fixing" the fence. our great pyrenees/coonhound mix girls have decided to explore/escape. don't know why the sudden urge to vacate. maybe it's the new cow neighbors in the field behind us. maybe it's the change in seasons. maybe they hate us. whatever the case, it's very disheartening. they dig holes under the electric line. we keep patching. but they keep finding new places to escape. so we've been lining the bottom of fence with chicken wire. this is an expensive and time consuming job. we are doing sections of 150 feet at a time. we still have at least 500 feet more to go. the girls are on lock down until it is resolved. which seems like forever away. visions of last year's llama escapes are front and center in my mind.

why do i worry so much whether they get out or not? one, we live on a state highway (it looks like a regular road, but speed limit is 55. most folks go about 70). two, our girls are big and scary looking. if they got into someone's field and appeared threatening (or worse, actually hurt or killed someone's livestock), they could be shot. three, our goat field is not protected when they aren't in it. so.... i'm a nervous wreck until this escape-frenzy outbreak is contained.

the weather is not cooperating either. rain, snow, rain, mud, cold. maybe more snow. who knows? i have stopped checking the weather. seems like it's always playing catch up. like the weather man is just looking out the window for the forecast. and it's no fun marching up and down the highway wrangling dogs in the rain & snow. it's just not.

i'm beat. and the holidays are here. and i'm broke again. or always. and i know, i know... that's not what the season's about. but that's what it's about. and i'm cold. and my body hurts from walking the fields. and i feel like the weather report, like i'm always playing catch up. and i should be taking pretty pictures and making people laugh. but i don't feel like it.

i'm gonna curl up in my chair with a glass of wine and lean on castaneda to help remind me that "the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious, unfathomable." i'm hoping to escape myself. crawl under the fence. and find my power.

misery in missouri tour.

please take a virtual tour of the "misery in missouri" exibit. but keep a box of kleenex nearby. some of the puppy mill stories are heartbreaking. my photo "jeliza roses" is in the artist insight section #5.

GLOPs on TV.

i just got back from springfield, mo where i attended the "misery in missouri" exhibit/benefit. it was the first time my work has ever been on display in a gallery. i was stoaked! felt good to be acknowledged and to be supporting a good cause. came home to discover that jeliza rose made it on tv! you can see her portrait on the wall in the opening shot of this fox news story.

it's raining and my mini pin won't shut up.

for a little dog, del ray has a big bark. an ear-drum shattering migrane inducing bark. he thinks he is protecting the house from intruding demons (his reflection, moths, jerry the cat, kitchen-sink drain monsters). right now, though, i think he just wants to come inside because it is starting to rain. finally. was supposed to rain this morning. the air has been thick all day.

we are expecting heavy rain and cool temps tomorrow. flash floods. the works. rare for august. all the animals have sought shelter in the barn, the cedar trees, the chicken house, etc... except for the GLOPs. they are fearless and waterproof and waiting for dinner. three scoops of diamond dog food coming up!

thick air

the weather is backwards

please feed us!

monkey goats and talladega donkeys.

guido has been braving his way over to the fence to pow-wow with the pups. he's still a bit shy and takes to mad dashes away. but then again, he takes to mad dashes just for the hell of it. he has a little racetrack up and down the fence line.

shake & bake!

we introduced the newest flock member, refugee and future goat-milk maker.... gretta to the rest of the gang. she came to us with a lump on her neck. many times goats will be culled for such deformities. but on our farm, she has refugee status so culling is not an option. however, we were worried the growth might be CL (Caseous Lymphadenitis) which is a very contagious & fatal goat disease. we separated her from the flock and aspirated the growth with a needle. (yes, being a farmer requires learning basic veterinary skills). thankfully, it was only filled with clear fluid and not thick greenish pus (eww!!!) which would signify CL. the growth is just a goiter! probably due to iodine deficiency which should clear up after a few weeks on pasture. it might also be an infection from an immunization site or even from a splinter or brush. either way, it is not life threatening! i am so relieved!

gretta is an alpine/oberhasli mix. she is very sweet and is fitting in well but tends to startle everyone with her unique voice. sounds like a monkey. no kidding. audio post forthcoming.

gretta, goat or monkey?

meet guido.

stella finally had her baby yesterday morning! she snuck off to the cedar trees in the fog around dawn and gave birth to a healthy four-legged big-eared little jack named guido. baby snakes and little jim handed out cigars. while the GLOPs vowed to be the best aunties ever.

baby snakes & little jim in the maternity ward waiting room

"we're aunties now!"

feeding the GLOPs.

i am dedicating this post to the spectacle that is "feeding the puppies." it seems crazy to still call them puppies. they are big girls now. but i can't quite call them dogs. doesn't seem right. they aren't full grown. and they haven't even had their 1st birthday party yet. they prefer to be called "the gorgeous ladies of pyrenees" or GLOPs. so, GLOPs it is.

the GLOPs, unlike all other barn animals here, do NOT graze on pasture. they try it every so often to see what all the fuss is about. but they prefer diamond dog food. it helps them grow "fat and sleek." however, even though the pups don't like grass, goats LOVE dog food. they love any food, really, if it makes noise and comes out of a bag or a scoop or a dish. ditto the pigs. and the cows. and the donkey. and the llama. they hear the food hit the pan and things get crazy. so, to keep the chaos under control, the dogs get to eat behind closed gates. chaos still ensues, but it is controlled chaos.

who want's some GLOP food?

we do!