been so long...

sorry i've slacked this week on posts. haven't really felt up to it with the loss of marla. can't bear to break out the old canon and shoot any pics. but i will let you all know the kids are fine. russell and ramona are doing phenomenally well. have not needed milk replacer. weaned themselves. amazing little creatures. they are growing by leaps and bounds. and the goat heard has taken them under their collective wing. and then there's the sheep... who also have a bond with the twins. so, things are going really as well if not better than can be expected.

me, i started my new part-time job today. caretaker. my father in law (who had a stroke back in april) is at home and needing assistance during the day between home health visits from his various therapists and while my mother in law goes back to work. i will be doing this a few days a week alternating with other relatives who are giving their time as well. never pictured myself in this position, but here i am. and after all my cancer/surgeries/etc... i have a bit of experience. if nothing else as a patient. and it's nice to be able to give something back. karma for all the love and care i received when i was in need.

promise new pictures sometime soon. until then, check out my husbands new blog, provenance farm which is exclusively illustrated with photographs by the brilliant photographer known otherwise as me.

marla, the tourist.

in the words of chuck palahniuk, "marla, you little tourist."

that's what she was. just here to visit. to grace us with her presence. to enrich our lives. to give us the greatest gift... life. the twins.

marla passed away suddenly this morning. a postmortem determined she suffered from an acute case of liver flukes. a parasite derived from snails and not common in this part of the country.

we are all at a loss here on the farm. there is not a being here that does not miss her presence. the dogs, the goats, even the turkeys are in mourning. and i am heartbroken. it's hard being an organic farmer. loss is the biggest challenge. you are aware that loss is a possiblity going into it, but it doesn't make it any easier when confronted face to face with fatality.

we have decided to give our goats a preventative wormer from here on out. this will, of course, be chemical in nature and therefore not be considered purely organic. but knowing that this parasite is found on our land, i can not stand back and let innocent animals suffer.

so i suppose our mohair won't be considered certifiably organic, but it's damn near close.

and now for a pictorial memorial...

marla & the twins

tree leaves... it's what's for breakfast

marla and her BFF bernadett

a lovely lady

twins, goat mid-wife, and the mark of the horn.

this has been an interesting week. two days after audrey was born, marla finally gave birth! to twins! a boy and a girl. she had them in the morning before i awoke. and after constant observation, the little boy did not appear to be nursing and looked a tad unthrifty. baby goats need to nurse especially right after being born. if they do not get colostrum (milk with antibodies from mom that is only produced for first day or so after birth), they will die. i first tried to get the little feller to nurse. tried holding him up to nipple and squirting a bit of milk. the little man wouldn't have it. and to top it off, marla panicked a bit. marla is a big big goat. and even though we've had her for over a year, she is still pretty wild. oh and by the way, all this is happening while my husband is at work. so i'm here alone. step two: try to milk marla. why did i think this was even a possibility? i crawl into kidding pen with her. and bribe her with treats. grab a hold of her horns. and then let go with one hand and try to access teat. she takes advantage of the loosened grip and tries to butt me. i put free hand back on horn. talk sweetly to her. pet her nose a bit. then try again. again she tries to attack. this goes on several times. and finally ends with... bam! she flings me against the side of the stall. and leaves a perfect imprint of her horn on my thigh.

i decide i need to jump ahead to plan 3: drive to town and pick up colostrum replacer. long story short. fed little boy colostrum replacer several times throughout the day. and by evening he nursed from mum. and is doing well. meet russell and ramona....

the twins and marla

russell (named after russell brand)

ramona (named just because it sounds good)

a few days go by. and we wake to daisy going into labor right as jason is going to work. he asks if i'm going to be ok alone. i feel confident. daisy is a sweetheart and has no horns. i gather my supplies. bucket, warm water, book with birthing assistance instructions, gloves, lube, and snippers (in case i need to trim umbilical cord). i take a seat in field with daisy. and watch as her water breaks and bubble appears. next i see two little hoofs. no head yet. she seems to be straining. goats need assistance if labor goes on for more than half an hour after water break. so... i consult book. by this time daisy really looks like she needs help. i put on gloves. lube up hands and grab hold of the two little hoofs. then i see something frightening. it looks like the baby has suffocated. it's tongue is sticking out of mouth and appears rather blue. i gentle pull on hooves and the head comes all the way out. i wipe the mucous off face. i see little nostrils blowing bubbles. i clear mucous away from mouth and out comes a sweet little cry. the rest of goat slides out. mom is fine. baby is fine. she cleans him. and within a half hour the little boy is standing and nursing. what an amazing act.

daisy and little boy (not named yet since this just happened)

mother and son

what's next? 842 is still pregnant. i feel it will be within the next few days. and talk about wild goats.... 842 makes marla look like a trained poodle. i'll be wearing armour on that day.

meet audrey.

the very first kid goat born on the rook farm. surprise, surprise! marla was not the mother! violet, one of the pygmy twins, beat marla to the punch. herschel must have snuck in and bred violet immediately after his arrival on our farm, before he hooked up with marla. goats are sneaky that way!

little audrey was delivered sunday afternoon. kid and mother are doing very well! champagne for everyone!!!!!!!!

i'm just sitting here waiting...

any day now. i really think marla must be expecting a calf or baby hippopotamus by her size. and well, herschel is just as pleased as punch.

marla's bag.

herschel insisted on this gratuitous shot.

what a stud, indeed!

waiting on marla...

marla will be the first goat on the rook farm to kid (have babies). i've read up on kidding and all the eminent labor signs. and thursday i was positive that she was a mere hours away from giving birth. she was off alone, in a quiet corner of the barn. she was pawing at the ground. getting up and lying back down. she was making soft little sounds. nervous as a kitten, i checked on her every half an hour for the whole day. but nuthin happened. then another day went by. and here i am still waiting.

her official due date isn't until july 20 but you can add or substract 10 days from that. so, it can be any day for the next 19 days. hoping to be on this side of july 20. i've got my virtual cigars all ready and will keep you posted.

goat stork, please land here.

herschel's been living up to his herd sire title. marla, his old lady, appears to be mighty pregnant. looks like she could either be expecting triplets or one bionic angora/boer cross mutant-giant baby. she is one big momma. we're looking at late july - early august for delivery. can't wait.

what a stud!

move over, there's a new sheriff in town

meet samson & delilah.

my apoligies for taking so long with introducing our new piglets, samson & delilah. but life got in the way. family illness. sick goats. baby turkeys. oh, and the nicest surprise of all, snow. yes, i awoke to a few inches of white yesterday. glad i didn't plant my 'taters yet.

so, please allow me to introduce.... all the way from columbia, missouri... sampson & deliha. our guinea hogs. i put the emphasis on hogs, because they are in no way related to guinea pigs (which are cute in their own right, but quite a different species). guinea hogs are a heritage breed hog. there are very few of them in missouri. or even in america. and we are lucky to have this cute little pair as a new member of our farm family.

where as i failed miserably with speedy introductions, the piglets succeeded by taking matters into their own hooves. they snuck out of their pen and made the rounds. introducing themselves to all the other animals.

"s'up, jeliza-rose"

"hey, we're the new pigs""albert, nice to meet you"

"so, you're marla?"

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.

goat tv.

this is what i watch all day while i spin yarn....





i need to get a life. i know.

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.

saturday was...

lots of driving/riding (jason drove & i looked out window), farm supply shopping in two different counties (hence, the all the driving) to find specific poultry medicine, administering poultry medicine, attempting to shear baby snakes (no luck), picking tomatoes (much luck), trimming goat hoofs (so yuck), & enjoying the view while jason grilled turkey-burgers.

our august landscape

freshly picked tomatoes

free range chicken

842 & marla comparing manicures

today is...

my wedding anniversary. 3 years. time flies when goats are involved. especially rehabilitated goats. way to go, marla!

my day started brilliantly with breakfast in bed. farm chores and sunny skies followed. and it will end with a fine bottle of italian wine from friuli (where we took our vows). this weekend we leave for vegas to celebrate and participate in the race for the cure with my sistahs. how great is that?

marla gets to join the herd

warty toads & marly goats.

we moved mean ol' marla to a free standing pen. she's been quarantined for the past month as we've been treating her for hoof rot and i'm afraid that's why she was given up for adoption. after weeks of hoof trimming and medicine, and only minor improvement, we've decided to put her out into a portable pen in the fresh air where she can be moved to keep her feet on clean dry ground. she seems to love the fresh grass by the lack of it that remains in her pen each day, but she still seems to hate people.

all this rain has spawned many a frog and toad. the ponds are full of frog eggs & tadpoles. here is one handsome toad that settled near the chickens.

i think it's finally spring.

it was 70 degrees here today. lovely weather. all is quiet on the farm. we have a new addition, marla. we adopted her yesterday. she's an older goat. she's going to help train the pups to be comfortable around livestock. she has protected status (i.e. not for consumption). she will live out the rest of her retirement here in belgrade. i think she likes it so far.