Ramblings from the farm:
Well it’s day two of unemployment and its started with a bang. We’ve been exploring new ways to feed the bucks because a) they are so incredibly wasteful (I’m pretty sure that’s a male gene thing) and b) whenever we’ve tried to modify their feeder they’ve managed to get their head stuck and yell pitifully until we rescue them (again, I’m pretty sure it’s a male gene thing).
The most recent modification to their feeder apparently did not meet with their approval. I went out this morning to feed and found the feeder tipped over on its side and pushed up against the gate. Did I mention Crack Shot was shoved in between the gate and the feeder and was sweetly calling to me? That’s right the buck who normally wants to kill me was suddenly being loving. That alone was enough to freak me out.
I tried every which way to reach in and push, pull or manhandle the feeder out of the way, concerned that poor Crack Shot was stuck. Yes, I’m embarrassed to admit it took me a good 5-10 minutes of struggling with the feeder, all the while battling the million and one mosquitoes that were dive bombing my head, before I realized…..HE’S A GOAT, for goodness sakes if he really wanted to move he would climb over it, because …….HE’S A GOAT! I decided to test this theory by chucking a compact flake of hay over my head into the center of the pen and sure enough he jumped over the feeder in one bound and ran to eat. *sigh* Sometimes, I’m a little slow.
I managed to pry the gate open far enough to squeeze through and set the feeder upright. I then rescued the hay off the ground (don’t judge, that stuff’s like gold!) and put it into the feeder. Ok, all was right in the world again. Now off to feed the girls.
As I was feeding the girls I heard a giant crash and found the boys had tipped their feeder again! Did I mention they really don’t like the new modifications to their feeder? They aren’t shy in expressing themselves either. This time to make things a little more interesting Crack Shot climbed inside the feeder. Obviously he felt I needed more of a challenge. Somehow, I managed to coax, cuss and prod him into leaving his new found food fort and righted the feeder AGAIN.
At this point I decided I needed to return to the house and have my first cup of coffee. Clearly I was in a battle of wits with the goats and it wasn’t going well for me. I needed reinforcements in the form of caffeine.
So here I sit, sipping my coffee and pondering life’s great questions, like the best way to feed a goat without all the waste and why God created mosquitoes. While these are great questions and worthy of contemplation, I suppose I better get to work. On the agenda this week is fixing up our old horse trailer.
I started off pressure washing it to knock off as much dirt and rust as I could. It did okay but there was still a lot left to do. Next came sand blasting. But our sand blaster just wasn’t a up to such a large project. Hmmmm, maybe a grinding wheel? Except we couldn’t find our grinding wheel. *sigh* on to Plan D. I’m headed out to start sanding the trailer. Between the mosquitoes, the hard labor and getting sand and paint grit in places I’m pretty sure the Lord never intended, I’ve got to admit I’m not looking forward to the task. But tackling projects with what we have on hand is how we roll on this farm. Besides after I finish the sanding I get to play with Bondo. A new farm skill to add to my farm resume.
Until next time my farm friends.
M~
I do agree with all of the ideas you have presented in your post. They are really convincing and will certainly work. Still, the posts are very short for beginners. Could you please extend them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.|