Baby goats!
This morning, I noticed that Lulu’s udder was full and she was carrying her babies lower. So, babies today. Sure enough, this afternoon she had a beautiful big boy and a sweet little girl. Well, Lady was not to be outdone, she decided to have HER baby today too — a BIG girl. Both ladies still look pretty big to me but that may be all for today.
All three babies needed a little coaxing to come out, I’m glad I was home. Lulu’s boy and Laly’s girl were good sized — and Lulu’s girl came out backwards.
This is Lulu’s fourth set of babies, and I’m thrilled to see that her udder has improved every time. Lady has always been exceptional, and I was hoping that got passed down to Lulu, but her first freshening was disappointing. Not so this time!
Everyone is sorting things out. Tonight the nursery is closed to the dry yearlings, much to their disappointment. And Lulu’s elder daughters are on their own tonight — time for big girls to grow up. 
Not my bees
Donna Here — I don't want to garner sympathy. Those weren't my bees; they belonged to the guy who was going to sell them to me.
But I'm on his list! And a lot of people here want the bees too.
Overcoming the hurdles
JoAnne here.
It is especially hard to face a case of vandalism — with all the challenges one needs to face in any endeavor, dealing with human sabotage is cruel and unfair. My heart goes out to you, Donna.
I had several years of tension with an evil neighbor — a nasty little man who lived next door and did all sorts of horrible things to my property and to my goats. I finally had to spring for a cheap video surveillance system — but I think it was the sign warning “video surveillance” that did the trick — we never had any trouble after that. That he finally moved out helped too! (Since then, the setup had enabled my son to catch a petty thief at his apartment — handy little gadget!) Bullies who vandalize are cowards at heart.
On this front, I sat with my neighbors Sunday and signed a buyers agreement, starting the ball rolling to sell my place, woohoo! Then the next day came with the news that if the mobiles were on the property at the time of selling them they would have to pass inspection — which they ain’t gonna do. HA! It doesn’t make sense — if they were even CLOSE to being able to pass inspection, I would be selling for mucho $$ more. Duh!
It’s like when I was trying to refi my place before — I wanted to get equity funds to repair my place, in anticipation of selling it. They said it would have to pass inspection first. Huh? I told them if I could afford repairs now, I wouldn’t be coming to them for the money for repairs.
Well, we will work that problem through with my neighbors and find a different way. It’s never simple, is it?
In the meantime Sunday I also enlarged the Goat Gazebo for the now VERY large preggos — less than two weeks to go! I also went on a shopping foray with Emilie, securing the supplies necessary to get her set up for the pheasant chicks that are also due to arrive in about two weeks.
And, I gave Maria another nudge.
Damn people.
The bee situation is a little slowed down. Somebody vandalized the hives.
Damn humans. Turns out we re-bred with the chimps after we'd become almost separate species. And it looks like it was chimp males and human females. Okay, how many times have we jokingly said that it seemed as though male and female humans were like two different species?
Sons of the Earth, evidently, as opposed to Daughters of the Earth.
Dying to be there
Oh, Godlets, I want to be there helping with this.
Instead, I'm helping to rebuild Clallam Bay and its Arts Festival.
I have a feeling I can't leave until I have done so. The day will come when this place has its own co-op selling all local edibles, and the honey industry will be in full swing.
I've already got at least four people want bees, and one guy has a bunch of hives gifted him. However, I've told him repeatedly to get 'em tested for diseases before anybody takes 'em.
Getting Ready
JoAnne here.
It's been a week that flies by if you don't look twice. I got a nursery pen built with a section of modular goat barn inside. It will easily lift out and travel by truck. I think I might try to get a new milking shed built along its front — just another modular piece that will also lift out and reassemble later. Best of all, the new pen and shed were built all with salvaged and supplies on hand. I will get new hinges and hardware later, but for now, no money's been spent. There's a definite sense of winning a game there.
Jacque (my buyer/neighbor) has told me that I'm welcome to take any and all plants. So a massive potting project is going on, whenever a bit of time permits. It will good news to any aspiring vintners — I have two eighteen year old grapevines that produce the most flavorful small white grape. We will just need to dig these enormous plants first — and get them moved and re-established.
Meanwhile, I continue to pester Maria.
Bees and Wood
Out here I'll be negotiating for wood later in the week. I'm also looking locally for room to keep 1/2-wild Black Russian Caucasian bees on; hard workers, but they protect their hives like little Xenas.
I'm going to build myself as an agent for local farm products at the Forks Saturday Market, too. I've got a food-handler's license (picked up while I was doing a story for the Forks Forum), so I can handle baked goods for folks.
I'm writing a grant for the local co-op grocery-store-planning committee. One more thing I've learned to do.
It's all falling into place — I must be getting into training for the Folktalk farm!
In the Meanwhile…
JoAnne here.
Emilie and I are getting started with some of our gamebird raising plans. We both struck out with finding a mature breeding pair locally (wrong time of year — they are brooding now and can’t be disturbed) so after researching online we’ve come up with a source for chicks. Emilie will raise them at her place while she and her husband Red devise pens for them outside. These pens are being built with the plan to move them to the new place later. Again the concept of modular units that can be seperate at start but combined as they grow will be part of the focus, as well as sanitation.
Most hatcheries ship but their minimum order is for 100 chicks. Yikes! But we found McMurray Hatchery who will send 30 chicks — much more reasonable for us! We are starting with Jumbo Ringneck Pheasants — but I have an eye on including some fancier stock, like Silver or Lady Amherst for later.
The Internet is a wonderful place…
The Waiting Game
JoAnne here.
Hm, so I can’t count. We won’t be seeing baby goats here for at least another three weeks, yikes! Five months after breeding won’t happen until around the first of June not May. Those poor girls, they are already big. When due date finally arrives, I can tell I’ll be needed to untangle kids…
As for moving into my shop — ain’t gonna happen ;-) It’s already full of costumes, plus Mom’s and my overflow stuff — which has made it considerably easier to live here, but is making work more challenging. Besides, it would be illegal, it’s zoned commercial - manufacturing (never mind that folks probably live upstairs — they are not supposed to and have to hide when the fire department comes to inspect). And alas, Clallam Bay would be too far. But thanks much.
But the proposal my neighbors are making is to buy my home then allow me to rent until we move — provided that it’s soon — an agreement I would not consider were it to be longer than two-three months away. I really do feel we’ll know yes or no about this place any time now.
And, the news that I have a pre-approved buyer in place for my home had the effect I was hoping for — my agent Maria immediately laid new pressure on the other side. They understand the concept of “move it or lose us”. That pressure applied, we will see what develops…
Jumping Off The Cliff
(Donna here)
Sometimes jumping off the cliff is the only thing you can do.
If nothing else, you can live in your shop — but knowing your huge network of friends and colleagues, there will be someone to step in and help you on your way.
You know you have a place to live with us, but we're all the way out here in Clallam Bay, and that would make for an impossible commute.
Where do you keep the goats, by the way? And do they have a nice dry shed? And don't mind human snoring? 
