Storm damage

We experienced quite the violent thunderstorm here Thursday night.  Very strong wind and hail to start off the storm, then pounding rain and a real light show in the sky!  The rain gauge only showed 1/2", fortunately, as we've had all we need for quite some time.  The hail damage was minimal, only lost a few small plants in the garden.  And looking out from inside the house, the downed limbs from the wind seemed pretty minimal, as well.  The biggest limb that came down on the patio narrowly missed the sliding glass door, but a miss in this case is certainly as good as a mile!  So, we thought, we really lucked out this time around.  Then, when it was time for the Goatfarmer to go out and do the chores and check the herd, a closer look around revealed this:

Yes, the large old apple tree that so nicely shaded the pool/deck, was now very much ON the pool/deck.  Fortunately, the winter cover suffered the only damage.  The irony is that this tree seemed so strong, like nothing could shake it, as compared to the one pictured below, which is almost totally rotted through and leaning out over the wagon road, where it has stood like this for many years, through whatever storms have come along. 

Make you think about people....sometimes those that seem so strong and steady crumble under the slightest problem, while others who seem to have more on their shoulders than they an possibly deal with just seem to have the inner strength to handle whatever life throws their way.   The Goatfarmer and I have been so saddened by watching the news of the tornado damage and flooding in so many areas in our country lately.  We often remark that we don't know how those folks deal with it, yet so many of them who have been interviewed tell that they plan to rebuild right where they are.  They show a strength of will that I'm not sure I'd have faced with such a loss.  We are so grateful for how little impact the weather has really had on our farm , and it sure gives perspective....things that maybe at one time would have seemed like a big deal are truly just a little annoyance.

Lush Pasture at Last!

Well, it seems as though the pasture would never come this year.  The Farmwife and I were commenting each time we walked in the fields that it just was so slow to green-up and really get growing.  Then we had a few nice warm days and zoom, off it went.  The goats were smacking their lips when they got to this paddock at the top of the hill.  This spot is our first area to really green up and grow, and grow it is doing.  When you look down into the sward it is amazing how much clover is growing here now, as compared to before we starting using MiG with the goat herd.

 Of course, there is a lot of other plants growing here also, like orchard grass and a bit of bedstraw.  The goats eat it all and are making lots of milk as evidenced by the very full udders on the mothers and the round bellies on the kids.  Speaking of the kids, we finished up the kidding season with 50 real nice kids.  We have 26 bucklings and 24 doelings.  Some really sharp looking and growthy kids are out here running laps around the paddocks.  We are evaluating each and every one of them using the Goat Herd Improvement Program run by Dr. Kenneth Andries from Kentucky.  (There will be more on this at a later date)

This little fellow is a 50% Kiko out of a Boer cross mother.  He looks like a little Holstein calf, but I assure you that he is 100% goat!  This is a really unique color pattern that you don't see very often.  We also have a doeling with the same genetics that came up with a real sharp design.  Her picture is on the last blog that was posted during kidding season.  They are all growing nicely with the help of all this luscious grass that is just waiting in the paddocks for a goat to come along and get a nice big mouthful!

Ellie is not shy when it comes to enjoying her grass.  All you hear when they get to the pasture is the grass being ripped up by the mouthful!  This is the way it was meant to be.  No fillers in this feed, just sunshine transformed into nutritious food.