Preparations....

Tyler building fence.....

Under his supervisor's watchful eye.

Tomorrow morning I head out to Paris, Texas to pick up our sweet new goats. I'm so happy that this is all coming together.:o)

I'd be happier if the whole thing was built and all I had to do was take care of the goats, but I know it won't be long. We picked up some panels for a temporary pen today and the boys made short work of them.....thanks mostly to my brilliant husband who used zip ties to hold the fence together. 

I'm not sure I'll ever build fence without a pocketful of the handy things again. 

I should have sweet pictures of the darling babies and their mamas for you tomorrow evening. Unless the day gets away from me again. It seems like that has happened a lot lately.

 I got my Ashford shipment in yesterday and I've spent all of my spare time beeswaxing wheels and putting them together. 

Well, maybe not ALL of my spare time.

I DID find time to process some Alpaca from River Ridge and spin it up. Not much, just enough to learn that the drum carder is a zillion times easier than the hand carders and that I love the Ashford Traditional. Not that I'm knockin' the Kiwi. I guess I was just afraid that it would be hard to spin on a different wheel. But it wasn't. It was a dream.:o)

My works in progress are a bit different from usual, but until I get this dairy up and running I don't seem to find quite as much time with my needles.

I'm desperate for a lacy cowl out of the pretty blue organic yarn.

I mean, I need to test it out, right?

Goats and Kids

Kissy and Ronan meet some of our goats.

The dog has to get in on the action too.

Today Kiska and Ronan got to meet the goats who will be joining our Farm next month. They were very excited and had a great time petting the goats and watching the kids antics.

I jumped on the Raw Milk wagon a few years ago. When I did, I was delighted to find a source that was only a few miles away from my house. It was wonderful to know that I was providing the hooligans with such lovely food. 

Then we moved here to Wichita Falls. Because of all the laws that Texas has regulating the sale of Raw Milk the dairies are few and far between. If we want to drink Raw Milk here we have to drive 120 miles to pick it up. Then we have to pay 8 dollars a gallon.

I don't begrudge them the 8 dollars. It's just that the 5 gallons of milk my family can consume a week adds up pretty quick. Especially if you start factoring in gas money and my time. YIKES!

I didn't really worry for too long. It isn't in my nature. I found a solution within a couple of days. 

Dairy Goats.

I'd wanted to produce our own milk, butter, yogurt, and cheese for a long time but was waiting until we moved out to the Farm. Then a lady here was having to sell her goats and I started doing a lot of research.  After a few sample gallons that proved to my family that goat's milk tasted no different than cow's milk I was hooked.

While I was obtaining one of those sample gallons I met an awesome lady in the Wichita Mountains who has a lovely herd of Nubians. She was looking for some help around her place. We were looking for a way to afford goats. We could afford the goats, or we could afford the fencing and buildings. But not both, at least, not this year. 

This turned into a beneficial arrangement where we get to work and be paid in GOATS!

So once a week Tyler and I head to the mountains and clean goat pens, sheds, and yards. Auriana keeps the baby's entertained, and sometimes runs the wheelbarrow for us. It's a pretty sweet arrangement.  One that will pay off for years to come.:o)

Kid and kid.

A Happy Sight.