What did you do today?

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

Nice rack! lol and I agree. Almost scary that the grass and tree buds have started already. But Lord, wouldnt an extra month or two of spring be welcome!

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

Rented a tractor yesterday to do the spring mucking. It was a smaller tractor then what I am used to and really had to put time in to get most of what I needed done. 8 straight non stop hours and by 6 o clock with the light fading, had to call it a day. Coulda used a couple more hours to really finish up but Ill settle for 90% clean Feel a little beat up today but the sun is out, the wind light. Time to do work.

[Nanno]

Yay for spring mucking out and fresh grass! Our grass is coming in super early too and it's so exciting! We've had lovely 55-65 degree weather in between dumps of heavy, wet snow which has really brought the grass in. If these snows keep up it should be a lovely green year. We're supposed to get a really heavy snowstorm this weekend (fingers crossed it doesn't dud out!), and possibly some more snow next week. I'm very excited!

Today I set up the goats' teeter-totter and it was a riot! I wish I'd gotten some photos, but sometimes it's nice to just enjoy the moment. Phil and I even got Cuzco to walk back and forth over it a few times, which tells me he's totally bluffing when he refuses to walk up that big, wide ramp we got him for the truck bed!

[michael]

Just like children! Sometimes you have to trick them to see what they are really capable of.

[michael]

Got a surge milker bucket. Wondering if there is a good thread on this forum for converting one of these and how to build the rest of the milking system. Anyone want to chime in?

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

Dont ask me. We still do it the old fashion way. suck suck suck, spit. suck suck suck spit.

[Nanno]

That's delicious, Dave! =P

Poor Finn had a rather unfortunate accident today, and I spent the better part of this afternoon being madder than heck at our dog, Daisy, who caused it. She's a wonderful dog and we're very lucky to have her, but she is obsessed with following any goat that leaves the property (even if the rest of them are at home!). I took Finn with me when I went riding today and Daisy tried to follow us down the road. I hollered at her several times to "GO HOME!" and eventually she disappeared, so I assumed she had finally obeyed.

Instead, the naughty dog snuck all the way around behind my neighbor's ranch and reappeared when we were more than a mile from home. She knew she was being bad and was trying to stay out of sight, so she was slinking around in the bushes and hiding in the long yellow grass which perfectly matches her coat. My horse caught sight of this creepy-looking predator lurking in the bushes and about had a heart attack before he realized it was our own dog. I was riding bareback and I'm really glad I didn't get dumped. I hollered at Daisy, jumped off my horse, and started throwing snowballs at her (which didn't work--she was determined to stay with us). Then I looked down and saw blood all over the road and realized that when Daisy spooked Jet, he had stepped on Finn's hind foot. Jet is always so careful not to step on goats or dogs or people even when they are right under his feet, and Finn has been careful to stay out of Jet's way, but when everyone panicked I guess they ran into each other.

Finn's foot was bleeding pretty badly, so I tied Jet to a tree while I packed snow around the foot to clean it off. He had a deep gash all the way down the bulb of his heel. I wrapped it tight in a handkerchief and the friend I was riding with called Phil to come with the truck. Phil took Finn and Daisy home and I doctored the poor goat up when I got back from my ride. The foot will probably be sore and swollen for a few days, but it doesn't appear to be broken. Finn dots it down when he walks. Next time I go riding, Daisy is either getting locked in the goat pen or she's going to wear Cuzco's shock collar so I can punish her when she disobey's my order to go home. I'm glad the accident wasn't worse and didn't involve anyone falling off a horse!

[Charlie Horse]

That happened to Amelia Goat-hart when she got in with the horses as a baby. Holy cow I was worried. It sure looked like it hurt.

[michael]

Dave, I really thought you would be the "go to"guy with all the dairy animals you have. I sure do understand the back to nature call you have on your life, though I haven't tried that milking technique! Is it faster or just more earthy?

[Nanno]

Poor Finn is very sore. He's not walking on that hind foot at all today. I got a pretty good look at it, and it appears that his heel split like a squeezed grape when he got stepped on. It's not swollen (at least not on the outside) and it didn't bleed much into the bandage, but he put on a rodeo when I tried to touch it. I re-wrapped it with a thick cotton pad to hopefully absorb some of the shock when he walks, but I'm sure it's going to take at least a few days for the pressure inside his hoof to go down. If he were walking on it then the weather we're having would help. Supposedly we're in for a massive blizzard and cold sure would help the swelling if he would just put his foot in the snow instead of holding it pathetically in the air.