I'm back! Been off the forum for a while, dealing with moving, the lame horse I threw my money away on (woman sold me a lame horse, I was naive and trusted her). But anyhow, I'm back around and just moved my goats to my new place in Nevada today! They're not sure what the heck is going on, but Putnik crawled inside his new house almost immediately after I put the straw down inside! He was tired from the trip. And so am I!
You can see the Eastern Sierra mountains in the distance in one photo, and from my front porch the view is spectacular. I put a wildlife cam up to try to see what's coming around at night, and I'm going to put up two motion activated lights on the outside of the fence to try to deter predators. Not much more I can do, there is no barn to lock them in. Coyotes can't get inside the fence unless they dig all night, it's just cougars and bears (yes, there are bears here) I'm worried about, although I'm told they don't normally come this far down into the valley, they stick closer to the hills. Come visit!
Beautiful photos! It's great to see you back! I hope you really enjoy your new digs. Looks like the view can't be beat! Your goats look very cosy in their houses.
Wow such scenery. The snow capped mountains really are a sight.
I bet the goats really were ready to get out after such a trip. My goat Shelby never lays down while on the road, while the other goats always lay down the whole time. I feel bad for him on winding roads while he tries to surf the curves.
Its quite the homestead you're doing. So you've got a water tower. Does it have to be trucked in or is there a well? What about power and internet? Wood stove or propane? I'm curious.
THanks everyone! Only Putnik lays down in the truck, Django and Zoki stand the entire time.
Charlie Horse, it's not all that rustic - there is a well, a generator to pump well water into the outdoor gravity feed tank, another tank for the house that runs off of a pressure pump, solar for the house with heat tape around the pipes, septic, wood stove for heat and propane for hot water and kitchen stove. I have internet from my phone for now, but later will get satellite internet. House is a 2 bedroom/2 bath double wide and it's actually pretty darn cozy. I am on 40 acres of sagebrush. The eastern Sierras are about two miles across the valley, and on the back side of the house is BLM land and national forest. Tons of places to go hiking and camping. I do have neighbors behind the house, the closest one being about 1000 yards away or a bit less. Two miles of good gravel road and then two miles of single dirt track to get here, and I am the only house on this little dirt road. I love it!
Nevada is on my to do list of places to go hunting. Also really like the goat huts you have there, wish I had thought of something like that before I built my goat hut.
I took the boys out for a jaunt today. It was a 65* day, the Columbia was calm, the sky blue and the sun bright and warm. We started out in one of our fields where my husband and I worked on one of the pivots. The boys decided the weeds around the pivot base were more tasty than the fresh sprigs of grass in the hay field! Banjo decided he needed to "inspect" the pivot base and even tried to climb the framework! Silly boy. Next we headed to the banks of the Columbia River. This was the first time my mini Alpine buck had seen the river. He was very curious. I decided it was so nice I sat down and relaxed while enjoying the view while the boys entertained themselves. It was a wonderful day.
^ What fun! How did I miss this? Oh... I see. I was in the middle of the Sputnik crisis right about the time you posted it.
Sputnik continues to do well. I made a switch in my pens which seems to have achieved very nice harmony. I put Lilly in with the boys where she can be as scrappy as she wants without hurting anyone. She appears to enjoy the pace over there with those ruffians, although she seems a bit put out that she isn't ruling the roost. Those boys know how to put her in her place when she gets too bossy! Even the ones who can't put her in her place can still give her a run for her money.
Sputnik, on the other hand, got moved to the girls pen, and he is enjoying every minute of it! He's been falling behind the others in size and weight. He's a tough little guy, but I think there's a vicious cycle of him getting beat up because he's smallest, and he's smallest because he gets beat up. Even Snickers has gotten pretty rough on him lately. I thought a change to a nicer crowd might do him good and help him catch up. He seems to fit in very well with the ladies. He's still at the bottom of the herd, but they don't beat him up or chase him from the hay like the boys did. Petunia is top of the girls' pen now that Lilly is gone, and so far she's a MUCH nicer herd queen than Lilly. She and Sputnik have also gotten to be really chummy recently, so it's nice that they can share a pen at night now. Before this change, they were both somewhat outcasts. I see them laying down and eating together now.
Finally, Finn's foot is almost back to normal. Two weeks of snow kept that foot nice and clean and cold during the first critical healing time. The hoof will continue to have a nasty crack in it for as long as it takes to grow down, but he's walking, running, and jumping on it just fine. He still limps for a few strides if one of the other goats steps on his heel, and occasionally it still bleeds if that scab tears loose, but it looks like we dodged any infection.
Chat
I loves to hear about the underdog getting a break