It's all about the snow

It's all about the fact that we have a constant foot+ of snow on the ground, and it is still mighty cold here. Some of the baby goats have frostbite on their ears from when they were born and we just couldn't warm them up fast enough.

Cyrus, on the other hand, has decided that he would rather be outside napping in the snow than in the house with the rest of us enjoying the warmth.

Please notice the icicles in the window behind the warm Monkey in the sun.

Also that Kathy had to walk (with The Husband) back to the creek through snow up to their knees, to do the water testing. 

At least the sun was shining and it was a balmy 28°.

 

Which one are you?

It's snowing a bit, not sunny, not windy. Are you enjoying the pretty scenery and chilling outdoors on this 24° February morning?

Or chilling inside (like me) by the woodstove with your blankie?

Odd mix of pics

The adorable goat children have been getting some adorable human children visitors. (Jaye: You are adorable as well.)

Woody and Monkey sharing a quiet moment. Considering Monkey's first interactions with The WoodMan involved Woody chewing on his head, it is nice to know their relationship has improved over the years.

And this is The Husband's new favorite dish to cook: Tofu and Green Beans with Chile Crisp, a recipe from Sam Sifton in the NY Times. We are both big fans of this dish AND the blood oranges!

Constant snow

Still holding at 12 kids, which means 25 goats total. I am pretty sure that Colleen and Kai are coming in 2 weeks to take Sharon and her 2 kids back to NJ. We have mostly white kids so far this year, and Coll and I both like the "goats of color". I will need to hide Bella and her 2 colored girls when they get here!

I was right to predict a winter with constant snow cover. We get just a little more each day. And it is back to single-digit night-time temps, so no melting anytime soon.

Cyrus makes the paths through the foot of snow in the back fence. Woody follows his lead. He's a Southern boy, not so much a snow lover like his brother.

A whole dozen...so far...

Here's the big man, Ray Davies, proud papa of his growing family. Bella gave us 2 little colorful girls yesterday to make a dozen kids total. That is her hiding in the back in the pic with Ray. Only Lizzie, the red girl on the left, is still pregnant.

We took 8 of the kids in the back seat of the Kia, to go see June the Goat Lady for disbudding. We get their horns burned off when they are about a week old. It is common practice for those who raise dairy goats, but it is still uncomfortable for all, including us. It is stressful for about 2 minutes, and then the aloe gel cools them off and they don't seem to care.

The boys, Ray included, have a stronger structure to the horns, and they often grow back in some twisted fashion. One of his curls around his ear.