Naked Goat Wrestling + Breastfeeding Squirrels + Poultry = A Wonderful Wednesday

Oliver had another wild, naked morning in the pasture today. I think he would be happy if we just left him out there to live with the goats. At times he certainly acts more like a goat than a human. Patches and Oliver love to knock heads together while Leche always tries to get a piece of the action.

Oliver finally put on some clothes and he strapped on his squirrel to head to town for my doctor's appointment. At the young age of four, Oliver is already quite the staunch lactivist. He is not ashamed to nurse his squirrel named "Pearl" on demand in public. If his baby needs a nurse, then damn it, she is getting one. As you can tell, she is one satisfied squirrel.

After measuring my belly and listening to the baby, Oliver and I headed to the post office. We opened the door and could hear loud chirping sounds. Our chicks and keets (baby guinea fowl) had arrived! We ordered our birds this time from Sandhill Preservation because we like that they are a no-kill chick facility.

Oli really enjoyed being able to hold one chick and one keet.


The babies are all settled in for the night. I'm looking forward to see what guinea fowl personalities are like. The keets are the smaller brown or lavender babies in the photo below.

As an added bonus to an already spectacular day, our resident wild turkey "Gerdie" decided to hang out with us all day. She has two poults and does an excellent job of keeping them from being eaten by a fox. I'm happy she has chosen our property as her home! I think it's a pretty nice place to raise children.

Good News (Another Annoyingly Optimistic Post)

1. Thank You Pacific Wildlife Care!

A few weeks ago Glenn found an abandoned baby bird near the milking parlor at Rinconada Dairy. He brought the little bird home to me to mother. Usually I jump at the chance to help a little animal, but domesticated animals are more my bag. I like to leave wild animals in the hands of professionals to ensure correct diet and care (plus, it is illegal to keep wildlife). Luckily we have a great local organization called Pacific Wildlife Care. I called PWC and was met by a local volunteer named Debbie. Debbie, a fellow nurse, took our baby sparrow home to help her feed and grow.

Oliver was not too happy about having someone else raise his baby. He named her Celestial and the two had a lovely breakfast together before we made Oliver say goodbye to his new friend.

Last week Debbie called us and let us know Celestial was doing great and was ready to be released. She was being raised with two other sparrows. Debbie wanted to know if we would like to be present for the release. We decided to release all three sparrows at Rinconada Dairy because it is a great place for a sparrow to live.

It was wonderful watching all three birds fly up to the nearest oak. They are already surrounded by a family of sparrows. In the picture below I have circled all three birds at the time of release. They moved so fast, it was hard to get a clear picture.


2. Business is Booming (or Beeping Just a Little)

I don't write about our small business too much, mainly because it has taken a back seat to everything else in our lives. We finally got it together enough the past few months to create a display for our balms. We are selling at two cool shops: one in California and one in Rhode Island. The lip balm seems to be doing quite well as we have gotten orders from both shops to refill the displays. Perhaps next year on our taxes we will be able to show that we broke even rather than claiming -77 dollars!


3. Jessica B-B, Author?

Some of you (the three of you who read my blog) might remember that I was attempting to write a children's book. I wrote a book based loosely on this blog post:

Another Weird Bee Post

Then one night back in December I was feeling adventurous, so I sent an email query to an independent publishing house. I was surprised to hear back from the editor the next day requesting the full manuscript. Then five long months later, after I had finally given up all hope, I received an email from the editor. She said my manuscript was a "strong contender" and wanted to send it to a focus group. She asked if the publishing house could have exclusive review of it during the focus group process. I'm so satisfied to have made it this far in the children's book writing experience, I don't really even need my MS to be published (although that would be unbelievable). An editor read my MS and actually liked it-I'm THRILLED!

4. More Chicks

(Photo credit: Glenn)
Our friends have decided to start keeping chickens. Instead of ordering chicks, we picked out several pretty eggs and put them under our broody hen (she really wanted some babies). On day twenty, I checked under our hen Etta and found one chick. Over the next two days, four more arrived. One disappeared the first day. We think she may have fallen into a ground squirrel hole we didn't notice under the brooding box. Glenn cemented the floor of the coop and we haven't lost anymore. Poor little chick (I just had to bring things down a little). So now we have four chicks, two from brown eggs and two from blue eggs. I hope at least a couple will be egg layers!



4. One More Goat!

The sister of my coworker lives on the most beautiful property between Morro Bay and Atascadero. She raises goats and knew we were looking for a male (with different genetics) to eventually breed with our females. She called us because a shiny, black male was born a few weeks ago and wanted to know if we would like him. Here are pictures of our fourth (and final) goat. He will be staying with his mother to nurse for a good long time, which we are very happy about. Now we just need yet another name!

The Alpaca Arrival

Tuesday was the big day-the long awaited arrival of our three fluffy alpacas. It felt like Christmas morning, watching Art pull up the driveway with a giant white present holding our boys.

The boys were given a grand tour of their new pasture. We walked them around to show them their toilet, watering and feeding area, and shelter. Once released they seemed to be content with their new surroundings and were happy about all of the fresh grass. They even went over to the toilet together and pooped unanimously.




Lotta (their brave guardian) has been introduced slowly over the past couple of days. The alpacas scare the bejesus out of her. Mic is the most dominant and wants Lotta to know he is in charge. At this point I can't really see Lotta taking on a mountain lion, but I think Mic can take care of himself.



Here is a picture of poor Lotta trying to sneak around the pasture without disturbing Mic.

I have had fun trying to take pics of the alpacas. Here are their "head shots."

Mic

Remmy

Pablo

Our evenings have been spent sitting in the pasture, enjoying the funny sounds the alpacas make. It is even more interesting to watch all of our neighbors stop to talk to the boys. You would think we had giraffes in the front pasture with all of the slowing down and goggling these alpacas have caused.



In other news, the same Tuesday the alpacas arrived, Peanut was attacked by a fox in front of Glenn. Glenn managed to scare off the fox, but the fox got Peanut's tail and left her with some lacerations. My experience fixing up Ethel made this repair a bit easier. She will be on the mend for a few weeks, send her some good vibes if you can!

Spring is Here!

The weather is warm, the wildflowers are blooming, and my baby just started giving me little taps. I am a happy girl! Oliver and I have been making the most of this glorious Spring weather. We went to visit the goat kids and lambs that were recently born at Rinconada Dairy. We haven't yet picked out our kids as there are many more to be born by the end of the season.

Here is a picture of Oliver being mauled by the lambs.

The lambs in this part of the barn had lost their mothers and loved to suck on everything. (Photo credit: Oliver)

Here are a few of the adorable goat babies. The two boys below had the most friendly personalities.


Oliver and I have also been fishing, taking pictures of flowers and hiking with Grammy. Life is great!



You may have wondered, "Where is Glenn?" "Has he been enjoying this lovely Spring weather as well?"

Glenn and Pop have been out in the front pasture for the past couple of months installing a fence, putting in a water trough, and building a shelter. Yes, it has been difficult, back-breaking work. But, I'm sure both men are thanking their lucky stars for getting to spend so much quality time together. How many men get to spend hours upon hours with their father-in-law? Just look at the loving look Glenn is giving my dad as they hammer at the shelter.

(It is possible Glenn was making that face because Pop just stole the hammer from him and said something like, "Get out of my way, boy.")

Thank you Glenn and Pop for all of your hard work. The alpacas (who are being delivered this Tuesday) will appreciate their new home!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Hens

The chickens had one of their best Thanksgiving celebrations ever today. I went outside to investigate after hearing dancing and loud Mariachi music playing on the back deck.

All of the dancing helped work up strong appetites. The chickens dined on persimmons and sweet pumpkins for dessert.


Pepper even got a little drunk and tried to fight the cat.

Then back to the nesting box to relax and lay an egg. A perfect day!

I got this crazy idea that I could actually write a picture book. Then reality set in. I learned some interesting facts about the children's book industry. Apparently, celebrities use ghost writers. And editors receive more manuscripts in one day than they publish all year. There are also a few topics/styles to avoid: rhyming books, stories about anthropomorphic animals and stories about your pet. In conclusion, I have decided not to send my story to editors. I wrote a rhyming story about my pet-the horror! I spent so much time on it that I decided to publish it on my blog instead.

Oliver's Hen

Lou Ellen was sick; no one knew why.
She wobbled and struggled; she would not fly.

We gave her water, medicine and melon.
We’d do anything to help our Lou Ellen.

Oliver fed her and treated her with care.
Think he’d leave her side? Oliver wouldn’t dare.

Lou Ellen, she loved her Oliver, too,
Happy doing what he wanted to do.

Lou Ellen started to walk; she seemed to heal.
And she even began to finish each meal.

Daddy always liked Lou Ellen next to his feet,
A help in the garden, many bugs she could eat.

Oliver will remember one warm Saturday,
When he and his hen began to explore and play.

First, Lou Ellen listened to Oliver’s sweet song.
I’m sure on the inside she was singing along.

It is true that illness can be healed with a touch.
A massage from Oliver was enjoyed so much.

Then off to his trampoline to jump around.
Lou Ellen watched her friend, safely from the ground.

Next, Oliver and his hen hopped on his swing.
Just look at the bliss an old tire can bring.

They wandered around and climbed in a tree.
How much more wonderful could one day be?

Oliver said “Goodnight” to his fine hen,
Knowing what a perfect day it had been.

Something heartbreaking happened the very next morning,
It was something that happened without any warning.

Oliver found his hen covered in dirt.
It looked as though poor Lou Ellen was hurt.

He ran to check her, her feet in the air.
He called out “LOU ELLEN,” but she wasn’t there.

Oliver comforted, “Mommy, don’t cry.”
“I love her the same. I know that inside.”

So grandpa came to help dig a small hole,
And he laid to rest her beautiful soul.

Oliver cut flowers to cover her grave.
At three years old, he was amazingly brave.

Most chickens, you know, live their lives in a coop,
And some even end up in vegetable soup.

There was one exception; it was Oliver’s pet.
Her three weeks in our garden, we’ll never forget.

Lou Ellen’s short life was one filled with joy.
How many chickens are loved by a boy?

Camping, Chickens, CCD, Coop Changes, and a Snake

My creativity has been completely sucked dry lately by another small project, so I'm going to make this another boring old update post.

1. Ethel
Ethel is doing great and has finally moved back in with the other chickens. She is so happy to be back with her friends. You can see the wound on her left thigh is healing still. It gets smaller every day.


2. Bees
Our hives have been doing well, too. We opened the hives to taste the difference in the honey flavor. Our first hive produces a much sweeter honey. The bees are not actually strong enough for us to rob large amounts honey from them. We are looking forward to next summer, when we can bottle some.


This pretty lady fell into the sugar water. She looked just like a cat, cleaning the sticky water off her body.


3. Chicken Coop Renovation
Glenn and my dad opened up and enlarged the coop. Glenn made this cool before and after picture so you can see the changes.




4. We spent a wonderful weekend in the Sierra Nevada Mountains camping a couple of weekends ago. Here are three of my favorite shots from the trip. The adorable boy is my nephew, Reid.



5. CCD is Here! :(
Our neighbors recently lost their hive to (what we think is) Colony Collapse Disorder. One day the bees were a healthy, active group, the next every bee was gone. Being the annoying bee lady that I am, I asked if I could photograph the empty hive. It was really strange, no bees, no honey, no nothing. It was as if the contents had been suctioned out. Beekeepers, do you think this is really CCD?


6. Aracauna Chick
Our friends gave us five Aracauna eggs to put under our broody hen. Only one hatched-isn't she cute? She is now a couple of months old.


7. And a Rattlesnake for Good Measure
Sorry, I didn't want to do this, but I can't help myself. We met this friendly guy on our hike this evening. I promise not to publish a picture of the next rattlesnake I find. I'm done, I swear.