So many things are underway here, it is just incredible!

Yesterday I signed paperwork authorizing the creation of a road and barnsite on our new homestead. We are also in the final stages of negotiating the barn contract, which should be erected sometime in February.

I start my new job Saturday, and am excited to work in such a friendly, supportive atmosphere as this hospital seems it will be. I am also working with 2 of my friends from residency, an added bonus.

Thumbelina the goat queen was bred November 29-30, due April 24-May 4. I kept her on water with cider vinegar added to it for the 3 weeks prior to being bred, as some say this produces a larger percentage of female offspring. My husband scoffed at this non-scientific claim, but I was persistent, as I really want more doelings sired by Mardi. I am also anticipating the addition of another unrelated doe and buck to the goat herd this summer, and am happily perusing Nigerian breeders' websites choosing just which offspring I might get.  I don't feel very knowledgeable about goats, but want to breed and own goats with loving dispositions, decent milk production, high butterfat, easily milked udders, and sound conformations.

Of course, I am excited about the accidental lambs due in mid-May. Zorro and Sam did not mix with the girls, but Taggerty, Cormo and Clyde did. IF the lambs are gulmoget, (and not out of Polly, Doodle or Astoria) I will know they are Clyde's. If they are white (and not out of Holly) I will know they are Cormo's.  All 3 possible sires are able to produce brown, spotted offspring, while Clyde and Cormo could throw unspotted lambs, and Cormo and Taggerty could throw modified or black shades as well. Although we noted 9 ewes with ruffled rump fleece, I will not really know who settled until they start showing, so am planning to shear in late March or early April so I can keep a close watch on bellies, udders and vulvas.  I am quite certain Gwen, Vixen and Madge are bred, less sure of the other 6 girls.

I am also excited about getting some Great Pyrenees as livestock guardian dogs. The ones I have lined up are staying at their current owner's home until our new barn is built and we can keep the sheep/goats/dogs together and spend time with all of them. I had hoped to have another year before introducing puppies to lambs, but will just have to let the accidental lambs be the new dogs' first real job.

We also have lots of plans and daydreams about how to remodel the '62 ranch-style house in which we currently reside. Plans include adding a second garage bay; converting the small half bath in the basement to a laundry room, and adding a master suite in the basement; converting the 2 tiny upstairs baths into a nice, larger shared bath; updating the fireplaces; completely renovating the kitchen; de-paneling the dining room and refinishing all the hardwood floors. Robert also plans to update the wiring, insulation, windows and doors bringing the structure up to modern day standards of safety and energy efficiency.

Monday morning we received a phone call from the sheep-sitter. Rich wanted to let us know that the rams had bashed open 2 gates and were impregnating as many ewes as possible.

We drove back to West Plains Monday afternoon, and spent Tuesday morning repairing the gates, reinforcing the damaged gate in the rams' pen and separating the rams from the ewes again. At least 9 ewes have the "ruffled-rump" look, and their estimated date of confinement is May 10-22 if my math is correct.

I guess they will be my Christmas II presents from those  darned rams.

Bless their hearts.

Merry Christmas to you all, and to all a good night!!

Yesterday I worked my last shift at my part-time job, and napped before I drove 125 miles home again, through many winding curves and hilly one-lane sections of country roads. Then napped more after I made it home. And plan to nap more today. I hate strongly dislike working rotating shifts. Enough that I would work all night shifts at the new job if several someone-elses hadn't thought of that already and beaten me to it. 

I hope to get catch-up chores done at the barn this afternoon, possibly with enough daylight left to get pictures of this years keeper-lambs to add to my webpages.

Almost everything in the house and garage is packed in boxes, we sat on the floor to watch TV during our meals yesterday (no top on the coffee-table, and where else would we put our plates?). Tomorrow we load all boxes and furniture into the moving van/truck. Tuesday we clean the house and drive to Hannibal, about 275 miles from the West Plains home we live in for 1 more night. Wednesday we unload the moving truck. Thursday we get phone/cable/internet access at our new home and show the "road guy" where to put the road to the barn.

I have a dear, kind man to look after my sheep/goats/cats for the next few weeks. He is smart, gentle and I would trust him with my own life, certainly that of my sheepies. I will miss the sheepy girls. I don't interact with the rams much at this time of year, but yesterday Zorro and Clyde were hanging out together like true friends, so endearing. Apparently none of the girls were in heat, since none were at the fence, calling the ovine equivalent of "Hey Sailor! I'm drunk, can you give me a ride home?"  On those days, the rams just hang out near the fence, ogling the girl(s) in heat. Well, they also bash the gate nearest the girl in heat.

We have made real progress on the barn. In addition to finding someone to build a road to the barnsite and level the barnsite, we found an affordable barn company. Our new barn will have a metal skin and wooden interior instead of  the metal internal structural support of a Morton barn, and it will cost half as much as a Morton barn. Unsurprisingly, the 2000 sq. ft. barn with 1000 sq ft of "porch" along the sides turned into a 2400 sq. ft barn with 1200 sq ft of porch. Gee, I thought 2k sq ft was generous, but with animal collectors like myself and my darling husband, it is probably best to get the largest barn we can realistically afford. (Have I mentioned he likes poultry? and is interested in Dexter cattle? and fallow deer? And wants to have a meat locker on farm? And I want a cheese cave, and certainly haven't forgotten about getting some Satin Angora rabbits. And we want space to house all the animals in one place through the winter, to simplify winter chores. And space to store a 2 years supply of hay for all those critters.) The new barn will have a raised center aisle with a 7'Hx16'Wx60'L hayloft, and a 3'x60' strip of translucent siding along the northern wall to let in lots of natural light. Someday we will add a concrete floor, plumbing and wiring but this winter we will have a roomy barn for the animals we are overwintering.

Maybe I can squeeze in another nap before I tackle today.

Yesterday, we closed the sale of our new home in Hannibal, MO. We are now the owners of a 1962 ranch style home with an unfinished basement, the original bathrooms and most of the original kitchen, as well as newer carpeting over the original hardwood floors.  We plan to update the home with our spare time and money, which will be more plentiful after we sell our home in West Plains. We plan to move, with the rabbits, on or about December 15th.

Our farmland is now clear of its corn harvest, hooray!!! I was so worried that the tenant farmer would not be able to harvest before the crop rotted in the field.  I am so very happy for him, and us!! Now we can see to pick the site for our new barn, arrange to have a road built to the barnsite, and arrange to have a barn built, and water and electric lines laid. After all that, we will move the sheep/goats/cats/dogs to their new home. We plan to build a barn of ~2000 sq. ft, and house the animals inside, adding corral and pasture fencing as finances will allow.

This week I will work my last 3 shifts at my current full-time job, and next week finish my part-time job. It would have been more convenient to quit my part-time job sooner, but the extra money will be worth it, I think.

Today I will meet with our prospective sheepsitter and show him our livestock and operation. If he agrees to care for our stock until they can be moved, it will take a huge worry off my mind.