Tag Archives: angora goats
Goodbye and Hello
I’m sad to say that we weren’t able to pull Ely back from his illness and had to have him put down last week. Our farm animals are pets, so while it is not as devastating a loss as when … Continue reading
My Goat Sweater
I finished my sweater with the picture of Eddy and Ely on the front! It is very soft and fuzzy, as well as pretty heavy. Of course, it is made from the boys’ mohair, mostly from year two. I plan … Continue reading
A Labor of Love
Farm animals can be a messy, dirty chore and you have to love them to keep up with it. My goats require attention once a month for their worm and lice prevention meds and hoof trimming. I read something recently … Continue reading
Spinning Marathon
I have made it my goal to convert my many bins of combed mohair into yarn before the end of summer. This is quite time-consuming but satisfying as I see the piles go down and the skeins of fresh yarn … Continue reading
What’s New?
In a nutshell, we took an exciting vacation to Ireland and Denmark, came home to springtime sprung, a bout of viruses, and a gigantic backlog of repairs and out-of-control farm chores. I am happy to say that a month and … Continue reading
Shearing Day, 2018
It’s that time again, and I hardly slept last night anticipating the challenge of shearing the goats. I planned ahead and got my electric shearing machine repaired last week, then stayed up into the wee hours of the morning watching … Continue reading
Field Day
Hooray, it’s that time of year again! Time to burn the prairie and mow down the old dry grass to open up the way for new green shoots to feel the spring sunshine. We divide up our prairie fields into … Continue reading
New Breakfast Spot
Eddy and Ely are the best of friends who can’t abide being apart and will tell me so with frantic “Baaaaa-ing” when I pull one into the barn for maintenance. Still, when it comes to breakfast time, Eddy rudely shoves … Continue reading
Rabbits, Rabbits, Everywhere!
The bunny population has really exploded around here this summer. All I can guess is that the roaming coyotes have not gotten hungry enough to come onto the farm looking for dinner. There are little babies everywhere we turn, and … Continue reading
How to Feed Goats
I am a trial-and-error farmer who reads up on the wisdom of the internet and takes my best guess on which advice to heed. When we prepared to adopt our two angora goat last fall, we set aside a nice … Continue reading
Sunny Spring Day on the Farm
We had such a nice day this week with warm weather and sunshine. The animals were all feeling frisky and friendly to “the staff.” Cooper, my rooster, kept following me around and clucking for my attention wherever I was doing … Continue reading
First Professional Shearing
So much new here, where do I start? Last week, we took Eddy and Ely to an alpaca farm to share the services of a professional shearer. They are now so skinny and small! Here are some pictures from that … Continue reading
The Time Between
This is that dull time between seasons, when the winter has become boring and routine and the spring’s repeated teasing and retreating is already getting old. My animals are feeling the same way, I think. The goats are impatient for … Continue reading
Signs of Spring 2017
We are having an early thaw and it’s fun to see all the harbingers of spring around the farm. We met this little guy in the driveway this morning and the dogs were thrilled. He “played possum” and waddled away as … Continue reading
My Poor Ely
Yesterday, I was mystified when I checked on the goats for the night because Ely kept his head down even when I reached out to scratch his head. It was raining and cold and I had things to do so … Continue reading
Spring Teaser
We are in a temporary thaw, with furious winds last night shaking the house and helping to evaporate off some of the excess moisture. The animals are taking this as a sign of spring and everyone is frisky. I opened the door … Continue reading