Adorable Kids (Baby Goats)

Remember the goats we cared for when we were up north a while back?
Here are pics of a couple kids.

Up North Adventures: The Sugar Shack, Cabin and Outhouse

The sugar shack, where they make maple syrup, and the cabin.

The outhouse near the cabin.


I wanted to share these photos from up north.
Nothing interesting happened near or in these buildings, I just like how they look.
The Sugar Shack came supplied with everything needed to make maple syrup.
The cabin is rustic and cozy.

Up North Adventures: The Shoe Tree

The Shoe Tree

We came home today! Yayee!

We had everything packed, were in the car and ready to head home when my youngest told me that he figured out how the chickens had escaped. Of course we had to stop and fix the problem. We were a little late for BWAY dinner, but not too late.

He went inside the coop and rearranged some rocks to prevent the girls from pushing the bottom of the fence to create an opening.

On our way home there is a tree with shoes all over it. It is a surprising sight!
It is sort of a landmark for us, but usually we just laugh and wonder about the story behind the tree and each pair of shoes. Today I stopped to take a few pics. Enjoy!

Note: Click on the photo to enlarge the image.

Up North Adventures: The Chicken Chase

The boyz are chasing chickens to put them back in their home.

One down and one to go.

The girls are safe and sound.

Three chickens were roaming around the yard when we came back from a trip into town. We keep them in a chicken house and run for their own safety. The first chicken preferred going into her home rather than be chased by a couple boys. The boyz had great fun chasing the other two around the yard.

Up North Adventures: Easter Photos

This goat jumped right into his hay bin when we fed them Easter morning. Haha!

I hid eggs both inside and out the house and the boyz found them. This year I did not create a scavenger hunt but I also did not make it easy on them.
I took photos for visual clues when they were stumped. I must confess that my original intent for taking the photos was to find them if they didn't. No one likes rotten eggs laying around...and as an added bonus I can use them here!
We also made Resurrection Eggs, but I forgot to take pics.


Mending pile egg

Flower pot egg

Birch bark egg

Tree stump egg

Fence post egg. Look hard. It is blue.

Saddle egg

I thought this would be one of the easier eggs to find since it was right out there in the open. I was wrong. It was one of the most difficult,and enjoyable for me. The boys walked around this boat many times, they appeared to look directly at the egg and even got in the boat several times. The hot/cold game eventually helped them find it.

Boyz looking for the egg on the boat and saddle.

Clothesline egg

Oh yeah!

Ummm, that's going to be hard to reach

Victory!

These two pics were not planned...
Are they brothers? Or what?

An axe in one hand and and an Easter basket in the other...that's up north living. Haha.


Finding eggs and swinging.

Up North Adventures: Monsters Vs Aliens And Easter Shopping At Wal-mart

The boyz and I took the hour long drive to the closest Wal-Mart and movie theater.

At Wal-mart we picked up a couple chocolate bunnies, egg dye and Reeses eggs for me. The boyz decided they wanted fried chicken for Easter dinner, since it is just us I did not object, so we also picked up chicken legs and thighs. (No, we did not drive an hour for just a handful of items, we were wise and did our shopping for the week also...but you don't want to read about every item we purchased do you?)

We talked about the fact that Zachary’s allergies prevent him from having a candy filled Easter basket and what alternatives they would enjoy instead. They thought a movie would be a great replacement.

We decided that we would like to see either the new Hannah Montana movie or 17 Again. When we learned that 17 Again is not out yet so we set out to watch Hannah Montana the movie.

When we arrived at the theater “B” realized that he did not want to be the only boy (plus his brother, but that doesn't count) in a theater full of young girls. I tried to encourage him to be a rebel and go anyway because he knew he would like it. We went to Monsters VS Aliens instead.

Monsters VS Aliens was cute but not nearly as good as the Pixar films we are used to. We enjoyed it but think it deserved a “dvd” rating, which means we would have preferred saving our pennies and renting this one when it comes out on dvd.

Up North Adventures: Collecting Pine Cones For Fire Starters

While walking the property during our chores we noticed pretty pine cones laying around. I had read somewhere that they make great kindling for starting a fire. Since the home we are staying in is heated by burning wood only I decided that I wanted to learn how well they really work. We grabbed the egg collecting baskets they have around and went hunting.

We discovered several shapes and sizes of pine cones.

I learned that the biggest pine cones with lots of space between the scales (you know, the spiky things that make up the cone) are the best for starting a fire. It could be used in place of paper or wood shavings.

The teeny tiny ones you see in the basket are great at any point in the process. They light easily and burn for a while, especially considering their small size.

The long skinny pine cones that have the scales closed up on one another are great once you have a bit of flame. You could use these the way you use narrow branches to get the bigger pieces going.

We also had the idea (from a magazine) thay we could gather these pine cones, tie several together with a pretty natural string (rafia?) and give as gifts or sell.

Come back tomorrow to see photos of a beautiful tree we found while pine cone hunting.

Up North Adventures: The Pretty Barn and Outhouse

I really like this picture of the boyz
walking ahead of me toward the big barn...



but you can't see how pretty the barn is the way you can in this picture.
Did you spot the cute little outhouse next to the barn?
I think they are quite clever for using clear roofing so it is not dark in there.



Isn't this little outhouse adorable
with the little brick path leading up to the door?
It almost makes me want to go in there...
almost.



Yesterday was a beautiful day! The weather was perfect for working outdoors.

We emptied, washed and refilled all of the animals water dishes, which was quite a chore! Many of the water dishes are actually half barrels with giant chunks of ice which were finally melting to a size and texture that could be chipped at with a hammer until they were small enough so lift out (actually light enough).

Also the water source is near the house which means we brought the barrels and buckets from the barns to the house, washed and filled them then carried them back down to the barns...plus more buckets of water because some were to heavy to carry filled.

The owners advised us that it is much easier to carry water when loading the buckets into a sled and pulling the sled, but we still had to carry the buckets from the water source to the sled and then from the sled to the stalls and watering areas.

I must really be wimping out in my old age (old-ish age?) because I am super tired today.

Up North Adventures: That Crazy Goat!

The beautiful stream I told you about yesterday is directly behind this barn. The naughty goat I am speaking of is the large black and white one standing near the white barrel on the right side of the barn. The skittish little black and white goat is standing in the doorway of the barn.

"B" went to do the morning chores by himself. "Z" and I decided we would come along after we had done the dishes. We had not finished yet when "B" came back to tell us that the two goats had escaped and were trying to butt him.

We all headed down to the barn to attempt to round those little stinkers up. The big one was standing up on the stalls eating the other goats hay…you know the grass is greener on the other side was in action at that moment.

"B" brought down a bale of hay and that goat immediately started eating it. We fed and watered the other goats in their stalls then tried to get her to follow us down to her barn but she just ran around. The other little goat that escaped is very skittish and ran away anytime we came near it.

We went to the other barn to retrieve a leash, went back to the barn where she was (but wasn’t supposed to be), I hooked it around her collar and she happily walked back to her barn with us. Silly goat.

Later in the day when we went out for the evening chores we found her back in the big barn (where she does not belong). Again we fed and watered the animals and she stood up eating the other goats hay, but this time she walked by my side back to her own barn and the skittish one followed a safe distance behind.

It was snowing a bit and we wanted to be sure to totally fill all their water buckets. While we were filling buckets with water to carry down to the big barn, who comes strolling up the driveway? Yep. You guessed it! It was that silly goat! She came right up to us and got all the dogs riled up and barking.

She happily followed us back down to finish watering the animals and we put her back in her barn then went home to fix dinner.

I wonder if we will find her back in the big barn in the morning...or if she stayed in her barn like a good little goat.

I know you are anxious to know what we had for supper. We had turkey burger nachos for dinner and chocolate chip cookie bars for desert. Yum! “Z” raved that these were the best nachos he has ever had. If “Z” likes it then it must be pretty good. You can learn how we made these at The Recipe Box.

Up North Adventures: The Beautiful Stream

The kids have talked about this stream and how beautiful it is. After a bit of frustration from chasing an escaped goat around the yard, getting her settled in her pen only to see her running up to us as we reached the house they suggested we take a break and admire the stream. I am thankful I agreed. It’s beauty is stunning and left us feeling refreshed and ready to carry on with the rest of our chores.

These pictures cannot come close to representing how this stream looks in reality.

This beautiful stream weaves in and out of trees and runs to and fro throughout the property. At this point it is in a bit of a valley and the view from the top of the ravine is stunning. It does not photograph well from there so you will just have to take my word for it.



It also has two islands dividing it in half. You can see the split in the islands behind the boyz in this photo. It is really neat to see the water flow around, meet in the middle and then flow back around it again.

On the far side of the stream is an active spring. There are many springs on this property. This property also has many rocks. The previous owner used those rocks to create mini wells around the many springs. It is pretty neat to see, but they are quite deep so you want to be cautious that you do not fall in. The children are not allowed to play near any of them just to be safe, especially since they are all full of water!

He was also quite smart to install many ditches and drainage pipes to keep the water flowing in the streams and ponds rather than settling wherever it pleases, which keeps this potentially wet and soggy land comfy and dry.

Up North Adventures: A Wall-Licking Goat

A "wall-licking" goat.

We have never cared for goats before. They are interesting creatures. Several are very friendly and loving, others are skittish or want to butt when you have your back turned.

Part of our routine when feeding and watering the animals is to observe them. We watch the way they move about and look for signs of illness or injury or anything unusual to keep an eye on.

Usually the goats are interested in us and want attention and like to nibble the fresh hay, but yesterday morning the little pregnant goat was licking the wall and ignoring us and her food. I texted her owner but she did not get my message (probably because they are in a condo that overlooks the ocean).

When we went back in the afternoon, she was still licking the stall, but it appeared that she had worked her way around from the side wall to the back wall. I texted her owner to inquire again as to what to do with her, and sent a picture because she looked so funny with her back to me and her nose stuck to the wall.

By the time I got back to the house she had texted back that I should check that she has a salt lick. We immediately went to the barn and found it. As soon as she saw it she practically ran and stuck her head in the bucket. Her pen mate also hurried to stick her head in the bucket. They were still licking it when we left.

Goats behaving normally.

They must have had their fill of minerals because they were back to their old selves when we gave them their evening hay.

Our Up North Adventure

A curious, friendly goat.
We will be spending the next two weeks house sitting and caring for my friends many animals. She has Chihuahuas, Great Danes, Olde English Bull Dogges, several different kinds of goats (some of which are pregnant) and chickens. We brought our dogs with us too, since they are too short to let themselves out while we are gone. Just kidding.

The goats get food and water in the morning and evening, the dogs get their food and water in the afternoon. We are sure to say hi to every animal when we are caring for the others and make sure no one needs anything.

The first day was great but I got a bad flu the second day and could not even get out of bed. Fortunately we had come a few days early so we would be comfortable when the family left and “B” had been paying close attention while we were doing the chores. When he realized how sick I was he took initiative and notified me each time he headed out to care for the animals. He even spent extra time just observing a pregnant goat and called the owner to get instructions when he felt she was behaving oddly. It turns out that the goat was nesting, which is normal for a pregnant animal.


A "goats nest" created by the "nesting goat".
The following day “B” got sick and that evening “Z” became ill too. I was able to get out of bed so “Z” helped me with the chores early in the day and we rested up in between chore times. We were all too sick to eat so cooking was not an issue.

Today I feel much better, and by the afternoon “B” was able to get out and help me with the evening chores. "Z" began to feel a little better around bedtime.

We also went to the store to get milk, cereal and juice. Our tummies are too weak to eat the food we brought with us.

Check back soon to read about more of our up north adventures.