tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48404130301966004342011-07-08T00:13:46.530-07:00A blog tracing one family's journey of turning 12.1 acres of rural land in South Carolina into a working farm, with everything from dairy goats to pigs and turkeys. They started this adventure with no hands-on experience, vowing that what one man can do, another can do.deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.comBlogger801100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-5494269595294142482010-08-28T13:51:00.000-07:002010-08-28T13:59:48.473-07:00

Nursing school has kept me crazy busy (did I mention I graduate in 97 days 18 hours 2 minutes and 23 seconds?), and I haven't thought about my farm blog in ages, but last night while at an MUSC back to school party bumped into a funny girl with cookies in her purse who writes a blog about cooking in Charleston and I mentioned I had a nursing blog and a farm blog then typed the addresses into her

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-62242179829920525672009-04-20T17:28:00.001-07:002009-04-20T18:30:02.744-07:00

Well. It has been a loooooooooong time since I've posted on here. This is mostly intentional. I find it just too painful to deal with anything regarding the old farm, chickens, and especially goats. Honestly, I never intended to post again or probably even look at my blog, and probably wouldn't have if I didn't finally have something to say. I have had a surprising number of supportive emails and

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-77746384728886917342008-06-04T13:01:00.000-07:002008-06-04T13:29:53.853-07:00

Well, the new digital camera finally came so I can post some belated pictures of the aftereffects of what the goats suffered.Here is a picture of Sable, bent neck and all. Her neck is permanently bent in this position. Its still pretty scabby and scaly looking. She was doing much better until a couple weeks ago when all of a sudden she couldn't walk again. I suspect Lucy head butted her and

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-53570733230186474322008-05-21T17:45:00.000-07:002008-05-21T19:00:05.719-07:00

First let me just say that I am so touched by the outpouring of love and encouragement in response to my last post. Wow. You guys are amazing!As to the suggestion to get a livestock guardian dog, llama, or donkey: that will not be necessary. Because we are giving up the goat business. But don't freak out yet! I love my goats, as is pretty obvious to anybody who has eyes. They're a blast to have.

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-82812252621522499962008-05-13T17:36:00.000-07:002008-05-13T17:56:23.247-07:00

Heres the thing: my farm got massacred by dogs two weeks ago while I was at work. They killed and mauled the goats, killed one of my chickens (the rest must have hid in the coop or something), they even killed our cat Ambrose! I came home to a battlefield scattered with bleeding and dying animals, with the occasional corpse to add flair. It was horrible. It completely devastated me. The worst

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-78600664342881185612008-04-17T16:15:00.000-07:002008-04-17T17:32:09.248-07:00

It's been a LONG time since I've posted. I have good reasons, I assure you. I've been in a bit of a slump, which according to Dr. Seuss is not a nice place to be. And I'll vouch for that. Sad things have happened and I just really don't even want to discuss them. For the first time I've experienced how a farm blog could be a negative thing, when you just really don't feel like sharing bad things

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-14701021610910608272008-03-27T15:20:00.000-07:002008-03-28T18:31:02.536-07:00

Ayden and I did something a little different yesterday. We made a house for our new bumper crop of home-grown chicken food: mealworms! Dirty nasty little creatures whom I refuse to pick up with my bare hands. Yes, the pretense of farmer is probably blown with that one unfortunate admission. Good thing she didn't put THAT in the newspaper article! As you can see, I even made my child hold the

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-12874596542221310642008-03-26T22:29:00.000-07:002008-03-27T10:46:20.341-07:00

So the newspaper article came out. She misspelled my name, but what are you going to do. Everybody does. Even when I ask them 3 times if they for sure wrote it down correctly. Oh, well. I scanned it and here it is below (click to enlarge).Everybody at the library was abuzz with the news, and word even managed to reach Dustin's work in Charleston. Apparently one lady he works with lives in

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-24539783428391661112008-03-21T14:44:00.000-07:002008-03-21T15:24:29.089-07:00

Well, as famous as one can get from being featured in the Walterboro newspaper, The Press & Standard.It all started when I attended a Growing New Farmer's meeting yesterday sponsored by Clemson University. They had an unbelievable turnout, having to scrounge up extra tables and chairs for the latecomers. The first thing on the agenda was to go around the room and introduce ourselves and say what

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-59713937178830055392008-03-19T18:17:00.000-07:002008-03-19T18:18:15.114-07:00

Sorry it took me so long to post, but I have a final head count for my first incubation hatch: 27. Thats out of 40 fertile eggs, which gives me a 67.5% hatch rate, and 70% is considered successful. One one hand the low hatch rate bothers me, makes me feel like a little bit of a failure, but on the other hand, considering what these poor eggs went through during our first incubation attempt, I'm

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-85337149068016196202008-03-15T19:10:00.000-07:002008-03-15T19:48:44.397-07:00

When I woke up this morning and saw no chicks wandering around the incubator I was a bit surprised given the amount of chirping we were hearing all last night. Upon closer inspection, though, it was plain to see that there were little tiny pips (cracked holes) in about 5 of the eggs, and bit of chirping was still happening. I got online to try to find out how long it takes a chick to hatch, and

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-78499581303759312082008-03-14T19:29:00.001-07:002008-03-14T19:47:29.282-07:00

I was sitting here playing on the computer and talking to Dustin about something when we both heard a little birdie chirping. I'd been hearing it off and on for the last hour or so but attributed it to a bird outside the window next to me. Looking at it now I see that the window is not even open. Ha ha!Anyway, Dustin and I heard it again and it seemed really strange since it was dark outside by

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-2175820321104632512008-03-13T07:56:00.000-07:002008-03-13T09:35:33.456-07:00

So something really pretty fantastic has been going on for 18 days and I have yet to breathe a word about it on my farm blog. I have been remiss in reporting our farmy activities and for that I am sorry. But, on the other hand I spared everyone 18 days of waiting on pins and needles (because I just know you are consumed by things we do here). You see, I bought an incubator and put 45 of my girls'

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-76440624546974637452008-03-09T13:34:00.001-07:002008-03-12T10:40:41.579-07:00

We finally got around to building the buck pen this week. Finally. I've literally been losing sleep about it, lying in bed at night with my heart racing thinking about how I've been dropping the ball on separating the boys from the girls. I got away with it for a long time because all the girls were pregnant, but as we all know, thats no longer the case. Right before Harmony kidded (almost 6

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-88105835589512754342008-03-08T11:58:00.000-08:002008-03-08T12:11:07.997-08:00

And I can prove it. I went out to give Tiny her mid-day bottle just now and found everybody passed out in the barn. I had taken them for a field-trip to our empty lot next door full of bushes and green stuff and it must have taken more out of them then I thought. By the way, I'm proud to announce that Tiny, Sable, and Gypsy, the youngest of the bunch, were happily eating newly sprouted green

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-79841518230500386412008-03-07T15:41:00.000-08:002008-03-07T17:06:24.568-08:00

Ok, my husband found this cartoon and it just cracks me up and I had to put it on here for all my fellow bloggers to read. (One of the characters is even a goat!) Click on it to blow it up to full size.

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-87064568105271755022008-03-06T15:25:00.000-08:002008-03-06T18:03:55.412-08:00

Well, it's been a while since I've posted and all these interesting photos are just piling up on me so I'm going to blog the equivalent of a "leftover's night" when you go through your fridge and everybody has to eat leftovers for dinner. ;)First. I noticed Sahara was shedding cashmere (yes, the oober expensive stuff sweaters are made out of) like mad so I went and bought her a brush and

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-91656192678025185602008-02-27T13:58:00.000-08:002008-02-27T14:13:38.018-08:00

My friend Alicia brought her two girls, ages 3 1/2 and 18 months, down to stay with us this weekend to have the whole "farm" experience. She was a trooper about the chicken poop on the back porch (I still don't understand the evening appeal for all 16 chickens convalescing there), her 18 month old eating a goat berry, and even the Bad Rooster attacking the girls. Did I ever mention that he does

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-13618059410821517672008-02-26T18:01:00.000-08:002008-02-27T04:40:11.143-08:00

When I was told I was allowed to leave a personal story on the Gypsy's Dream blog, I was first stunned and then frightened at the prospect of appearing before so many of her fans. She has led you through the journey she and I take on a day to day basis without one iota removed, and it is not often that a story exists without her presence. But, here I am with a short tale that happened while Venus

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-67955071526104931962008-02-20T19:29:00.000-08:002008-02-20T19:34:41.750-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted a blog. There are a few reasons for this. One is that I have been freakishly busy with all my new goat responsibilities. You would not believe how much longer my chores take me now that I have bottle babies! It went from taking 10 minutes in the mornings before work to feed and water the goats to 45 minutes to an hour by the time I wash all my milking stuff and

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-56286223834411902062008-02-13T11:39:00.001-08:002008-02-13T11:57:29.543-08:00

I finally got to spend some time with the babies this afternoon. I got off work a little early so after eating some lunch and warming some bottles, I headed out to the goat barn. The three girls managed to drink two full 20 oz bottles! Wow. At this point they are already drinking every drop that Tierra is giving me each milking, and the milk I stockpiled the first two days is rapidly disappearing

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-2930260213245609792008-02-12T21:43:00.000-08:002008-02-12T18:44:14.964-08:00

So. Tierra has decided to up and take an interest. I didn't know if maybe it was a fluke this morning when she did it, but when she again came into the stall while I was bottle feeding her girls tonight, I paid attention. She came right in like she had every right in the world, and was licking their butts and fussing over them like she'd never purposefully forgotten their existence. I mean, she

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-36093600488089226052008-02-12T13:20:00.000-08:002008-02-12T14:25:59.035-08:00

Its been a rocky few days here at Gypsy's Dream Farm. Within and hour after Tierra gave birth on Saturday, I was able to get three of her four babies, the girls, to nurse from her at least a little bit. They were not great at it, but neither were Mumble and Poe (by the way, that is Harmony's doeling's new name) so I didn't worry about it too much. Tierra's little buckling would not nurse and

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-33526347053018614312008-02-10T15:28:00.000-08:002008-02-10T13:05:32.550-08:00

It finally happened! Tierra did finally decide to have herself some babies, and even at a time when not only I could be there to help, but my mom also, and Dustin to act as photographer for the grand event. I was correct yesterday when I thought she was in early labor, because at about 1:20 when Mom went to check on her, she shouted from the goat barn, "I think a baby's about to come!" I grabbed

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-6595103392722991282008-02-09T11:29:00.000-08:002008-02-09T08:05:34.536-08:00

So you guys have probably been expecting a post from me for days now announcing the arrival of Tierra's little ones. Well, lets just say that a whole lot of "expecting" has been going on here since her due date came and went FIVE days ago, but so far not a single thing to show for it. My mother stayed the night here last night to be on goat watch duty for me (God bless her, I haven't had a full

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-8806136999246467842008-02-05T20:34:00.000-08:002008-02-05T17:58:23.466-08:00

Today is Tierra's due date and still no babies. At this point I am still sleeping with the monitor on and now getting up in the middle of the night and traipsing out to the barn to check on her. Lets hope it will happen tonight so I can be put out of my misery!I have not had much time to spend with Harmony's new babies, as Ayden has been sick all weekend and now of course Dustin and I have it.

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-18625480581414112342008-02-02T20:07:00.000-08:002008-02-02T17:15:24.875-08:00

We had some excitement today with Louie. My theory is that he was tired of all the fuss over Harmony and the babies and was not going to be outdone. So he went and got himself entangled in some blackberry brambles. And when I say entangled, I mean ENTANGLED. I was headed out the back door to take some scraps to the chickens and I heard an ungodly crying coming from the back pasture and could

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-70740128658626585122008-02-02T11:36:00.000-08:002008-02-02T09:57:32.591-08:00

These are a couple video's I took of the kids playing with mom this morning. It was the first time they've been out of the kidding stall, and Harmony was looking a little restless so I thought I'd let her out for a bit while everybody else was locked back in the pasture. Both my mom and I stood sentinel to keep them away from the water trough and the electric fencing. Even though its pretty warm

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-3378109988993012272008-02-01T23:06:00.000-08:002008-02-01T20:08:03.081-08:00

I thought the babies might be cold tonight so I made them sweaters. :)

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-90432430872238145522008-02-01T21:59:00.000-08:002008-02-01T18:14:19.255-08:00

Yay!So. This morning at 5 a.m. I woke up to Dustin saying, "Kayte! What is that?" I took the cotton balls out of my ears and heard very distinctive sqeals that sounded like they came from the itty bittiest babies in the world coming from the baby monitor. I said, "OH MY GOODNESS! DID SHE HAVE THEM?!!" I flew out of bed and took just enough time to pull on my sasquatch suit over my underwear,

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-22598331174919869632008-01-31T20:55:00.000-08:002008-01-31T17:49:39.180-08:00

Well, apparently I've been tagged, and now I have to post 7 things my readers may not know about me. Hmmm. Here goes. 1. For those of you who've seen the movie Tombstone, you know the villain who in the opening scene kills the bride and groom as they leave the chapel? His name is Curly Bill Brosius. And I am related to him. My mother's maiden name is actually Brosius. My

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-87173656460835131122008-01-30T22:04:00.000-08:002008-01-30T19:09:56.728-08:00

If I have to listen to this all night, then you guys can at least hear it once so you can properly sympathize. This is a video I took 5 minutes ago of the baby monitor I've been sleeping with for 5 nights now awaiting notification of some goat babies. The rhythmic crunching is Tierra chewing her cud in the OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE BARN! It is punctuated with miserable little moans, also coming from

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-459143653598832282008-01-30T21:48:00.000-08:002008-01-30T18:50:52.624-08:00

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-26522723161931785372008-01-30T19:10:00.000-08:002008-01-30T16:28:02.760-08:00

This is Jacqui. Jacqui is my mother-in-law. There is a decent chance that I may hate her by the end of the week.You see, Harmony's due date came and went yesterday, to no avail. No goo, no vanishing of the ligaments, no pawing at the ground, no baby talking; in other words, no babies. :( Today I had to work in Summerville, about an hour away, doing massage at a chiropractor's office. I was so

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-45855225975950781452008-01-27T16:34:00.000-08:002008-01-27T13:42:44.708-08:00

Poor Tierra. So pregnant she's taken to leaning on trees, and she still has a week and a half to go! She's so big she's even putting my huge pregnant belly with Ayden to shame! I guess I was only carrying a 7 lb baby boy, not twins, triplets, or even quadruplets! Anybody care to make a stab at how many kids she's got in there?I'll post a before and after picture of her to give you the full

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-9565939922766677362008-01-25T22:37:00.000-08:002008-01-30T16:28:32.227-08:00

Well, lots of exciting stuff is happening here on the farm. First and foremost, of course, I have the two does that are due to kid soon. Harmony is most likely going to kid sometime in the next few days *me biting my nails*, and Tierra is due on February 5th, only about a week and a half from now. I got my husband to pick me up a used baby monitor at the consignment shop in Charleston 3 days ago,

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-9359113385835645512008-01-20T22:09:00.000-08:002008-01-20T19:21:13.257-08:00

Here's a couple movies I've taken of the goats over the last month or so and forgot to post. This first one you can see Lucy hauling butt around the goat pen just because she can. I've never seen a goat move that fast! (That's me talking on the phone to my mother that you hear. I have not lost my mind.) This one is really funny, it was taken 2 days ago when all my goats lost their minds. Well,

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-3818769265223589622008-01-20T21:49:00.000-08:002008-01-20T18:52:54.300-08:00

Well, we have been quite the farmers today! I woke up excited to go check in the chicken coop to see if anybody else was gonna leave us some eggs, and I was not disappointed! I found one brown egg in one of my nest boxes (oh you have NO idea how satisfying that is!).We did eat our first green egg yesterday morning when I did not have enough eggs to make omelettes. Can you figure out which one it

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-10652412610265259872008-01-18T18:15:00.000-08:002008-01-18T15:01:30.282-08:00

Today while I was stuck at home babysitting Ayden again, I decided I am at least going to have something to show for this day other than a paycheck. So when he went down for his nap (thankfully feeling much better) I bundled up and headed out to the chicken coop to build my now-egg-producing-poultry something nice to lay their eggs in. I had bought some white baskets from the dollar store about 4

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-84611917670858790142008-01-17T11:53:00.000-08:002008-01-17T08:28:17.065-08:00

Well, yesterday I got a call from Ayden's school saying he was running a fever of 101 and complaining of stomach pains, so I had to go pick him up early. The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent watching my sweet child listless and puking. I had to cancel my massages for today so I could stay home with him, and I am really glad I did because he's even hotter this morning, though

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-64709143642055094172008-01-09T13:17:00.000-08:002008-01-09T10:22:48.348-08:00

My mother just pointed out to me that I have yet to post only the most adorable picture of my child EVER. I remember saving it for a very special blog, because it's just so cute, but apparently that never materialized and I failed to post it altogether. Oops! Well, here's to rectifying that. :) It really shows how truly tiny my two new Nigerian Dwarf goats are. Keep in mind that Ayden is only

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-48823010063392668422008-01-08T19:29:00.000-08:002008-01-08T16:08:40.399-08:00

I thought my pregnant girls deserved a blog all to themselves, seeing as how they're just bursting with baby flavor. Tierra and Harmony are due on the same day, February 5th. What are the chances of that? Especially considering I bought them both pregnant from different farms. Harmony has been very obviously pregnant since the first time I saw her. Her little belly bulges on both sides, and she's

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-77228267766788516122008-01-06T21:15:00.000-08:002008-01-06T17:38:22.134-08:00

I've taken so many pictures over this past week, but none of them are blog-worthy in and of themselves, so I thought I'd post them all. Just cause. :)Louie, Lucy, and Tierra enjoying their new hay rack. Especially now that it doesn't fall off the wall whenever you turn your back.Ambrose sleeping on an o-so-cozy pat of hay on the front porch. What a farm cat.Sahara, Harmony, Tierra, and believe it

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-58308296017964836292008-01-06T20:49:00.000-08:002008-01-06T17:15:24.415-08:00

Due to the fact that we were constantly hauling lumber in while working on the goat barn yesterday, the goats managed to find their way through the open gate into our yard more than once. We were tired of chasing them back in, and they were just milling around on the grass, so we didn't see it as overly pressing to corral them for the umpteenth time. Not until Lucy got brave and ventured up

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-27008515217537249342008-01-06T17:18:00.000-08:002008-01-06T16:44:18.599-08:00

It's done! Well, mostly done. I spent all day yesterday working with Dustin and Jesse on the barn, and our efforts finally paid off. First, I feel that I should point out that my slave labor force managed to stay up till 5 a.m. playing some newfangled skateboarding video game, and therefore did not get out of bed until about 11, whereas I had been knocking around the house since 8:30. Even

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-6844663632963733142008-01-03T18:08:00.000-08:002008-01-03T15:26:13.449-08:00

This is quite possibly the funniest thing I have ever done. My bellydance instructor would probably yell at me if she saw me walking like a rhino, but it's hard to be graceful in rubber boots. ;)

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-83479995320880658512007-12-28T22:05:00.000-08:002007-12-28T19:18:02.628-08:00

The goat barn is still a work in progress, but it's slowly but surely coming along. Jesse helped me put half of the roof up last Saturday morning (kill me now). It took a few hours and quite a bit of screaming and even a little blood on Jesse's part, but we got it up, with only one sheet that does not lay flush against the other. It was the last sheet of metal roofing, and by that point I just

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-27063471198693422202007-12-28T19:13:00.000-08:002007-12-28T16:26:48.087-08:00

I am struck by how oblivious of certain things I was when I was still a city girl. Especially the seasons. But if you really think about it, what evidence of fall do you really see in the city? Your tree looks a bit bare and you have to rake your yard or suffer your neighbor's wrath. But living here, when fall came it came with a vengeance. Yes, the leaves fell off the trees. All 20 or so in our

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-13717173646621609672007-12-27T12:57:00.000-08:002007-12-27T09:59:04.457-08:00

Christmas morning we were greeted with a grim sight. The night before, we had been missing a chicken but figured she was just out in the brush and would show up the next morning, as often happens. But on Christmas morning, just after opening presents, I went to look at the goats through the window and saw a black lump up against the electric goat netting. I said, "Oh, no! Is that a CHICKEN?!"

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-22031265872493924342007-12-27T12:35:00.000-08:002007-12-27T09:35:22.403-08:00

Today a little excitement was thrown into my morning routine. Normally just after waking up, I slip on my pink fuzzy robe and head out to the big picture window in the computer room to look out at the dawning day and see what the goats are up to. Today, this is what I was greeted with.When I first looked out at them, I noticed Lucy had her bottom up in Louies face flagging her tail back and forth

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-47483701595344969732007-12-20T20:34:00.000-08:002007-12-20T17:43:58.147-08:00

The day has finally come. I have begun construction of the goat barn. My lumber was delivered 3 days ago, and has been sitting in my yard taunting me ever since. I started 2 days ago when I got off work a little early. I arrived home at about 1:30 pm and did not have to pick Ayden up for a few hours, so I thought I'd try out my new power hand saw. I'll admit that I'm more than a little afraid of

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-88422963767502961712007-12-18T17:45:00.000-08:002007-12-27T09:38:39.929-08:00

The day after the new goats arrived the weather finally cleared up enough that I could go sit with them in the back pasture. It had finally stopped raining, but was VERY windy and cold out. At this point the Nigerians were still keeping themselves segregated, even though the gate to the goat pen where Tierra and the angoras were was open. When I put my chair out there, they came right over to me

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-73705430432739025912007-12-15T17:57:00.000-08:002007-12-16T13:02:35.183-08:00

Today my mother and I drove about two and a half hours to go pick up my two new Nigerian Dwarf does, Sahara and Harmony. We rolled on up out of here at 6:30 a.m., so that aptly expresses my excitement. I don't get up that early for just anything. When we arrived at Laurel Haven their breeder, Tina, had already separated the girls from the rest of the herd. They came right up to the fence and

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-60498982194834937972007-12-14T10:20:00.000-08:002007-12-14T11:47:02.608-08:00

Dustin finally gave up the custody battle with the chickens over the picnic table in our back yard. I've been trying to convince him to give it to the goats for months, but he said he liked having it for eating on. Well, he couldn't keep the chickens off of it, though. So it was pretty much always covered in chicken poop, which made it less than appealing to eat upon, as you can imagine. So about

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-46774213031181971952007-12-11T15:35:00.000-08:002007-12-11T12:17:24.943-08:00

First order of business: I JUST MADE THE CUTEST SHIRT EVER! Yea, so I'm a little proud of myself. I just learned to silkscreen 2 weeks ago and this is only the 3rd thing I've done so far. I came up with this cute goat over a week ago and have been sitting on it until I could find something goat-worthy to say about it. I've already had 2 requests for one just like it, and I just made it 20 minutes

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-62626738322235105922007-12-08T12:20:00.000-08:002007-12-08T09:15:28.522-08:00

Oh happy day! Laurel Haven has made me an offer I simply can't refuse: that I could buy Harmony's mother, Sahara, at a very discounted price. You see, Harmony and Sahara still have a very special bond and spend just about every waking moment together. Their breeder says they browse side-by-side and she even finds them sleeping together in an old dog carrier on a regular basis. How cute! Besides,

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-70317950440238385232007-12-04T15:54:00.000-08:002007-12-04T13:06:15.600-08:00

Monday morning when I took Ayden out to the car to load him up and off to school, we heard the customary crowing issuing from the chicken coop. I've heard it so much at this point I can even accurately spell it: err-err-ERRRRRRRRR! Strangest crow I've ever heard. He's completely missing the "doodle" portion. Anyway, this particular morning we hear the err-err-ERRRRRRRR directly followed by a

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-33691776562999387202007-12-04T15:10:00.000-08:002007-12-04T12:16:52.327-08:00

I'm gonna go ahead and give you a minute to really look at that picture. Really. Go ahead and click on it and see if you can figure out what's happening in that picture. Take your time.Finished? What would you say this is a picture of?Here, let me give you a hint:Yes. That is Louie. In my lap. I'm just sitting there minding my own business reading my book about Henry beheading his wives, when

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-24941447076932452812007-12-03T11:36:00.000-08:002007-12-04T10:05:58.419-08:00

Well, something terribly thrilling has just transpired. I have arranged to buy my very first Nigerian Dwarf goat! Her name is Laurel Haven's Harmony, and she will be coming to me as a registered bred doe. Here is both her baby picture and her current picture, courtesy of Laurel Haven's website.She was born September 7, 2006, just a day before Dustin's birthday. She will be pretty tiny, Nigerian

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-30933088845480172362007-11-20T14:31:00.000-08:002007-11-20T11:31:28.236-08:00

Oh it's so bad.

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-39527313813866826032007-11-20T13:38:00.000-08:002007-11-20T10:57:30.018-08:00

I have to post some pretty pictures I took with the goats this morning. After running errands and eating breakfast this morning, I decided, as I often do, to take the goats for a stroll. It was such a beautiful morning and the breeze was blowing just hard enough that it steadily rained down crispy yellow leaves upon the 4 of us.Here's a nice chest shot of Tierra. I had just set the camera down

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-53419436285644378732007-11-18T13:45:00.000-08:002007-11-20T10:37:03.616-08:00

I was talking to my mother (FarmMama) on the telephone this morning and happened to look out the window to see what the goats were up to. Let me tell you: Louie was partaking of a deep and soulful sniff of Lucy's bottom. I mean, the boy was completely engrossed for a full minute or so. As he came up for air, I saw him flehm. This is quite a sight. The buck lifts his upper lip and looks for all

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-47982188637027562282007-11-18T13:32:00.000-08:002007-11-20T11:16:11.376-08:00

Caught him! I was standing along side of the chicken coop, as I'm sure you can tell. Right after taking this video, I opened the chicken coop door and saw all of the chickens pressed up against the door of their partition. Of course he would immediately stop crowing as soon as I opened the door. I stood there for a minute looking at my two roosters, who in turn stood and looked back at me. Nada.

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-88590411980744269242007-11-14T13:44:00.000-08:002007-11-14T10:40:36.663-08:00

Last night while I was on the phone with a lady about a goat (oh, I am SUCH a farmer!) Dustin came tearing into the house yelling my name over and over. My first thought was that the Copperhead has made another appearance and has perhaps succeeded in eating our firstborn. As I threw down the phone, he said, "Our rooster is crowing!" This is a big deal. We have been waiting for one of our roosters

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-16959441712327253382007-11-13T12:35:00.000-08:002007-11-13T09:32:05.375-08:00

Well, I just found an old blog that I did on Myspace back in June about the prospect of moving out here to the country. I have just posted that blog here on blogger, so if you scroll down to the very first entry, you will see it.As you can see, I outlined the basic plan for the farm, and it is interesting to me to see how closely we've followed The Plan, and some things that we've decided to do

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-62073067921933981652007-11-09T10:35:00.000-08:002008-04-01T19:45:32.699-07:00

I can already tell it's going to be one of those days. It all started last night. For the second night in a row, Dustin told me we were missing a chicken when he locked them in the coop. This is because they've discovered that they can get into the back pasture via the goat pen, but then they're on the wrong side of the chain link fence, peering in at all their little chicken buddies. So, they

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-4379822451131115682007-11-06T10:55:00.000-08:002007-11-06T08:27:40.380-08:00

This video was about attempt 7 of trying to get the goats on video making their respective noises. The problem is, they only holler at me when they want me to come hang out with them. Once I'm close by, they just stand there and stare at me. It makes for titillating video footage, let me tell you. I was trying to capture the range of sounds they make. Tierra has this unholy

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-50204744078700698522007-10-30T05:12:00.000-07:002007-11-03T17:53:44.465-07:00

Ok, I know that’s gross, but real farmers don’t let a little goo dampen their spirits. I’ve been watching Lucy like a hawk for signs of going into heat, and I think it might have finally paid off. I had her locked up on the stanchion giving her hooves their second trimming (it will probably take a few to get them in any kind of decent shape after the neglect she suffered), when I smelled

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-62840095520229217632007-10-27T20:00:00.000-07:002007-11-04T08:07:01.388-08:00

Ambrose's new obsession: the goats. He is out there every time I milk now, although, being the Non-Cat that he is, he won't even touch the wasted milk in the strip cup. He has a particular fascination with Lucy. Now that we have the back pasture available, I like to take a lawn chair out there and read. The goats will not go out there unless I "shepherd" them. Today Ambrose of course saw it as

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-70756711834506970452007-10-25T19:46:00.000-07:002007-11-02T19:47:04.911-07:00

Thank goodness. I saw her eating some fallen leaves in her pen yesterday morning and she actually ate a few cups of grain for Dustin when he got home from work last night, which we both took as a very good sign. Unfortunately, she had diarrhea again last night when I went out to milk her, but this time I think it might be because her rumen was not prepared to digest grain after going a couple

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-16737691314649551662007-10-23T19:43:00.000-07:002007-11-02T19:47:34.195-07:00

When I went out to milk Tierra last night she was not interested in her grain. This instantly alarmed me. Grain is like crack for goats. They’d slit your throat in a second for if it meant more grain. She only gave me a few ounces of milk (her usual is about .5-.75 cup), and she had signs of diarrhea all over her bottom. Freaked me out! I made sure she had some baking soda if she wanted some, but

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-51435554504398648182007-10-19T19:47:00.000-07:002007-11-08T07:31:41.910-08:00

Every night when I go out to milk, I turn on the back porch light so I don’t kill myself going down the stairs. As everyone around knows, this place is crawling with little green Anole lizards and bright green sticky tree frogs. Each night I am careful not to step on or squash the odd tree frog hanging on the screen door or resting on a pair of shoes outside. I had started to notice, though, that

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-26304658553487851972007-10-07T19:28:00.000-07:002007-11-03T17:55:06.364-07:00

Up until now, the goats have been limited to the area of our yard I’ve fenced off for them, which is no small portion (about 5,000 square feet). Bigger than our house, certainly! We knew that the back portion of our property was partially fenced, but were under the impression that the entire back section was incomplete. WE WERE WRONG! After traipsing back there to take a look at exactly what it

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-86386660663862848282007-10-05T18:43:00.000-07:002007-11-03T17:55:49.399-07:00

Now that the initial shock and joy of the goats’ arrivals has worn off a little, I’ve had some time to adjust and have a good look at them. Tierra is in fabulous condition, despite having a sore hoof from when Casey trimmed her before bringing her to me. Apparently she got a little over-zealous and nicked her a little, which happens from time to time. Lucy, on the other hand, is a mess! On closer

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-70214859400186385892007-10-01T18:02:00.000-07:002007-11-03T18:03:12.084-07:00

Ok. So, as far as my milking experience thus far, I have squeezed one squirt out of one of Tierra’s teats a couple months ago when I first went out to Casey’s farm to see if I wanted to buy Tierra, and one other experience milking her infront of half a dozen people the day she arrived, with Casey looking over my shoulder to see that I was doing it correctly. Now the true test comes… time to do it

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-87571378399885056312007-09-30T17:47:00.000-07:002007-11-03T17:56:58.756-07:00

My Angora goat, Lucy, and her boyfriend-on-lease, Louie, arrived today. I don’t think anybody was happier than Tierra to see them arrive, although at first she certainly didn’t show it. When they first put Lucy in the pen with Tierra, Tierra took off running like a gazelle around the pen. She had NO idea what Lucy was. Poor Lucy just stood there and cried, sounding and looking for all the world

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-37422316785767447852007-09-29T17:37:00.000-07:002007-11-08T07:44:27.915-08:00

Well, today is the day. FINALLY. I feel like I’ve been waiting to own goats my entire life. I’ve literally read every thing in the Charleston and Colleton County Libraries that even so much as mentions a goat. All this research and not a single goat in sight to use it on. Well, all that has changed. Tierra arrived today! My Goat Mentor Casey and her wonderful husband Tim brought her out to

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-82026751258642337682007-09-20T10:47:00.000-07:002007-11-03T17:59:18.181-07:00

Although most people find the goats much more interesting, the Chicken, not the egg or the goat, really came first. When we first discovered that we would be moving to the country, I went ahead and bought 20 chickens over the Internet. We were living in a 3-bedroom house in a subdivision on James Island, SC. People thought we were crazy to buy any livestock before even closing on the house, but I

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-16343371714927077042007-08-30T09:45:00.000-07:002007-11-03T18:06:37.782-07:00

Well. We bought the land. Claimed it as our own. Hauled all our junk here. Now it’s time to make it a farm. Granted, we have had chickens since 6 weeks before we even moved, but a chicken hardly a farm makes. I own two goats, but neither is in my possession yet. My husband’s sister, her fiancé, and his parents gave the first, Lucy, to me for my birthday in August. She is an Angora goat, primarily

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840413030196600434.post-82434806386252611582007-06-26T07:46:00.000-07:002007-11-13T09:35:46.035-08:00

Ok, so my first real bona-fide blog. Here goes:I have big news! we haven't really said anything to anybody because we wanted to be sure it was going to work out first. (You totally think i'm going to say that I'm pregnant, dont you? Loser!) well..................... My/our dream has always been to live out in the country on a small piece of land and homestead: raise dairy goats for milk/cheese,

deconstructingVenushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16442378819618747320noreply@blogger.com5