Got GOAT cookies?

Whimsy LOVES her cookies :)

As I go along from day to day, I learn little tricks that help me in some small way.  I had to teach myself how to milk.  THEN I had to learn that each doe has her own style.  Then I had to learn that some goats are actually quite insulted when you are milking them.  Bella is a good example of this.  Bella is one of my Rosasharn does.  Her mother is Mariposa, one of their loveliest and most accomplished does. Bella freshened the first time with an udder to die for! It was large and perfectly formed. The first time I put her on the milk stand, I thought she was going to have a heart attack! The look of shock on her face alone should have warned me this was not going to be easy.

THIS was INAPPROPRIATE TOUCHING!

She kicked, scratched, did flips, laid down, yelled, kicked, scratched, knocked the bucket over the fence....you name it, she tried it. Off the stand she was perfectly mannered, easy to handle.  On the stand it was something like trying to milk a mountain lion. I read everything I could.  I WAS PATIENT.  I was kind, and reassuring.  I was persistent.  I had a regular schedule.  I tried playing music.  Different KINDS of music.  I tried singing :/ I tried massages.  I tried treats. Soon, I was bruised and bleeding from scratches, my patience at an end. Exhausted, I unclipped her and went and got Hummingbird, who, although not very trusting of people, was a perfect angel on the milkstand.

Now I have Honey, who is Bella's daughter.  Honey is not as easy as she could be, but with a few adjustments here and there, and a few well timed goat cookies, we manage to accomplish what we set out to do.  I have learned to use an "underbelly bucket" to keep her from laying down.  Now she is pretty steady on the stand.  Her doeling Bond is a "one sided sucker" so I only milk Honey's right side. Honey milk is creamy and delicious!

....I am more patient than a goat is stubborn...

Mossy walnuts

"Mossy Walnuts" 15" x 22"

I wish I had a more efficient way to photograph my own paintings. I do have photographer friends who are willing to help, but the logistics are hard for me. This painting was finished on my vacation, in between kiddings :)  This photo gives some good detail but does not give justice to the true color.  I used a LOT of prismacolor pencil in this, which makes it more challenging to photograph. It's companion painting is almost finished too:) I may not be able to let go of this one.

Goat update:

All does and kids seem to be doing fine! I had a wicked cold/flu last week which prevented the disbudding adventure I had planned. So, although our intentions were good, the kids from this year will have horns :/

All is well at FiddleSong Farm....

...the bad with the good...

Buck ~ FiddleSong Pilgrim

Buck ~ FiddleSong Stuck in Reverse

So after our traumatic delivery with Honey, I expected Whimsy's kidding to be a walk in the park. OMG. BOTH of these bucklings came out backwards! I had to pull so hard on Pilgrim that I was sure all his little bones were broken. Then, if that wasn't hard enough, here comes Stuck in Reverse.  He was trying to come out tail first!! Now, Whimsy is my smallest doe who had no trouble delivering her first batch of kids. But this time I literally had to reach inside her poor little rear entry area, push that big kid back inside, find the legs and pull them up and out.  THEN my trusty side kick Rick, who I would not be able to survive without, had to pull that big kid out the rest of the way. The kids are both fine and Whimsy is doing fine, too.

That was Monday. 

Saturday, I was hearing my doe Zipporah crying out in the back hill area. I thought she sounded like she was in season. So I went out there to check on her, and guess what?  SHE is pregnant!  Huh?  Friday, she didn't have anything in her udder. She showed NO signs of pregancy at all.  And actually I was disappointed about that because she has extra nice kids. So I look her over and decide, well the timing is right on if she did take when I bred her. So I brought her in and gave her a nice clean area inside the barn, just in case. She seemed to be going along fine, and I was trying to stay away as long as possible.  (She tries to sneak her kids out without anyone knowing.) OK, I decide, Zip has freshened three times, this should be easy.  WRONG AGAIN.  Zip labored all night without success and died this morning. As hard as I tried, I could not help her. I am so sad.

...sometimes life on a farm is very hard....

Welcome little one...

Meet "FiddleSong Bond"

Little Bond was born early Friday morning, April 6. Here is her mother Honey's story:

Honey was on the for sale list last summer. 

I had a few calls, but nobody was interested in a doe with horns. Honey is a bully, which means she is a doe with more goat status than the others~high on the "butting order." AND she has some wicked sharp horns. In her defense, she never offered to butt me or Rick, just the other goats. I didn't want her. When Honey came into season in the fall, I had my buck Fiddler breed her, thinking maybe I could sell her as a bred doe, or as a fresh doe after kidding. But I was really busy, and didn't get around to listing her for sale again.

As Honey's kidding date grew nearer, she started developing a nice udder. I thought she should kid around April 15th, so imagine how surprised I was when Rick rushed in early Friday saying "You have babies in the barn!"  AHHHH! 

Little Bond was the first kid born and the largest. She was wet, but looked alert, so I turned my attention to Honey.  Honey must have worked a long time to have her first kid, because her second kid, a buckling, was born dead. I HATE to lose a kid! Honey started pushing again, and I watched as she delivered a little brown doe.  The poor little thing was barely alive, and although I rubbed her and worked to get her going, I think she had breathed fluid. She never gained any strength and died in about an hour.

The hardest lesson to learn on the farm: sometimes little ones aren't supposed to live.

Mother Nature chooses. 

I was so sad. I was feeling like a total failure. Why was I doing this? Maybe I would not breed any more does. Maybe I would sell them all except a couple of favorites.

 Then the unexpected happened. As I sat in the fresh, clean straw, rubbing the tiny doeling Bond dry, Honey stood near me, her sharp horns six inches from my face. She talked to and licked her baby, and gazed up into my eyes as if to say,

"Isn't she just gorgeous, Ma?" 

Honey turns out to be an exceptional doe. She is an attentive and loving mother, she is trusting and easy to handle.  She stands like a statue when milked.  I couldn't ask for more.

"Honey milk" at FiddleSong Farm....all is well :)

Sandhill Cranes

I heard them first ~their joyous voices drifting down. Looking up, I saw their sunlit wings.  Lines and lines of winged messengers flying north. Spring is coming....

I am hanging in the Suter Creek Gallery now.  I am spending every Sunday there until we get another co-op artist who is willing to share working time.  I love it!

All is well....

New art phase....

Meet "J.J."

He is the "stinkin' cute" grandson of a very dear friend. 

He is an 8" x 10" watercolor with pen and ink and Prismacolor pencils.












This is the beginning of a new phase in my art career~ the selling phase.

I have avoided this in the past. 
I have sold things when provoked, or begged to, or if someone HAD to have something. I sold paintings in shows. I traded a painting for a car once. (THAT was a good trade!) I have given away a TON of paintings and sketches for birthdays, Christmas, thank you's. But I never have really worked at selling my work.  I know how.  I worked retail for twenty years. I have lots of great ideas, but until now, I didn't really need to, or hadn't gotten around to it, or didn't have time, or .......didn't really need to.  Oh yeah, all the excuses. I had even convinced myself that I was simply "building inventory." :)

Driving to work the other day, I was giving myself a stern lecture.  "What is the point of painting if you don't share it? What is the purpose?? Is it just a waste of your time? If that is the case, then you might as well pack up all those supplies and throw them out in the garage." 

Cue the crickets.

"But I am an Artist," my inner self responded, "it's what I do." My heart was beating hard and fast. "Oh great," I thought, "now I am going to have a panic attack." But it wasn't a panic attack. It felt like a welling up of warmth inside. It was my angels singing. (Yes, I do have angels :) I was having one of those rare moments when I realized that I was feeling a change inside myself.  Switching gears, changing a habit, changing my mind. I realized that I need to sell my paintings.  They are too important to live under my bed where no one can enjoy them!

The next evening I received a call from my Mom.  Mom has always been most supportive and encouraging. "I was reading the Buy N' Sell today and I saw an ad you might be interested in," she said in an excited voice. " 'WANTED local artists' it says, 'the Sutter Creek Art Gallery is under new ownership and opening a Co-op.'" OMG. She gave me the number for the lady to call.

I wrote it down. 
I called.

The lady's name is Laura and we had a nice chat.  She was looking forward to seeing some of my work.  "Well, would you like to view my online gallery?" I asked.
"Yes," she said, "and we will give you a call later in the week."  Thursday morning there was an excited call on my voice mail. "We LOVED your work!" she said.

Tomorrow, I will be meeting them in Sutter Creek at the gallery to show them some of my paintings in person and discuss how I would like to be involved.

I'll let you know how that goes....

Giving Thanks....

What a lovely Thanksgiving celebration we had! Our feast was tasty, the company was fun and cheerful, and we played outside with the animals. We had beautiful clear weather, and the fall colors were GORGEOUS!

We are grateful for our abundant blessings....