May 31, 2009 8:00 am
There were attempts to milk Ginger. While I would have nothing to do with it, it was an interesting adventure for the three days that it happened.
Day one: 1/2 cup milk, stepped in – we fed it to Whiteout.
Day two: 1/2 cup milk, stepped in again – Whiteout has more milk.
Day three: Ginger sat down and that was the udder end.
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May 30, 2009 8:00 am
Ginger is our second goat. She is a Nigerian Dwarf and she likes to climb trees which can be dangerous if you are on a leash and fall out of the tree. Don’t worry, she is OK.
She is not quite as friendly and her poops are bigger than Sweetpea’s. The only thing good about that is that we can send the kids out to pick up after her if they start fighting. It should make good fertilizer for the garden and gives our children a character building experience.
She came with a kid. His name is Whiteout and I will be introduce him a little later.
Ginger is a picky eater. Can you believe it? I have never heard of a goat being a picky eater. One reason that the goats found a home here anyway was to keep the lawn trimmed, but she won’t eat dandelions.
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May 29, 2009 8:00 am
“I don’t want “meat” rabbits at my house! Who would kill them? Would you kill them?” I asked my five year old daughter.
“No.” she said.
“I would take them to a slaughter house.” said my wife.
“Oh, that is someone that has a tree cut down.” said my daughter.
After a short pause. “Do you mean someone with a tree stump?” I said
“Yes!” she said, then she began singing, “Kill the wabbit. Kill the wabbit.”
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May 28, 2009 8:00 am
My youngest daughter likes to cut hair. She use to scalp her sisters stuffed animals, but that ended in weeping, whaling and gnashing of teeth. It really was very traumatic. Her first “real” self inflicted haircut resulted in her long golden curls hidden under her bed, behind the couch, behind our old wood stove. Little locks of love for a whole drill team of Barbies. It happened over a period of time. Her hair was so curly it was hard to tell if she had cut her hair. The result was a really bad mullit. The second cutting episode (as far as we know) was less dramatic with a chunk of hair missing from her bangs. That is the way she looks today.
She has such a sweet disposition that it is difficult to get mad at her. If you do get mad she just lets it roll off and says something kind and loving back to you. Then when you least expect it, snip, snip. I just hope that she stays away from the stuffed animals.
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May 27, 2009 8:00 am
I had a meeting in town, some lab work at the hospital, and a quick lunch on the way home. Upon arriving home I found the TV & Hammer on the front porch with a note saying, “ReBirthday Gift.” I really don’t care that much about the Television, but something serious must have happened to cause “The Incident.”
I slowly gathered my things from the car with my mind racing. I was afraid that I would find Brenda in the fetal position in our laundry room. My heart raced and I am sure that I was much more pale than usual. As I open the front door I saw Brenda helping the kids put a movie in our “Brand New VCR/DVD” on top of a “New TV.” I was having a hard time putting all of the pieces together because I knew that my wife would never spend money on a TV. She was smiling, this is good. Then laughing. Everything seemed to be going OK.
It turns out that the TV, VCR/DVD was a gift from some very kind neighbors that had fun planning “The Incident” with my wife. I am sure that they laughed wickedly (Whoo Ha Ha Ha!). I know my wife did.
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May 26, 2009 8:00 am
It is my first year rebirthday and it is a good and happy day for my family and a sad day for another family. One year ago a family lost a good man. I don’t know much about him, but I know that he was generous in choosing to be an organ donor. I look forward to meeting him in heaven. My heart and prayers are with him and his family today. I will never be able to thank him enough. I have a perfectly functioning liver today thanks to him.
Please consider being an organ donor. The blessings will reach far beyond your imagination. You can give life. My donor gave me the gift of life. Like everyone’s life mine is filled with joys and challenges and I am thankful for each new day.
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May 25, 2009 7:44 am
Lilacs always remind me of Memorial Day. I have little recollection of visiting any graves on a regular basis until after I was married. My wife’s family would meet at her Grandma Lovell’s home, pick lilacs and go to the cemetery in Ririe. I didn’t know any of the people who’s graves we were visiting and so for me it was a nice outing usually on a beautiful summer day.
After years of visiting the cemetery things are different. Grandma Lovell has passed away and that is who I think about. I think about sitting around her kitchen table always with plenty of food, usually ham. There was always desert, cookies with real butter and ice cream in a small green glass bowl.
When I go to the cemetery now I think of her. A kind, intelligent and loving person who always remembered those who had gone before. For me, I always remember her when I see or smell lilacs.
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May 24, 2009 1:51 pm
Sweetpea is not Houdini.
Houdini may have been good at getting out of knots and chains, but Sweetpea is better at getting in to them. We have her on a long tether so that she has a good amount of feeding space with out access to the newly planted garden. But she likes to use the tether to tie herself in knots. It is not uncommon to hear, “Sweetpea is all tangled up could someone please untangle her?” Needless to say the kids are getting as good as Houdini at getting out of knots.
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May 23, 2009 1:07 pm
I heard the tears while I was still in bed. They were so sad. One of the other children came running to tell me that my five year old daughter had let her balloon go outside. The tears were soon remedied with a gift of a red balloon from her older sister, but the yellow one is gone.
“Where could it be now?” my son said while we were eating breakfast.
“In India.” the five year old said resolutely.
“What do you know about India?” my son challenged.
“It is where the Indians live.” she said, and that was that.
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May 23, 2009 12:20 am
Sweetpea is a new edition to our small but growing farm. She is a pygmy goat about 2 years old. She is fun to play with and when necessary she stands her ground. She likes to head butt her reflection in the sliding glass door. She may have kids in July but there is no way to tell because they are as tall as they are fat anyway.
When she bleats she opens her mouth sticks her tongue out lets out a long quivering bleeeeeeeeeet. The quivering comes from the tongue.
They have square slits for pupils. Strange but cool. Hopefully there will be some Sweetpea stories in the future of this blog. I love my wife. She keeps my life grounded with a surprise hear and there.
Posted in Life in Lyman | 3 Comments »
