Sunday started off at our usual time- typically I like to try to sleep in a little on the weekends just because I can- but not this time.  Kyle and I hit the sack around 8-8:30 the night before after an exhausting day of working on what will be our new laundry room so it was pretty easy getting up around 5:30-6 am.  I wasn't disappointed, though.  Feeling well-rested is all I ask for, and there is nothing like a busy day of physical labor to help with that.

We decided to start work on the bathroom/laundry room right off.  Kyle started wiring the 220 plug for the dryer and the plug for the washer and I installed the new drywall under the windows where we had ripped into the wall the day before to make a little more room for the appliances.  I made a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs (eight of our lovely home-grown ones thankyouverymuch).  Before we knew it the time was 11:00 and we decided it would probably be best to wait to hook up the water pipes on a day where we had more time to deal with disaster- just in case.  So, with a few hours to kill before heading to Plainfield for May's 'date' with a handsome buck we decided it was time to tackle some house cleaning.

I mentioned before that when I arrived home from work on Friday our house was in shambles.  Well, this wasn't entirely due to the work that Guy (my father-in-law) and Kyle did that day.  To be perfectly honest we had about 10 contractor bags of crap that needed to leave the hallway from when we demo'd the guest bedroom.  Also, there was about two or three weeks worth of demolition dust/dirt that had accumulated all over the floor upstairs.  Finally, because of our kitchen plumbing problems (and a little bit of sheer laziness) we hadn't done dishes in a couple days so the kitchen was already a little disasterous.  Kyle and his Dad really only contributed to the mess in the dining room, living room, and kitchen.

But, enough of the inventory of messy-ness.  I just wanted to convey to you exactly what kind of 'mess' we were dealing with when I tell you that it took a good two hours to get the house cleaned up again.  (And we didn't even touch the kitchen.)

Right around 2 pm my Mom arrived to accompany us to Plainfield where we were going to have May bred.  My Mom absolutely loves going to the breeder's farm- although this is probably the first time she's left there without buying a new goat.  So, we piled up into her Jeep (three people and two goats would be a little crammed in my little Scion) and headed out.  Although it was a scheduled breeding for May we decided to bring Chutney along because you never want to leave a goat by itself- they are too social to really go solo. 

The whole way down May stood in the back, calmly looking out the windows.  Chutney on the otherhand was completely bizarre!  As soon as we got her in the Jeep she was shaking and bleating.  I was a little worried about her, she usually handles car rides better than our dogs do, so this was unusual for her.  After a few minutes the shaking stopped, but she continued to cry.  For over an hour our little girl made the funniest noises I have ever heard- she literally 'buzzed'.

We arrived at the breeders and we brought the girls out of the car- I decided to bring Chutney out just so she wouldn't stress out being by herself in the Jeep.  May was walked on a leash over to where the buck, Rosasharns Ukko (who's dam is Rosasharns Uni- wellknown for her milk production in the NDG world), was waiting impatiently with his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth like he was trying to attract her with his sense of humor.  Almost immediately it was clear that May wanted nothing to do with him.  Her tail was glued down to her rear-end and she wouldn't even think about getting friendly with the handsome buck who was wooing her.

As I stood by holding on to Chutney it was becoming increasingly obvious that she was acting a heck of a lot more receptive than May.  I practically had to hold the little thing back as we waited for May to change her mind.  The breeder confirmed our suspicions- Chutney was certainly in heat.  She was eight months old and Sharon, our breeder, let us know that she had grown enough to be bred- so we decided to let nature take its course.  The buck was more than happy to switch does- and it was over in a few scant seconds.  After servicing our little doe twice, Ukko was walked back to his pen with the other boys and we brought our girls back to the Jeep.

We paid Sharon for Ukko's services, admired Chutney's Mom (who is still milking by the way) and some new babies that were being dropped off from another customer to be sold, and then we were off.

Today Chutney was still smelling of the buck she visited yesterday- although I have to admit that it isn't nearly as offensive as many people claim it to be (perhaps the cold weather is helping to tone it down)- and May is still not looking like she is in heat.  Hopefully we can catch her in heat soon as I'd really like to have her bred no later than mid-January, even that is really pushing my preferred kidding date.

So.  It was an exciting day.  Now we're keeping an eye on Chutney to be sure she doesn't go back in to heat, just in case the breeding didn't take.  But hopefully all went well and we'll be seeing our first official Senesac babies here on the farm.  I guess I'd better start getting my kidding and milking supplies in order!  Yippy!!

On a completely seperate note: we are up to 165 eggs collected this month.  We've sold three dozen, given away about four or five dozen, and will be selling another two dozen later this week.

I wasn't too awfully optimistic this morning about what we might be able to get accomplished.  My honey was sounding a little less than ambitious and mentioned fixing the window (we had missed the spacers on the second window that we installed in the guest bedroom so it was a solid two inches deeper into the sill compared to he first one) but he didn't think he'd really want to do much else.  Kyle is definitely not a lazy guy, but with his final for his class coming up this Tuesday night he's been studying during his free time to be sure all goes well.

After enjoying some morning tea (or coffee in Kyle's case) and crocheting my new basket for collecting eggs (more on that later) we started work on the window.  It wasn't terribly warm out today- nineteen degrees without the windchill- but in the front of the house we were blessed with some bold sunshine which helped keep things warmer.  Kyle cut the wood for the spacers and then we unscrewed and removed the window.  After ten minutes or so we had all the wood spacers in and were ready to re-install the window.  Putting in a window has never been so easy, and it really feels good knowing that after a bit of experience we are confident and fairly adept at getting it done.

Right as I was filling around the window with canned spray foam my Mom showed up to take Kyle and I out to lunch.  We loaded into the Jeep and headed into the neighboring town of Morrsville to The Bee's Knees- an awesome restaurant that serves food made from local, organic dairy, meat and produce- where we got some food and some great local beer (Switchback is our favorite microbrew here in Vermont).  The Bee's Knees is one of my favorite restaurants around here- anyone who supports the local community is A-OK in my book.  Not to mention that they have live music, great food, WiFi, and a huge picture window you can sit in front of on a chilly day here in Northern Vermont.  You can go there and order a beer, tea, or coffee and just sit and enjoy the local atmosphere- absolutely wonderful.  It just happens to be my Mom's favorite place to eat here as well- so it works out.

When we got back home we headed out to the barn.  I wanted to shut the barn door as the wind was really blowing and since the girls weren't taking advantage of the sun I might as well shut the door to the barn to keep them a little warmer.  We caught eleven eggs today, so gladly handed off a dozen each to my dear Mom and our neighbor's daughter, Jennifer.  We have consistently been getting around 10-12 eggs a day so we were more than happy to unload some on some willing folks. 

We'll be heading into Jeffersonville shortly to hit The Tavern for some drinks and darts with some friends so you can be sure we'll be handing off another couple cartons of eggs before the night is through.  So, as its time to head out, I guess I'll wait until tomorrow to write about our demolition that we undertook this afternoon.

Mother. What a under-appreciated, lofty status to hold. You sacrifice your time, your size six jeans, and your sanity to care for another human being. A promise is made to always be there for the scrapes and broken bones, the broken hearts, and the loss of a beloved pet mouse or cat. In exchange you get the chance to share in the glories of first words, first steps, graduations, true loves, weddings, promotions, and so on.


The statistics say that it costs approximately $250,000 to raise a child from birth to eighteen years of age. Thats more than I'll ever spend on a HOUSE which is a far better investment than someone that goes through something called "the terrible-twos"! But worth isn't always measured in money; the world would be a far sadder place if it was. Sometimes its measured in laughter and tears, in hugs and kisses, in soft spoken words and loving glances.


I remember many nights out at our barn, surrounded by the smell of fresh green hay and the sound of horses munching on oats. Racing down dirt roads on horseback with a smile on my face and laughter in my heart. Riding, soaked to the bone, after yet another rain cloud caught up halfway through a ride and then singing songs to the hoofbeats trying not to feel the chill. But, most of all, I remember having shared that with someone I could always talk to; someone I could always count on- my Mom.



So it seems to me that today, Mother's Day, is the perfect time for reminiscing about Mom. Please take a minute to stop by the comments section and share a memory you have of your own Mom or of being a Mom yourself!