I've been AWOL for a couple of days, but with good reason. Tuesdays are always tricky for posting because our church small group meets for a potluck dinner and then the discussion of Sunday's sermon. By the time we get home and the goats are fed it's past my bedtime. Yesterday started out by getting the E-brake parts from a salvage yard in Junction City and a stop on the way home to pick up six of the eight fruit trees we ordered in December. The peach tree and last apple tree are supposed to come in later this week. I had the holes already dug so I spent the rest of the day planting the trees and then putting up the fencing around each that will keep the deer from eating them. I used what I had left from making the goats' pen but ran out of fencing before I ran out of trees. That was OK, because by that time it was getting dark and cold.
This morning I went to Starbucks to write, then to the feed store to get more fencing, then a stop at Fred Meyer to get coffee beans. I got home in time for lunch and then headed out to work more on the trees. All but one of them are now surrounded by a circle of field fence two rows high. What I had left from the goat fence was 4' so I had to add another 3' on top of that. The last tree just needs the upper layer. Assuming they come in as predicted I'll pick up the last two trees and get them planted and fenced early next week.
When I got to Starbucks the only place to sit was at a library style table in the middle of the room. Across from me the entire time was a middle aged man watching videos that had him audibly amused, but what drove me crazy was his hacking cough. Turning up Pandora didn't drown it out. I seriously debated whether or not to tell him he shouldn't be out in public with a cough like that but I decided to keep my mouth shut even if he couldn't.
I've learned there's a term for what we're doing here: farm-to-table living. It refers to people who raise what they eat, including animals.
A lady at the women's Bible study Pam attends on Tuesday mornings told her about a friend who has two goats that are driving her crazy by repeatedly getting out of their pasture to go into the neighbor's place. Knowing that we're raising goats the Bible study lady put us in touch and we were offered the goats for free.
I could see where this might lead so today I sent Katie an email saying, "Just so you know, they'd quickly go from pasture to freezer to table. And if you're not OK with that we completely understand. No problem."
I heard back late this afternoon. Yep, she can't bear to think of her two girls, regardless of how frustrating they've been, getting slaughtered for meat. She understands the farm-to-table lifestyle and they do it too, although it's because her husband hunts. (Not exactly farming, but we won't quibble about details.) So they're going to install some electric fencing and see if that solves the problem.
Today's good news: we're not going to get tonight's ice storm because temps aren't going to get as low as they thought. The last one had us housebound for four days so it's nice to know that isn't going to happen again.
Oh, and yesterday Pam and I were out in the barn and watched BOTH kids poop normal goat marbles, not the pile of mush we've had for so, so long. And Asante is starting to look thicker, like a Boer goat should.
Life is SO much easier with them out in the barn and getting fed just three times a day. It feels like vacation.
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