Saturday, May 22, 2010

Updates & eBay specials ending this weekend!



I guess since the kids are now on summer vacation, Mother Nature has decided to bring us up from the 40s to the 80s, in just about a days time! I was wondering if it would ever warm up....tho I guess it has creeped up on us slowly, we get so busy we don't notice things finally getting green. Our huge ancient cottonwoods around the house here are finally spitting off the sticky bud covers and letting their new little baby leaves uncurl....I hate those things~ my poor suburban looks like its got green chicken pox! We made a little shade barn for the Bloke & the goats... its not very big, 6 foot tall at the back posts, and we covered it in slabs with the bark still on so Bloke could rub all over it, and BOY! does he just love it!

The goats love to jump and play, and be in high places, so we put them some steps at the back of it..didn't take the girls long to figure it out...it had just been finished a day or so when I was out taking these pictures....I had just gone out to feed and Kate is such a little p*i*g......... (see the can there???)

She was up to no good and I didn't even realize it until.....


Goats are so smart! She saw I put the grain can up on the roof and up she zoomed. And this is what I get for scolding her~


Naughty Kate!!!! I guess, when you scold from 8 feet below, it doesn't really have the same effect. Kate can spot a Yuban coffee can from a mile away I think!




And the girls have been taking the babies out for little walk- abouts....they each have 2, but both of them think all 4 chicks are their own, so they go everywhere side by side just a clucking and a whirring.......



Bloke sure is getting big isn't he? Loves to give kisses to my husband...I pass on those~ BLEK! ( a cows tongue is rough just like a cats) We weaned him this week, and hes doing pretty well with it actually....as long as he doesn't SEE his bottles, he doesn't seem to mind.
And I have had so many ask how the bees are doing~ they are doing just wonderfully! We opened the hive last week to check the queen

They have occupied a few more frames as you can see~ you can tell which one the queen is on by the amount of bees hovering around her. She is on the 4th frame from the top



My husband is allergic to bees, so he always wears his bonnet and gloves, but you can see, as close as my son is, they really don't mind being bothered, as long as you are slow and polite (he was on his way to feed the Bloke his bottle)


I circled her for you to find her better~ she is twice as long as the others, and has a neon green thorax. They are really doing well, and she is laying lots of eggs! The kids like to watch them collect the pollen and put it in the baskets on their legs. If you don't know, there are all sorts of different kinds of pollen, and different colors too, depending on what they collect it from. They will portion off some of the frames just for pollen storage, and the little combs will be filled with pink and purple and yellow and orange and white pollen, its really neat! Ill try an get a picture next time we have it open.


And we finally give in and got our Yetti a 'wife', tho neither of them know it yet ;) Blanket is 3/4 pyrnese, 1/4 shepherd.....right now at 10 wks, she is a chewing machine! Here she is out chewing on a root...Lumpy thinks she is the best play mate ever....Dixie tries to boss her around(my little weener dog) but Blanket just sits on her~Yetti doesnt much care for her....but I have a feeling, that will change! Summer has finally come to Southern Colorado, and I say, golly! its about time!!!
If you have a moment, I have some dollys on special on eBay that will be ending this weekend ~ come on over and check them out!

4 comments:

Marguerite (Tina) Smith Hart said...

That was so interesting and I did not know that about pollen, I will be watching for further updates!
You are so lucky to be surrounded by animals all day and the goat is a hoot!
Also your work is just too beautiful for words. Seeing your dolls in Prims I was inspired to give painting a break and try my hand at a few simple dolls. I have no idea what I am doing but so far it has been fun!

Finegan Antiques said...

Rachael,

You have your own Peaceable Kingdom. There is a town in Wisconsin that has a tavern which grows grass on it's roof so the goats can feast from a lofty position and survey their domain. Kind of cool. Interesting info about the bees and the different color pollen. Can't wait to see pictures.

Donna

Barbara said...

Looks like everything is just perking along at the Kinnison "Ark"! Bloke is getting cute and the baby chicks are adorable. I'm still waiting for a pigmy goat and pot-bellied pig to show up!! Maybe your "girls" need a pigmy boyfriend!! Wouldn't the kids be cute??!!
LY, Mom
PS
Looks like "Roger" finally showed up! Ha! Ha!

Heather said...

Ah, everything looks so lovely and fun down at the farm! and yes, summer has officially arrived! Love the goat house and what a great idea to make them the steps, I hope they appreciate it ;)