This time it took me two months to update. Ye gods. It's been so long, in fact, that I had forgotten my password and had to reset it. Fail? I think yes.
So what's happening now? Not much. We finished the feeders and moved the goats in....a long time ago. They (and I) are enjoying the new feeders immensely. We designed them to be filled from the back (outside the pen), so I no longer have to go "swimming" through anxious white bodies to get the hay in the feeder, and because they have to stick their heads into the feeder to eat, they no longer drop loads of hay on the ground. (As soon as the food touches the ground, it's DIRTY and obviously no longer edible.) This, along with the feeder's solid bottom, means that they waste almost no hay and have food in front of them all the time. Even the anorexic Sensation is starting to put on weight! Some of them are getting a bit jiggly, but they're also supposed to be pregnant, so for now it's all good.
Speaking of which! I am slightly frustrated by the number of repeat breedings I've had to make this year. Almost a third of the does re-cycled at least once - two of them, Zi Zhi and Havana, have yet to settle despite having shown three and five strong standing heats. I would threaten them with the taco truck, but they know me too well. Sigh. Affair settled on the first breeding like a good girl, a breeding that I was extremely excited about and would have produced February kids, only to lose her pregnancy at 80 days. Double SIGH. All three of these does didn't kid this past year - Zi Zhi never settled (making this her second strike) and Havana aborted. Affair had 2010 off due to the trauma she lived through the previous year, which included being run over by a cow, a spinal cord injury, and re-learning to walk four months after being fully - albeit temporarily - paralyzed due to seizures from her injury. Hopefully they get the memo.
So. I have lots more to write about (including a baby cow!), but I am going to save it for next time in an attempt to get myself back on the blogwagon. Ciao!
Some advice from one blogger to another: I find it helps to strike a balance between writing when inspiration hits and having deadlines. My posting schedule is pretty rigorously "whenever I feel like it" with one exception: I have a rule not to go more than a week between posts (so far, I think I've succeeded in keeping it). It doesn't have to be an amazing, brilliant, and witty post, just a few sentences about what's been keeping me too busy to post. But I often find that the act of writing helps to open up the flow of creative juices, and I feel more like writing in the days that follow.
ReplyDeleteSo, that's my 2¢. I use that method because it works for me, not because it's an inherently good method or anything. Feel free to use/modify/ignore it as you see fit. For the record, I find your blog to be interesting, and enjoy reading it.
And I yours! Thanks. A big part of my not updating has been "well, it's not like anyone's going to read it," so I appreciate the input. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get into a groove over the winter break.
ReplyDeleteGive yourself about a year, and you'll find yourself re-reading some of your earlier posts, going 'Oh yeah, I remember writing that', or 'I don't remember saying that, but it's really witty!', etc. So even if no one else reads it (and I often feel that way about mine, because no on ever posts[!]), you will, at least. Someday. In the future.
ReplyDelete