Meet Blossom and Ebany!

Well, we didn't last long.  Everyone told us to be careful when getting into goats because they seem to just appear and multiply in numbers.  My husband and I both said we were fine with just two.  Two would be perfect for us, and no, we were not interested in getting too many.

  Well, now we have four. 

Our friends told us about these two girls for sale, and we just couldn't say no.  They come from exceptional milking backgrounds, and are both already bred.  They will kid in July.

I have to admit, I'm both nervous about this and super excited!

Blossom is the buckskin color Doe in the back and Ebany is our black girl in the front.  They are both sisters and super sweet.

Daisy is meeting Blossom through the wire.  Yes, heads will butt, but I'm sure they will be good friends eventually.

Ebany and Blossom drinking some fresh water.

I love Blossom's coat!  She is very curious and is quickly getting to know me.  Both of the new girls are a bit skittish around my daughters right now, but I'm sure it won't take long for those relationships to grow as well.  Baby Gossip was skittish for the first few days too, but now she is as tame as a puppy and demands attention even from my 1 year old.

After a morning of butting heads, I'm glad to see all of them settling down and enjoying some cud.

Our Flock Up and Growing.

 

I wanted to post a few pictures of how our flock is doing today.

 

Here our Breda Hen "Vulture" is begging me for more table scraps.  My girls named her as a chick, and she is so tame.  She will follow us around the chicken yard when we go in and is always the first to come running when she sees us coming.  I guess all the extra love my daughters gave her paid off.

Our flock just pecking around.  We have 2 Marans hens, three Breda hens, and all the rest are Cream Legbars.  We only have cream legbar roosters right now so we do not have to worry about mixing our cream legbar hens with a different breed.  It is nice to have everyone out and no one penned up.



Here is Vulture's chick.  It is mixed between a Breda and a Legbar.  We will see how he/she grows up.  I'm also excited to see what color of eggs this mix will give us. 

These three Cream Legbar roosters are growing up and enjoying their first green pastures!

Purple Martins

We have some lovely Purple Martins nesting in our front yard this spring.  They have a soft sound and sing to me when I work in the garden.   I'm so happy they established in the nesting boxes and look forward to watching them raise their family.

Our Season's First Radishes

 

Our First Radishes this year were very mild and almost sweet.  I enjoy radishes when they are not hot.  We've had some good rain storms the last couple of weeks and I know that is why the flavor was good because I have not watered extremely well lately.  My two older daughters enjoyed pulling them up and ate as many as I would allow.  My youngest daughter spit hers out. 

 

Tippy and Gossip

We got a kitten last year and she has grown up to be a wonderful and curious cat.  Lately, she spends a lot of her time with our goats!  She really likes playing with Gossip and will sneak up on her in the tall grass, and when she gets close, Gossip will chase her while bouncing around like a kid on candy.  Tippy usually will jump up and run around the barn, just to come around the other side and sneak up on Gossip again!

Here Daisy is following Tippy.  Daisy likes to play sometimes too, but most the time just ignores the cat.

Here Gossip is eating a tasty leaf while Tippy sits and waits for her friend. 

I missed the chase!  Gossip bounced after Tippy, but Tippy cheated and squeezed under the wooden gate.  Here Gossip is bleating at her and telling her, "No fair!"