Now that the days are so short, I have more time in the evenings to do the fun stuff like spinning. I'm finally almost done with the dehairing, too. Now that the batteries are worn out, I really have to wait for some sun before I can run the machine. I'm going ahead and running the generator twice a day for the next few days so I can get the rest of the fleeces dehaired and then put the machine to bed for the winter. Next year I will not accept any fleeces for dehairing after September 1st.
I've got all the does bred now, except one. I keep missing her cycle! I'm watching her very carefully this week so I can put her in with a buck the minute I see she's in heat. After she's bred, that will make 13 does that should be pregnant and have a kid or two in the spring. The first week in April is going to be a busy one! Once again it doesn't look like there will be a kid born on my birthday. One of these years it's going to happen! That will be a very special present for me when it does. :-)
I am enjoying the lack of snow so far this winter. We got about a half an inch this morning which didn't melt off today, so the ground is white. We've been getting quite a bit of rain this month. A couple of snowflakes, but no big dump, which is nice. The only problem now is the ground is starting to freeze pretty good, and with all the mud, it's freezing into a very lumpy, bumpy area out in the goat pens. Rather hard to walk on when I'm pulling the wheelbarrow in to feed these days! The goats have made their little trails everywhere, so they aren't having too much of a problem, but I'm having a grand time staying upright in there. :-)
Hunting season is now over for this year. The dang road hunters are really annoying! Our fs road was like a major thoroughfare, with lots of vehicles going up and down it every day. Silly people, as I was going down, I would meet four or five rigs just far enough apart that they couldn't see each other. Too lazy to get out and actually hunt for a deer, they just drive slowly up and down hoping one will jump out in front of them. Besides being illegal, it's not very sportsman like. They wouldn't get out of the way very fast, either. One of the joys of living out in the woods. :-) At least the season only lasts for 5 weeks. I was bummed, nobody got the garden eating doe around here. I was so hoping someone would. I'm not overly fond of venison, or I would've tried for her. Plus we have enough goat meat to get us through. I'll just have to outsmart her with better fencing I guess. I have a new plan, we'll see if it works next year.
This year's kids sure have some nice fleece on them! I can hardly wait till harvest time in the Spring! Lots of soft kid fleece to play with. They all have nice coverage on them. Midnight is turning out to be a really, really nice buck! He's throwing his great yield and style in his kids. Lots of crimp, and good length.
Well, that's it for now....
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