Another fast-paced year seems to be coming/happening. We are having a mild winter, the mildest one in years. There is just a little bit of snow and ice in the shady spots, and green grass on the hill behind the house. I have an idea we will get nailed the last week of this month and into February with some below zero temps and some snow. I could be wrong, I hope we don't get that cold. I am enjoying the mildness myself. As long as it rains on a regular basis this summer, we'll be fine. The ground is frozen, so the goat pen is livable for them and easy for me to pull the wheelbarrow full of hay around to feed them.
I've been getting some weaving done. I'm on my second warp on my new to me Norwood 4 harness floor loom. A run of towels, probably 4, maybe 5 towels on there. The scrappy blanket turned out good, perfect size for covering me up in the recliner on the rare occasions I take a nap and it's chilly in here. Usually with the woodstove going it's in the 70s and 80s in here. I open a window or two most days. A breath of fresh air can come in then.
One of these days I will figure out how to download my phone pictures to the computer without having to get yet another app or sync things up. It's such a pain having to get a new phone every few years. There are days when I wish we didn't have all the technology, life was more natural, and nature based back before all of this. Speaking of which...
I've been milling my own flour and baking quite a bit of bread the last year or so. I've discovered that I can eat the fresh milled wheat breads without having a reaction like I do with store bought breads. It also tastes so much better it's not even comparable to store breads. We go through a lot of bread around here. John takes two or three sandwiches to work with him 4 days a week, plus has toast most mornings for breakfast. I think my favorite bread is the Hawaiian rolls I make. I used to love the ones you buy in the store, till we started label reading and went organic for 99% of our food. Now I found a recipe for homemade ones, and they are great! I can change up the taste a bit by using different kinds of wheat. Using the freshly milled flour is a totally different experience from the store-bought flours. I'm getting fairly good at turning out edible loaves now.
The goats are doing well. It's nice to not have to worry about kidding this year. They sure have some nice fleece this year! Some of them are starting to let loose of it a bit. I always think it's way too early to comb them when we still have a couple of months of possible cold stormy weather coming. But they still have their guard hairs so at least they aren't bald like they would be if sheared. I will wait till February to start combing, then the whole body lets loose and not just the back end, which is what is happening now. I'm getting quite a lot of fleeces that need dehaired. It's been about 5 years since I've sent any out to be processed. I don't have that many goats anymore, so it's not a huge pile, but it is building up. We shall see what happens in the coming months.
I have 15 roosters that need to go to rooster heaven soon. We had 26, I've already processed some but am letting these guys grow a bit bigger. After researching, it seems the boys will reach full-size at around 18 months. I don't want to wait that long; they are about halfway there. They are big, just need to fill out a bit more. The weather is perfect for doing that now. Sunny and in the upper 30s low 40s. No flies or yellowjackets are out now. It takes me 20 minutes from catch to fridge, so it's not long.
Skippy is starting to mature finally. He likes his treats, he ceases whatever he's doing and comes running when we call out "Skippy, treats". I also make those at home. The batch I made last had apple and carrots in it. The goats like them as well as the dog does. I'll be making that kind again tomorrow. I still can't trust him around the goats or poultry on his own. He chases the goats and tries to catch the chickens. He's finally leaving the guineas alone, but the others are still fair game to him. So annoying.
Well, thanks for reading this. I hope you are having a great day and 2026 is a good year for you!
