Our Puppy

I'm going to cry typing this...I feel like that's what I've been doing the most of these past two weeks. Thanksgiving evening Sadie was acting a bit oddly. She was holding her self funny and her belly felt firm. We suspected bloat. She had a case of bloat once before and she got over it easily. We treated her the same way the vet had recommended before and she was acting better. Around three-O-clock  the next morning  mom and Forest took her to the all night vet in Newington. She did have bloat but it was a different type. there are two kinds of bloat. (People out there with horses would recognize this as colic) there's the kind she had before, where there are just bubbles in your stomach. and there's the second type: and this is where the stomach literally twists. and that's what she had. The vet said they could do a 4000 dollar surgery but that that surgery doesn't always work. Sadie went into shock and died before mom could make the call to put her down. Here I go, Now I'm crying. She was just over a year and a half old...too young. I miss our girl. Our family has talked a lot about not being bitter to God for taking her away but being thankful for the time He gave her to us. We have also been thinking on the verse that says all things will work together for good to those who love the Lord. We have already seen that in action in the contact we have had since then with the dog breeder. Mom has been contacting her in regards to getting a new puppy. I'm not going into detail but the contact we have had with her has been a blessing for both of our families. and she has a dog that will possibly have puppies around Christmas. 

All the connections we have had with the breeder is great but it doesn't take away from the fact that we all miss Sadie. I feel like there's a piece taken out of me. I think we take too many things for granted. I have never before lived in a dog-less house and I can tell you it's horrible. the house is so empty...

 I once read that we should plan like we will live forever and live like we will die tomorrow.

Zipporah

My chicken Zippy/Zipporah has died. I'm unsure how, I found her dead in the coop when I was feeding the chickens their dinner. She was a polish and I know the fancier breeds are often fragile and easily catch passing germs that may not affect other chickens at all. I do feel rather silly posting a chicken's death - and if it were any other chicken I would hardly fuss over it at all. But Zippy was a pet. I took her for walks (Yes, walks, like a dog on a leash) and I tied her "hair" up with ribbons.
And I suppose writing is my favorite ways of releasing my feelings, so here I am... typing away.

P.S. I didn't know this until just now what the name Zipporah means. I named her after a girl in a book I read and I just looked up the meaning of her name and guess what it means? 'Bird'. And I had no idea that it meant bird when I named her that.

Pumpkin Saturday!

Today for Pink Saturday- as Beverly has said to- I'm posting pumpkins! She also said to say what I'm doing this weekend but sadly, I wont be doing hardly anything...I've got an cold. But what ever, it happens!

 We didn't have a great garden this year, it was mostly weeds and not many veggies...however we managed, some how, to get EIGHT pumpkins out of it! They are all beautiful pumpkins too!
So this Saturday I'm posting a couple that I've decorated with pink ribbons. Gotta love pink!

Well happy pink/pumpkin Saturday every one and I hope you all have a GREAT weekend

My hammock

I have a hammock that I often hang up in my goat stall to lay on while I read, nap, or just stay for hours on end watching the goats and thinking. Many times my friend and I will lay together on the hammock, kick off our shoes and chat. Well the other day she came over with her two baby goats and we set up the hammock. Well my two youngest babies, as they often do, hopped up on the hammock with us...then my friends two babies decided to follow suit and join the party! That made for two teen girls and four goats. We estimated that to be over 300 pounds of weight on the old and ripped and goat-chewed hammock. We half expected it to fall off the wall any minute...It didn't though. And the goats fell asleep for nearly an hour until someone came out with a camera and they decided they were camera shy and had to wake up and get down. So my mom just managed to snap this picture, but I think it's a great one! Have a good week end!

Goat Family

I thought I'd do a post on my goats and their families...It can get VERY confusing remembering that "this goat is that goat's great cousin twice removed, from the father's side" But I will try  to clear some things up and make it as easy as possible. And maybe we will see some family resemblances!

We will start with Hakama:

Hakama - Picture from Old Mountain Farm 

Hakama is the son of   Old Mountain Farm Obsidian  and 1*M Springs Run Haiku's Kimono *D AR 1995 He is the Father of My goats Matilda and Annika 

Matilda Rose  (Tilly)

Baby Matilda 

Baby Annika - Picture from Tiny Hill Farm 

Annika (Reg. name Mishell Anet )

Now Tilly and Annika Were born on the same day and have the same Father....however they are not twins! They have different mothers. (Now it gets difficult)

Annika's mother is Tiny Hill Farm's Jill and Tilly's mom is Tiny Hill Farm's Varla. Both registered Old Mountain Farm Goats.

Varla 

Jill 

Now Pippi is a whole different story she is just barely related to the other goats, to be specific she, and Matilda, and Annika have the same great-great-grand-Sire, they are second Cousins. Pippi's dad is Jethro Bo-Dean son of  NC PromisedLand SS Deviant  and GCH 1*M NC PromisedLand Beau-Nanza 'VG' 88.  Her mom is Ishta daughter of Honeysuckle Ridge Dakota and  2*M AR East Rivendell HK Tulip's Girl 2*D AR.

NC Promised Land Jethro Bo-Dean - 
picture from old mountain farm

Add caption

3*M AR Old Mountain Farm
Ishta 3*D AR - 
Picture from Old Mountain Farm 

Pippi (reg. name Lila Bo-Dean)

Baby Pippi - Picture from Old Mountain Farm

Now's the easy part...my babies. They all have the same dad - Old Mountain Farm Endurance Son of Old Mountain Farm Stag and  GCH 1*M ARMCH Sugar Creek Nate's
Patience*D'E'

Endurance - Picture from Old Mountain Farm

Faye's mom is  Annika 

Faye 

Faye

Annika 

Leipchen and Leia's mom is Tilly. 

Matilda Rose  (Tilly)

Leia and Leipchen

Leia 

Leipchen 

Now that we've got that covered I want to add that my friend has Tilly's Twin sister Ally. And she had Tilly's Niece and Nephew Lexi and Colton But unfortunately they passed away not to long after they were born. And she now has Zander, Tillys Great great great Nephew!  Leipchen and Leia's "Cousin"!  Though I don't have a picture of him.

Baby Ally 

Lexi

Colten 

I think that's just about it. If I have more to add I will at another time! (That wasn't too bad was it??)

Ace

Here's one more kitten picture. I took this picture of Ace the second he was born! Isn't he CUTE!

Hobby Farms

I just got an account on HobbyFarms.com, if you are on look for "Still Waters farm".

Finally- Kittens!

 Sorry it took me So terribly long to get these pictures! Our camera has been acting up and I've been super busy...lame excuses for some thing so cute - I know.

 The whiter one is Ace ( The boy) the tiger is Gretta. I think they both have homes but neither home is definite. They are both very cute and VERY playful.  Ace is much more friendly but they are both sweet. I'll try to get more pictures fairly soon.
The Kittens will be five weeks old tomorrow. Ace spits out any thing you give him but Gretta is eating her moms dry food all on her own! Independent little rascal!

Chickens!

 I GOT CHICKENS! I actually got them a while ago but I've been very busy and haven't been on the computer much - there for no blogging.

 The Polish is Zipphorah (Or Zippy) and the Mille Fluer is Hydi (Short for my favorite flower hydrangea but we don't ever call her that.) The itty-bitty chicks don't have names yet cause we are not yet sure of their gender. We will be giving the roosters to Larissa at Tiny Hill Farm where we got all the chicks (All except the Mille. Though she does have Milles.)
We (my dad and I) Got White Leghorns, Black Langshan/Jersey Giant Crosses, and Silver Spangled Hamburgs.

Evening in the Barn

 I was Milking Matilda and I turned my head and  something about the way my new couple bales of hay looked caught my eye...I hollered to Mary who was playing with her chick and asked her if she'd get me the camera. I took the picture using a lot of different settings. I think they came out nicely but they are dark (it was late in the evening as I was milking).

 I did some with flashes because of how dark the others were but I really don't like the look the flash gives to pictures

 The babies were watching me through their stall door (you can see one of them in the middle dark one) and wanted attention so I messed around with my camera some more and took some pictures of them through the wire.