Shop envy

I went over to M B's shop today to see what Hoppers was up to. She's been working on her horse trailer, fiberglassing it back into usable shape.
I have never done/ seen fiberglass work so I was extremely curious.

The shop is a huge (60 x 200?)metal building where MB has his shop. A told me he had every tool in the world in there, so I was anticipating something impressive. And I wasn't disappointed.
The shop is absolutely filled with every tool and machine for any type of fabricating/ building you might need to do. This past winter he built an entire logging truck on a semi truck frame, and he did it inside the shop. Milling machines, drills, lathes, and more welders than I could count. Benders, saws, geez it was amazing. And of course material everywhere, including some serious industrial strength sized steel. At the other end of the shop there is a little trailer being built, so I got to check out how they were doing it. That is a lesson in itself. Angle iron used on the angle was an interesting use, and the way some of the corners were fitted was interesting to see.

The fiberglassing is way cool, it adds a whole new dimension to "how things can be done". We discussed how a shape could be fabricated, I have a LOT to think about.

As I was leaving I checked out the logging truck parked in the yard, and of course there is hand built stuff everywhere. On my way out the lane there was a feeder very similar to the one I am working on, with a great solution to a problem I am facing.



I wanted to figure out a way to have a tray or something at the bottom of the feeder to catch the inevitable droppings, and I would like to use plastic of somesort. Here he has used empty teat dip barrels cut in half, which are not that hard to come by ( I might even have one or 2 around). He made the base a bit wider than the feeder, custom to fit the barrels.
Totally cool.

A steel steal

Here's my little flatbed trailer loaded with the steel I scored yesterday. The big sheet of plate steel is on the bottom and hanging off the back. There are a few more sheets and then on top is the dismantled truck cage. On the other side you might be able to see the 1 1/2" X 3/4 tubing I got for my feeder project.

I started cutting the pieces for the feeder today, and I got the end piece welded on. I cut 2 legs tonight, with 2 more to go. After the first cut I got the hang of the technique I need to cut it (1/8") with my hand saw with a metal cut off blade (plunge).
The second one went way faster than the first, which I cut like I would cut wood.
I hope to get this feeder mostly finished in a day or 2.

J called me on Thursday night and said that M had gotten a big dumpster and was getting all of the scrap steel out of there, so if I wanted any more I'd better get up there and get it.
So yesterday I hitched up the little flatbed trailer and ran up there.
I had in mind a big piece of steel plate and a cage that fits in the back of a pickup that Uncle Tony had left there.
Mike showed up not long after I arrived and he got the tractor and we loaded the big sheet; it is about 4 feet longet than the trailer and thick and very heavy, app 4' X 12'. We took apart the pen and loaded it and also a few more smaller sheets of plate steel. I also scored lots of the 2 x 2" tubing that I have been building a welding table out of.
On the way back through Eureka I stopped at the boiler works and got the rectangular tubing that I had ordered to finish the feeder.

Today I started work on the feeder. I cut the piece of tubing and welded it to the frame. Now I need to build a set of legs and set the whole thing on it.

Last night we went to the Casino. They give you 50.00 to play with during your birthday month so I needed to get that out of the way before the end of the month.
We managed to spend a few hours there, ans come out ahead. That's both times there we managed to come out winners.
There was a goofy country band in the bar, and lots of people there. Just a few minutes from here, it's fun going somewhere completely different so close to home.

Why I was never interested in "history".

I've always liked Errol Morris films. I have a copy of "Gates of Heaven", which I also saw in the theater. I guess I'll have to check both of these out.

"It Becomes a Self-fulfilling Thing"

On October 31, 2005, Errol Morris, Academy Award winning director of The Fog of War, interviewed Adam Curtis, director of “The Power of Nightmares”, the documentary film which asks the question “Did Johnny Mercer bring down the World Trade Center?”

"History is a series of unintended consequences resulting from confused actions, some of which are committed by people who may think they're taking part in a conspiracy, but it never works out the way they intended. "

Uncle Tony

After Pat died, I met Tony Zanone, Joe's uncle, and I wrote about it here.

He was going to be in charge of the two rental houses on the ranch. He came and fixed a few things, came and mowed the lawn and had all sorts of plans for the ranch. I was going to get a new roof on my poor pathetic old barn.

Well I hadn't now seen him in a few weeks, after he had been coming every Sunday. I ended up mowing the whole lawn last week, I was sure he'd show up to re mow it. He was that way, "meticulous" said Sharon.

After Pat dying, I knew things would change for me on my little ranch. It's been so quiet, Tony threw the renter out of the little house and he was going to fix it up nice.
There's no one there now but me. There's only one occupied house between me and the ocean. At night there's no lights, no cars, just me and the goats.

Today Sharon called to inform me that Uncle Tony had passed away. He was only 57.
So now what?

I am so shocked. It's almost too much now.

Anthony E. Zanone

Anthony E. Zanone of Arcata, a descendant of the Humboldt County pioneer Zanone family, died suddenly on April 15th at age 57 of complications from heart disease. Tony, as Mr. Zanone was known, was a graduate of Assumption Elementary School in Ferndale, St. Bernard’s High School in Eureka, and the University of San Francisco.

Treks from 1973

I hve noticed that the cork wedgie shoes are now back in style.

It's time for me to bring out my Clark Treks, which I have had since 1973.
They still fit.
I never thought they'd be back in style, but they've been re released, except with rubber crepe soles.
The old style soles wore quickly; my shoes have been resoled at least 4 times, the last time being a little shoe repair shop near Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. The guy asked me for a date (1982).

California is named after the island of California, home of Queen Calafia, her beautiful black amazons and their man-eating griffins, as all detailed in Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo's Las Sergas de Esplandian, which was the Sword of Shanarra of its day, a highly unauthorized but popular sequel to the much more highly respected Amadis de Gaul, more The Lord of the Rings of its day. At the end of Don Quixote, Cervantes had this to say about Esplandian: "Verily the father's goodness shall not excuse the want of it in the son. Here, good mistress housekeeper, open that window and throw it into the yard. Let it serve as a foundation to that pile which we are to set a-blazing presently."

That being said, Las Sergas de Esplandian was the pulp novel the conquistadores had on board when they sailed around and encountered the Baja peninsula. What's more, when the Portola party went up the coast, thinking the descriptions in LSdE were based on actual travelers' tales, they thought the California condors were Queen Calafia's big black man-eating griffins.

And so on to the present day where California is ruled by Conan the Barbarian.

OMG I had a great day!!!

I had a super fantastic birthday today!
The best cake evah.
A delicious snack from Josh of my favorite indulgence (Cheetos and Dr. Pepper: Crazy Delicious)
Ted got my tractor running and we moved it out of the yard for the first time in a long time.
And the best thing;

What every American girl really wants:

A Variable Speed drill press!!! OOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
I am totally set now. YAY!!!
(Also, a new ball peen hammer)
THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!!

My View on Tattoos

The Sneetches

"Now the Star-bellied Sneetches had bellies with stars.
The Plain-bellied Sneetches had none upon thars.
The stars weren't so big; they were really quite small.
You would think such a thing wouldn't matter at all.
But because they had stars, all the Star-bellied Sneetches
would brag, "We're the best kind of Sneetch on the beaches."

Antique Tractor Restoration

O K well it's hardly an antique (late 70's I H 584), and the restoration only goes to restore it to running condition, but it is on it's way.
After getting it running back in February, it has sat on the cement for the past 2 months in more rain and the starter was all gunked up. T took the whole thing apart (twice) down to the solanoid. I only know it has a solanoid because he showed it to me. I am mostly ignorant of the working of engines and mechanical stuff.
I desperately need that big strong thing to get things in order now, as the weeds and winter mess need to cleaned asap.

Last night I got my shop area and milk room all tidied up, down to sweeping almost the whole part of the barn. My steel will come in tomorrow and I'd love to finish up that feeder project and move it out. I have a wooden feeder that just needs a piece of plywood cut to fit, but I couldn't find a good blade for my saw, so I'll get one this morning and get that done.
The little gate is next in line..I need to figure out my hinge design.

I cleaned out pens and finally moved the big buck kids out. The shed that had been blown all apart, and all over the ranch in the 1/1/06 windstorm finally got put back together. I hadn't worked on it because of the usual mental block. I couldn't decide how to do it, should I screw it together rather than nail, could I do it while the parts still had the tin on...etc.
Of course, as it usually goes, the thing went right back together with just a little hammering and a few new nails. I could have done that months ago. I do want to screw it together to prevent this from happening again. Maybe even put some angle bracing in there.
I also disbudded the smallest kids.
Usually ranch love like this precedes some disaster...

I see the "S" word..

TODAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY IN THE MORNING THEN BECOMING PARTLY
CLOUDY. HIGHS NEAR 60. NORTH WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.
.TONIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY. LOWS IN THE MID TO UPPER 40S.
NORTH WIND 15 TO 25 MPH DECREASING TO 5 TO 15 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.
.THURSDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS NEAR 60. NORTH WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE MID TO UPPER 40S.
NORTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.
.FRIDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 50S TO MID 60S. NORTH
WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.
.FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS NEAR 50. HIGHS
NEAR 60.
.SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE 40S.
HIGHS NEAR 60.

Abby and Simon on Vimeo

I love my bike.

Now that the weather has dried up and Meridian Road looks like it's open for good, and gas is 3.29, I have been riding my bike on one of my round trip commutes to and from the ranch.
It's such an easy and pleasant ride, I rarely see even one car on the trip. I figure I can save at least a bale of hay a week just by riding for one round trip.
Every time I step onto my bike, I just love it. It's so light and smooth.
Today I put my morning's milk in the basket, and I was the tank truck to haul milk home.

Steel Where house

Maker-Faire 2006
"We melted another taillight," announced Michael Sturtz, director of the Crucible, after inspecting the blacksmithing forge installed on the rear of the fire truck.

I think I might just have to go to the next one of these..

Yesterday, on an afternoon trip to Eureka, we had some spare time so I thought I'd like to find the steel I need to finish my feeder project.
I have never bought steel before, and I was somewhat intimidated, mostly because of
1. dudeness
andXXXXXX
2. my small pool of information on steel. What did I need to know to get what I wanted?

First stop was waht turned out to be the misnamed "Steel Warehouse" next to the welding supply store. They had about 20 bars (that's what they're called!) of odds and ends.
They were very nice, and told us to try Eureka Boiler Works.

Thai swa more like it, and there were girls to help me! They just sent me into the warehouse and I looked for myself, on the well ordered and Dymo labeled rack, and just where the steel I wanted should have been (1 1/2 X 3/4 tube) was an empty space.

While she called to see if they had what I needed and order some, I wandered the back supply area. Like a candy store. The possibilities are endless! I can make anything!

They ended up ordering a 20' bar for me, to come in Thursday. The price was well under budget, not having any idea what it should cost, having never done this before.

This is an exciting resource.
And finding out the price of steel, I did O K when I bought that bedframe.

Speaking of which, I have now cut one end and ground off the leftover bits. I am ready to start on the other end, but the last grinding session left my ears ringing for hours. I'll bring some ear plugs with me today and get started.
I made a table/clamp for it by bungee cording the tube upside down in a hay feeder. It actually works pretty good. I can let the weight of the grinder do a lot of the work.
So much to learn.....

Damn fuckin earthquakes

This American Life
moves to New York, and will air an upcoming movie for Showtime..

A glorious sunny clear warm weekend was had by all.
Mud is drying! Fields are growing!

I spent Friday and Saturday mowing the lawn at the ranch. Doing Pat's side as well as my own is a pretty big job, I am thinking it might be 1/2 acre in total. Now it's done, but the way the grass is growing and the time of the year, I imagine it won't be 2 weeks before it needs to be mowed again.
Gas at 3.29 makes it an investment to run the lawnmower.

Yesterday I went to J's to bring her 2 yearling milkers and do goat stuff. We also planned our attack on the upcoming local Dairy Goat show.
On Saturday night she and M drove down to Santa Rosa to pick up a truckload of Alpine milkers, so now we are both in the Alpine breeding business. It's good to have someone else nearby to share bloodlines and stock. She also picked up a new buck.
It was such a nice day I think I got some sun just by standing outside talking and looking at the goats.

The BUck show is in less than 2 weeks. It's time to start getting them ready; trimming and some clipping and tattooing. I am not going to do wull body clips as the show has the chance of being cold and drizzly. I think I will do trim clipping and maybe if the weather warms some I might bathe them.

The tractor battery is on the charger and I hope to get that project going this week. I have much tractor work to do, and I need to get to it before the weeds get out of control.
Also, a burn pile fire is on order. Many uses for diesel!

Well I have sent in my first show entry, and another is due within a week or 2. Then the next show is either the big big crazy show in Santa Rosa, or I skip it and then the next show is our own local show in Eureka. I'm already looking forward to the home show..
I had been conflicted all along about 2 yearling bucks; I really wanted to take both, but one (IMO) is much nicer than the other. I can't show both (I'm only one person) and getting another hand to help in a foreign show is sometimes not fun. I started to arrange help through the show secretary, who claimed all along that hep could be arranged, and I started to fill out my entry. Then I see that according to the guidelines set by this fair, the 2 bucks would be in different classes. Duh. Problem solved.
So I'll be taking 4 bucks, which is a handful, 2 breeds (1 Alpine). I need to start training them to lead, and get some clippage done.

After the dark windy start to yesterday, the clouds blew by without dropping any water on us. And today the sun is out, and I'll probably get the rest of the lawn mowed. 3.29 for gas..ouch.
I'll be riding my bike.

The new business idea that had such promise is on a roller coaster..
I did some calculations and it just didn't pay out. Now after being questioned, I might have been enough off in my math that there is a profit to be had.
More research to come...it's such a good idea..

We went to Arcata for dinner last night. The Plaza Grill was busy and loud, I enjoyed it as such a different atmosphere from my daily grind, but the menu was lacking. The sweet potato fries were quite yummy, however.

I might get to move some of these kids out today. It's time, and I need the barn space. I think some of them are so big as to be hard to lift out of their pen.

Here comes the rain again...

It looks like this lovely weather has come to an end. It's dark and windy this morning; the wind usually foretells more rain.

I did Fortuna errands yesterday, gas (ouch), bank, Thrift store, dollar store.
Before this rain I managed to get my side of the lawn mowed and a little start on Pat's side before I hit bad gas and the mower quit. I totally need to drain the tank and run some cleaner through it.

Rosasharn is looking like she's about ready to kid. I have never gotten a doe kid out of her, so I am extremely hopeful (anyone see a fall coming?). I have saved her last 2 bucks and used them as she is a lovely doe with a great smooth udder, so I am really hoping hoping for a doe.

The new Alpines have settled in nicely, but they still are a little on the jumpy/ whiny side especially at milking time. However, they come right to the gate and come straight in and jump on the stand, and last night not a hint of twitching or kicking.

Here are all 3 checking things out



T is on vacation for the week, I hope the weather isn't crappy for the whole time.
I am filling out and sending the first Show entry of the year. It's a buck show (no milkers!) in Southern Oregon, and my favorite for doing well is Winfield, Rosasharn's buck from last year.

Blast from the past

(In a strange twist, I managed to turn the settings on my camera so it took only B&W. I didn't realize this until I got home and uploaded them. I find this curious...)


It's a funny thing when you read a book, then you find yourself in the place. The real place.
It's like in a cartoon when the human opens a book and steps into the pages and the places and characters are there and interacting with them.

When I read "In The Land Of The Grasshopper Song", the day after I finished it a friend and I drove up to Hoopa and the Klamath River and Weitchepec for the first time, and I saw the places and the land, it makes it all come so alive and so real ( well, I know it was all real, but a book isn't)

When we lived back in the hills I was reading every homesteading book I could get my hands on.
Late in our time there I found "Hard Times In Paradise", and I was surprised I hadn't ever seen it before, as it was so very close to home.
I already had a few goats by then, and I was becoming familiar with some bloodlines, breeders, etc. It struck me, looking at the cover with the family and a goat, that the goat they were holding was not only a nice Alpine, but a really pretty nice goat, not what one usually sees in a "homesteading" type of story.

So it was a real OOBE to drive the road from the story (hacked out by hand...ack!) and come upon the little home of Shining Moon and the Colfax's.

The day couldn't have been more lovely, after the winter and the rain we have had for months. The sun was out and I drove with the window open and good rock n roll on the radio.
I took the highway west from Ukiah and heading into uncharted territory, over the mountains into the Anderson Valley and the little town of Booneville. I had budgeted 4 hours for the trip, and I managed it in under 3, which was lovely as I was very late leaving home.

Back up the west side of the valley and into the redwoods I went. On looking at the map I see that the road eventually hits the ocean at another literary mecca, Albion, the home of my "Back To The Land Bible".."Country Women; A Handbook For The New Farmer"

I wound through redwoods and on to dirt roads until I found Shining Moon Farm, and the Alpine does I had driven down to pick up. I met Micki Colfax, co author of "the book" and we had a lovely time in the sun talking about goats and stuff. We went to the house to get the registration papers, and I got to see the inside, and the beautiful sweeping view of the redwoods as far as you could see.



It was a lovely day, the goats are beautiful and more than I could have hoped for, and my host was great fun to meet. She probably talked me in to returning for their county fair and show in September.

I made it back home long before sunset and settled my new does in to the herd. After 3 + hours in the truck on a warm afternoon and windy road, they settled right in, met my girls, drank some water, and stuck their heads in the feeder and started eating alfalfa. They're going to be just fine.
One of the new does milked over 6 lbs of milk last night, which is more than many of my does do for the whole day (2 milkings).

I wish I were a better writer, because it was really a great day . I felt warm outside air for the first time in a LONG time. The drive was so easy and pleasant, I was satisfied. It was a dreamlike day. The weather was so unusually clear and warm and sunny, the drive was smooth and fast, this newly discovered part of our Northern California territory was spectacular, yet quaint, and maybe I met a new friend.
I might just have to go back and read that book again.

Sometimes, I even amaze myself.

The truck cap hatch is completely fixed.
Favorite tools: the saber saw and the pop rivet.

The key was the pop rivet.
Before I found the bottom bar, (I thought maybe I had thrown it away, hell knows why) Dennis and I were discussing how to hang the plexiglass in the frame, and he suggested drilling holes through the frame and the glass and using the pop rivet.

Later yesterday afternoon I found the bottom bar, and there was much rejoicing.

Looking at it I saw the reason why it had failed in the first place. Something learned; when you rebuild something you probably will find this out.
The pop rivets holding the frame together had sheared/ broken.

Pop rivets back in place, all rubber still holding the glass, the damn thing is fixed.

I am in awe of my powers.

Extended vacation!

What?
Sun again???

No, really, it's too much.

Do I see the "S" word?


TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. AREAS OF FROST AND PATCHY FOG AFTER
MIDNIGHT. LOWS IN THE MID TO UPPER 30S. NORTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.
.TUESDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. AREAS OF FROST AND PATCHY FOG IN THE
MORNING. HIGHS IN THE MID 50S TO LOWER 60S. NORTH WIND 5 TO 15
MPH.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. PATCHY FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOWS
NEAR 40. NORTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

Plexiglass...

First of all I can't describe what it's like when the rain quits.
It was like a little vacation today. It didn't rain ALL DAY, and the sun was even out.
It was really like being somewhere else.

O K so the back lift up hatch of my truck cab has been broken for months. It came apart and the glass slipped out and broke.

Without the hatch it is pretty useless for hauling goats unless I tie them in there, which is a bit stressful, for both of us.
I had always imagined I'd patch it with a sheet of plywood, or a hog panel or something.
On planning my Boonville trip[ I started thinking seriously about how to rig it, when I thought about putting plexiglass in there.
I don't know why I didn't think of it before, except I have really never worked with plexiglass before, I knew nothing about it.

Well to make a long story short, I got the plexiglass, Dennis, the lumber yard guy ( also my neighbor) cut me a sheet,gave me some tips on how to cut it to fit, and even lent me a little jigsaw and some blades.

I cut it, I fit it and I almost had the whole thing put back together, but the pop rivets I had were too big, and by that time the store was closed.
I am shocked and awed that it went so well , and that it's going to go back together perfectly.

It'sd really fun having yet another material to work with. The metalworking has been such a blast...

WOW, it's like SUNNY out.
I mean from where I am sitting I can't even see A CLOUD..
I'm lookin'...nope, can't see one.

It's not particularly warm, but it's NOT RAINING.

I finally got a hold of Shining Moon ranch and I will be travelling down there on Wednesday. I was planning on going tomorrow, but that wasn't working for them.
I imagined passing Josh and John on 101, them on their way back from their city adventure.
It looks like, according to today's forecast, it will be a clear sunny day too.

I have to fabricate a rear hatch for my truck cap to hold the new does. The old one has been missing since it fell out and broke sometime over the winter. And I don't need to haul the little trailer all that way for 3 goats.
It looks to be a pretty simple fix. I could even just rig up a piece of hog wire at the back.

I think today I will completely clean out my kidding pen. It looks like Rosasharn might be bred to kid on the 21st. I had my doubts as she came back into heat 3 weeks past her breed date, but she looks to be getting ready. I would love to get a doe out of her, she is really a lovely doe.

I'm going to be foolishly daring and take Ms Mans kids to the ranch today. They have both been very healthy and are getting out of their bucket regularly, so they might be fine. The doeling is very nice and I would hate to have anything happen. She'll come right home if I see anything funky.

I am selling Rare Treat today. She's going to be a family milker, and will be joining her dam, Rare Earth in Southern Humboldt. Yesterday J and M took Twister, Target and Vera, so as of today I am down 4 milkers. I'm also drying up Princess Leia.
But 2 milkers are coming from Shining Moon, so I'll be back up to about 12 milkers.
I felt pretty good about shipping those 3. I'm at the point where I need to cull anything unacceptable, faulty, unpleasing, unshowable. Twister and Rare Treat are both Lakota daughters, and I don't care how his pedigree reads, he did nothing for my herd. I have twin daughters out of Twister that look better than she does, and Twisters dam is also a better doe, so she goes.

I have to be able to look at my goats/ breeding program and see constant improvement.

First show of the season is a buck show on May 6th, and Winfield is looking GREAT!!

Josh has gone on his first all by himself with a friend road trip.
He and his friend John have gone down to S F. Tomorrow they are going to see The Books. They have been planning this trip for a while, down to every detail.

John just got his license, so they drove to Santa Rosa and will spend the night with Johns grandparents, and take a bus in to the city tomorrow.

One part of me is so thrilled to see him finally stretching his wings. At his age I was all over, road trips were a regular event, and I was in the city (N Y)regularly, although it was only 1 hour, not 5, away.

Then the other part is imagining all the horrors that hide behind every corner. I'm not sure it was such a good idea to watch the Out Of Towners yesterday...

I was quite relieved when he called saying they had made it safely to SR and dinner was already waiting for them. Someone is watching out for them down there; that's a bit of a relief.

They're spending the night tomorrow after the show at the youth hostel in Union Square.
I'm sure they will have a great time, but I sure can come up with some nasty scenarios in my head until he is safely home.

Ocean Spray Goat Ranch

I knew my ranch was close to the ocean. I mean, I can smell it pretty often, and I can almost always hear it at night. I had always figured it was 4 miles, as the crow flies.

But according to this
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/
it's actually only 2.3 miles.
And, as T just pointed out, at 7 ft elevation, not above high tide.

Fucking earthquakes

I've never been to Boonville, ...but

I'm going there on Wednesday.

What I know about Boonville:

They speak a different language there; Boontling.

The Mendocino County Fair/ Apple Harvest Festival, is held in Boonville, in September.

There is a novel called Boonville. I could only get about 1/3 of the way through it, but I did get that far while on a road trip through the area.

Molly told me she saw vampires there.

Shining Moon Alpines grow there.

The only way I could get through this horrible winter we have been having was the knowledge that it would all end in a few months.
Well, here it is mid April and nothing has changed. Again have cold windy driving rain and hail, and the roads are once again flooded.
At this point I can thrill in a few moments of "not rain". When the water stops falling from the sky and I can walk around outside without getting drenched.
Yesterday morning was so ridiculous I gave up any thought that there could be a g-d. There was no point to what weather came our way. The rain and hail was such a deluge on the tin roof of my barn that I screamed at the top of my lungs and I couldn't hear myself.
I was planning to go to see AF at the shop and see about her fiberglassing project. But by the time I got my chores finally finished I was soaked through. No way I was going anywhere but home to dryness.

And now it's happening again.

In the afternoon when there was no other choice but to get out of the house and do something, T and I went and got some new clothes. I realised when I was dressing for the seder that I had little in the way of nice clean dress up wear. Lots of farm togs, but no nice pants, clean tidy blouses, etc.
The trip was successful and for a minimum of investment I got numerous new wardrobes and T got the new jacket he wanted.

Milk test AM and PM yesterday, only the AM was during a rain, the P M was actually sans falling water. My old brood doe isn't milking much so I fidure I'll dry her up and wait for babies next year. I might even try to find a good home for her.
To pay for my new Alpines I decided who I might sell. I am definitely milking a few too many does, and soon I can wean off some of these kids. Of course I could get some does from J to raise...

It's only a few months and summer will be over and the fall rains will start.
This might be the year without a summer. Just what I need.

A piece of History

This week I'll be heading to Shining Moon Ranch in Boonville to pick up some Alpines.
The breeders are somewhat of a sort of celebrity, having written "Hard Times in Paradise" a book I read years ago, about homesteading and homeschooling in the 70's.
Their son was also on Johnny Carson after getting accepted to Harvard. I don't think I personally have ever met anyone else who was ever on the Tonight Show.

I have long admired their does, and their Alpines carry many of the same background pedigrees as other Northern California Alpine herds, including the Sempervirens herd I took over when I started my dairy.
They are certainly one of the top Alpine herds in the area.

So I'll go to Shining Moon ranch and meet the Author, and bring home a piece of Northern California goat heritage history/fame.

(When I told T that I was going to buy some of their does, he thought that was WAY cool.)

I don't know about chametz, but it's taken me 3 hours just to clean one end of the living room and I'm finding some "stuff".
I'm scraping the sliding area for the sliding door with a knife. It was a bit yucky in there.
Cleaning the floor with a sponge.
I guess it has to be done at least once a year. It was pretty dirty.

Ew I had a wierd dream about finding a wild buck hamster in the house, a HUGE one, and breeding him to poor Kiwi.
Then getting stuck in Eureka thinking I had taken the bus, but couldn't remember, and the realized that I had driven. Then I could barely drive once I got in my truck.

The sun is sorta out, fer now.

More goaty stuff yesterday, my head is spinning.
I sent a little buckling to Nevada with a neighbor who was going to pick up a load of doelings.
Major news is that a dairy that was going out of business, then not, then yes, then not ( for the past 5 months) is out.
Goats have gone to another dairy, and I might get the use of some of my former bucks.

Today is house cleaning, and seder prep.
I might get some pens shifted if I would get out of the house now.

After 3 months of quiet babies that sleep through the night, Ms Mans are up every few hours. I resisted them until 7 when I fed them.

I'm off..

Matzah Yarmulke
You've been searching for the afikomen all night and it's been on your head the whole time silly! Hmmm...maybe it was those four cups of Manishevitz. Amuse your Passover guests with this fabric matzah yarmulke and add a little sass to the seder.


We're cheating a little this year and doing a seder on the 3rd night. Not exactly right, but close enough.
We have a Catholic coming so no chicken, we'll have fish.
And my milk test on Saturday now needs to be dealt with.

Got a lead on a shankbone, which is usually the hardest treasure hunt item to find.

Tomorrow maybe I'll get the house cleaned.

Seen on a website on Stainless Steel milk pails made in India
"Specifications in Dimensions are subject to change due to our policy of Continuous Improvisation"

If bad things happen in 3's, maybe good things do too. But I've already had 3 good ones in the past 2 days.
Finding that bedframe and having it exactly fit what I got it for.
Developing plans for a new business venture. Dairy related, but probably cow,not goat. But maybe, also goat too.

And to top it off, my best Lamancha doe, Permanent Grand Champion Shevett's M Nifty (aka Ms Man) had twins today, a buck and a doe, both lovely.
The buck came first, breech ( rear feet first) and is much bigger than his little sister. The doeling looks great so far, and is pure white.
Plus Ms Man gave 7 lbs of colostrum for her first milking, which is HUGE!

So it's O K today that it's still raining, all else is good.

Back to the lil trailer project..

I had put a tarp over my little trailer to keep some hay in it dry. Then I left it on for the bucklings to stay under it on Sunday night.
This morning I see the flaw; it is flat across the top, and a puddle forms and it just drips and the inside of the trailer was all wet.
I temporarily stuck a pole in it to tent it and get the rain to run off, but I need a better solution.
I really want to make it sort of a caravan looking, but I have no pipe bender, and no skill either as far as shaping pipe goes.

Well as luck would have it..
I went to the thrift store today and there was one of these bedframes, just perfect, and for less than all the steel was worth for scrap!

(someone with another good use for one)

I was hoping the width would be close so that I could fit it onto the trailer.
Even more luck was when I got it home, it fit EXACTLY! The exact same width as the trailer.
The bad news is that now I have to undo all the work I did to the trailer, but now it will be satisyingly finished. I might make a cover out of canvas for it!

I can't believe this rain. Now, we have real rain, not even occasional chowers. There seems to be no end at all. No sun in the forecast. No break in the weather.
We are now over 52" of rain since July 1.

I guess it's good I managed to get the lawn mowed, but it's so cool the grass won't be growing much.

The magic goat fairy came on Sunday night. I put 5 bucklings in the trailer at night and when I returned yesterday morning they were all gone! But no quarter was left under the trailer...
The fairy is sending payment in the mail.

I dragged my portable stanchion to the front barn yesterday during a long break in the rain and trimmed almost everyones feet. I got all the dry yearlings and the junior bucks that are going to the show in May. I still have the big guys to do, one of whom is limping badly.
I called KD and asked her if she would show my Alpine buck in the first class at the show, as I had a conflict and had to show my Lamanchas in another ring. That was fine with her and we chatted for a while.
I also talked to AF immediately afterwards and scheduled my next milk test for Saturday.
Then I went and got a service memo for the little doe that went to the 4Her.

Pretty uneventful day I guess.

Hell on earth

This rain is so not even funny at all

http://kamala.cod.edu/ca/latest.fxus66.KEKA.html

WE JUST CANT SHAKE OUT OF THIS COOL/DAMP PATTERN DURING THE NEXT
7-10 DAYS. WHAT BRIEF SURFACE RIDGE WE CAN GET IN HERE ON THURSDAY
(FOLLOWING IN BEHIND THE LOW THAT HITS US TODAY/TONIGHT) IS NEGATED
BY THE MIGRATORY UPPER-LEVEL FEATURES EMBEDDED IN THE WESTERLIES AND
ITS INHERENT LINKAGE TO A PERSISTENT UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH PATTERN
ALONG THE WEST COAST. THOUGHT A ECMWF/CANADIAN SOLUTION WILL WORK
ONCE AGAIN IN THE EXTENDED. IE...ANOTHER COLD SYSTEM DESCENDS OUT OF
THE GULF OF ALASKA ON SATURDAY...SLIDES DOWN THE OREGON COAST AND
INTO NW CALIF ON SUNDAY WITH ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL ABOVE
4000-4500FT AND SNOW FLAKES/FLURRIES POSSIBLY DOWN AROUND 3000FT
AGAIN! GFS LOOKED ABOUT 12-18HRS TOO FAST WITH THIS DESCENDING COLD
FRONT. ITS STILL DAY6-7...SO SOME ADJUSTMENTS CERTAINLY...MAY OCCUR
BETWEEN NOW AND THEN. MJV

I donated a buckling to a fund raiser; he was won by a woman who runs a dairy in Nevada. Now the trick was to figure out how to get him there.
I was kinda looking forward to taking him so I could see her operation. She has 2500 does and milks about 1000 per day. I have NEVER seen an operation like that. The biggest dairy I have been to was milking about 400.

Earlier in the week she had sent me an e mail that she might have a ride for the little guy. This seemed unlikely and I imagined she had no idea where I lived. No one goes from here to there about goats that I wouldn't know. It's a long way to anywhere from here; we are TOTALLY off the beaten path, by about 4 hours.

Well I got another e mail yesterday; SF will be driving to her place to buy a load of doelings! SF, the mom of the gal who apprenticed/ worked for me before starting her own dairy. She lives right here in town. What are the chances of this buck getting a ride? I'm going to play some slots, it's luck with me.

Rain on and off. And rain. and not. NO complaining, I'll take occasional not rain. At least it's something.

MF took a load of bucklings to the sale barn in Petaluma. He was coming by my place at about 4 AM, so I just left my 5 in my little trailer. I hope they're not there when I get to the ranch. I had to go to C/S's to Scrapie tag their kids. Why am I the only one with tags?

I did some metalwork yesterday, building a little gate for an odd sized hole in my corral fence. I'll try to finish it today, then figure out how I am going to hang it.
I moved the 3 largest doe kids outside to a pen yesterday, and put some fresh shavings down for them. They are just a bit freaked out.
Dewormed all but the Alpine yearlings in the front field.

Vreiss had twin bucks. Her udder is not beautiful. The whole bunch will be leaving.

This post brought back my own memories of bath time in my grandparents house when I was very very small.
We all lived in this 3 big story house in Far Rockaway with ( New York)my grandparents; everyone. My mom and dad and me, my aunts and my uncle, my cousin. In my memory, the bathroom was HUGE! I can recall clearly the layout of the bathroom, the tile, the windows. Everything was SO big back then. I was about 2.
Getting out of the gigantic bathtub and being wrapped in a HUGE fluffy towel. Standing on the toilet being all bundled up and dried.

I can't believe how long ago that was.
And that half of the people that lived in that house with me are now gone.

When Josh and I went back for my Aunts memorial in 2004, we spread her ashes at the beach, just a few blocks from that house. Then we all ( we had a convoy) drove to the house and stopped and got out and looked. It looked the same. It was good to see it, old friend. It will probably outlast us all.

I see something resembling sunshine, although I also see the sky is cloudy.
When T's alarm went off this morning it started raining. A double whammy.

The F family came over yesterday and we reviewed his choices in the rain. He picked Annie's doe, and Rosebud's doe, so "What's For Dinner" and Watermark get to stay with me.
They also brought Panda with them; I hadn't seen her since I left her at their house months ago. She was so slean! She got a bath and now lives the life of border collie luxury inside. They tell me they have taught her to fetch a ball, which is more than I ever managed.
Here's Riley with his 2 new kids in the back of their truck:



When I got to the ranch last night, Vreiss has had her kids, a set of twins, one of each. Surprise! they are light red!
My next does to kid are an alpine yearling, and my permanent Grand Champion, "Ms Man".
After that I think maybe Rosasharn is due on the 21st and I am almost done.

Baseball season has started and the Yankees are in last place! Cool! Maybe buying Johnny Damon was a mistake (maybe?). I haven't seen a game yet, still debating about the computer games vs. the satellite.
It's fun to have a team to keep track of. It's almost summer. I must go swimming more than twice this year.

Meridian Road Is OPEN!!! I drove across it last night and it was like time travel! I got to the corner of Port Kenyon and I'm all "I'm here already!!". I do imagine it will be open at least for a few months until the next flood....

O K dwelling in the positive ( because, yes, it is raining)

The county seems to be working today (Saturday) to clear Meridian Road. That would be a HUGE improvement in my daily life. My 12 mile round trip becomes 4 miles once again.

My DDRP family is coming to pick up their kids.

Coffee with sourdough toast is teh good.

The geese look like they are swarming to leave.

My new kids are looking happy and peppy.

Except for a few brief hours, we haven't seen the sun for over 3 weeks. It's really getting ridiculous, but I shouldn't complain. At least the rain has let up. Instead of driving cold rain, we get occasional soft warm(er) rain, and usually only in the evenings.
It's been a long long winter. I know when it was raining incessantly in December and January, I could look forward and think, only a few more months of this. Well it's still going on. Who was I trying to kid?

I did a little more mowing last evening before it started raining; I moved my truck bed trailer and the hay wagon and mowed underneath ( like moving furniture to vacuum).

I took 3 does to J's, and the next day Tarachandra had twins so I was almost back to the numbers I was at. I'll probably send 4 or 5 kids tomorrow; a bus is leaving for a sale down south, but I have 3 does due to kid in the next week. I think 2 kids should leave for our local project this weekend.
It's time to prune the herd.

T is out of town, and we were out of bread, so I did Fortuna chores yesterday; gas, groceries, bank.
I hardly talked to anyone all day yesterday; one phone call, and whoever I met on my chores.. And I didn't miss it.

I think about warm spring back east; flowering trees and warm breezes. Song birds and
the summer approaching. I am missing warm weather terribly. I am always cold here.
And with Passover approaching I am really missing my family.

Off to do chores.

Oh, and I saw A F's mom at the feed store this morning.
I commented on her New York sweatshirt, and after I left, I realized it looked just like one I had brought back from New York for Hugo...!

Cutting the lawn

Yesterday, just a head of some rain, I managed to get the lawn mowed. All of it but Pat's yard. I'll go try to get it finished tonight. It looks like rain for the weekend, but now it has warmed and the grass is finally growing. The lawn won't get any shorter.

On Wednesday I went to J's dairy and we trimmed feet and gave shots to does she had just dried.
I left 3 milkers with her. It's been nice to cut my milking time down, yet Tarachandra kidded yesterday with twins, so I am back up 1 milker.

I went to SC's house to see about a little Lamancha buck she had called me about. I'll take him, but he is too young to wean, yet it's too late to easily start him with a bottle. I'll get him in Mid May.

T has gone to Portland and J is still at work.
I'm off to try to get the rest of the lawn mowed.

Just in time for Passover

New Children's Item
On Sale!
My Soft Seder Set

7 piece velour seder set in vinyl carrying case. Fun and educational. Seder plate, horseradish, chicken leg, egg, lettuce, whole apple (for choroset), potato (for karpas). Fun and educational. Don't forget the My Three Matzahs for a full seder experience!

What kid wouldn't be thrilled with plush matzah.

http://www.judaism.com/index.asp

Breeding gums

I had an appointment at the dentist today to have my teeth cleaned.
The hygeinist is from Japan.
It was hard to understand her, but I knew what she was talking about when she said my gums were breeding and I needed to fross more.

Domingo Zanone was an Italian immigrant who came to California in 1849 during the gold rush, and spent seven years in the Mother Lode in central California. In 1866 he came to Humboldt County and started raising cattle at Petrolia near Cape Mendocino. He eventually accumulated over 5000 acres on the coast. His great great grandson, Joseph Zanone, still resides on 3000 acres there and continues to raise cattle.

This my landlord, J Z. I didn't realize his family had been here that long. I had assumed thet Domingo Creek was named after him so I did a little research.

Their coast ranch is one of the most spectacular pieces of real estate on the planet.
This just south of their ranch on the coast.

Yesterday I grouted and finished my first mosaic project. It came out fine, a little rough in some places, and I think the pattern was, well, bleh.
But for my first attempt it was fine and now it's done.

I'm planning on going up to Arcata today to help J on her dairy and get a kid from S C.

Last night on Jay Leno there was a piece on the Humboldt Ctabs! It was obviously filmed last summer as it was sunny. And dry. Both of which we haven't seen since last summer.

Unfortunately it was Arcata, which is the stereotype the rest of the country has of Humboldt County. That is not the way it is out here in dairy/ ranch land. Or anywhere else in the county for that matter. Arcata is a University town.

It's raining.
I have a doe due today and 2 due this weekend. My best Lamancha, Ms Man (Nifty) is due on the 14th, and she is huge. She has only had a single kid for the past 2 years, fortunately they were does. She hasn't been very prolifis with kids all her life, but dang she is big now. Time WILL tell..

I've been having vivid dreams the past 2 nights. Last night I dreamed about a gal who worked for me a few years back. She and her husband had a jersey dairy and last year they moved to Tillamook, Oregon to dairy there. Why did I dream about her?

I need to get goin.

Okay a techie DIY show specifically for girls;

That's so great, but does it really have to be so PINK?

Did you know that it used to be the other way round; Blue for girls and Pink for boys?

"At one point pink was considered more of a boy's color, (as a
watered-down red, which is a fierce color) and blue was more for
girls. The associate of pink with bold, dramatic red clearly affected
its use for boys. An American newspaper in 1914 advised mothers, "If
you like the color note on the little one's garments, use pink for the
boy and blue for the girl, if you are a follower of convention." [The
Sunday Sentinal, March 29, 1914.]

"There has been a great diversity of opinion on the subject, but the
generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl. The
reason is that pink being a more decided and stronger color is more
suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty,
is prettier for the girl." [Ladies Home Journal, June, 1918]
http://histclo.hispeed.com/gender/color.html - "Gender Specific
Colors"

According to Jo B. Paoletti and Carol Kregloh, "The Children's
Department," in Claudia Brush Kidwell and Valerie Steele, ed., Men and
Women: Dressing the Part, (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989). -
In the United States: "The current pink for girls and blue for boys
wasn't uniform until the 1950's.

It would also seem that Nazi Germany had something to do with the
association of pink with femininity:

"Catholic traditions in Germany and neighboring countries reverse the
current color coding, because of the strong association of blue with
the Virgin Mary...the NAZIs in their concentration camps use a pink
triangle to identify homosexuals. (The yellow star of David is the
best known symbol, used of course to identify Jews. The German system
was quite complicated, using various symbols an colors to identify
criminals, political prisinors, an a whole range of other groups). The
NAZI's choice of pink suggests that it by the 1930s was a color that
in Germany had become associate with girls." - "Gender Specific
Colors"

Here is another site backing the same color history.

"The preferred color to dress young boys in was pink! Blue was
reserved for girls as it was considered the paler, more dainty of the
two colors, and pink was thought to be the stronger (akin to red). It
was not until WWII that the colors were reversed and pink was used for
girls and blue for boys..." - Quote from Dress Maker Magazine
http://www.dressmaker.com/ezine0200.shtml

"Jo B. Paoletti concludes that the effect of color-coded gender
differences (pink for girls, blue for boys) existed oppositely
initially..." - Quote from book review "The Material Culture of
Gender, the Gender of Material Culture" - Winterthur, Del.: Henry
Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1997 - From the Journal of American
History - Please note that this is a cached page as the current page
is different:
http://tinyurl.com/iy31

Too much. It's not raining.

Yesterday was just a wierd bad day all around.
It did start out not raining, which was a good thing. It didn't end that way, though. It was dark and cold and windy and raining and it could have been any day of the past 200, in December or February.

S, my landlord, had asked me to tell her if I saw Pat's family removing the wood cookstove from the house. There has already been the problem when someone dies, of who gets what, and darned if when I got to the ranch they had the woodstove loaded on a flatbed trailer.
Oh geez, well I called S, and she starts swearing and yelling and asks me to ask them to put it back. Me, the weenie I am and not really wanting to get involved, although I am already now, I say I'll give the phone to one of the daughters.
I give it to her and I can hear the yelling and I just walk out of the house. I don't really want to be a part of this, but I was asked to do this.
Well my battery dies and Pats daughter gives me the phone back, and she's very polite to me as I apologize for what I have done. She's fine, don't worry we'll get it sorted out, she says.
I plug my phone in and S calls and she says J is coming right in to deal with this.
J has a really really bad temper. Years and years ago when I cowboyed with them I recieved a short burst of his wrath.

A bit later, the daughter comes back to the barn while I am milking to say goodbye and give me the keys.
A few minutes after they left, J shows up ( he came in from Petrolia, about a 45 minute drive, on a good day) and I can tell he is steaming. I give him the keys, and he goes to see what they have taken from the house.
A bit later he comes back to report that, they had put the stove back in the house.

I told him that I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of his temper, and that I had experienced that years ago, which of course he had no memory of.
He laughed and told me that he was much worse now, but I had nothing to worry about.

Things will change now for me and my little leased ranch over in the flood zone. Probably some for good and some for maybe not so good.
Maybe it will be time for me to end this project.
Maybe it will not.
In other goat news, a local very long time breeder called to offer me a buck kid. I'm probably going to take him.

In other news, one of the lovely little doe kids I got last week died last night.

In good news, I mosaiced the little table. My first attempt at a new art form, and so far it is looking O K. Tonight I will grout it and then I'll see what I have done.
I am not totally thrilled with the design, but it is reminiscent of the NYC Subway Mosaics.

I woke up at 4:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep.
I am more than usually distraught of the loss of that lovely little doe.
The new course of events at my ranch also concerns me.
And we are entering a huge house project that also worries me.
And some bills are due.
And I have too many goats.

It's never going to stop raining. I don't remember the last day it didn't rain.
It's not raining RIGHT NOW, but it's still dripping from the trees, and it's cloudy, so...
We went screaming right past 50 inches of rain and we're almost at 52. If that doesn't sound like much to some of you, I'll point out that we have a rainy season; it doesn't rain at all for the summer months. So this is rainfall for only a part of the year. It all comes in the winter months.

I watched "Hotel Rwanda" yesterday. It was good to get the story right; the history of the conflict. It was pretty much all orchestrated by the Belgians from the very beginning. It was a good movie. A very good movie.
I'll blame the Schipperkes from now on.

Speaking of the pair of Satan's slippers, Brownie has been quite sick all weekend. We think she got into something nasty. As of last night, however, she seems to be alright. But her signature "WOO WOO" still hasn't returned.

I had been thinking about selling some of these does and as luck would have it I got a call yesterday from a previous buyer looking for a family milker. They bought 2 nice does from me last year, but never got the bred last fall so they want a milk supply.
I want to sell Triumph, but I thought her teat placement would make her hard to hand milk. So I hand milked her last night and she was fine! And, she had more milk than I thought. So she might leave tomorrow. This is also a line of does I might completely eliminate. I have sold all of the oldest does daughters as they were just not up to my standards. I'll give the old doe another chance, but then again, maybe I'll sell her too.
The people have neck tattoos.

I got tiles for the table mosaic project, and have glued and clamped the table. I worked out a pattern and took a picture, so now all I have to do is DO IT!
Maybe today.

Maybe they'll open Meridian Road today.
I need to buy gas...ouch.
I ran into the supposedly out of business dairy people from Hydesville; turns out they're still trying to do it.
A doe due Wednesday or so is starting to udder up.
My first show is only a month away.

I just woke from a dream where I was sharing a cab with George W. . I asked him if he had any candy. He had presidential Dubble Bubble; 3 in each pack instead of the standard 1. And lemon drops.

T took me out for a fantastic dinner at Moonstone. That might have been the best meal out evah. The chef sent us 2 surprise appetizers; waiting for mystery food to show up was great as we had no idea what was coming.
I had the most tender and delicious lamb and the dessert of bread pudding with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream, well, I could have crawled into that and lived there.

Pat's daughters are now having an estate sale to get rid of the leftovers. Fortunately I heard about it the day before, and I put electric fence tape around my lovely lawn before it became a muddy parking lot.
I went in yesterday morning and got a heater. Then I saw Pat's bowling trophies; they were even engraved with her name. I'm like.."are you selling her trophies? But they have her name on them???"
They said I could have one so I brought one home. Pat was a helluva bowler.

Pat's daughters also said that lots of people were asking about the goats, so I mentioned leaving business cards. "Yeah, you should" they all said, so I went and gave them a pack of business cards to hand out.
Then, of course, when I was milking I watched some people actually step across the fence tape and go into my little barn.
I called them out "Oh the people said all the goats were for sale" we were looking for some goats to eat bruch.
Next they're in the big barn looking at the kids. At one point I see they have reached into a pen and were holding the little Alpine doe?????!!!
They didn't buy anything.

People think my farm is a petting zoo.