The Goat Saga Continues...

Those of you who see my Facebook posts regularly may already know this:  Edna did, in fact, have twins!

However, for reasons unknown, she rejected the second one born.  When Googling "rejected goat kid", I found MANY articles on how to care for the little one, and I quickly realized that this phenomenon is more common than one might think.  Unfortunately, no one seems to truly understand why this happens with goats more than any other livestock.

Therefore, we were faced with the task of keeping this cutie pie alive, as the alternative, unthinkable to all of us, just wasn't gonna happen.

So, we had a goat living in our house for three days...

Once Don and Grace felt confident that all bodily systems functioned properly...and, yes, that got pretty messy, so Thank God for our "easy-to-clean" faux hardwood flooring...Grace re-introduced her to her goat family... outside!

Definitely, a bit confusing for dear little Ellie, our only female thus far.  She seemed to think she was a dog....in fact, even today, a week later, she gets excited when she sees her dog family running around the field next to the goat pasture.  The other goats, besides Edna who keeps her distance, have accepted Ellie and she is beginning to romp around with the other young 'uns.  Grace will have to continue bottle-feeding her for a couple of months, though.

Tilly, with her stout boy, Ridire.

Papa Vincini

We also learned this week, that Vincini, our buck, did NOT breed Satine on her last heat cycle of the breeding season as we thought.
(That's September through March.) 

How do we know?  Well, she came into heat this week and Papa Vincini caught it this time around for sure...Oye! 

Vincini and Satine

That means Satine will give birth during the coldest time of the year, which presents some different challenges for us.  You know our motto though:  Adapt and Overcome!

Tilly is a terrific mama, watching over all the little ones!

In other news:

Isaac, aka. "Classified Tech", has begun his training regimen.  He's doing splendidly for a beginner, and Don and Rosie feel confident that he'll be ready to race come springtime.


Here's hoping for a somewhat mild winter!  Cooperative weather will be very helpful, since we train him on the road; a 3.5-mile loop that encircles our property and includes some good hill work for stamina.

And, finally, the puppies are growing too quickly!  (Excuse the Soresto collars - they haven't quite grown into the adult size, yet, but the puppy size is too small.)

Watch for an update in a couple of weeks...One never really knows what craziness will occur 'round here!

(Aaand, in 4 weeks our plane will be landing in California - woohoo!  Expect awesome photos right here upon our return!)

With Autumn Comes Change...

Both in nature and here at Dealan-De Farm.  When last I wrote, we were still awaiting the arrival of newborn kids...

...Nearly 2 weeks later, the first finally arrived!  Guess Grace's calculations were a bit off!  Well, this IS our first time with goats, afterall...And, our dairy cow experience was quite a long time ago.  We just got too excited, too soon!

Tilly gave birth to "Ridire" (means "dark knight" in Gaelic) during one of our many torrential downpours last week. Isn't he adorable?!

Next one due is Edna, aka Eddie.  As a veteran mama, she will likely have twins...this weekend, hopefully!  And, finally, Satine, sometime in early-October.





Isaac, "Classified Tech", is now "official", according to the US Trotting Association. 

He's been DNA-tested and freeze-branded. 

Yesterday, he got his very first set of shoes, and today, he took to the road for a 3-mile jog!  Time to earn his keep around here!  Hoping to start racing him this spring of 2019.













I am on the cusp of a change myself right now - in just one week, my time at Holiday Hair in Exeter will come to a close and I will open a new chapter in my career at Oley Valley Hair Salon in Oley, PA...less than a 10-minute drive from home!  I will miss the young ladies at Holiday, whom I have enjoyed getting to know, but this is a change I have been hoping for these last couple months.  It is time to reclaim my Sundays for church and family.  It is time for me to have a more consistent schedule that I can control to a greater degree than I ever could at Holiday, a corporation-owned salon. As my list of regular clients grows, I will certainly earn a better income than I ever could at a corporation salon, too, though this is more about my time than my earnings.  I will be working by appointment, no longer relying on "walk-ins" to keep me busy. No longer wasting hours hoping someone comes in for a color or perm... AND...I will be expanding my repertoire, giving facials and basic manicures as well as hair services at my new salon in Oley - woohoo!  Ya'll know how I like to keep things interesting, right!


And, finally, last weekend Don, Will and Nate participated in the 4th annual Penn's Wall Highland Games in Quarryville, PA!  Rosie acted as score keeper and Grace and I shared the role of photographer.  As always, we had a blast at this local Scottish Festival.  Of course, I have some photos to share with all of you:

What a great time! This festival gets better each year with more competitions, more musicians, new demos and great food.  I encourage all of you to come out next year.  It is always the 2nd Saturday in September.






So, I'm still swimming four times a week, and loving it.  Swimming came quite naturally to me as a kid, and I was asked to swim competitively a few times, but when forced to choose between swim team and dance, both huge time commitments,  I always chose dance.  No matter now, though.  The strokes were deeply embedded in my muscle-memory.  Swimming laps just feels so good!

Acupuncture has helped me tremendously.  I am almost back to my normal energy level, and my joint pain has been minimal this last week, Praise the Lord!  I'm sure my dietary changes have had something to do with it, too - minimal dairy, gluten and sugar.  (Sugar is the hardest for me!)  More fish, more veggies, brown rice and quinoa.

Just five weeks from tomorrow, Don and I head to California.  I am so excited for everything we will see and do there!  Eight adventure-filled days!

Next Post will surely be chock-full of adorable kids - goat kids, that is!