Exhausted, but in that good way

I don't know if I've ever been so exhausted in my life. Wait, that's not true. There was that one time, but I am equally exhausted now.

I had planned to pick up our 10 new cormo ewes today in Lee, Massachusetts, but after getting to bed at 1 a.m. and waking up aching all over, I decided it would be better to leave it till Monday. Also, our new fence isn't entirely up yet, and since the new ewes haven't been "trained" to electronet, and I didn't want to risk one of them getting injured in the fence.

The day was packed though, even without the trip to Lee. Erin and I spent the day getting everyone situated in their new pens, which included a whole lot of moving heavy things (hay bales, cinder blocks, baby goats). Don't worry, I didn't lift anything too heavy with my right arm, which made me feel like such a shirker.

We also had to go buy two new giant sized dog houses today for Biscotti and Fettucini due to an asinine New York state law that requires every outdoor dog to have one. Even if they have three run-in sheds at their disposal. Even if they are Maremma and would never, ever abandon their flock and go in a dog house. Even is they are just expensive boxes for the goats to jump on. 

Today may have been the first time I forgot my camera (blame it on lack of sleep) and damned if I didn't see something that I really, really wanted to share with you. We put Buck Fifty in with the nanny goats last night and he was raring to go! For the past few weeks he has been peeing on his face. Yes, peeing on his own face. It's what a buck does to attract a doe but it makes him looks ridiculous and smell absolutely appalling! While trying to pee on their faces the bucks get pee, well, pretty much everywhere. You can kind of see it in this picture if you click to enlarge it- that brown stuff all over his face and on his front leg? That's pee.

Being in close proximity to a buck in rut causes the nanny goats to start ovulating. In my experience it usually takes a couple of days with the buck for the ladies to become, um, receptive to a bucks advances. But today Buck Fifty found a willing partner in Linda, our ancient nanny goat.

The two of them were just smitten with each other! They were all the time nuzzling each other's faces. Buck Fifty followed Linda everywhere she went to graze and even laid down right next to her in the pasture. It was like they were courting.

I really, really wished I had my camera so you could have seen how sweet they were together. Hopefully the love fest will continue tomorrow when I am properly equipped.

Tomorrow after morning chores I'm getting a hair cut, shopping for a new pair of jeans (preferably without sheep manure stains) and then absolutely positively working on my power point presentation for the talk-thingy on Friday in Cambridge. 

BTW- if you are coming to the talk-thingy and would like to meet up with fellow shareholders for a bite afterwards, we were thinking of going to the Middle East on Mass. Ave. in Central Square. Are you planning to come to the speech? And or to the meet-up afterwards? Let me know so we can let the restaurant know if there are going to be more than a handful of us.

I think that weekend after this we will be ready for farm visits down in the Hudson Valley on weekends. I'll let you know for sure when we've got all the elements in place. Of course you are welcome to just come check out the flock but we can also put you to work if you like.

Finally, a bit of gratuitous cuteness. This is Gulliver, our chihuahua, when he wakes up in the morning. Like me, Gulliver values sleep above almost everything. Also like me, he must be roused of bed against his will nearly every morning. But he is pretty ridiculously cute, isn't he?