Burn Day

All of the branches from heavy winds, some snow, rains, and pruning have been hauled and stacked and sorted and the rest are given to the burn pile. February has been such a mild month of weather so far, so it is a good time to burn.

Tim added a few extra layers once the blaze took off and then the fire got hot!

Once the heat of the fire takes off, we spend the rest of the day scooping and circling and watching the blaze to keep the fire stoked and to keep the outer edges moved into the heat. Although the skies are clear, the air is cool so we weren't the only ones who enjoyed the heat!

The Nigerian Dwarf goats are always very curious and settled down for the afternoon festivities. They wandered over before the fire was hot and then found a perfect distance from the flames to enjoy the fire.

This little beauty especially enjoyed the ambiance of the winter burn pile!

Nigerian Dwarf Goats

Early in October we drove out to a smaller town to the south of us and picked up what we thought would be two young (three month old) Nigerian Dwarf Goats. Tim answered an ad that was posted on the Feed Store wall. It turned out to be perfect timing for us and the goats!

We decided to reintroduce goats to the property to help the sheep with pasture maintenance. The two little goats were so tiny! At the site of the place we purchased these little guys, there were an abundance of other animals and the farm owner's passion was for the angora sheep, as the owner is a spinner. Needless to say, the littlest ones on the farm were just weaned and needing a larger place to roam. The kind spinner lady offered to throw in the other two as she was thinning down the herd. We know that when ads are placed for goats, there are all kinds of strange and even disturbing calls that come in, especially if they are free!

Well, we were only too happy to buy two get two free! The older two goats are six months and seven months. There are two females, aka does, and two neutered males, also known as wethers. The foursome will be in charge of pasture maintenance and fenceline trimming! We still need to figure out names for the little guys! It is nice to have the little goats on the farm and they have already held up their end of the bargain!