Vegas, Babies, and WTF....

Last week we spent 4 days (including my birthday) in Vegas, baby! Although it was work related...we had a blast in the 105+ heat! Monday it was 111 degrees...yuck! We did get to go see a show - Cirque du Soleil - Ka' which was totally awesome...my BFF came on Wednesday (the bday) and took us out for a great time on the Strip. Here is a picture of one of our adventures...at the Excalibur (we really wanted to see - Thunder from Down Under!) But these guys worked.

 So....when we came back....still no baby goat. Damn that old nag was just holding on to that baby and NOT giving her up! Finally, yesterday I told Sweetpea I thought she was ready...her bag of milk was about dragging on the ground...and low and behold she started squawking last night and I said "Shes probably having the baby." I went down to check on her about 9 pm and there was a little bleating going on...she HAD THE BABY! Here is the no-name-yet baby....

 and as for the rest of whats going on...all I can say is WTF???

Fake Nails....

Sweetpea talked me into getting some of those glue-on fake nails for her last night and I ended up putting some on too. Now, I don't usually do fake nails as my own grow quite nicely, but recently my nails have looked pretty trashy. Stress maybe??? Anyway, the damn things are KILLING ME. Every finger hurts like heck and I am unable to complete the simplest of tasks like buttoning and zipping up clothes and other more personal duties without them feeling weird and uncomfortable. 

UGH....I don't think they will come off easy either. I don't know what to do...just wait until the glue wears off or try to pop them off myself? The only good thing about this all is that they do look really, really nice for fake nails and Sweetpea also liked how they felt when I scratched her back last night. Hmmmm, maybe that was the whole devious plot...she wanted me to have nails for her back!!!!

Anyway....Tay, (momma goat) has found a way out of our yard that last few days. Much to our surprise, and I think hers, on Monday afternoon - there she was looking at us from the other side of the fence! Goats have that "deer in the headlights look" too. So, with a little shake of the coffee can full of grain....she slowly followed Sweetpea back to our yard with no problem. I couldn't find a hole in the fence, so I was a bit perplexed. Then, for the next few days we were finding her out at least once a day! A bit of Houdini blood??? But, I fix HER! Another two rows of barbwire and more fencing up in the back and damn...she better NOT be able to escape again. (Seriously, I think it was by accident...she just pushed on the fence and crawled through in a few places.)

If only I could spend this much time and energy with a man, life would be sweet...sigh. I wonder if that will ever happen, but then again I don't have much spare time as it is to even look.....

UPDATE 5/24/10 - The nails are still ON...How do I get them off???? Talk about super glue! Yikes!

Puddin & Tay...

OK...maybe Puddin & Tay are not quite as cute as the two goat in the wagon, but they hold their own. The baby (Puddin) is wild as they come. I prefer to call her "Wild Thing" but Sweetpea won't have it...It's "Puddin" she says. OK, OK! Momma (Tay) is a bit more friendly and is totally getting that we ARE NOT the enemy. I have started leaving some cobb (feed) by the front gate and she knows that I deliver...haha. She should be called "Piggy" though...as she does not share with the baby. Of course, the baby is not hers so I guess she doesn't feel the need. 

Tay IS very protective of the Puddin though....Must be motherly instinct. She won't share the grain, but she will stand over her while she sleeps (keeping guard) and herd her away from what she considers a threat. Very interesting to watch this all unfold.

The back fence was not quite up to par to keep them in sooooooo.....yesterday I pounded in four (4) more 8' T-posts (ugh, I am sore) and ran two stands of barb wire fencing...about 200'. I am morphing into the Goat Woman....rancher mama! So much work and so little time and no man around to help out I don't want to push my luck asking the Bros to help anymore.

I did promise some pics of the finished project...so here they are! Puddin is in the first one. Tay is in the second photo and both in the last. Check out the fancy fencing and gate we put up!!

Update from the Goat Lady...

Gee thanks cuz...I am now known to my family as the "Goat Lady." The only problem is...I DON'T HAVE ANY GOATS YET!!! So theoretically they can't call me that. The fence is up..thanks to my awesome brothers we put it all up last Sunday. It was a perfect day for hard labor (yes...we had snow again yesterday)! We installed about 26 - 8' T-posts and about 300' of fencing with a gate!!

Now...I just need the goats!

What Have I DONE???? Read on...

With all the rain we have received, my yard has exploded!! I have HUGE patches of blackberries and I am NOT going to try and cut them down again...they just grow right back! So.....I have come up with a plan....I am getting goats! Yes, I will have a mommy and baby goat mowing my back 40 all summer long! Hallelujah. My aching back can't take mowing that darn hill any longer and this, my friends, is a natural remedy to my blackberry issue. BUT, (always a but) in order to keep the goats in --- I have to build a fence. What have I done? Approximately 30 fence posts must be drilled into the ground at least 2' deep with this thing, called a post driver, weighing a few hundred pounds on its own. (OK, maybe not that much, but its damn heavy!) Try lifting that thing and pounding in 30 +/- stakes on your own...no thank you! 

So, I enlisted the help of my wonderful brothers. What are brothers for anyway? All that hard stuff that we can't do ourselves (or don't want to!). After the posts go in -- then we have to stretch the fencing out and those roll weight even more. Approximately 300' of fencing to stretch, wire onto the posts, and cut to fit, and of course I will need a gate to get in and out of the property. Definitely a 3+ person job...wouldn't you agree! Thus, the calling on my bros..

Why, Oh Why did I do this to myself? Cause I'm lazy and don't want to cut down the blackberry bushes? Lets see how I am feeling come Monday morning...and I just thank God it's rained all week and soften the ground!!!

Pics will be coming of before and after!