maybe my new homestead!

no fires near us thank goodness. Mena, Ar near us was wiped out by an f3 tornado. we had rotation go right over us. I tried to take a pic of the eerie light but I don't think the camera really captured it.  the wind shift is weird. first one way, then the other..... and there is this feeling deep in your bones....

here is the pic but it doesn't do it justice


I didn't even know about the fires or mena for a while. I generally watch the news where I get local info. we only get two channels though and they are usually a bunch if stupid kid shows and stuff. and I can't seem to catch local news so I just have been remaining in the dark. I was worried about storms because when the last ones rolled through there was terrible coverage and the radar in the corner of the screen was half chopped off even though the scroll on the bottom said our county should seek shelter for a tornado warning! this time though I guess they got serious and went over all programming to do full time blow by blow weather which is what I am used to. still, our other news people would have had someone in mena following the storm and we would have known what happened moments aftewards.  I want travis meyers or jim giles (jim passed away last year, he was my fav meteorologist  )


oh those mini's could work if you wanted them to! maybe not some of the really tiny deformed looking ones but, pound for pound ponies can carry more weight than a horse and they usually have far better feet and are much more sound for longer than a horse in my experience. of course I never have delt with the really tiny fancy show mini's.

dh=dear husband  sorry I have actually been drawn into all the jargon. it used to frustrate me so much.

the dairy goats require more intensive managment then the meat goats. a well bred dairy goat has unnatural nutritional requirments and as long as don't try to make them something they aren't, they aren't that complicated. the biggest problems people run into with goats is parasite managment. the parasites that infect goats have developed resistance to the wormers much more quickly than most parasites for a variety of reasons I won't get into. you have to use off label wormers at dosages that breeders have found to be effective.  vets will generally just  look up stuff in the little book and tell you to use fenbendazole which is worthless.  of course managment can prevent much parasite problems. lots of space for just a few goats or intensive rotational grazing is best.

so you've been there for a while now Leah. Have you had enough rain to know where it sits so you know where to put that barn or building? I think the place is totally lovely and I'm sure you are enjoying being out there and breathing that lovely air..and open spaces.

Brenda Groth wrote:
Have you had enough rain

ha ha ha! we have had enough please please enough already!!. lots of flooding recently many roads are still under water and to get to some of the towns south of here we would have to take detours. days and days of heavy rain. this will be the first week in a while that doesn't have storms in the forecast! yeah!

there is standing water on hills quite literally here. trapped by the rocks. our pond is very full at least which is nice. and there is a steady stream percolating out of the ground and running down hill into it.

I planto utilize the steep drop from the drive to build a double decker barn. that will maximize the floor space created with our trusses that we have. it will take some extra engineering but it can be done. here is my quick crude plan/drawing.






we got the roof on a loafing shed yesterday so that the goats and ponies will have some real shelter (of course now it will stop raining  ) we put it on the highest point in the fenced area. which is pretty much the only place there isn't standing water. I'm trying to talk dh into getting a load of screenings to dump in it to fix the grade and create a super durable base for animal traffic.

that definately looks like it will be nice for shelter..loafing shed, that is what they call it huh? so they can loaf around in the shade/shelter?

maybe that is what I should call my back porch..a LOAFING porch

Wow! You guys have been busy...the shed looks great!

haha. that is what it is often called around here. loafing shed or run-in shed. Any three sided structure meant  for animals to have free choice access too. I plan to develop a few loafing areas for humans too!

the work is endless. my husband had a construction company come out yesterday and look at the large half constucted building to give us an estimate on finishing the frame and getting a roof on it. the skin on the sides is something we can do. but the roof is a bit beyond a person with a ladder and drill. a forklift or boom truck will be neccessary to get the large peices of steel up there.

well I hope no one takes any advantage of you during these difficult times..guess they would be thankful to have a job building it.

we had a call from a cement guy..we had asked him to pour us a driveway last year..when i had some money left..and he "didn't have time"...so it had to wait.

well he wants to do it now..and the money is gone..spent paying Joel's housepayements for 4 mo..so now..no cement driveway and he is plum outta luck with the work.

I can't wait to see the building..before and after photos please..