Sunny, The Baby Goat and Other Farming Adventures

After finalizing garden plans, I was itching to get out and do what I could on our unusually spring-like day yesterday. It was perfect weather to pull rocks from the garden. If we could sell rocks and multi-flora rose bushes, we'd be millionaires. 

While I was at the garden near the goats, I let Sunny, the baby goat, run around with me. I've never seen a goat so confused. He totally thinks I'm his mom. Sunny followed me back and forth from the garden to the trailer until he finally wore his little legs out and fell asleep under the four wheeler. Later, he got a ride on the four-wheeler up to the house for his lunch time bottle. There was a crew cutting trees on my neighbors place and one of the men came over to compliment my cute little billy. And to say how he'd never seen a goat follow someone around like that or get a ride on a four-wheeler.

Of course, I had to snap some pictures of Sunny:

Already learning to eat grass and weeds. That's something only his mama can teach him.

He's taller than Breuster now! I believe Sunny is the only animal on the farm who can "play" with Breuster and not get flogged.

Have you ever seen a goat smile? Sunny, the smiling goat.

Once I finished in the large garden, I put Sunny up with his mama and adventured down to our smaller garden. This one has so many rocks I didn't hardly know where to start. I'd decided I'd remove the ones larger than a baseball since there is no way I'm going to get this soil rock free...ever. That is until I crushed my thumb between a couple of the largest ones. Now, I'm after those rocks. I don't care how sore my back gets or how many black thumbs they cause. I'm going to get them. All of them. As soon as I gain movement in my thumb again...

Garden Planning

It's almost time to order seeds! In just a few weeks, my home will be full of new life. Our last frost is so late that a lot of what we're planting needs to be started indoors. Our living room and kitchen will be packed full with small plants of tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupes, and so much more! We decided open-pollinated and heirloom seeds are the only way to go. There are so many different hybrid options out there but I want something sustainable. I want to be able to save the seeds from everything I plant and be able to use them again next year. I'm sure you're dying to know exactly what we're going to plant...so here it is:

Garden #1 (Pictured Above)

Fortex Pole Beans

Penelope Peas

Yellow Crookneck Squash

Edens Gem Cantaloupe

Marketmore Cucumbers

Northern Pickling Cucumbers

Double Standard and Silver Queen Corn (I still have a little research left on these. Some corn varieties do not grow well together)

AllStar Lettuce Mix - includes Green and Red Oakleaf, Green and Red Romaine, Lollo Rossa, and Redleaf lettuces

Garden #2

Ailsa Craig Exhibition Onion

Kennebec Potatoes - we planted these and Yukon Gold's last year. Kennebec's win!

Adirondack Blue Potatoes - They're blue all the way through!

American Purpletop Hanovers aka Rutabagas

Planters

Hot Pepper Lantern Peppers

Yankee Bell Peppers

Lipstick Peppers

Hungarian Hotwax Peppers

Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

Brandywine Tomatoes

Amish Paste Roma Tomatoes

German Johnson Tomatoes

Atomic Red Carrots 

After researching seed companies, I really like what Johnny Seeds has to offer. Plus, I called to ask a few questions the other day and they were super friendly and helpful. They are online at johnnyseeds.com and you can also request a catalog from their site. I know it's more earth friendly to just shop online but I am so much more organized with the paper catalog in my hands. I can mark what I want and flip back through it over and over plus they have lots of tips in their catalog. Please leave a comment if you have a suggestion of a great heirloom or open-pollinated seed.

We Have a Kid

We are pleased to announce the birth of Sunflower (Sunny) born Tuesday, January 17, 2012. He's a beautiful little billy goat born to Daisy. 

Sunny is being bottle fed due to his mother being hurt on a barbed wire fence last year. She was given to us to remove her before she got pregnant again but we got her a little too late. Or perhaps right on time looking at that sweet face of Sunny. 


Sunny is going to be spoiled. He is staying inside at night so he doesn't attempt to nurse Daisy and to keep out of these cold nights we have here. I never imagined I would have a goat sleeping in my laundry room!