Life remains eventful as we shift gears and get into swing with summer routines, children, and pets.
Just a minute ago I had twin billy goats in my kitchen. Before you panic, they are itty bitty things, and I must admit they are adorable, though not cute enough to romp around in the house.
When they were born there was no debate on the names. Before Daniel had passed he had remarked that if Daisy’s next babies are billies we’ll name them Mike and Ike. This was the first set of twin billies since, so Mike and Ike they were. They were born on one of those days when there was much to process and digest as I pushed through life’s challenges, so it proved to be a high lite for each of us. I know... I know...I used to not like goats at all, in fact I used to think I would not want a goat on the farm, especially if we were to drink the milk! Guess what? Hubby had a better idea! Ya, I can’t say it was with no adjustments,but today I am most grateful for our faithful milk goat.
She’s got an assignment for this spring. We have lots of brush for her and her babies to trim behind the shop. I don’t cease to be amazed how goats chop right through multi flower roses and the likes. I tied her up with a long rope in hopes she’ll be able to reach a good distance at a time. The rope is thick enough it shouldn’t knot up too easily. We’ll see. Her kids stay close to her, that is unless the boys carry them off to play with them. We’ll be dehorning them soon for safety purposes.
The sheep have all had their spring babies, of which we have much enjoyed. All but one of them had twins, most of which were ewes. We’d like to keep building our heard by keeping the ewes, but I’m not sure we’re ready for that yet. Julia and Austin both have an interest in animal care which makes a huge difference.
Currently, the issue I’m dealing with is a fence that will not keep them in. And what’s worse than an animal trained to get out of its pen? Chasing animals is something I have very little tolerance for. Well, okay, I guess you don’t chase sheep, you lead, them, but same dif, leading them back to their pen daily doesn’t cut it. At the moment they are corralled in the duck pen where they can munch on grass for a day til I have something better set up.
Joshua has a duck and a chicken now, which we raised as a replacement of his ducky that died last fall (as you may remember). I enjoy watching the chickens scratch around, looking for worms; they act like there’s no concern in the world but to enjoy the day. Cows are among the list of farm animals I enjoy, but as things turned out, we no longer have these four-legged friends. When our cow was getting ready to have her calf she did not pull through. It was sickening to watch her suffer, and it made me sad to see her go as it was one Daniel had bought as a calf and we raised after he passed. Nonetheless, there’s no doubt that there must have been a better plan, I just couldn’t see it yet.
One day when the time’s right I’d love to have cows again. Julia dreams of having a miniature A2 cow she’d milk every day. We’ll see, maybe down the road.
Our three horses are still on the go. Sapphire, our Standard bred is my favorite. She’s so much fun to drive in the open wagon, or cruiser, as we call it. To our delight, Tizza is expecting her first baby this spring. If all goes well I’m eager to see if we can play with it from day one and have it tame and relaxed with the children.I think that covers all the farm animals, not counting the mice! There’s a stray cat that we get glimpses ofthat has been helping us out on that end.
It’s getting close to bedtime for the children, so I’ll be hiking on. Elijah had asked for help to build a Lego house so we’ll see what we can come up with while the others get ready for bed. It’s really amazing-instead of dressing four children every night, with some coaching and organizing they can all do it ontheir own. Nice. Children do grow up, just give them a couple of years.
I’ll round things up with a recipe Julia tried today. We all liked it, try it if like!
Chewy Granola Bars
3⁄4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1⁄2 cup butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cup oatmeal
1⁄2 cup coconut (opt)
1 cup raisins (opt)
1⁄2 cup chocolate chips (opt)
Mix the first five ingredients together until well blended. Ass the remaining ingredients. Press firmly into 9” x 13” pan. Bake at 350 degrees for the least amount of time possible, since the longer they bake, the drier they tend to become.
Gloria Yoder is an Amish house-wife in rural Illinois. She is the third writer of The Amish Cook column since its inception in 1991. Yoder can be reached by writing: The Amish Cook, P.O. Box 157, Middletown, Ohio 45042.
