3/7/26
Hello everyone,
I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you for your replies. It’s always great to hear how everyone is doing. We are doing well here and had some fun stuff happen in February. Still no snow at our 4,400 ft elevation which is considerably unusual. We have been very warm this winter and when we do get precipitation it is in the form of rain. Our pond is nice and full but we have discovered that our fix on the pond didn’t completely fix the leakage issue. Thankfully having the new step ponds may help slow our pond from going almost dry this summer but won’t completely solve the problem. We won’t know until later this year and with a possible dryer year, we’ll wait and see. The last option of fixing the leak would be with bentonite. However, this would take a couple thousand dollars to get the material hauled and dumped into the pond. There are other priorities to focus on.
We received our American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) registration papers for Tovia, Tyomi and Talia. There is one last thing we have to do and that is for Tovia, our buck. Apparently the ADGA requires DNA testing on bucks that father kids before the kids can be registered. I haven’t done that yet for Tovia. Next month the kids will be born. None of the Does are registered that are having kids. I would like to get them registered but that requires a whole different process since none of them come from registered herds. From what I understand I can register their kids once Tovia is DNA tested. It’s a whole new step to learn. I’ll eventually get around to it hopefully sooner than later. My friend Julie in Deer Park, Washington where I purchased Tovia, Tyomi and Talia has said she will help walk me through it. The kids that are born this year I would like to sell. This will be our first time to sell goats so I’ve been looking at Craigslist to get a feel for what people normally sell registered or non-registered goats. Unfortunately, most of the goats offered on Craigslist are meat goats or the smaller milk goats so it has been hard to compare. Fortunately, I may not have a lot of competition for Saanen and especially Sable Saanen since Sable Saanen are much rarer. So, this will be another new learning experience.
I finally finished my horse tapestry. I started this tapestry back in 2015 and would do a little more work on it every winter. This winter I was determined to finally get it done. The tapestry is Peyote stitch so each bead is sown individually into the pattern. I’ve never liked loom work because loom work never holds together as strongly and usually requires the beadwork to be sown to a backing like leather. Peyote is a very tight weave that is strong and durable. At first glance you’d never know it is made of tiny Delica size 11/0 beads. The beads are Japanese made and are the most uniform sized beads out there making for tight weaves. This tapestry is roughly 15inches by 19inches made up of 87,464 beads and there are 72 colors. I estimate around 800 hours went into this project. Be sure to look at the attached PDF for a picture of it.
The last part of February was a birthday trip to Boise, Idaho. I celebrated my 48th birthday with my husband by going to the Morrison Center to watch the live production of the Lion King. It was a very cool experience watching the actors dressed up as the animals or using puppets as part of their costume. We were way up in the mezzanine or better known as the cheap seats but that’s where binoculars come in. It was also a great excuse to dress up. The dress I wore I hadn’t worn in probably close to ten years and I made a necklace to match the color of the dress that I was quite pleased with. I believe Mark and I were the best dressed attendees there. I felt like royalty on my husband’s arm trying not to trip on my high heels, something I also have not worn in close to ten years. Most people at the show were not nearly as dressed up and a lot of the younger crowd were in jeans and t-shirts. Times have certainly changed. We stayed overnight and the next morning visited our favorite feed ranch to pick up chicken and goat feed. This made a part of our trip a business expense and the feed will hopefully be enough for another six months. Once the goat kids are born there will be no overnight trips anywhere and I’ll be back to milking twice a day.
The month of March will be the last restful month before things really get busy. I started pepper seeds in February and March will have other seeds started. The MAM (March Artisan Madness) show is coming up and I will have my beadwork displayed and for sale. My horse tapestry is currently at a custom framer in Clarkston, Washington and I hope to display it at the 4th of July show in Grangeville, Idaho, but I am not selling it. Just one more month to go before our first Doe, Fiona, will give birth. Last year her buckling died during labor because it got stuck and she had gone into labor in the wee hours of the morning. We hope this year will be different and I am really hoping for a doeling. Fiona is our best milk producer with very large easy to milk teats. If she should have a doeling I will most definitely keep her.
I hope this finds everyone well and enjoying whatever winter weather is in your neck of the woods. I do have to say it is nice not to have to plow our driveway this winter.
Many Blessings,
Joey