Iced Views

We had a cold spell last week - very cold for Texas. Adding to the misery was an ice storm. Like almost any event - good and bad from the ice storm. Here are some views of very ordinary bits around Buhlaland - ice on metal fence, icy crystals on windows and iced seed heads. Frozen flowers and all around iciness. Enjoy - with clear expectation of showing you freshly grown flowers and many things green in the next few weeks - live it up with ice on Texas.

Out of words plenty of pictures

I really don't have much to say - as of this evening we have 15 babies and a good possibility of 4 more. Six lively little girls and the rest wild and wooly boys. Watching them is a joy - new life and warm weather today made for great fun. DH named a pretty little doe born to our sweet Lucky Girl - her doe is now officially Lucy. All good mamas - I only have one rejected baby - a perfectly healthy little buck - first time mama so perhaps she'll be better next time. It is birthing season on Buhlaland and we love it.

Blackie's Big Adventure

Our Spanish/boer doe named Blackie has a notoriously BAD disposition and sadly every year she has a little boy baby so doesn't get to keep a baby. Hooray and halleujah this year she had twins - boy and girl. The extreme closeup is the little girl - yet to be named, absolutely sweet and healthy. The little boy is a dark brown and also healthy. If all goes well - this year Blackie is no longer 'mean blackie' but nice mommy Blackie who will have a doe of her own to sleep with (in our herd it seems to be a big deal to have a sleep buddy).

Finally a girl!

January 29


Her name is Bubbles - courtesy of a friend in New York State . I also have a poem from a friend in Spain but I need to get her permission to reprint it here. She is definitely a Bubbles - wonderful healthy and feisty little gal.

Aliya Gives Me A Name:

Yes, my name is Bubble's, it was Aliya's great choice, I love to skip and to play, and stay out of trouble's. And in the heart of Texas, small miracles happen, baby kid goats are being born, whilst the weather is frightening. My soft coat is warm, and my silky ears are long, perhaps when Aliya see's me here, she will sing me a song! Best friends, yeah, that's Aliya and Bubble's, you'll see our friendship a'growing, and lots of photo's of me. Keep your camera charged up, dear, sweet Linda Sue, I'm smiling and happy, and my friend Aliya is too!

My trusty Spanish/boer mix doe Pearl did a great job yesterday giving birth, cleaning up her babies and now being very protective of her twins in the midst of a crowded pen. The baby with a white "saddle" is a little fella - currently called BuckG(just using letters for the time being). The lovely little gal is our first female of this year's batch of kids. She is quite active and figuring out the rules of the goat pen as she goes. I wanted to get some pictures of her so a friend could name her - but having Pearl's girl still long enough to photograph proved a challenge! I don't like to post blurry pictures but I had a half dozen or more completely blurry ones.

Looks like she is thinking about trying to eat - but no teeth just yet. For now she is getting plenty of nutrition from her mama. It is sweet on Buhlaland to have healthy kids -

Brrrr

Job 37 1-13(The Message paraphrase) "Whenever this happens, my heart stops— I'm stunned, I can't catch my breath.Listen to it! Listen to his thunder, the rolling, rumbling thunder of his voice.He lets loose his lightnings from horizon to horizon, lighting up the earth from pole to pole.In their wake, the thunder echoes his voice, powerful and majestic.He lets out all the stops, he holds nothing back. No one can mistake that voice—His word thundering so wondrously, his mighty acts staggering our understanding.He orders the snow, 'Blanket the earth!' and the rain, 'Soak the whole countryside!'No one can escape the weather—it's there. And no one can escape from God.Wild animals take shelter, crawling into their dens,When blizzards roar out of the north and freezing rain crusts the land.It's God's breath that forms the ice, it's God's breath that turns lakes and rivers solid.And yes, it's God who fills clouds with rainwater and hurls lightning from them every which way.He puts them through their paces—first this way, then that— commands them to do what he says all over the world.Whether for discipline or grace or extravagant love, he makes sure they make their mark."

The size of a Texas/Oklahoma/Missouri/Arkanasa ice storm serves to remind us who is in charge. I'm not complaining Lord - just reminding you why I live in Texas. I live in Texas because it isn't THIS temperature very often! Thank you very much for listening.

Three fifteen, afternoon of January 27,2009 through my kitchen window here on Buhlaland. Also have a 15 mph wind to intensify the bone chillingness last week in January. Have to find beauty in the sheer frozen-ness of it all -ice pellets on the bright red leaves of poinsettia (a ghost of Christmas past). Even dandelion plants have a crystalline beauty in this weather. The longer green grasses next to our propane tank look like they've been sprayed with Swarovski juice.

It is icy cold today here on Buhlaland, it won't stay this way for long and if I can avoid falling on my hiney - I am enjoying the beauty through my camera lens and our windows.

Playing Favorites

I'm shameless in how much I love Norman - she is absolutely our favorite goat. Pleasant temperament, size an all around pleasure to be with - when I'm sad she lets me hold her around the neck and nuzzles me! She quietly had two beautiful bucks this morning - they are already driving her crazy crawling all over her and nursing for long periods of time. For now they are Buck C (darker colored one) and Buck D (light one - little rascal was born breech ). I am wallowing in the joy of two healthy babies with a mama who to all appearances loves taking care of her babies. Yes Lanny - they smell incredible and are so soft I'm getting a weird rash on my neck from nuzzling them! ah - new life - it is special - here on Buhlaland - Norman's Queen for a Day today!

I'm not kidding, we're kidding

Early yesterday my cell phone was ringing - caller ID showed our BFF was calling. She had a crisis and her hubby was out of town. We jumped in the car and headed off to play Rescue Rangers. (I'm always nervous leaving the house in pants pulled over my nightgown and a coat - just so risky - with my nightgowns not at ALL risque!) A La Mancha doe tried to get through a gate and got "stuck". The herd members behind her decided it would be target practice to ram her and wedge her more tightly into the space.DH worked on it for a while and we were able to release her.

Back at our place a first timer doe was in definite labor. YoYo didn't do well with the labor part of the process but seemed quite taken with baby "A" - pretty little buck. Just before she got "A" completely cleaned up - along came "B".

We went from a medium sized "baby Bump" on YoYo to cute buck, then oh my goodness two little nubian bucks. Buck "A" has not been able to stand very well as yet, a condition not helped by rejection by YoYo. Ah the joys of bottle feeding.

YoYo occasionally pays attention to Baby" A". His hind legs are splayed out (you can see in the picture). This evening he managed to stand on his own for a full ten minutes.

Two of our other does look ready to deliver. I am praying they don't reject a baby. Bottle babies are cute for a few weeks. Part which is hard for me is I have to deal with a baby trained I am his mama and I will take him to the butcher - dadgum it isn't fun. DH said we can plan on keeping a few wethers, we'll see how things turn out. The kids will start getting names in a week or so.

There is a moment when you have a female goat - then suddenly there are two goats - a doe and her kid. It is a miracle every single time. Here on Buhlaland, it is kidding time and that is good.

Simplifying - why is it complicated?

This morning's devotional from David Jeremiah was a great reminder of a goal I have - to simplify my life - getting more stuff does not make life simpler.
You cannot serve both God and Money.Matthew 6:24 (NIV)
A Quaker watched as his new, wealthy neighbor unpacked truckloads of furniture, clothing, and decorative items. He then went to greet the man and said to him, “Neighbor, if thee hath need of anything, please come to see me and I will tell thee how to get along without it.”

I am going to print this off and post it on my prayer board. It will help when I get internet offers of things to make my life better, faster, slimmer, healthier, smell minty fresh or give me lower electric bills and the ability to impress people everywhere.

Yeah right - money is a tool not a master. I tend to obscure that thought when a new shiny sparkly framus dingus shows its costly head around Buhlaland. Just walk on by - my new shopping theme song?

Get a snack

Wonderful service at church this morning - chance to see some friends and hug some necks. Yesterday we had warmer weather and our two male (one is and one was male) goats decided it was time to exercise their goatly male nature. Snickers (all brown looks more like a deer) is the buck and Boudreaux is our wether.

Snick believes in a long wind up challenge run - - - - leading to a forehead to forehead confrontation. Neither fellow has horns so it isn't the noisy head banging you see on the Animal Planet when they show mountain goats head banging.

Not much fight in this tussling they do. They like lots of wind up with posturing and positioning - then they will walk off together to find something to eat.

People in government could learn from my goats ,all their posturing,spouting accusations and confrontation - just go get a snack and get over your foolish pride.

I am looking forward to this week. We have goat babies due around the 24th. A birthday coming up for someone important to me. God willing, a business transaction will work out well. Looking further than our front gate I see interesting times in our nation - already hints of struggles and posturing from politicians. Politicians should read scripture for guidance - this week I'm thinking they need to read Proverbs 29: 1-2. 4, 8(The Message paraphrase)

For people who hate discipline and only

get more stubborn,

There'll come a day when life tumbles in and they break, but by then it'll be too late to help them. When good people run things, everyone is glad, but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans. (4) A leader of good judgment gives stability; an exploiting leader leaves a trail of waste.

(8) A gang of cynics can upset a whole city; a group of sages can calm everyone down.

Wisdom is not a common quality. Goats don't have wisdom. Here on Buhlaland we see goats behave as silly buddies, caring herd members and sadly sometimes we have bullies who painfully try to push everyone around. On Buhlaland we can get rid of bullies several ways ---in government it takes a public seeking wisdom.

Trusting you are seeking wisdom and you'll remember to go have a snack with someone with whom you have been butting heads. You might be surprised at the outcome of either activity. It is good on Buhlaland.