It's a boy!  Caramel finally had her big baby boy about 2 hours ago!  Thank the Lord for the timing and that he seems big and strong!  I already fed him some of the colostrum from my friend Liz's goats.  He sucked down about 2 ounces in nothing flat.  He didn't even have to struggle to figure out how to use the nipple.  He is white like his Papa.  

Caramel dropped the afterbirth and I cleaned that up.  She seems big still but doesn't act like she is going to have another baby.  The goat book says she should deliver everyone within an hour or there could be problems.  So I hope she is just fat and will be OK.

The little guy still has blood on him but I didn't want to clean him up too much cuz his mama needs to do that so that they will bond.  i did put some iodine on his little belly button and discovered his masculinity at that time.  His first swig of milk seemed to almost make him pass out but Mama came and bugged him til he got on his feet again.  She moved him back into the shade.

This has taken it's toll on me.  I'm having aches and pains again.  Probably did too much.  I guess I'll go take an Aleve and rest for awhile!

I am sorry that I have let a whole week go by since writing.  I have been recovering from hernia surgery I had on Tuesday.  I have the worst time getting rid of the anesthesia and the pain meds just put me out altogether.  Today is the first day since the surgery that I feel almost normal.  I am still wearing a wrap around my belly and still have some pain.  I am not supposed to lift anything for 3 weeks or cook or do anything slightly difficult.  So someone else is feeding and caring for the animals.  I did water the outdoor plants today but I probably should not be dragging the hose around to do that either.  

My stomach looks like a target for shotgun practice.  I will never wear a bikini again!  Getting old sucks!  I noticed lots of the cactus are blooming and wish I had felt like walking around taking pictures.  Mostly I have felt fortunate to keep my balance lately so would not push my luck.  But I am feeling better day by day and keep reminding myself, "This too, shall pass"!  


Tomorrow we are supposed to have really high winds again, 50-60 mph.  I hope we do not lose any shelters, chairs or small children.  I do not remember ever having a year as windy as this one has been since moving here in 2004.

Our weather is gorgeous again.  I got up at 5:30 a.m. and got to enjoy my tea out on the front patio while everyone else slept.  I like mornings the best.  Blue sky and wispy white clouds, swallows soaring and woodpeckers feeding their young.  Peace and quiet.

I moved the turkeys into the barn this week.  They were jumping out of their little pool too often.  They are growing like weeds.  I can almost see it there is such an increase in size every day.

We moved Falkor into the pasture with Little Buck and Donald today.  He went pretty easily with a little coaxing from a can of animal cookies and corn.  He immediately tried to mate with Donald, who would have none of it, of course.  They had some severe head butting going on.  They were pretty evenly matched in spite of Falkor being older and heavier.  Donald took some major rams.  Little Buck stayed out of the way of those two.  Then I think they got too hot and retired to the shade of their little hut.  I hope that Falkor likes it in the larger pasture and does not escape.  


I had some good news yesterday about my knee.  The orthopedic doctor I went to said that I have not torn anything or my knee would not be feeling better as it is.  She also said that my knee is the knee of a much older person than I am.  Geez, I wonder how that happened? Ha!  Anyway, I may need surgery sometime in the future but for now I am to do exercises, take Aleve and use ice packs.  I have major arthritis in that knee so it won't heal or go away but I am thankful that I don't need surgery right now.  It is bad enough that I am having hernia surgery on Tuesday.


I took a bunch more photos for making cards to sell in my Etsy store.  There are lots of cactus and other plants blooming right now and some of them are fabulous.  Enjoy!

Wow!  I cannot believe another week has gone by.  I hope you all had a great Mother's Day or made someone else's great.  I had a relaxing day.  Grandpa cooked so I didn't have too.  He also surprised me with a beautiful diamond and platinum ring.  I almost cried!  Thank you Sweet Man!

The baby turkeys are doing great and getting bigger every minute.  I had to put a cardboard siding inside their little pool to keep them from jumping out.  It has also been so warm during the day that I have had to turn the heat lamp off.  They start panting and spreading their wings and I know they are too hot. 

I have come to the conclusion that I have miscalculated Caramel's due date as she has not had those kids yet.  She seems to still be getting bigger.  I suppose if she did not conceive on Dec. 7th when I put her in with Falkor, she could've held him off until her next heat 21 days later.  That would make her due between May 22 and June 1st, I would think.  Or maybe she's just getting fat!  Ha!  Wouldn't that be a joke on me!  I sure was hoping that she would have them before I have to have my surgery on the 18th, but maybe she won't.  Just have to wait and see.

The blasted wind is blasting away again today.  I swear it is more like March than May!  I wonder if it will ever stop.  I hung clothes out to dry and they were practically dry before the next load was ready to hang.  The wind just sucks the moisture right out of everything!  

I got an email from Alpaca Owners and Breeder's Association this weekend.  They were asking alpaca people to send any excess fleece they had sitting around to Florida to help with the oil spill in the Gulf.  Someone realized how absorbent alpaca fleece is and sent out the SOS.  I am on my way to the post office now to donate some of the second cuts and not so nice fiber that I have around here.  It is kinda cool to be able to help stop the oil spill because I have alpacas.

So much to do, so little time!  It seems like that to me sometimes.  I made a list for today which I have managed to do most of but there are still dishes to do, clothes to iron, animals to feed and stuff to make for my Etsy store!  I think I got my Paypal account set up but I am not absolutely sure.

Anyway, we are supposed to hit 90 degrees today for the first time this year.  I'm sure it won't be the last time.  It is just a set up for things to come! Ha!  

I got my little turkeys yesterday.  They are so cute!  The red glow is from the heat lamp.  I've been told they should stay under the heat lamp until they get their real feathers.  They are in the house in my work room, which is a little inconvenient for me, but it will insure their survival in an otherwise hostile environment, ie., cats,dogs,cold,heat,skunks!!! 

My hernia surgery has been scheduled for May 18.  I could've had it sooner but I am still waiting for Caramel to have her kids.  She does not show any signs of labor so far.  I hope they will come before the surgery so that at least I can get them started ok.  

I also ordered my Delaware chicks from the local feed store.  The owner will order them and call me when they come in.  I could've gotten turkeys from him too, but did not know it when I decided to buy from a lady on Craig's list.  He said it will be a month or two before I get the chicks depending on when he gets caught up on his ordering.  It was nice to go there to his new store.  It was my first time going to the new store since the fire burnt down his old store.  Very nice store!

I am getting frustrated trying to put pictures of my items for sale on my Etsy site.  They will only take pictures of a certain size.  My pictures seem to be bigger and they won't download.  I'll have to ask one of my daughters how to make the pictures smaller so I can put more in the store.

I am trying to figure out how to move critters around too.  I want to move Prince and Stewie back to the back pasture near the other boys but not with them.  Steve and I have talked about fencing a third of that pasture and building another shelter.  We have not been able to get a loan so we would have to build it ourselves.  And I'm wondering how far apart the boys would have to be to realize they cannot fight.   I am also thinking of putting Falkor in the pasture with Little Buck and Donald.  I think they are big enough to stand up to him now.  I don't know if Falkor would escape from that field or if he would be happy there.  I guess I will have to try it and see.  If Falkor's pen is free, then I can put the baby turkeys in his pen until they are big enough to go in the chicken pen.  There is already a shelter in the chicken pen that can be modified for the turkeys and the new chickens when they arrive.  We would also like to fence in the other half of the field where Donald and Little Buck are.  Then we could move all the goats out to a pasture.  They would have more room and Steve would have fewer pooper scooper duties.  Like I said, so much to do...