Priscilla is Expecting!!!!

We are going to have babies!!!!!!

Priscilla 11-14-11

Don't you just love that face?  She is always so curious when I have the camera out taking pictures.

Onto the reason for this posting.  All the girls came into heat this past weekend and Priscilla DIDN'T.  This means that she is pregnant.  If she was not expecting she would of came back into heat with all the other girls.  I made sure to keep a good eye on her for the past week to see if she came back into heat and nothing. 

I will still keep an eye on her for the next heat cycle that would be due around the beginning of December just to make sure she really is expecting.  There is a company that I could send some of Priscilla's blood to and do a pregnancy test but I don't know how to draw blood yet. I really wish they had a goat pregnancy test like a humans pregnancy test so I could just get her to pee on a stick, that would be easier.  Instead we will just watch her real close.  I'm glad I decided to do individual breeding's this way I know just about to the day of when she will be due.  Goats are pregnant for 150 days. 

Priscilla's due date is March 20, 2012.

Below is a picture of Brady, the daddy.

Brady 11-14-11

Even with being in rut, he's still a sweet boy and wants to have his pats and scratches.

As Brady has begun to mature he has gotten more black hair.  Mostly on his chest but some markings on his face as well.  I'm very interested in seeing what Brady and Priscilla's babies will look like.  Brady's mom was a spotted doe and having Priscilla's previous babies here on our farm, Abby & Maddie.  I know that she can have babies with large spots or at least large markings of different colors on the body.

I guess we will just have to wait and see when she gives birth.

Whimsey & Windy Go on Dates

 Whimsey and Windy are sisters here at Russell's Ridge Nubian's.  They are twins even thought they don't look anything alike and were born on March 3, 2011 at 10:30pm.  They are now 8 1/2 months old.  Last week the girls went into heat.  They are old enough to breed now but I wanted to make sure they weighed enough.



Whimsey 11-14-11

Windy 11-14-11

Weighing the goats were very easy.  You just take a soft sewing tape measure and place it a few inches behind the front legs around the goat's body.  This is called the goat's heart girth.  Then you just take the measurement figure, find it on the dairy goat weight chart I got off of the Internet and it will tell you how much your goat weighs.  Both girls heart girth measurement was 29 1/2 which brings the girls weight to approximately 83 lbs.

The book Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats by Jerry Belanger & Sara Thomson Bredesen suggests to breed your goats when they reach 70 to 80 lbs which is usually at 8 months of age.  All information I''ve read suggests to breed by weight not age.

Whimsey 11-14-11

Whimsey came into heat first on Thursday.  I found her at the fence talking away calling to Brady and really wagging her tail flirting with him.  I could tell she was in heat immediately because Whimsey is very quiet usually.  I went ahead and brought Whimsey over to Brady and she spent 9am to about 2pm with Brady.  Of course I stayed around watching for a bit to make sure to witness the deed a few times before leaving them alone.  I have full confidence in Brady to do his job since he has finally figured out what he is suppose to do with the girls when they come visit him. Whimsey was very happy to spend time with Brady and was rubbing her neck on Brady's back and standing really close to him.

Windy 11-14-11

Windy came into heat on Saturday.  She was also wagging her tail more but wasn't too vocal to Brady.  She is also a very quiet goat.  I brought Windy over to Brady and of course he was very happy to have some female company again.  Windy also enjoyed spending time with Brady as she also stayed really close to him and was smelling him.  She stayed in with Brady from 9am to 2pm.  I also witnessed Brady doing his business, so I decided to leave them alone.

Of course I couldn't leave the daddy out so below is a picture of Brady.

Brady 11-14-11

We are hoping that both girls are bred and will be able to be a comfort to each other during their first pregnancy.  We will be watching closely to see if either girl comes back into heat, which will be in about 21 days.  That would be about December 2nd.

Check back in a few weeks to see if we will be expecting babies from Windy and Whimsey.

Our First Fish Fry

Weeks ago at football I was having a chat with our new friend Jeff.  He was very surprised to find out that I have never been to a fish fry or have not tried any southern food including, fried fish, hush puppies, fried okra and some other foods that are common down here in TN.

Jeff and his wife Sonja offered to have a fish fry at their house and kindly invited us.

Jamie & Jeff

Saturday night we all headed over to Jeff and Sonja's house.  The guys had two portable fryers going outside and where cooking up a storm.

Trace cooking on one of the outside fryers

Their was so much food made and I tried it all believe it or not.  The guys cooked up the following in the fryers.

Fried Fish - I believe Walleyed and 1 other type

Fried Hush puppies - dough with peppers, onions & seasonings

Fried Frogs legs - yes they taste like chicken

Fried French Fries

Wild Turkey

we also had yummy coleslaw, white beans, BBQ Green Beans and Apple Dumplings. 

I'm normally a very picky eater and not so open minded with trying new food.  I decided to go with an open mind and try everything, especially with everyone working so hard cooking.  With that said I tried everything except the white beans and the apple dumplings, not for not wanting to but because I was so full.

The fish was cooked excellent, yummy breading and not fishy tasting at all.  Drew even tried some fish and liked it. The hush puppies I would have to say were my favorite.  Although I would love to figure out something to dip them in because its fried bread and I think it would enhance the flavor.  Frogs Legs took a little longer to try but with some persuasion from Jeff and Jamie I tried it.  It tasted alot like chicken especially with it having the same texture.  I only had a small piece, Hailey on the other hand gobbled up a whole leg.

Hailey eating her fried frog leg

French Fries were yummy and the Wild Turkey was good too.  Sonja made some homemade coleslaw which I need to remember to ask her for the recipe since it was delicious.  I also really liked the BBQ Green Beans, which were green beans baked in BBQ sauce and pieces of bacon.

The kids had a great time playing with their friends, running around in the dark, playing tag, hide & go seek and any other games they made up.  They had so much fun that the night continued for the kids at our house.  Troy, Ian and Orry ended coming to our house and sleeping over and spending the morning at house.

Jamie & I had a great time too and are so thankful we have met and made a great group of friends.

Thanks so much to Jeff, Sonja, Trace, Lisa, Rodney and Carmen and all the other new friends there for making our first fish fry a great experience.

Piggies are Halfway There

This posting is a week late but we had such a busy week that I'm just getting around to in now.  Last Sunday, November 6th, the pigs turned 3 months old.

Boy pig (l) & Girl pig (r)

We decided to go ahead and get their weight.  They are way to big to pick up now so we used a measuring tape.  You measure their length from the top of their head, behind the ears to the base of their tail. For the width which is actually the girth, you measure around their bodies right behind the front legs.

Since we have gotten the piggies we have petted them while they were distracted eating so they got used to us and our touch.  So we put down their food and while they were eating I measured the length which was easy.  Getting the girth measurement was a whole different story though.  The boy was pretty good and I finally got the measurement after about 5 minutes.  The girl took forever though.  She's very smart and thought that we were trying to tie her up I think.  I finally gave up after trying for 15 minutes and passed the measuring tape to Jamie and went off to milk Priscilla.  Well wouldn't you know it he got the measurement within the first couple of tries.  I was not happy that he got it so easy when it took me forever.

Funny story to go along with getting the piggies measurements, we wrote the measurements on a piece of paper and it got lost while doing chores.  All of us looked and looked for at least 20 minutes.  To make a long story short, Matilda our LGD (Livestock Guardian Dog) had stolen the paper and had brought it out into the middle of the pasture.  Thankfully she hadn't eaten the paper and Jamie spotted the color white in a pasture full of green.  I'm so glad we found it because I did not want to try to measure both pigs again.  Next time we will make sure to put the paper where Matilda can't steal it.

Back to us measuring.

When you have the figures for the length and girth you need to use the formula L(length) x G(girth) x G(girth).  Then take the total number and divide that by 400.  The total is the approximate weight in pounds.

The boy weighed in at 55lbs and the girls at 72lbs.

Boy pig rooting in the dirt

Girl pig standing up

Since the pigs turned 3 months we have now increased their food and try to give them extra treats in the evening with their food too.  Hopefully it will only take till February, when they are 6 months old to reach their goal weight of 230lbs to 250lbs.  Once they reach the goal weight they will be brought to the butcher.

We will be trying to get their weight measurements every time they turn another month old.  Hopefully it will get easier with each time.

Piggies waiting at the door to be fed.

Opening Day of Muzzleloader Season

Today was opening day of muzzle loader season here in TN.  Jamie took another buck!!!!

Jamie & Hailey with a 3pt TN buck

Jamie went out this morning and didn't see anything.  He came in and had some lunch and went back out at 2:00pm.  The kids and I were just getting home from soccer and food shopping when at 3:00pm we heard a shot.  I tried calling Jamie's cell but he had no service.  We waited and waited and finally he called at 3:45pm, letting us know that he had gotten one and would be up out of the woods soon.



Jamie got the deer hung and it weighed in at 75lbs dressed which is a good weight for a TN year old buck.

The nights are cooler now here so the deer will hang overnight and then Jamie will butcher some of it tomorrow.  Of course he will cut up the good parts into steaks and roasts but he will take all the tough meat and extra left over meat and can it.

TN buck hanging

Jamie's friend's Tim and Tina from NY introduced Jamie to canned venison a few years back.  Canned venison is jokingly in this house considered gold.  Jamie rations it and only shares it will few people.  Hailey and Jamie both love canned venison.  They are both very happy that their stock supply will be replenished as they are down to 6 jars left from last year.

If you would like to try to can some venison it is very easy.

Take your venison meat and cut into 1 inch cubes, pack raw meat into hot jars and then add 1 beef bouillon cube to pint jars and 2 cubes to quart jars. Make sure you leave 1/2 head space at the top.  You can also add cut up onions and peppers if you would like too. Do not add any liquid.  Process in a pressure canner.  Pint jars at 10lbs pressure for 75 minutes. Quart jars at 10lbs pressure for 90 minutes.  Once done, let jars cool overnight.

The meat is now fully cooked and extremely tender.  Jamie and Hailey's favorite ways to enjoy canned venison it to make Venison stew with potatoes, carrots and other veggies we have on hand in the crock pot.  They also heat it up in a frying pan with peppers and onions and have it as a sub or over egg noodles.

Jamie still has 1 more buck tag left. Hopefully he will get the large 7 pt we have seen on our property with the trail cameras.  We also need to get one more deer because Hailey and I really want to be able to make some Italian venison sausage.

Fall is Here

TN Fall Landscape

One of the main reasons why we chose Tennessee to move to was that it still has the changing of the 4 seasons.  This is our first fall here in Tennessee and it is beautiful.  All of the leaves are changing from green to reds, oranges and yellows.  The changing leaves certainly CAN compare to the wonderful fall landscape we had in Massachusetts.

The weather is changing now to cooler nights, down to the 40's. The morning air is cool and crisp in the 50's and by the afternoon it is in the 60's.  All of Drew and Hailey's friends keep asking why they are still wearing shorts to school.  The kids here think this weather is getting cold, while to our kids the weather is not cold at all.  This week was the first week that they have worn pants to school, of course with me making them.

We have had a fire a few times now in the wood stove.  It makes the house very cozy and warm.  I am interested to see how much us not using the electric heat will make a difference on our electric bill.  As you can see Lou and Bryce are loving the wood stove.

Lou & Bryce enjoying the heat from the wood stove

Last week I took some pictures of the fall leaves around the neighborhood.  I hope you enjoy them.

Fall leaves on our street

Fall leaves on a street we take to school

Fall leaves on a street we take to school

Fall leaves on our street

Fall leaves on our street

Fall leaves on our street

Fall leaves on our street

View from our back porch

Fall tree in our pasture

Fall tree in our pasture