Another Day

Another day on the homestead. The weather is wonderful, warm and sunny, I love southern Colorado. Nice enough to not need a jacket in the afternoon, but it sure cools down at night. I'm glad the chickens are in a warmer place. The big coop is almost done now. R put up the last of the outside walls and cut a door. He's working on their nesting shelves and roosts. Soon, little ladies, soon. I have lots of people asking for eggs, but not enough to sell. We have to get more chickens. Keeping my eyes open on Craig's List for layers.

The goats are doing well. They beg for hay like dogs, the little brown Nubian standing up with two legs resting on the fence. I worry that they will figure out that their temporary pen is not really strong enough to hold them. But for now they seem content, spending their days munching on the weeds and lying in the warm sunshine. They are still so cute.

Our family therapist came for her weekly visit (much needed due to the circumstances of life with an unhappy teenage girl) and we talked animals when the session was over. She wants to learn more about goats and milk and making cheese. She may have a horse trailer I can borrow to go get my llamas. Yippee! No more livestock in the minivan. I'm growing more and more fond of her.

I have been reading and reading about llamas and goats. Mostly about fiber. Excited to be thinking artistically again. I think I can make felt without too much hassle and I can use that to make some wonderful things, like toys for the little ones, and blankets for me. I'm so eager to begin. But first, a pen and barn for them and of course I have to pay them off. I can't wait to have the cute little guys join our growing homestead.

And we work on the soil. Always. R picks up leaves from around town and pulls cardboard out of the recycle bins so we can sheet mulch some of the areas we hope to plant next year. I thought there'd be more snow by now, but I guess the season is still young. Our soil here is like dust, no organic material at all. The cactus like it. I'm hoping the goats will like the cactus, especially the awful chollo that dots our small piece of land.

I'm looking for an old, cheap travel trailer with working plumbing and electricity. I thought it'd be a perfect little art studio, out in the few trees we have. Our views of the mountains are phenomenal. We've got the front range and Pikes Peak to the north and my favorite, the Wet mountains to the south. I've been thinking of trying the watercolors again. Not too much mess there.

There is hope still for this mom who'd like to get back to painting. But in the meantime, I am so in love with my animals, and busy with my children, it's not all bad. I dream of the future...that's not living in the NOW...but wouldn't it be nice if...

Goats and LLamas

We got goats! Three of them. We drove an hour and a half out into the boonies to get them, and put them in the back of the minivan. Now, let me tell you, there was enough space for three goats, sure, and I put down an old vinyl tablecloth and a dropcloth on top of that, and I thought I was adequately prepared. I sat in the back with them, with two chihuhuas on my lap, and the rest of the family sat in the front. They are sweet goats, not biters or anything, but they must have been nervous because I think between the three of them they pooped and peed every ten or fifteen minutes. I had to keep pushing butts away from my lap so I didn't become part of the growing stinky mess in the back of the van. It was dark when we drove home, and I could only imagine the lake of filth channeling itself around the van as we went around curves and over bumps. And the smell was horrendous. But, we made it. Had to stop at Wal-mart to pick up a couple of collars and leashes for them, and when we got home, we had to put them in the only fenced yard we have, which is next to the house. They immediately began chomping down on our newly planted trees and bushes, as R race to put up the last section of their temporary pen. What a night. I don't recommend goats in the car, although the mess didn't turn out to be as bad as I imagined.

So our goats are milking goats. One Saanen named Trace, one Nubian, I forgot her name, and one Cashmere mix named Cinnamon (I got her because she was so cute). The first two are about two years old and hopefully pregnant, due in March, and my little Cashmere is nine months old and really just my baby. Another little pet to add to my collection. Sure, if I breed her, we could milk her too, and we might, but I'm thinking more along the lines of using her as a fiber goat. They are all happy now in their pen, the cutest little creatures.

Yesterday we drove another hour to look at mini llamas. Who'd thought? I've wanted llamas for about ten years or so. I thought it'd be great to learn to spin and make blankets and rugs. Anyway, of course the llamas are adorable. They always are. I put a deposit down on two boys, a gray and a black, and hopefully will be picking them up in January sometime. Now, the lady there said I could put them in the mini van and that they lay down when they travel, nice and easy. But I don't know about that. R and I spent an hour cleaning and shampooing the carpet in the van and it looks brand new. Do I want to go through that again? Maybe without passengers, but I'm thinking I need to find an old horse trailer for cheap or maybe rent or borrow one.

So now R is finishing up the chicken coop and began a goat barn on the hill side of our little homestead. The llamas can live there too. The idea is that they will protect the goats from predators, and so they will be pastured and penned with them. And I get more fiber. I better learn fast how to shear and process llama wool. Exciting.

The homestead is really starting to grow. I feel so ignorant right now. I have so much to learn about all of these animals and gardening. The adventure is really underway.

Time passes and we move to the country

Wow, how I've let it all go. The writing, the art, everything for me. And now, I'm damn mad. Angry and bitter inside, to go with the negative attitude my sixteen year old is carting around. The babies are bigger now, and much more work. The significant man in my life is still a man, and we are having our own share of issues. Perhaps the stress of moving, finally, has accumulated into one big dysfunctional family situation.

I've been dreaming of a self-sustainable lifestyle for years. At one point I wanted nothing more than to move to NM, build an Earthship and live off the arts and crafts I made with my own two hands. I wanted to throw everything away and begin again, allowing only handmade items into my house. I started quilting and making clothes for my two little girls. But the dream was put on the back burner for a while as I finished college and found a crummy job to make ends meet. We did make it to NM eventually, and remodeled an old adobe barn into a passive solar house, but that was more about the man in my life and less about living sustainably, and that's another story. Now he's jumped on the bandwagon, I'm happy to say.

In July of 09, we found a piece of property in southern Colorado with a manufactured home on it (yep, a double-wide, but new...2006).



Only two and a half acres, but it was all we could find in our price range. And they allow chickens. I got ten chicks in March and we bought a chicken barn and kept them in the backyard when the weather got warm enough. Turns out one of the chicks was a rooster. Oops. Not allowed in the city. Our realtor had an uncle who took him with one of the hens. He lives in the country. That was when we were thinking we'd never find a place. Financing is crazy these days and we only qualified for an FHA loan. Well, they have lots of stipulations about properties, and many of the old houses I liked would never qualify. So here we are in a very nice, modern, clean and FHA passable manufactured home. Not perfect. The house has no personality. The land is dry, on the verge of desert like, but it's what we can do now. I'm okay with that. Maybe.

I still dream of an old farmhouse on lots of land with no covenants, but Maine is far too cold and way too far away. Sometimes I drive around this rural farming community and look for my old house. I found it yesterday. Perfect old Victorian surrounded by pastures and it has a couple of delightful old barns too. Wonderful.



It's not for sale. And how much would it be if it was? A girl can dream...