My exercise yesterday....

Yesterday, Mom, Kayla, Jenna & I decided to avail ourselves of the warm weather & take a walk.  Kayla took her pony, Bullet, which was fine, until we passed some horses & Bullet got a little excited.  Kay possibly would have been able to control him, but she has tendinitis/carpal tunnel right now, so it wouldn't be smart for her to continue trying to get him to obey her.  So, I took over.  I got him respecting my space & doing well, until a tractor went by.  He was obviously spooked & not wanting to listen to me anymore & when we turned around, he knew where we were headed & I was NOT going fast enough for him.  So, it began a wrestling match...who was the strongest???!!! Well, with my elbow in his side, so he wouldn't step on me (I only had flip flops on...how do I always end up in silly predicaments?)  Anyways, it was going ok for awhile....or as ok as it can be when you are fighting muscle for muscle with a horse....I did have a slight advantage, with being aware of pressure points & being willing to fully get in his space.  (Can be dangerous, especially with being on a sidewalk....I don't reccomend others to try it!)  My arm started to give out, so I had to focus on staying with it...there was no giving up now, or we'd have a horse running down the road, or something like that anyways.  When we finally got on our road, Mom told me to stop & wait for someone to be able to help.  I knew that he wouldn't just stand, so I made him spin circles.  When we got dizzy, I stopped spinning & started walking again right away.  It definitely calmed him, but not for long, so I spun him again, and again, and again.  The last time, I grabbed onto his rump hair, so I wouldn't end up on the ground & Bullet was obviously ready to stop getting spun.  We finished the walk, with Bullet respectfully & quietly walking alongside me.  I think that he learned something, & I really enjoyed it, but I did stay dizzy for awhile, even once we got home!  Maybe next time, we won't have to circle so much!

Valentines Dinner

Corbin & I have really enjoyed a weekly College Group that we get with on Thursdays.  Several people from our church & from the surrounding colleges meet for dinner, worship, Bible Study & talk time.  It provides a neat opportunity to grow closer to like-minded, mature people our age. It was proposed that we should gather at the Old Spaghetti Factory for Valentines week. 

So, after picking up a friend, we met at our church so that we could carpool to the restarant.  We enjoyed some talk time waiting for everyone to show up, then after praying, we loaded up into various cars & drove over to the restaurant. It took awhile to find a parking space, due to having to pay for a parking space & the first spot we found, the machine wasn't working.  It was rather cold, but pretty with the snow falling.  When my brother & another young man decided to move the car, I walked over to the restaurant with the rest of the guys.  We were shown downstairs into a large room with several tables.  It was really comfortable & the food was so delicious!  There were enough people to fill two big tables & a couple smaller ones.  I got to sit with Bob & Jeannie, who lead the Bible studies during college group.  It was so nice to get to know them better!  When we got back to the church, Matt entertained us by doing several card illusions.  He sure knows how to do them well! 

Baby goats

Joy did kid first, but due to one dying in utero, both bucklings died, since Joy went into premature labor.  I ended up taking her to the vet to help.  I think that I could do it now, if I was put into the same circumstances, but it was helpful to watch the vet deliver preemies.

On March 14, Hazal & Amani were racing to see who could kid first.  It would seem as if one was getting closer, but then the other would try to prove that she was the closest.  This carried on all day, until 7:30, when Hazal decided to really get down to business.  She had a doeling & buckling.  Both super easy births & healthy babies!

A few minutes after she kidded, I checked on Amani.  She was going to be pushing soon, so I moved her into a baby barn.  The first kid, a doeling, was breech, but was born ok.  The 2nd kid was born quickly & normally & the 3rd presented with just a head (the front feet were back).  He was born fairly easily despite the malpresentation.  All babies are doing well!

Goat kids arriving soon!

This spring, I have 5 goats due.  With me being gone during breeding season, I have a few dates, but am not sure when they are actually due, so I have been really watching & trying to use my past knowledge to figure out when each one is due. 

Also, with my friend Sarah, owning a UTS machine, we got to UTS them to get a better idea. 

Through UTS, it shows that Hazal & Amani are due on March 6, Emma on March 8, Joy on March 20 & Hekima in May. 

Through palpating & other signs, Joy looks likes she’s due in February, which would put her 3 –4 weeks earlier then the date by UTS.

It will be interesting to see if the UTS machine or palpating turn out right….. or neither :)

Puppies!

The morning after I arrived from the Philippines, Katie gave birth to 7 puppies!  I missed the first & last, but was so grateful that she waited for me to get home.  There were 5 girls & 2 boys…. not bad :)