And the Seasons, They Go 'Round-an-'Round...

Buddha-cat keeps my neck warm these
frosty mornings

Fall Greetings from Havencroft Farm

 We are modern homesteaders, small holders, shepherds, and crafts people. We pay our electric bill, use the internet, drive our cars to our jobs, and store food in our refrigerator. But, we are still tied to the seasons  of the Earth. 

It's fall now, and we've had a few frosts. The garden is tucked in for the winter and the green tomatoes are sitting on the counter ripening for a few last summer-type dinners. The cats are looking for laps.

East Richwoods Nutmeg, our Alpine dairy
goat buck knows he's beautiful.
Fall is goat and sheep breeding season.
Having seasonal polyestrous animals
helps cement the cycle of the year.

It's sheep and goat breeding time. I breed the dairy goats first, so we have a supply of milk in case we have any bottle baby lambs or angora goat kids. Knock on wood, we won't, but best to be safe. At this point, the dairy goats are all confirmed bred and the breeding sheep are in with the rams. I got a new angora buck goat kid this year, Whisper Hills Oberon. He may or may not be ready to work, but he lives with the girls, and if they figure it out it's a bonus. Kid mohair is my favorite fiber.

Gibbs dog prefers to hang out in the
studio on now that mornings are cooler.

I spin and weave year-around, but I really seem to tuck into it in the fall. That's when I pull out my dyepots and make all the pretty colors for my yarns. We have our two annual shows in September and December, so much of my production schedule is geared around those.

My dad and my grandbaby Zo.

Now that we have a grandbaby in the family, it's another cue of the flow of life and the circle of time. I am luck to have both my parents and they dote on little Zo, who will not be little for long. Luckily human babies don't grow as fast as the sheep and goat kids!

In addition to farming, shepherding, spinning, weaving, and working full time, I am in the process of finishing out my bachelor's degree. I hope to graduate in May of 2020. One of the lesson I've learned is to be ok with my own schedule and my own cycle. My early 20's was my time to experience and explore, now is my time to put it all together into a formal credential. So, while I do seem to write more here in the winter (maybe it's because I'm inside more, or not at work quite as many hours!) it may be a while before I post regularly. In the meantime, if you've found our Havencroft Farm through this blog and are interested in the happenings here in the rural Ozarks, take a look at our Havencroft Farrm Facebook page. If you're looking for brooms or shawls or our other products, try our Havencroft Farm Etsy Store.

And, if you're just interested in a glimpse of our homesteading journey, scroll back through the archives here. Every once in a while I enjoy going back through this blog and remembering seasons past and the joy of the journey to today. Happy Fall 2019!

Harvest moon over the barn & good
brown dirt resting for the 2020 garden.

Nine Rules for Milk Barn Harmony

I love dairy animals. I love the relaxing routine of milking. I love producing clean healthy milk. I've been a dairy farmer since 1979 when I got my first goats from Finley Nelson. And in the intervening years, I've learned a few things. As I was milking this newest batch of yearlings, I thought of trying to list why I like milking and why it is such an integral part of my life.

Rules for Milk Barn Harmony

1. Keep anger out of the milk barn. It has no place there. Goats are just goats, there is no reason to get angry at them, they won't waste the energy on getting angry at you. Anger saps your energy and makes any task less enjoyable. And bringing anger in from outside will only make life unpleasant for you and your milkers.

2. Say "hi" to your goat before you slap a wash rag on an udder, whether your way of saying "Hi" is to talk, or brush their head as you do up the head gate or run a hand over her side, treat her with respect and say hello before you grab a teat.

3. Treat your goat's skin like you would your own. Do not use harsh chemicals on udders, keeping that skin soft and supple is a joy for you and a comfort for your milkers. If something is too hard on your hands, just imagine how it feels to your goat.

Henna and Harley are my current yearling milkers.

4. Keep a regular schedule. You know how off you feel if your morning routine is interrupted? Same is true for your goats. For both of your sakes, establish a routine and follow it as close as is humanly possible. You can make that routine your own. I have a friend who milks at noon and midnight. That works for her. I have another friend who leaves the kids on the goats and only milks once a day at about 7:00 p.m.

5. Realize you are committing to a relationship when you have milk animals. Being a steward of milking animals is a commitment. What ever schedule you establish, you are committing to milking once, or twice or three times a day, every single day. Few human relationships require this level of commitment.

6. Enjoy milking. This is a time you need to truly enjoy. The rhythm, the feel of an udder emptying under your hands. The shush of the milk. The sights and sounds and scents. Enjoy milking.

7. Don't keep dairy goats that you do not like. An animal whose personality does not mesh with your own, is just going to be an irritation during your peaceful milking time. Try to work it out, but then give yourself permission to pass that animal on to another herd. She might just be the next person's favorite goat. I've had that happen more than once.

8. Don't play games you don't enjoy. A week or so ago, my two little yearlings decided that jumping the fence into the front yard was far more fun than going from the goat pasture to the milk barn. The first morning's tour was interesting, and they did end up going into the milk barn without hurting themselves on any fences. But when they decided to play that game again that night, I decided we needed leashes to walk to an from the pasture to milk barn. Now I'm not frustrated, and the girls are learning to walk on lead, something they may need to know for demonstrations or just to go to the vet.

9. Listen to your goats and be willing to adapt to what makes them comfortable. Henna likes her personal space. I sit on the milk stool and milk her. Harley likes to be snuggled. She wiggles all over the milk stand, unless I sit up next to her and put my shoulder against her side. It doesn't matter either way to me, and there is no reason to make an issue out of what makes them comfortable.

I may organize these a little better when I have some time... leave a comment if you'd like to add your own ideas or "rules" to this list.