Menagerie usually brings to mind animals. And yes, I have a mini "urban" farm. My chickens give me fresh eggs everyday. My 2 Nigerian goats may one day give milk to make cheese, ice cream and etc. But I have many other "animals" that have even more importance. They are my family, politics,and education. Hope you enjoy my posts and laugh while reading my blog.
Today I discovered that with just spending $60 I can buy happiness. "How?" you ask.
"Well, just look at my feet and toes!" I exclaim.
The photography may leave something to be desired. And I didn't proclaim that I have beautiful feet or toes. BUT a deluxe pedicure sure feels good. And if the feet feel good, I feel good so my happiness abounds.
It's silly that I have so much trouble parting with the money and time to get a pedicure.
Note to self: It is worth $60 to have happy feet, so don't wait so long next time.
It's small at first, but it will get a lot bigger.
When I went out this morning (rather late this morning) to feed the goats and chicken, I found a surprise.
Either Gracie (the one the golden retriever played roughly with) or StayedAtHome (she didn't fly over the fence) laid her very first egg.
They are 1/2 Copper Maran and 1/2 Barred Rocks. Gracie is in front.
Omelet, a Barred Rock, #1 Hen with all the attitude
I have been making various comments about how long it has taken for them to lay an egg. They are from the first eggs to ever hatch on my mini urban farm last March. Little Ace and Cracker took turns sitting on the eggs until they hatched. Gracie and StayedAtHome are half Copper Marans (father Big Foot) and half Plymouth Barred Rock (Mother Omelet). Omelet is my best laying hen. All the hens seem to have stopped laying since the days have gotten shorter and cooler. Only Omelet has laid an egg the last 2 weeks. Omelet is my oldest chicken and she has never gone more than a day without laying. Lately, she has gone from laying everyday to every other day. Now she is laying a giant odd shaped egg. I can't even close the egg carton; it is so big.
Little Ace's New Egg Omelet's
But today we celebrate Gracie or StayedAtHome's achievement. Will the one you laid the beautiful brown egg please cluck loudly. Just wish I knew which one came through.
I am an extremely product oriented person. So when I spend 3 hours and really have nothing significant to show, I'm very disappointed. I started a blog about the GRADES the state has decided to give each school and an average letter grade to each school district. But I will have to do it slowly because I get too emotional and write things people shouldn't read. So what did I accomplish? Well, I read a half dozen other blogs and found www.playlist.com.
Then I spent 3 hours putting together a list of 26 of some of my favorites songs. It may seem like a strange mixture. I apparently enjoyed the hours.
I started to write that Dottie Belle, Gypsy and Honey Bunny got pedicures today, but they have hooves, so that is not technically correct. But they are city girls. As we were leaving the theater after watching Moneyball, MUCH to Don's chagrin I very nicely asked him to assist me in trimming the girls' hooves. I have been able to snip them often while they were small, but they are a bit much to handle by myself now. He had his choice of holding the goat or trimming the hoof.
Does Dottie Belle look like she's developing an attitude?
Well, that was not a difficult choice for him. So I held the 50 lbs. goats one at a time, while he did the snipping. I have been using gardening clippers, the best you can buy at Lowes, but they don't work very well. Don had told me a month ago, when I asked him if he could sharpen them, a definite "No." But that is his standard answer to 99% of my questions or requests. But today he truly came to understand that these clippers are not adequate. Of course, since I was always holding a goat, there are no pictures; and honestly if anyone had gotten a picture I would not publish it. I was in some very crazy positions. Sometimes I was sitting in a chair with the goat in my lap and sometimes the goat was in the chair with my arms around it. At times the goat was standing on the ground between my legs. I'm thinking it could become an exercise craze like Zumba, because I truly got quite a workout. I told the student who lives in my garage apartment that we were about to trim the goats hooves and she ask the logical question, "How does a wild goat get its hooves trimmed?" Well I know that answer. Wild goats climb rocks and mountains that wear their hooves down. I could consider dragging them down the sidewalks to wear them down. If Don ever says no to helping me, I may have to give that a try.
I've included the following video for you to see how it could or should have gone. I don't have a milking stand yet, so that will be handy. My girls hooves were not in this bad of shape, since I've been snipping them pretty often.
But the girls now have very nice looking hooves and Don said he saw some clippers at CVS that he thinks will be a lot better. Anyway, I will let him buy them and we will see how they do.
I called Anthony a couple of days ago about getting the yard cleaned up and weeding my very neglected flower beds. He and I had already done the 4 in the front yard this summer. I told him that I hate my yard this fall. It is so ugly. Instead of my Japanese Red Maples turning beautiful colors, the leaves are turning brown on the tips and curling up.
The side yard has been covered with pine straw all summer, no matter how often it gets raked. The other day I counted 11 pine trees in my yard.
UGLY, UGLY, UGLY. My water bill has been $200 every month this summer and my flowers and grass are UGLY.
Only the weeds look happy.
My husband used to go nuts every time I made a new bed. He would say, "You should not be making all those flower beds. How are you ever going to keep up with them?" Well, with the 110 degree temperatures the answer is I WILL NOT. They will go to weeds. But not forever; I have learned to call for help and write a check. Gone are the days of doing it all myself.
These are the 2 beds. Mostly roses and daffodils and lilies bulbs.
Well, Anthony and his 60 year old helper showed up today!! I went out and work with them. Mostly to be sure the few pitiful flowers don't get pulled up with the weeds that have gone crazy.
We started about 10 o'clock. They had already mowed 2 yards on my street.
Look at all the bags of weeds and old pine straw.
They had already mowed 2 yards on my street. It is the first day I believe the calendar is telling the truth about it being fall. For a few hours it felt great. I think I was working at least as hard as they were.
At about 2:30 I went into the house to get something. But this slow down made me realize how tired I was.
Then I came out, wrote Anthony a check (eventhough he hadn't finished) and told the guys I would only be working the rest of the time as a consultant. Actually I wasn't even available for that because I passed out on the sofa before they left.
This was taken the next day. They are very imaginative.
I woke up about 5 o'clock and Don was sitting in his chair in the morning room reading. We call it that because we like to sit in there and eat breakfast and drink coffee. I coaxed him into going outside with me and letting the goat kids play in the yard. Before we knew it our yard filled up with human kids, Connor, his friend Vivian, and Kennedy.
Then Bridget and Trinity said they were going to Out Back for dinner. Jacquie and G.B. had given Trinity a gift certificate to there for his birthday. I know for a second, Don thought I had set him up for baby sitting with me. He does not like it when he thinks I am pulling a fast one on him--who me?
Connor
I wish I had taken my camera outside. But if I had, I would have never convinced Don that I did not know the human kids were coming over. The 6 kids, human and goat, ran all over the place and had a great time. Vivian's dad called her home for dinner and soon Connor said, "Take me in the house and feed me."
I think Connor really enjoyed being the oldest child tonight. Chase was spending the night with a friend. Connor helped me cook salmon, and change Kennedy's diapers. Then around 8:30 Connor said, "Make me a pallet upstairs with Grampa. I need to go to sleep." He is always very direct about what he wants and needs. Bridget says he sometimes sounds like a grumpy old man. But I love that he just says what he needs and doesn't get all whiny. He communicates in such a way that I just do exactly what he says. I know I should teach him to say "please"; but for some reason he doesn't sound rude. Life is easy the way he does it.
If a few more days turn out like today, maybe this fall will be beautiful after all.
"Well, just look at my feet and toes!" I exclaim.
The photography may leave something to be desired. And I didn't proclaim that I have beautiful feet or toes. BUT a deluxe pedicure sure feels good. And if the feet feel good, I feel good so my happiness abounds. 
