I've Gone Country A blog about a city girl learning a whole new world

Today is our Eighteenth wedding anniversary.

Amazing how fast time flies.  It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long….but then I look at our children and I can’t believe how much they have changed.

And then I look at us…..WOW….I really can’t believe how much we have CHANGED!

YIKES…..

Life is full of changes, and we have had fun along the way.

We went on a cruise this past week with some friends.  The views were spectacular.

Starting with this amazing and humbling view from the airplane.   This verse came up numerous times in conversation with our friends…Psalm 8:3-4

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?

The beauty continued…..

everywhere…we looked….

We met Bob…the donkey….

Gi Gi and Jo Jo the monkeys…..

And many beautiful people along the way….

Like….this gentleman….

and these beautiful ladies…who showered us with hospitality…….

hugs…… and….. smiles.

It seemed that everywhere we went we met someone who touched our lives in one way or another.

There were many people that we didn’t get pictures of that were also a pleasure to meet.

At one of the straw markets I saw a wood carving of two large hands cupped together.  I said out loud to Billy that it reminded me of how God has the whole world in His hands.

About that time the attendant started singing the song…… He’s got the whole world in His hands…

So we all joined her….singing….

He’s got the whole world in his hands
He’s got the whole wide world…….. in his hands
He’s got the whole world……. in his hands
He’s got the whole world in his hands

He’s got you and me brother…… in his hands
he’s got you and me sister…… in his hands
He’s got you and me brother…… in his hands

At another stop, there was a tree that was short and stout.  I remarked that it was like the tree I had pictured in my mind of Zacchaeus climbing.

Immediately a man standing nearby started singing the song!

Of course we joined in….

Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.
He climbed up in a sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see.
And as the Savior passed him by, He looked up in the tree,
And he said, “Zacchaeus, you come down from there;
For I’m going to your house to-day,… for I’m going to your house today”

(A song made from the scripture in Luke 19:1-10)

1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

As we all laughed after singing…we reflected that we had memorized those songs from childhood.  Fun to see that even though we live miles and miles apart…Christ was our common thread that pulled us together.

After meeting all these beautiful people, once again the thought came….who are we…that God would be mindful of us?   Each of us….all over the world…individuals…each one special in His sight.

WOW……

One morning on the trip, we awoke to this beautiful rainbow outside our window.

Genesis 9 :17

So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

Just like this promise…evident for all of us to see.   He promises to always be with us, wherever we go.

He is mindful of us….

Yes, it’s true that Billy and I have changed a lot through the years. But it is comforting to know that some things do not.

Hebrews 13:8 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

I find that amazing and comforting.

It’s that time of year again.

What time you ask?

Ahhhh….Birthing Time….of course!!!!!

One of my very favorite and most exhausting time of the year.  The goats have started us off.  I personally feel as if I have delivered myself by the end of the process. Hoot-N-Nanny had her first baby this past Friday.  It was a boy and I must say that he is an absolute sweet heart.  He is strong and seems to be pretty content.  Of course he cries for his Mama when he is hungry, which is every 4 hours or so.

I started thinking the other day that I have a new title.

I believe I am an animal Doula or possibly a Midwife without the certification of course.  A doula is an assistant that helps before, during and or after birth.  THAT’S ME……

She provides emotional as well as physical support to the mom…a.k.a  Nannie goats, Hens, Jenny’s (Donkey) and Heifers (Cows). THAT’S ME……..

But I seem to cross over into the Midwife category too, except for that small technical part of being certified, which is important.  However, I do have on the job training!!!!! That should account for something.

A Midwife helps in detecting possible complications, taking care of things when medical emergencies arrive.   THAT’S ME…….

We try not to have that happen…but when it does….you just put your thinking cap and jump into action.  Of course learning new stuff along the way.

THAT WOULD BE ME!!!!

Actually it would be BILLY too.  He has birthed many a baby….. in the animal kingdom that is.

We are always most grateful when the process can just happen—- without our help.

Just like humans, every delivery is the same in some aspects and yet unique in other aspects.  It is still a guessing game and anything can happen, and be “normal”.

From our experience first time mother goats have 1 baby, in subsequent births they  have 2 or more babies at a time.

Friday, I peered out the window sipping my morning coffee.

The dialogue with Billy is always interesting when we have expectant animals.

We go back and forth with statements about the expectant Mom.  Is she looking or acting differently?  You would think we were veterinarians or something.

I watched …sipping my coffee…I tried to decide how to plan the day.  She sure looked uncomfortable, even the Daddy goat was hanging around her in a different way. I watched ….and waited and watched …..and waited….thinking I might see something that would give me definite yes or no.  She headed up into the woods.

I decided to stoke the fire in the wood heater…..and that’s when I heard a bellow.

WHEW….Hot Diggity Dog….we are having a baby!!!!

NOW!!!!!

I quickly grabbed my mud boots, binoculars cell phone and the camera.  Sure enough…through the binoculars I could see that she was delivering and the baby was in the right position.   That is always a blessing.  It usually only takes a minute at that point.

YEP…..She had it.    She walked off so I made my way through the woods and took a peek.  It seemed just fine.

It’s not a great picture…because I tried to keep my distance.  Last year we fed 5 baby goats for several months…and I didn’t want to do that this time.  I wanted the Mama to take care of the baby if at all possible.

Of course I contacted Billy and let him know that we had a baby!  It wasn’t long until he just happened to stop by the house.   We crept through the woods so he could get a peek.

It is ALWAYS  so exciting!!!!!   And so hard to leave them alone.

There it was…nestled against the rocks.  It was then that it  flashed us this I’m so “precious” look.

Billy said….Don’t you think we should take him closer to the house?

BUT OF COURSE!!!!!…..We have to make sure it’s alright.

But we both were careful to not handle it much.  We had agreed that we wanted the Mama to do the mothering.

That is when we discovered he was a boy.  He settled in beside the goat house, seemingly tired already.

His mother stayed away in the woods a for a little while.  I began to worry a bit.  You never know how first time Moms are going to act.

She eventually came down to the water trough.

By this time I was a little aggravated.  It had been almost 2 hours and she had not licked the baby or anything.  That’s not a good sign.  After she drank we were able to give her a treat and hold her long enough for the baby to eat.   Babies have to get the colostrum with in a short time to stay strong and healthy. Besides it was 32 degrees when he was born.  It had warmed a few degrees, but it was still cold.  She allowed him to nurse, but when he was finished she just wanted to get away from him.  We let her have some more time.

When the baby started crying, I made her stand still again.  That’s when I just about cried.  She placed her little head against my legs and just wanted me to pet her, while the baby nursed.

Look at that sweet face.

I realized that she was probably just scared.  All this was new to her.

Thinking about my own moments of motherhood….I imagined she was overwhelmed.  It is a lot to absorb.

While she rested her little head on my legs, I comforted her with a soft voice and lots of petting.  Meanwhile….baby nursed.

When night time came, we confined the two of them, so we could be sure she would keep him warm and fed.

The next day Motherhood had kicked in!!!!!

Whenever he cried, she would come running to him.  She has been giving him his little baths and taking care of all his needs.

Even Freddy, the father, has been concerned and attentive.

Now that we know Hoot-N-Nanny is going to take care of her baby….we can sneak in a little cuddle time.

Yes, it’s my favorite time of the year!

I have a friend that loves her girls and boy roo’s as much as I do…..maybe even more.

She has other animal loving friends as well.  She and one of her other friends had some extra birds that needed a home.  That is where I come in!

She had a roo that was related to my last roo.  His name is also Sylvester just like my old roo.  Our neighbor took him in last night.  This morning I checked in on him and all is well.  He is crowing and is more than happy in his new home.  Of course why wouldn’t he be.  He has 10 new lady friends to flirt with!

I was supposed to get three new hens.  However, things changed….two of them started crowing!

I now have two new Roo’s and a Hen.  They are Silkie’s and they are very cute!  They have all grown up together so they are used to one another.  Which makes have 2 roosters easier.  If they begin to fight we may have to separate them…but for now….they are best friends.

They have already been named.  I suppose we will keep the names, they are cute.

Hyde is the first one, Jekyll is the second one, and Tiny is the last one.  Tiny is a hen….the other two are the rooster’s.

They surveyed their new living quarters last night.  However, they stuck close to one another.

Amy is the red hen that has the black on her tail.  She is a beautiful big hen.  She is a little bossy though.  She let them know that she is in charge at the moment.  But Maggie Mae did the same thing….  Actually neither one of them are really in charge….but they like to think so.

Silkie’s have a very good nature, being docile helps to make them good pets.   It is said that they only lay a few times a week, so the egg production is not as much.  That’s alright, they are supposed to be good broody hens.  Meaning they like to be Mama’s.  I would love for them to hatch some babies for us.

My friend that loves her girls as much as I, is a school teacher.  She has actually let her classroom hatch eggs, so they can see the process.  I think that is wonderful… children raised in the city don’t usually get to experience that.

Ok…back to the Silkie’s, notice the dark skin and the fur that grows on the legs and feet!

Those are trademark signs of a silkie.  They also have blue earlobes and five toes instead of the traditional 4.

They are very fluffy, so soft in fact that is why they are called Silkie’s, their furry feathers feel like silk.

Amy seemed to be the most inquisitive or maybe the most threatened.  She watched them closely….and gave out a few demanding clucks as well.

This is Tiny…the hen…. she sure is cute with that fluffy top notch!

This is Hyde….it’s been raining…so his feathers aren’t as fluffy this morning…but they all seem to be just fine.

It is always exciting to get new additions!

Maybe tomorrow I’ll get to hear those little furry rooster’s crow….

My Brother in law plays a musical saw.  While visiting this last week I was able to record him playing one of my favorite songs.

It is so neat to watch such beautiful music come from of all things….a saw.

I hope you enjoy it.