Shere Country Ranch

Everyone loves the pugs!

2011-03-27T20:47:00.000-05:00

Boots, one of our cats, sharing the bed with Tito & Tarabelle.

Belinda, the house goat (only temporarily ... lol), couldn't squeeze in so took the other bed!

Two kids in the bed

Another Cat!

2010-12-21T20:40:00.000-06:00

My mother was having a hard time taking care of Smokey so today he came back home here to stay with his mother and brother. He isn't sure what to think about the pugs yet but other than that he has made himself quite at home here as you can see in the photo.

New Additions

2010-12-12T21:17:00.000-06:00

We just added several new animals to our cow herd. Shown above is our new Red Angus heifer and Black Angus/Hereford cross steer. The other steer was being shy.

Demolition Complete

2010-11-14T12:20:00.000-06:00

This milk house next to the barn no longer exists. Too bad it wasn't salvageable.

The house is completely gone. All that is left is the small ice house which we will take down next spring.

Demolition Begins

2010-11-14T10:38:00.000-06:00

Demolition of the house and milk house on our property down the road began yesterday before the storm hit. Too bad I didn't get a before picture of the house. The photo of the barn is prior to the demolition of the milk house. I will post after pictures later today.

First Winter Storm

2010-11-14T10:33:00.000-06:00

Here's a pic of the chicken coop in the fresh snow.

The Dangers of Goats With Horns!

2010-10-17T21:25:00.000-05:00

We just heard this on the radio today as we were coming back from helping a friend vaccinate calves. I always knew horns were dangerous to the goats themselves having experienced them getting caught in fencing and feeders but this is the first I have heard of a human fatality.

Hiker Killed By Mountain Goat

Want a Kitten?

2010-08-18T11:38:00.000-05:00

Tiny's kittens will be 5 weeks old this weekend so will be ready to go in a few more weeks. They are beautiful kittens and have their mother's friendly disposition. Mom is a very good mouser too! Free to good homes only.

The Best Butter!

2010-08-18T11:34:00.000-05:00

We had lots of extra milk after milking our Jersey cow Daisy this morning so Drake and I decided to make some homemade butter to put on our cardamom bread. Added a little sea salt and it was just so yummy!

Farm Visitors

2010-08-13T15:10:00.000-05:00

We really enjoy it when people (kids especially) come to visit our farm and socialize with us and our assortment of critters.

A Wonderful Day Visiting With Relatives

2010-07-27T13:05:00.002-05:00

Summer Babies

2010-07-19T12:35:00.001-05:00

It was a good thing I had my helper Drake here this past week! Domino kidded with triplets bucks sired by Percy and our Jersey heifer Daisy calved with a beautiful little heifer sired by our Limousin bull. Tessa has named her Georgia. Isn't she a beauty? Oh, and don't let me forget ... our cat Tiny had quads! These will be the last kids and calves born this year.

Graduation Day

2010-06-06T16:44:00.001-05:00

Eric, my youngest stepson, just graduated from high school on May 28th. We were very thankful his older brother Matt was able to be home on leave from duty in Iraq for a couple of weeks. Pictured above from left to right are Matt and Eric's mom Gina, Eric, Matt, and Joe.

Kids Playing with Kids!

2010-06-05T21:31:00.002-05:00

Kristin and I met Sheila at Cohasset last week to deliver her kids. Shown above are her wethers and pet does enjoying their new home at her resort in Laporte, Minnesota, near Bemidji. Lots of kids to play with here! Photos are courtesy of Sheila Kirkholm.

Herefords are Here!

2010-04-24T18:07:00.000-05:00

Joe picked up our newest additions in Bruce, Wisconsin yesterday. The polled heifer in the foreground and the cow/bull calf pair on the right (calf is hiding) are adjusting well to their new home. The heifer is extremely friendly and even lets me curry comb her! Much thanks to Eric and Susan Koens of Koens Polled Herefords!

Daisy

2010-04-23T08:40:00.000-05:00

Kristin's daughter, Tessa, took this bird's eye photo of Daisy, our bred Jersey heifer who is due to calf in July. Isn't she a hoot!

Doc Kristin to the Rescue!

2010-04-15T14:33:00.002-05:00

Thank goodness for good friends. Kristin came to my rescue again yesterday. Yoyo was in labor and her single doeling was stuck in the birth canal with just her head and one leg out. I struggled and struggled but couldn't get the poor girl out on my own and thought I was going to lose her. Yoyo was too tired to even push to help. Even though Kristin had been up all night with Aria's kidding (quads!), she stopped what she was doing and drove over to help me. Kristin managed to get the other shoulder loose and get the doeling out. Yoyo and her little doeling are now doing great! Meanwhile, shortly after Kristin left home to help me, her doe Angelina decided it was time to give birth. Now it was Kristin's youngest daughter Tessa to the rescue. She had watched her mom help deliver goats before and knew exactly what to do, even though she had never actually delivered babies by herself before. She did an awesome job and Angelina and her buck/doe twins are doing great too! Yoyo and her not so little doeling are pictured above approximately 24 hours after birthing.

They're Everywhere!

2010-04-15T11:26:00.001-05:00

Better watch where you step ... kids are everywhere! Red Velvet and Blue Yoko and part of their herd of kids are busy checking out their surroundings.

To Market

2010-03-29T05:59:00.010-05:00

Today is the maiden voyage of Joe's new truck and trailer. He will be hauling the four Angus steers and two Holstein steers to the market in Rock Creek.

Patiently Waiting

2010-03-28T19:19:00.005-05:00

Red Velvet is patiently waiting her due date which is a couple of days away yet. Any guesses on how many kids she has in there? Looks like a whole herd! My guess is triplets.

Kids at Play

2010-03-28T19:15:00.003-05:00

Kids are checking out the slide and cable reel spools. Kristin came over and helped me shave udders and after that Joe & I spent a couple of hours disbudding kids. The kids were back at play in no time.

Day of Disbudding

2010-03-24T06:01:00.002-05:00

My good friend Kristin at Babel Brook Acres and I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon disbudding our kids. Not the most enjoyable task but the kids get over it quickly and it is so much safer for them and us. I am still trying to figure out which of Andromedia's kids are polled so they were spared for now!

More Calves!

2010-03-24T05:57:00.003-05:00

We've had two more red heifer calves since my last post. Count is now two red bulls, 2 black heifers, and 2 red heifers. Two more cows to calve yet. This is the highest ratio of heifers to bulls we have seen in a long time. We are really liking the looks of this years group of calves!

Calves at Play

2010-03-21T18:30:00.004-05:00

Our first two calves enjoying the sunshine and playing on a dirt pile.

Beautiful Day for Calving!

2010-03-21T18:24:00.003-05:00

Our friendly (sometimes too friendly) girl Katie had a pretty little black heifer calf around supper time tonight. This brings the calf count to four - 2 red bull calves and 2 black heifer calves. One or two more cows are imminent.

Kids Everywhere!

2010-03-16T05:48:00.004-05:00

Wanda and her single doe.

LV and her triplet does!

Well, what a day yesterday was. Thank goodness Joe was able to get the day off from work. The kids were coming so fast and furious I practically needed a catcher's mitt!

LV (Little Voice) started things off with a bang ... triplet does! They are the first triplet does I have ever had. LV is one of my nicest does conformationally and has just a beautiful udder. Tempo has great length, wonderful dairy character, and is very correct conformationally also. It will be difficult choosing a doeling to keep. I wish I could keep them all, but that is not an option.

No sooner had LV finished and Wanda began pushing. A beautiful little doe sired by Obama. Four does in a row ... I can hardly believe it!

We finally got kids and moms situated and figured we could sneak in some supper but that didn't work either. Andromedia began talking up a storm and acting strange so I turned the stove off and went to check on her. Not to be outdone by LV, she delivered triplets too ... 2 does and 1 buck. Seven kids total today and six are does! My doe/buck ratio is looking pretty good right now but I know very well it can change in a heartbeat.

Everyone is doing well. Still waiting on Cinnamon and Windy. Come daylight I will try and get a few pictures to post of Andromedia's kids. I might even try for a little snooze .

2010-03-15T09:31:00.002-05:00

Our grandson Drake had a busy time this weekend helping with babies, both calves and goats. He even helped Poppa take Buttercup out for her stroll.

Impatiently Waiting

2010-03-12T11:51:00.003-06:00

Well, it looks like today might finally be the day for Baby Doll and Persephone to kid. Baby Doll doesn't even look pregnant except for the fact she is springing with a pretty nice little first freshening udder! Windy can't be far behind either.

First Calf of 2010!

2010-03-03T19:01:00.003-06:00

This handsome young bull calf was born today out of one of Joe's favorite cows. What a beautiful day for calving it was. Mama and baby are doing fine and the young man is very active. He is the first of many spring babies we are expecting between our cows and our goats. Things will really be hopping here in the next couple of weeks!

Out Walking

2010-02-27T18:35:00.003-06:00

Joe has Buttercup out for a walk. She leads very nicely even though he has just recently started working with her.

Halter Training Buttercup

2010-02-22T19:30:00.004-06:00

Joe began halter training Buttercup, our Guernsey heifer out of Lilly, this past weekend. So far so good! The goats were a little leery of her at first but soon decided she wasn't a threat.

An Afternoon at Dede's

2010-02-22T18:58:00.008-06:00

Kristin and I spent a very informative afternoon at my friend Dede's farm today. She showed us how she draws blood samples from her goats so she can send in her own samples for CAE testing as well as pregnancy testing. She then graciously allowed us to try to take a sample from her Nubian buck (poor guy)! Thank goodness for him Kristin and I were able to successfully draw blood on the first attempt. We then compared that to finding the vein on one of her Nigerian does ... not quite as easy as their veins are smaller and their necks not as long. We are both confident we will be able to handle the task on our own Nigerian Dwarf herds however.

I've had good intentions of purchasing my own microscope for doing fecals, but just hadn't done it yet. There was always something a little higher up on the priority list. That has definitely changed now. I can hardly wait to get one ordered! It was fascinating watching her prepare and evaluate slides with different fecal samples. This will be a great tool to use once I become more familiar with the identification of the wide variety of internal parasites that can be found in goats although I still intend to bring random samples to my trusted vet.

Adventures in Cheese Making!

2010-01-07T14:34:00.004-06:00

Kristin and I invited ourselves over to Mary Ann's place for a cheese-making (and eating) party. We had a blast and the mozzarella was fabulous!

Checking the curd.

Kristin gets the stretch!

The finished cheese. Yummy.

Fun with the pugs!

2010-01-07T14:06:00.004-06:00

Just wanted to share a couple of photos of our grandson Drake having fun dressing up all the pugs for the holidays Drake making Tobie pose for his photo!

Drake holding Tito and Tootsie patiently waiting for her turn.

Tarabelle doesn't appear to be too impressed ... lol.

New Additions and Updates

2009-11-15T14:21:00.007-06:00

Pictured above are my newest additons, Willow and Fiona:

Well, it's been an extremely busy week but had a great time at Dill's -A Little Goat Farm in Chelsea, Oklahoma. Ellen Dorsey took a couple of hours out of her busy schedule to show us all her healthy, beautiful goats and share her philosphies on herd management. I brought home Willow and would have loved to taken more but need to see if my reservations are met first.

Marge Kitchen did a great job with the Beginner's Cheesemaking Class. I met Debbie Newsam there and we got lots of tips for making cheese. We made Chevre, Ricotta, and Mozzarella, as well as some awesome goat's milk fudge! No need for supper by the time we were done.

Below are new photos of our completed cattle waterers. It was a lot bigger project than we initially anticipated but well worth it.

Sustenance for the Family

2009-11-08T16:51:00.002-06:00

Joe got a nice eight-point buck this afternoon. It will soon be polish, jerky, and venison sticks. Yummy! I'm still tired from my trip to the Goat Breeder's Conference in St. Paul yesterday and have to get on the road to Chelsea, Oklahoma early tomorrow so will write more after I get back.

Fall/Winter Projects

2009-11-01T11:49:00.007-06:00

Well, it's been a while. Don't know where the time goes. I'm almost done with hoof trimming and the pens and barns have all been cleaned. Breedings are in full swing and I am looking forward to attending the Minnesota Dairy Goat Association's Annual Goat Breeder's Conference on November 7th as well as their Cheese-making Clinic on the 14th. Both should be great fun! The Cheese-making Clinic will be held at the Poplar Hill Dairy Goat Farm. They are Minnesota's oldest Grade A goat dairy. My friend Debbie Newsam will be meeting me there. Hopefully, we will have time for a quick tour either before or after our class. I have been making yogurt from my goat's milk and cow's milk. Both are just wonderful although I think I prefer the goat's milk yogurt just a tad more. I have also made mozzarella and soft cheese but I need a little more practice with those yet to get consistent results. The goat's are dried off now so I will just have the cow's milk to play with although I did freeze some goat's milk to make soap this winter.

I am also making a trip to Chelsea, Oklahoma this month. I am picking up a bred doe that has some genetics I am very interested in. I will post photos when I get her home.

Our Ritchie automatic waterers for the cattle and dairy cows are almost complete. They will sure take a big chunk of manual labor out of our work load. Much thanks to our friends Dave, Nate, Nate Jr., and Robin for taking on the job.

Shown above is our Guernsey milk cow, Lilly, with her heifer calf, Buttercup, who was born on 9/11/09. The photo below was taken just 3 days later. She's helping Joe train Lilly to the milk stand!

The Rainbow Bridge

2009-07-21T18:29:00.002-05:00

Friday, July 10th, 2009 was a very sad day for our family. Our oldest pug, Tess, 10+ years old, unexpectedly passed away. Our vets at Northland Animal Hospital and the Emergency Vet Service in Duluth did their best to save her but I guess her time had come. She will be greatly missed by us, as well as her pug buddies Tito, Tara, Toby, and Tootsie. Tess is the fawn pug in the foreground.

Drake, Lilly, & Tiny

2009-06-12T11:48:00.003-05:00

Drake thinks our new milk cow is just peachy and can hardly wait until she calves in a couple of months.

Drake took a real shine to our new kittens. He is loving up Tiny in the photo above. Puff was too busy chasing mice to pose for a photo.

Long Overdue Updates

2009-05-25T10:31:00.012-05:00

This is our newest addition Lilly. She is a registered Guernsey heifer and is bred to a registered Guernsey bull for an August calving. We were very fortunate to be able to purchase her from Oliver Swanson, shown with Lilly in the above photo. We looked a long time for the perfect cow to be our future family milk cow and then we found her! Oliver did a fantastic job raising her up as his 4H project and she is a dream to handle. Thank you Oliver!

We are always pleased to get photos of goats we have sold after they go to their new homes. As you can tell by the photos above, Aria's wethers, Milo and Henry, have a wonderful loving home with the Tanski family.

New Bull

2009-02-17T08:42:00.002-06:00

This is the new Limousin bull Joe picked out. What a handsome guy! I think Joe is going to Wisconsin to pick him up sometime soon so he has a chance to work with him a bit before breeding season.

Kidding & Calving Begins!

2009-02-16T17:49:00.008-06:00

Well, I am so very glad I was wrong about Velvet. She kidded yesterday with a single gorgeous buck kid. He's gold chamoisee with light brown markings and a white spot on his poll. The heat lamp distorts the color a little. He is lighter than he appears in this photo. I will try to get a better photo tomorrow.

We had another surprise on Valentine's Day. My husband went out to the wintering corral to show someone the cows and found a newborn calf! Oops! We normally don't have any calves until mid-March. Anyway, the big red bull calf has been moved into the barn and is doing just fine.

Maternity Watch

2009-01-04T08:55:00.009-06:00

Well, I was so disappointed to find Feisty back in heat again when I visited the barn this morning. Arghh! I was so hoping Shazam had bred her last month even though I didn't witness the breeding. Makes me wonder if Red Velvet is bred. She should be due next month but isn't very big. The vet tried to ultrasound her a month ago but she had never ultrasounded a goat before and couldn't tell me either way. I am debating removing Shazam from the pen, waiting a couple of weeks and then putting Feisty, Xplicit, and Velvet in with Megapixel. I will have to check the pedigrees to see if that would work. Anyway, I guess having my kids spread out from spring to fall wouldn't be such a bad idea.

On a brighter note, I'd like to share a couple of wonderful Holiday photos I received from my good friend Kristin at Babel Brook Acres.

I can't believe Kristin got Spark and Angelina to keep the antlers on!!!

Aftermath of the Storm

2008-12-15T15:28:00.015-06:00

Well, we only got about a foot of snow but with the gusts of wind my goat pens got buried so I took a vacation day from work (my real job) to stay home and shovel my poor goats out. The snow has stopped but the wind is supposed to pick up again tonight. The temp is supposed to hit about 25 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit)tonight and with the windchill factor it will feel like 40 - 50 degrees below zero. Brrrrr!!! Here's a few photos taken of my Nigerian Dwarf goats after I got a path shoveled out for them to get to their outdoor feeders today. That's Andie, my blue-eyed buckskin doe, and and her best buddy Honey, my gold/white pinto doe, in the foreground.

That's Feisty, my chocolate chamoisee Twin Creeks junior doe in the back and Shazam, my newest herd sire from the Rosasharn farm in front.

Juno, the red and white junior doe in the foreground, just arrived in November from the Dancing Angels herd in Michigan. Petey, my friendly little wether, is looking at the camera. Xplicit and Windy are too busy filling their faces to pay any attention to me:)

Megapixel, Violette, and Virtue grabbing a bite to eat.

Terabithia, Virtue, Cinnamon (I think), and Honey chowing down.

Xplicit giving me ... the look.

Winter Storm

2008-12-14T16:44:00.006-06:00

This is the buck barn where my Nigerian Dwarf herd sires reside. No sign of them today. Everyone's cozy inside. With wind gusts from 40 - 50 mph, not much can coax them outside today. Hard to tell that my husband Joe just cleaned up all my trails with the snow blower yesterday. The weather isn't supposed to let up until after noon tomorrow so I guess we know what our project for Monday night is!

This photo taken today is of the same area of pasture shown in my summer photo posted yesterday with our herd of registered Limousin cattle relaxing. I sure do miss summer. The cattle are now in their wintering corral by the barn.

Happy Cows

2008-12-13T20:51:00.003-06:00

Our herd of Limousin cattle are shown above relaxing in the pasture. They look pretty content, don't they? This photo was taken this past summer.

Bruno the Bull

2008-12-13T20:44:00.003-06:00

This handsome fellow is the sire of our 2008 and 2009 calves. We generally rotate bulls every two years. Bruno has now gone to his new home at another farm. We will miss him and his gentle nature greatly.