Here are some pictures of Sassy at a brighter time - helping out with our engagement photos. As many of you know, another vet came out Wednesday to run some tests on Sassy. While the scans were non-diagnostic, Sassy appears to be suffering from laminitis. Her condition worsened significantly on Monday but thankfully she appears to have stabilized and today was a tiny bit better. I was told Wednesday that she may only have a 10% chance of recovering at this point, but that’s enough for me. This condition often is associated with sugar in the diet so I have overhauled Sassy's feed. She is now getting special herbal tonics from Australia and medicine for Cushing's disease. We are still waiting for the results of a blood test taken Wednesday as well. Sassy is in pain but she is still eating and drinking, perky as ever, and trying to break out of the new stall we built to keep her resting. The last week has been a total whirlwind as I try to nurse her back to health while working and parenting. If we can get Sassy to hold up her leg long enough, we will attempt a special shoe. Sassy was born when I was 11-years old and has given 29 years of carrying my weight and now I am returning the favor. Some of you have asked about donating to help with Sassy's medical bills so I set up a GoFundMe. Please know, however, that if you're supporting me here you're helping too. I am so grateful for each of you - this has been a tough year but we will endure and persevere together. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-sassy-get-back-on-her-hooves?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1
We survived our coldest night ever in Florida since moving here in May 2023. It got down to 24 but the “feels like” was 16. Florida infrastructure is not built with such cold in mind, and we don’t have appliances like water bucket heaters on our farm because we never need them. It was a great reminder why farming sounds so idyllic until it gets really cold. I am glad we don’t deal with this every day for 6 months like our friends who live near our old home in Washington state. Kudos to the farmers who brave far tougher conditions than this all winter to keep food on our tables.
You think you have drastic hormonal swings? Meet Heidi, our first goat and Peter’s #1 lady. She is a total maniac every 3 weeks when she is ready to breed. Heidi is definitely the alpha female in the herd so she makes sure everyone knows she is in charge. This time she tried to show me that she is my boss and I’m hoping my NO was loud and clear.
Before I got dairy goats I assumed you could milk any female animal that had a baby. Which is sort of true - except I didn’t know that some animals only produce a little milk while others produce a lot, and some have major attitudes and don’t want to be milked at all! Our first goat, Heidi, was on our property when we bought it so she became our goat. I figured, let’s breed her and get milk! That’s how we got Peter. Heidi is not a dairy goat, and so I quickly learned that it was not worth the time and energy to milk her and get 3 ounces. Sundae, the goat in this video, is a mini Nubian, which is a dairy breed. At her peak she gives about 40 ounces of milk per day. However she likes to take PTO days unannounced and runs from the milking stand, forcing me to chase her down, put on the halter, and walk her back to work. I have learned my lesson about dairy animals. If you’re new to this, get one who has done the milking routine MANY times. Think “Ole Bessie.” She doesn’t ...
We might get snow tonight! Sassy is wearing her blanket for the first time since being on the west side of the Cascade mountains in Washington state. I never blanketed her when we lived in eastern Washington. I have pictures of her with icicles on her mane there, with snow up to her belly, and wind howling. But it’s been a couple years, she is acclimated to Florida, and frankly, she’s an old lady. Since I am also an old lady, I know what it’s like to want your warm jammies on a cold night. I’ll have an update tomorrow! (Also I have no idea what the sign on the wall means, the old farm owners had it up. Maybe someone can interpret for me.)
https://open.substack.com/pub/rwmalonemd/p/homesteading-the-art-of-butter-and?
Make your own butter!
https://open.substack.com/pub/conservativeladiesofamerica/p/americans-must-wake-up-red-states?
Florida residents action
