February 28th

FYI: There will be no co-op March 14th.  We will be showing goats at the Pinal County Fair that day.  If you would like to participate in Field Trip Friday at the Fair (on March 14th), you can register for that up until tomorrow (Feb. 28th): 

Register for Free Fair Field Trip

Hi All!

I'm going to have to stop apologizing for having a late blog each week--it's goat season. Enough said about that!

We did have a rough week though. The life of a farmer (even a hobby farmer) is filled with many highs and lows, and tons of troubleshooting. It's one of the reasons I host the co-op at my house--I could never guarantee that I wouldn't have a farm emergency that would require me to be near the home, so I couldn't sign up my kids for someone else's co-op. 

Over the weekend we had to work on one of the kids that was born last Thursday, Trevor. Trevor's ligaments were not healing properly after his difficult kidding, so, after discussing it with our veterinarian, we wrapped his little leg.  He is doing so much better today!

Sadly, we had a few losses this week as well. Some of you may remember that we have been attempting to heal a chicken that caught an illness a few weeks ago. Although she seemed to be getting better in quarantine, sometimes there is a rally right before a turn for the worse, and unfortunately that was the case with her. We lost her on Tuesday.

Even sadder, was the loss of two of my geese. As I mentioned in previous posts, my geese have been getting more aggressive in response to nesting season. One of my geese had made a nest (and actually shared it with some ducks) near the dog run. While my livestock guardians will put up with a lot from the geese, my inside dogs do not. The geese for some reason decided to try to attack my Airedale through the fence--and he did not take it lightly. We thought the first time was a fluke, but when the second goose also stuck her head through the fence yesterday (and despite our best efforts, also lost her life), we had to come up with a temporary solution. So, when you see tables lying on the side surrounding the fence, you will know that this is to make sure no more geese (or ducks) stick their head through the fence before we can get a more permanent solution set up next week. Please do not move the tables. 

We are very saddened by our loss of Mo and Curly. I know many of you thought they were mean geese, but that is actually not their normal behavior. They are normally very cuddly and sweet. We miss them greatly. 

(Mo on the left)

(Curly)

Thankfully, I have a grandbaby to cuddle to help heal the wounds (I won't post any more pictures of her, but this was just too cute not to share!):

Now for this week's activities...

From 10ish-Noon(ish) we will break into group activities:

Group A-- Ages 5-8

You will be doing Gardening this week. Ms. Paula has been working super hard to have something fun for you kiddos. It should be a beautiful day!

Materials Needed: 

A water bottle to drink out of (if you think you may get thirsty)

Sunscreen...if you so desire. 

Gardening gloves...if you so desire. 

Clothes/shoes that you don't mind getting dirty.

Parents, if your little ones tend to wander, please stay close by. You are responsible for taking your child to the restroom or providing them with water if they get thirsty. Try to remind them that this is a group activity, and they should try to stick with their group as much as possible. That will really help keep things flowing smoothly for everyone. 💗

Group B--Ages 9-12

You will be doing the Project this week. We will be working on some team building activities to help us expand our friendships. We will also get to play some with baby goats... because it is baby goat season ;-).

Materials Needed: 

Sunscreen and Water Bottles...if you so desire. 

Clothes/shoes that you don't mind getting dirty.

A great attitude!

Group C--Ages 13-18

You are doing P.E. this week. Kickball??? Maybe??

Materials Needed: 

Water bottles

Sunscreen/hat (you will probably be in the pasture)

Clothes/shoes you don't mind getting dirty. 

Those teenagers that do not feel like participating in P.E. are welcome to volunteer with Group A. Please NOTE: you WILL be put to work if you volunteer in that capacity! 

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Picnic Lunch

Everyone is welcome to stay and have a picnic lunch in the backyard area. You are responsible for bringing your own lunch. Please do not feed any animals with that lunch and please make sure all garbage is disposed of in the dumpster or garbage can.