Prepping for Babies

Still no kids!

G has been gone in Florida this week playing baseball with his dad in a 30+ league. That leaves Jaron and me to do chores every day. So far so good. Most mornings he has slept in long enough for me to sneak out and do chores. Our baby monitor reaches out to the shed, so I can at least hear when I need to run back inside. 

This morning Jaron woke up at 6am. Thankfully my mom was around and was also up, so she was able to entertain him while I did chores and prepped for the cold weather coming up. Could I have done all that with Jaron in tow? Of course. Was it much easier and quicker to leave him in the house? Absolutely. 

Task #1 was to chip away the ice surrounding Jip's tether so it can rotate freely. Because it's frozen, the chain will get twisted thus shortening the tether so Jip can't reach his food, water, or his dog house. 

Got it free! 

Task #2- stretch an extension cord to the corner of the shed and hang a heat lamp. I'll plug it in when the goats have their babies to give them extra warmth. 

Task #3 was to drill a beam around the corner to give the babies a space they can be without the big goats stepping on them. It's also good protection for the heat lamp so the big goats don't smash into it. 

Task #4- chipping away the snow and ice so the shed door can shut tighter on the really cold nights. This was by far the hardest task. 

The water pail is right by the door hinges, so when water drips, it trickles in the open door crack and ice forms. It's really hard to bust it out! 

I was able to do enough to close the door most of the way, but it's still open a crack. Hopefully it's enough to keep the shed warm on these cold nights! 

Once finished, I came in the house to find these two lovely faces greeting me when I came up the stairs. 

Mom left shortly after that to beat the blizzard that was supposed to come late morning/early afternoon. Here's what it looked like outside around sunset: 

Pretty awful blizzard, right? There was some wind and a little blowing snow, but visibility always seemed good. We still stayed put in our cozy house. 

Another fun thing from today... In my family growing up we liked to "cheers" our food. And if it didn't make a "clink" sound clicking them together, we'd add the sound effect ourselves. Tonight Jaron and I were both eating muffins, so I cheersed our muffins and said "dink!" 

Jaron got a huge smile on his face and held out his muffin to do it again. We did it three times before he grabbed what was left of my muffin and ate it. 🤣