An Easter Surprise


Our young Nubian, Tri had her first baby on Easter morning. It's a little girl. I'm going to miss this when we give up our goats. 

Brownie (my favorite) should have hers in a week or so. Normally I supervise mating, but last year it was easier just to let the buck in with the girls. I could only be sure of Brownie's mating because I knew she was in heat.

Tri was a surprise. She didn't even drop her bag (her filled udder) until right before she delivered.

I was sorry I wasn't there for her when it happened. She had two babies, but one of them didn't make it. She's a new mom and she's skittish to boot. I'm sure she felt overwhelmed, but she seems calmer now.

The homestead is running on all cylinders and it's hard to keep up. We're planting, raking and mulching leaves, trimming tress and burning brush. When we found Tri with her baby everything stopped so we could go in and move the buck and make the girls' pen extra clean with fresh hay in their stalls.

We always pamper the girls with fruits, veggies and alfalfa while they're nursing.

We're experiencing an extra long spring which is good since I'm so late with planting. Before long I'll be cursing the summer heat. 

I'll be scarce for the next two weeks while we settle the homestead with everything that needs doing or fixing. This year there will be extra planting (and expense) since we'll have to replace some of our landscaping plants. 

Most of them look like they'll recover from that weird 10 day freeze, but some look pretty dead. I'll take my time replacing them. If they're foundation plants I won't put anything new in until the fall so they won't have to struggle with the oppressive heat of summer.

Thanks to a tip from a friend, I cut my nandina down to 3 inches. If the freeze didn't kill them they should resprout from the nubs.

Here's to a successful garden year for all of us. 

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Comments

B.E. Sanderson saidā€¦
Yay for your new baby! I'm so sorry they both didn't make it, though. :hugs: Fingers crossed the majority of your plants make it. My roses took the worst hit from the freeze, but I'm cutting them back and they should thrive again.

Yes, here's to a successful garden year for us all.
Maria Zannini saidā€¦
BE: One of my old fashioned roses bit the dust. It was devoured by grasshoppers during the summer. It probably didn't have enough strength to fight off the cold.

re: mom and baby: I keep checking on them. I never see her nurse, but she's still alive so she must be at the milk bar at some point. Since Tri is so skittish I don't want to alarm her with too many visits unless there's food involved.
Dru Ann saidā€¦
Congrats on the new arrival. She's a cutie.
Maria Zannini saidā€¦
Dru: She is! I think this is the prettiest baby we've had born here. I love her moon spots.
Mike Keyton saidā€¦
Very nice picture, Maria. Ref a comment about grasshoppers, aren't those cicadas that hibernate for 17 years due any moment, or have they been?
Maria Zannini saidā€¦
Mike: Strangely enough, cicadas are the one insect that doesn't plague us in Texas. I do remember their 17 year cycle in Chicago though.

They are LOUD! Thank heaven they only emerge many years apart.
Angela Brown saidā€¦
Congratulations to the new mom!

And wishing you the best as you and hubby get the homestead resituated for the season.