Category: Farm Life

Persistence is good for you!

One of the things I love about goats is their persistence. They will work for days or even years to wear down a fence or a wall or whatever you are trying to keep them from doing. They show a fine sense of determination and are my mentors.

Press On

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race

Calvin Coolidge

These strong guys made a fine team for stacking hay in the barn!

If you remember, last Fridays post, I  started out telling about the deer who come and eat the hay that the goats spill on the ground.

Well,  this morning when Rick went out to feed the goats he found a perfect set of white tail deer antlers laying on the ground. They were right next to each other, we have never found a set before.  There must have been some frisky eating going on!  I believed they  shed their antlers by rubbing against a tree, so I decided to do a little research. I was wrong.  It seems they rub against the tree in summer when they are scrapping off the velvet coating that covers the newly formed antlers.

White Tail bucks shed their antlers every winter and grow a new set during spring and summer.  Hunting for these shed anters has become a hobby, called “shed hunting”. I even found a website that sells DVD directions goshedhunting.com or antleritis.com  check out their fun video.

The antlers are fast growing, they start out as cartilage that rapidly calcifies. They are covered with a coating that looks like brown velvet. This coating carries blood that supplies nutrients to the rapidly growing bone. When the antler reaches full size the velvet is rubbed off. It is really intriguing, you can read about it on Wikipedia.

Now the burning question, “What do you think we should use them for?”  There was youtube video on how to make a pipe. Yes, well my suggestions are leaning in other directions, possibly  hand towel holders?  Do you have any ideas?

A moonlit night with snow covering the ground is as bright as a street lamp! I was looking out the window the other night and could see the outline of three deer with their heads down eating the alfalfa hay that the goats had spilled on the ground. It was truly a peaceful sight.

How long has it been since your world was washed in moon light? Night light pollution has put many of us out of touch with the cycle of the moon. (No more excuses for lunatic behavior and the moon made me do it!)

Even in rural environments people have bright yard lights that null the reflections of the night sky. Years ago my Mom, Daisy Mae, had a little farm in the country. She says that they moved to that farm, outside of Leavenworth, because it was a slow sleepy mountain town. Gradually over the years the town became less sleepy. Many of you may know Leavenworth for it’s tourist attractions, festivals, art, plays, or outdoor recreation such as camping, mountain climbing, or skiing. It is not very sleepy anymore.

When Daisy Mae retired she had a house built and moved to our farm near Rice, WA. It is slow here and about as sleepy as it can be this day and age. One of the first nights in her new home she told us about being awakened by a bright light shining in her bedroom window. In her sleep she thought, “who is shining that light in my window?” Then she woke up enough to realize it was the moon. It was a shock for her to realize how the conveniences of modern life (yard lights in this case) gradually eroded her connection with the beauties of the natural world.

This experience was the beginning of a list of things she had forgotten.
I will share more of them with you in a future post.

How about you? What do you see in the moon light?