I want a goat... and some bees, please.

I know... you think I'm nuts. You're not alone. Most folks who know the real me think that, too. But I am serious. I want to get a milk goat and a hive of bees as well as a flock of chickens and a big garden. I want to make every square inch of our 2.36 acres count toward being as self sufficient (with His help, of course!) as possible.

I am researching the different breeds of milk goats. It seems that the most popular dairy goat around here is the Nubian. I like the fact the Nubians are dual purpose, so we could use the male kids for meat, though I don't know how I will be able to make myself do that. I really like the sound of the Saanen, too.

I have made out my list of seeds to buy from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I am buying only open pollinated heirloom seeds. No GMOs or hybrids for me, thanks! I am going to be able to save my seeds from year to year, and therefore, I should only have to buy seeds of new plants I want to try in the future once I get this first crop harvested. I think that is an amazingly wonderful plan.

I am researching chickens as well. Part of me wants to choose only one breed so that my flock will be uniform and successive generations will be purebred and also "normal" looking. The other part of me wants to choose about three different breeds that I like the characteristics of, so that I am not "putting all my eggs in one basket" so to speak. If a certain breed succumbs to illness or predators, maybe the other two breeds will not. Also, the offspring of the crosses may be better than my original breed selections. Hmmm... which way do I want to think?

I'm Gonna Miss Her

Today we helped some friends move. I was so sad to see them go. It was a real bummer to discover that our husbands got along famously and we could have been great couple friends! (Dear friend and I had just been girlfriends , but never involved the guys.) However, life is not over, and we have an open invitation to visit them in their new home which is two hours from the mountains and three hours from the beach. What an amazing setting that must be! The first picture is the guys working hard, or is that hardly working? The second is us girls taking a break.