Monday, August 29, 2011

In One Year

I just read one of my posts from one year ago and things have certainly changed. The post is 48 Degrees, it talks about mastitis and Calico’s milk supply. It is also about Collette being pregnant with multiples and being due Sept. 8th.

Well, I lost Calico not too long after this post. She was fine one day then sick the next morning. She was dead within hours. I did all I could to save her but it was too little too late. I still do not know what happened.

As for Collette, I am still waiting on those multiple babies. She wasn’t even pregnant. Don’t laugh, some of my very knowledgeable older goat friends said that she would kid within a couple of days after seeing her. They thought that she would have at least triplets too.

collette2010fall1

These two photos were taken on Sept. 5th of last year, I had her due date down as Sept. 8th. Would you have thought she was bred? I was all concerned because she wasn’t making much of an udder.

collette2010fall

I was so sure that she was bred that I sold my Buck, Rancid. When September was over, I realized that she had fooled me again.

On January 9th my Dear Husband braved the cold temperatures and bought me a full-blooded Saanen Billy Goat, who my youngest Granddaughter named, “Pascal”.

I put the two of them together and waited five months for babies to be born. Again nothing happened. I never noticed any affection between the two of them, but I figured they were just shy. Pascal didn’t yet have his luscious Buck odor, but he was only ten months old when he came to live with us.

Then about three weeks ago, Pascal started getting very rank. On Saturday night the 27th of August, I unsnapped Pascal’s lead strap after he was done eating and low and behold if he didn’t breed her with me standing right there watching. I think that it was the first time she had stood for him. I am thinking that she only comes into season in the fall. So far, I haven’t had a Buck with her at just the right time.

I am very happy to have a good solid due date even though it is January 23rd. I wouldn’t have wanted her to kid in the coldest part of winter, but at this point I will take what I can get.

Here are some pictures of Pascal, Collette, Angel and Abby that I took this morning.

goats

I know she still looks pregnant in this picture, but I can assure you that she is not. Everyone who comes to our house asks when she is due.

pascal

Pascal is a real stinker, he takes my breath away! He doesn’t understand why I won’t pet him anymore.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

A Kindle Named Violet

For some unknown reason I happened to log in to my blogger account tonight. I was surprised to see that my last blog post was on 08/28/2010. So, it has been exactly one year since I have posted. It is strange that I would check in here tonight after being away for so long.

The reason that I have quit posting and writing altogether is because I have started some serious reading. You see, I bought myself a Kindle 3G and for the past year, she and I have been inseparable. I love her, her name is Violet and she is the Graphite model.

I currently have nearly 850 books on her and I get more free books almost every day. I have read or have had Violet read me around 80 books since last October. I get my free books by subscribing to Free Kindle Books Plus a Few Other Tips right on my Kindle. I let Michael Gallagher sort through the free books and suggest only the best. You can also access his blog for free on your PC here: http://fkbt.wordpress.com. You can spend money and buy eBooks too, if that is what you want to do.


Violet's face is so lovely and easy to read without a back-lit screen. I can read her anywhere without any glare or eyestrain (back-lit screens make my eyes tired). You do have to have a light in order to read in the dark or low light situations. I have a Kandle for my Kindle. But many other Clip-On Lights are available.

There are games and apps available for the Kindle. I have a Calendar and Sticky Notes on Violet. My favorite game is Monopoly, but there are lots of free games and apps.

The thing that I really love about Violet is that she fits in the pocket of a vest that I have and she reads to me through headphones while I am working around the house. She can read nearly all books. I can even put Audio Books and Music on her if I want to. She can read in a woman's or man's voice at slow, medium or fast speeds. I prefer the woman's voice at medium speed.

There are many ways to dress up your Kindle. Skins and Covers of every design, material and color. I no longer have a skin on Violet, but she is decked out in a JAVOedge Heritage Flip Case. This case protects, looks pretty and also stands Violet up like a picture frame, so I can read while having breakfast or lunch.

Violet will also check my email, Twitter, Facebook, weather, etc...for free using 3G. What more could you ask for?

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