I'm doing good

This is my 13th post, I seem to be reaching my goal of keeping a journal.

If you have read my previous posts, you know that I have an ongoing problem with AT & T. They called today to tell me that the repairman would be here on Saturday the 5th at some vague time. I reported problems on my phone line on the 28th of December and was assured that my phone would be fixed by the 5th, not on the 5th. Well the repairman showed up today and said that he didn't think that he fixed the problem but might have. Then advised me to get cellular phones and just ditch the land line, since we have so much trouble with it and they can't locate the problem.

He also said that I could get my internet connection through my cell phone since we have a good signal here, I went to the website and couldn't find any information about a wireless internet connection. Maybe the same people that built the web site for GoDaddy built the AT & T site.

My LGD Angel

Angel is my LGD (Livestock Guardian Dog), she is a Great Pyrenees. Angel was born on the 30th of July, so she is still a pup. She is very playful and loves her goats. She was born in a goat pen and has always been in a goat pen. Great Pyrenees have a natural desire to stay with a herd and be a protector but they still require a certain amount of training.

One of the hardest parts of her training has been not to give her much attention, so that she will bond only with her caprine (goat) herd and not to a human herd. She longs to be petted and that makes it very difficult. We do pet her and play with her inside the pen when we feed her but if she comes outside the pen, she is scolded and chased back into it. As she grows, she should get too big to be able to leave the pen at all.

We are also trying to teach her not to jump up on us, she will eventually be a very large dog and with my back problems, I don't think that I could handle her jumping on me. She is timid around us and doesn't come into our space unless she is invited but when we call her over and pet her she gets a little excited and wants to put her feet on us. She gets a stern "No!" and is pushed away. I hate being so cold to her but I got her to do a job and this is all a part of her training.

I did teach her to lead, which she hated but I got that job done in just two days, working with her for around 30 minutes per day. She has been spayed and that process was pretty stressful for her because she had to be separated from her herd for around 4 days. She was supposed to be kept up for 7 days but it just wasn't working, she was so unhappy that I finally went ahead and put her back in the pen. She healed up nicely with no problems.

I know that you should have two LGD's and not just one but my husband would barely let me have this one because of the cost of dog food.

It's Cold

Luckily there is a post date and time feature on this blog, so that if I break my new year's resolution and forget to blog or wait until after midnight to blog, I can just manipulate the date and time to redeem myself. Don't you just love technology?

I braved the cold this morning to feed and water my goats, chickens, dogs and cat. One of my dogs is a house dog but I still have to go outside to get her food. All of the waterers were frozen solid and everybody was dying for a drink. It was around 10 degrees and it really didn't bother me, I can take the cold but not the heat, just ask my poor husband who complains because I always have the heat turned off. It is a wonder that our water lines don't freeze.

Summer is nice, I like the green grass and the fully leaved trees but when it is hot, I love my air conditioner. Basically I just hate to sweat.

Anyway it was cold today and it is suppose to get down to 4 degrees tonight, it is already 9, with spring like weather predicted for this weekend, up in the 50's, that means the mud will return.

The First Day Of 2008

Well, we have come to the end of the first day of the year, it snowed and the temperature dropped all day. Tomorrow is suppose to be even colder. The mud has all frozen and the ground is a lovely white. It was a nice day just to sit and look out the window.

My husband took care of all of the stock today, so I didn't have to go out. I really don't mind the cold, I actually prefer it but when it drops below 18 degrees, I am not so anxious to be out.

I worry that the animals don't have water and it will be difficult to get them water in the morning. Angel, my Great Pyrenees pup will be snuggled in with her goats tonight, she is well equipped for the weather and loves the cold but she is a heavy drinker, so we will have to get water for her very early in the morning or she will go looking for it herself and I don't want her wondering away from home.

Happy New Year!

2007 went out like a Lion, the wind was howling, it was raining and we even saw some lightning. After midnight the temperature started dropping and we started seeing a few snow flakes around 2:00 am.

It is snowing now and sticking to the ground, it is very cold. The mud isn't muddy anymore it is all frozen which makes it easier to walk on.

All of my chickens will have to be put in the goat shed and bedded down with straw. It was good that they got to be out in the sunshine all day yesterday.