Just a Few Pictures.

Hello, all. there isn't any news to report; things are trucking along as usual. However, I do have a few new pictures that I would like to share! Enjoy!

Clara Bow loves me, but is a little bit shy of the paparazzi.

This is Sadie May. She was my birthday present one year.

I don't understand why we call these weeds.

They're so pretty!

I think these are lovely, too.

Beetlejuice looks like a grumpy old man. "What are these whippersnappers doin' on my lawn?! Can't a man eat his dinner in peace?!"

This last one is of myself. I just wanted to show off my new hair cut! My hair was to the middle of my back. I felt soo bald when I got it chopped off! 

My Goats have to Share

    With horses that is. It's more of an inconvenience to me than them. I'll try to explain. 
    My goats don't actually share their personal space with the horses, but in order to get to the goat pens, you have to either climb through the horse fence, go through the gate, or go through the horse barn. In a way, that's great to help keep people out. The barn, gate, and goat pens all have locks. Also, the barn is situated to where one door is inside the fence, and one is outside. However, the outside door is locked from the inside, so you have to go through the fence/locked gate to get inside the locked barn. So, that protects our hay, feed, tiller, etc. 
    So, the situation is great for keeping people out. Plus, the horses are between any dogs or coyotes that might want to attack the goats. Sure, horses aren't traditionally livestock guardians, but mine have been know to run off dogs. Of course, all of that is good. However, it causes some problems for me, too. I think it'll be easiest to outline them by walking through my routine. 
    First, I go into the horse pen. I unlock the doe pen first, because it's hard to unlock it when I come back with my hands full. Then I walk to the barn, which lately means practically wading through mud. The horses keep the area right in front of the barn very muddy whenever it rains. I feed the horses first, since they will try to steal the goat's feed if I don't. One is still in the way, though, since we only have one stall for them. Luckily, I have gentle horses, or I would be in trouble. Right now, I have two does and the buck I'm borrowing in the kidding stall, so I feed them next. I have to walk beside/behind one of the horses butts to do this - like I said, I'm really lucky my horses are nice! Then I take feed/hay/etc to the doe pen. Then I lock everything back up and climb back through the fence.
    Overall, the inconvenience of mud and horses being in the way aren't that bad, and I wouldn't really change much, because of the extra security it gives me. Today, though, I was reminded of how lucky I am that my horses are gentle and don't kick (knock on wood). Rumor escaped from the breeding pen and tried to make a break for it back to the doe pen. I caught her and "I led" her back to her pen (which almost resulted in a Rachel-goat-mud-pie. You realize just how slippery mud is when you're being led through it by a goat!) When I got back to the stall, I completely forgot about the horse until Rumor and I were both in perfect kicking range for my quarter horse, Sam. I was stooped down to hold Rumor, so if he had kicked, It would have most likely hit me right in the face.
    Thank goodness for kind horses! 

-Rachel in Wonderland

Selling my Zebra Finches

I need to re-home my zebra finches. I bought them in February, and it seems as though my mom is allergic to them. I payed $15 each for the birds and $15 for the cage, so I'm selling all that and the food and millet that I have left for $20.00. I want them to go to a pet home, not for reptile food. I live outside of Memphis, Tennessee and can possibly meet people up to an hour or two away. I can't ship them, though. This is a male and female pair. Oh, as always I am open to barter, so let me know if you have something you want to trade!

-Rachel in Wonderland

Dreams and Aspirations

    I have to say, I feel like this is the year. I have felt a stirring since February that has just told me that this is going to be a good year. I'm hoping that this will be the year I'll finally be able to turn my passions into profit. Last year I was able to do a bit of that with my soap. This year, I want to expand upon that. Let me tell you my aspirations for this year.
    My one (almost) certainty is that I'll have does kidding in August or September. That means that I'll have kids to sell, and home raised raw milk for drinking, cheese and butter, or possibly making goats milk soap. This is probably what I'm most excited for. I think that I will primarily make cheese and soap with my goat milk, and continue to buy raw cow milk. Nigerian milk is perfect for cheese and butter because it has such a high butterfat content, and cow milk is the generally preferred taste for my family. Right now, I can't afford enough raw milk to make our own cheese, so we're still getting pasteurized cheese. Yuck!! I can't wait to be able to have 100% raw dairy products for myself and my family. Yum yum yum! 
    Also, I just ordered our tomato plants for this year! I'm very excited. I ordered about 40 plants from the Tomato Baby Company (http://www.tomatobabycompany.com). I also ordered a few sweet peppers and bell peppers, and plan on getting some jalapeños later. I'm hoping to have enough tomatoes this year to sell them, either in a road side stand or at a small farmer's market, or maybe just from my front yard. Goodness knows that we can't eat all of the tomatoes from 40 plants! My plan for any left overs that don't get eaten or sold is to can them. I would actually like to put back enough canned tomatoes to last for the year - then we would have home grown tomatoes for spaghetti, Rotel, lasagna, and whatever else we might make! 
    I'm really hoping - maybe foolishly, but maybe it will work out - to finally have a chicken coop and some chickens. What would that mean for Wonderland? Well, first of all, it would mean not buying any more eggs that come from caged, grain-fed, chickens that lead poor lives and produce nutritionally sub-par eggs. It would also mean having eggs to sell to the public! That would put a little bit of money in my pocket, and give more people the option of eating eggs from well cared for chickens that have access to all the yummy buggy and grassy goodies they can desire. It would also open up the possibilities of selling fertile hatching eggs or chicks, depending on what kind of chickens I buy, and how many. It would also open the door for supplying my family's chicken meat needs- that would most likely not be obtainable in the first year, though.
    The last thing I'm hoping to achieve this year is related to my tomato goals. I also want to have other vegetables and melons to sell to people. I'm planning on having a booming garden this year! I just hope the weather cooperates with me this year, rather than turning our garden into a gigantic mud hole again, like it did last year. 
    So, those are my semi-short term goals. I do, of course, have more long term goals. Those will happen in steps; I want to start out with what I've listed here. The second step will be adding Muscovy or heritage ducks and heritage turkeys. The next step is very, very long term, and involves me graduating from college, buying more land, and expanding Wonderland in ways that it cannot expand while I live on only five acres. I also have non-farm related goals; those involve writing and a bakery, but you don't need to know about those. ;)


    Okay, that book-length blog aside, I would like to remind everyone that I still have homemade Oatmeal Complexion Soap and Old Fashioned Lye Soap for sale, for $4.00 and $1.50, respectively. I also am selling some gently used women's clothing- if you're interested in that, you can follow this link for more info - http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=345901
That link will take you to a listing I posted on my favorite forum advertising the clothing, but you can email me about them. You don't have to contact me through the forum.
    If you'd like to contact me about the soap, the clothes, or just because, you can email me at themuffinwoman@aol.com
    Have a Happy Spring, everyone! 

    -Rachel in Wonderland

The Girls have a Visitor

A male visitor, at that! Sherri Jones from Chinook Winds Farm has let me borrow her buck, CHW CJS Beetlejuice. I am breeding Clara Bow and Rumor to him as soon as they come in season, which will hopefully be soon, since they are being housed right next to the buck. I do hate separating them from the other goats and Mellow the LGD, though, especially after seeing two coyotes in the back pasture yesterday. I believe that our fencing and barn are secure enough to keep them out, though, and hopefully the horses would run them off if they got close to the barn, anyways. I'll be including pictures at the bottom, as always. I'm sorry that they're such low quality- my camera is out of commission, so I had to use my cell phone. Also, please ignore the dirty floor. I put fresh shavings down right after I took these pictures.

This is Beetlejuice. I'm hoping he'll make Clara's kids within the height limit for NDGA (Clara is over height), and give both of the girl's kids color. This is his impressive pedigree- 

S: CHW BW Capt. Jack Sparrow, 1x GCH Jr 

GS: MCH Twin Creeks BH Baywatch ++*S 

GD: CHW AR Once In A Blue Moon, 2x GCH Dry Doe, 1x RsCH Jr

D: Piddlin Acres Piroette, 1x RsCH Dry Doe 

GS: MCH Green Gate King Midas +S 

GD: Goodwood KW Will 'O The Whisp

Falling Down on the Job

Hello blog world! I am ashamed to admit that I have fallen down on my job of keeping you updated with the interesting (or perhaps, not so interesting) goings-on of Wonderland. To be completely honest, college finally caught up to me and caused me to fall off of the face of the earth for a while. You have my deepest apologies, I assure you.


Honestly speaking, though, there really is not much to report. Rumor ended up not being pregnant as we had thought and hoped,  our breeding plans for Spring babies fell through (getting my own buck is definitely high on my list of priorities. However, without money from selling babies, I cannot afford to build a buck pen. Oh, the conundrum.), and my dear duckies flew the coop. Yes, the pun was intended. (Honestly though, they were there one day and gone the next with no sign of foul play.)


So, right now I am focusing on keeping my goatie girls safe and healthy until Spring comes, when I am hoping and praying I will be able to work out a breeding time and be able to plan for fall babies. I feel confident in their safety, thanks to my wonderful LGD, Mellow. I can't imagine being without a livestock guardian dog. She is constantly on alert and doing her best to protect her goats. Any time a stray dog comes through the yard, Mellow is walking the fence, staying in between the threat and the goats. Today when I went down, all the goats were lazing in the sun (which I'm sure they're glad to have), and there was Mellow conked out right in the middle of them. (Of course, as soon as she heard me, she was up at alert.) Seeing them all resting together so peacefully is such a comfort and joy to my heart. It's like everything is right in the world, if only for a moment.


In other news, we got some pretty dramatic snows for our area this winter. It seemed like the bottom fell out of the snow machine; I loved it. The goats, on the other hand, were not so enamored. In fact, the poor things could barely walk on the stuff once it froze over to a more ice-like substance. They also look so scraggly now, with their winter coats all grown out. In the summer they were so sleek and lovely; now they look like hobo goats. (Yes, that's right world, I have hobo goats.) I am ready for Spring to come, for a change. Normally I hold on to my beloved winter as long as possible, but something about having so much snow has made me ready for Spring. Don't get me wrong, I love the snow, but I'm ready for sunshine, buttercups, and flip-flop weather. I'm also crossing my fingers and hoping to make it to a show or two this year. I'll keep everyone updated on that (pinky swear!)


Here are some pictures for the road:

Our snow storms usually end up consisting of snow and ice. 

I don't know why they would occasionally get in their "summer house" in the snow! Crazies! 

Now, that's more like it. We all know that house is warmer. (Rumor and Clara must be behind the wall.) 

Brownie and Sandy were wondering what the wet white stuff was. 

Of course, doing farm chores in the snow is not without its risks. I got tangled in the fence, and my friend (who came over to sled) took a picture.

God Bless! May Spring come to you all soon!

I am Being Stalked by Lady Bugs

Is it just me, or do the lady bugs seem to be out and about in abundance right now? They're all over the porch, everywhere outside, in and on my truck- simply EVERYWHERE. I think they're stalking me. No, really, they're evil and bent on Rachel-destruction. Silly things. They sure are cute, though.

Aside from that, there is really nothing too hugely exciting to report. We recently got our new hay supply, which was just in time as our old stack was dwindling quickly. Oh, how I hate loading hay. Or touching it for that matter. My sinuses haven't been right since. I do wish I wasn't allergic to hay, it makes some necessary chores very unpleasant. Other. things I hate about homesteading include giving goats their copper boluses, and trying to take proper care of everything when it just wont stop raining. A couple of my girls are due to have copper soon - their hair is starting to curl, a tell-tale sign - so if it ever stops raining, I'll be doing that and drawing blood for their CAE test, too (the kit from Biotracking came yesterday). But really, I don't know if it will ever stop raining long enough for me to get it all done. They need copper, their hooves trimmed, their blood drawn...and meanwhile, all I can do is build an ark and wait out the rain. Also, the constant rain ruins the mineral and baking soda I try to have out for them. When it dries up they wolf down their minerals like there's no tomorrow, poor things. The rain makes it nothing but worthless mush, so I imagine they haven't been getting much of it lately.

In other news, I made some adorable pumpkins for my project in Art class. I think they are just spiffy! I chose the theme "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" for mine. Oh, how I do love crafts and arts. The one with the face is The Great Pumpkin himself!


I also have made some Old Fashioned Lye soap. Old fashioned lye soap is unscented, white, and good for your skin. Many people use it as a folk remedy for acne and eczema. My great grandmother used it for her hair and skin. It can also be used on laundry, and is good to get out grease and stains (ask me how I know!)

This soap sets up very hard and lasts a long time. I've seen some lye soap that was brownish, soft, and greasy, which is caused by not stirring enough. This lye soap is not like that at all, but is instead firm and pure white, and will also float in water.

This bar size is medium-small and round. The last picture shows it sitting next to a chili can for a size reference, and to see the plastic container it comes in.

This is a "secret recipe," but is made with animal fats. This is not a vegetarian or vegan soap.

This soap is $1.50 per bar, and shipping is $4.95 if it needs to be shipped. (You can purchase more than one, and they ship for the same price. Email me at themuffinwoman@aol.com if you would like to purchase any! I am also open to equal trades, so let me know what you have that I might be interested in!


Well, that's all for now! Have a Happy and Safe Halloween! -Rachel in Wonderland