Category Archives: goat’s

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Interesting To Listen To

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This is a Blog Post from ” All Things Goat” that I found to be interesting listening. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.


Cashmere Goats: Mongolia

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Mongolian goat farmers have seen the price of Cashmere plunge after years of high prices driven by the West’s seemingly insatiable desire for luxury.

Many of the farmers, including Dalantai Khatanbaatar, have taken out loans to get by but can’t pay them back without selling the livestock that sustains them in the first place.

Like 40 percent of the country’s population, Khatanbaatar is a herder. With 250 sheep, 80 cashmere goats and 50 horses, Khatanbaatar regards himself as middling-poor and now he’s struggling to pay back his $350 loan.

“Before I used to buy lots of bags of flour and rice to stockpile over there. Now you see it’s empty,” Khatanbaatar says of the storage space in his ger. “We cannot eat any less. We don’t eat too much anyway.”

And with winter looming, it’s likely that the worst is still ahead, as National Public Radio reports in this story.

Thank you Naimhe Jeanne (Nee-Vah Jeen) and Martha Ann – “All Things Goat” Blog for sharing this.


If you check out the Event Page of my Blog you will see that I am preparing for this evenings “Ladies Night Out” at Ashwood Gardens & Nursery. So I suppose I should get back to work!

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My Favorite Time of Year

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12797_Autumnview

This photo was taken at a friends farm in the Shenandoah Valley last year. I use it throughout the year as a screen saver..when it doesn’t look like this here. In a couple more weeks, I’ll have more photos of Fall to remind me of my favorite time of year. There is something so incredibly wonderful and exhilarating about Autumn. I remember as a child, sitting in the swing, on late afternoons during Fall days, marveling at the difference in lighting. It in itself was a paint scheme for the artist’s palette, then add the magnificent colors of the trees  and summer grasses and oh my, it made it even more breathtaking. The Indian Summer or the cool Fall crispness to the air all make this a beautiful and memorable time for me as I’m sure it does for many others. As I sit here and type, I can almost smell the wood and leaf burning wafting through the air and the taste of fresh apple cider with a short shot of bourbon teasing my tongue. Of course, as a child it was virgin apple cider! Ah, what a wonderful time!

With Autumn, at Breeze Hill Farm, comes the season for breeding and fiber growth. The goats are busy working on the babies that will come in Spring. The sheep and goats both are starting their heavy fiber growing season in anticipation of Winter. We are cleaning stalls, getting the pastures broken up and fertilized and cleaning up downed wood, acorns and leaves. There is always a lot to do…always and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Well, I’m making soap and lotion like crazy this week in anticipation of great sales this upcoming holiday season. I can’t wait to get back out to the markets and open houses. To see those friends that we only see once a year and to make new friends. I spend my days doing this and my nights knitting so there will be a good stock from both sides of the farm.

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Short One….

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I posted to my Blog on September 28, 2009..making reference to a song “Sheep Go To Heaven…Goat’s Go To Hell”. Someone either commented on the post or emailed me (not sure which because I can’t find the question that was asked) and asked who did the song. Well through a bit of research, I found that the song title is “Sheep Go To Heaven…Goat’s Go To Hell” and  here’s the answer for who did it:

” Cake”

Check it out on “You Tube”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0mx5ERj1eI

This song is really special (weird kind of special), odd, different, not my cup of tea but somehow strangely true! I still maintain, being a sheep and goat owner, that it’s fitting.

"I resemble that remark!"

"I resemble that remark!"


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Ricky & Holly’s Great Adventure

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The other day we heard a song, “Sheep Go To Heaven…Goat’s Go To Hell”. Being the owners of both, we could definitely see how someone could come up with a song like this, however this morning our new Icelandic girls tried to make good on sheep going to heaven – sort of.

Yesterday marked the beginning of Ricky and Holly’s third week here. They have done very well, are hearty grazers, tolerate the other sheep and goat’s and they love us for “grain bucket”, you know. All has been right with the world. Anyone who has been to our farm knows that the fencing isn’t in real good shape and we have a fence fund that we use to add new sections. By 2020 we should have all new fencing so we can start all over again..I digress. Apparently, our new girls have been intensely working on the fence line trying to find a way out since they’ve been here and this morning they found the “magic hole” and off they went.

Usually when we’ve had escapee’s, it’s been the greener grass other side thing – not so with them. They were on a Monday morning stroll. Our neighbor called and said “your buddies are out” and shocked, I said “our sheep?”. She said they were on their way to her house. With Pj’s still on, out the door I ran. When I got to the clearing at the neighbors..no sheep. Hubby ran down to the barn to see who was missing, it was the Icelandic’s. He grabbed a bucket of grain and came up to join me. We looked all over the place for them. The fields on both sides of us, the field across the road, of course our fields..nothing. We checked around our neighbors outbuildings, still no sheep. Where the hell are they? At that moment, I looked over at the church and there grazing in front were our two girls.

You will have to visualize this because when livestock escapes, you don’t normally carry a camera not to mention, grain bucket makes them move quickly. This church is white clapboard, historic landmark that sits just downhill from us. It has the old cemetery to the side and a tall white steeple. You have no idea what a beautiful scene this was. Very spiritual..very serene. We enjoyed it for a moment and with one shake of the bucket it was back to reality. We got them back in the pasture, found the hole in the fence and repaired it.

At our farm, when the goats get out, they get into trouble and get arrested. The sheep go to church! I guess Ricky and Holly’s adventure just proved the song right..sheep must have a higher calling.

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Another Giveaway In The Near Future

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Well, I have found now that I just need to give more time when I do the next Giveaway. Lucky for my two winners but a lot of our customers and friends want more Giveaways so they can get their names in the hat to win Goats Milk Soap and more. This week, I will announce another Giveaway so keep your eyes open for it. I will also make sure there are pictures of the product too! I love the emails I’ve gotten after the fact and have encouraged everyone to hold their comments until the next one. I like doing this because there are many people who have never used goats milk products and it’s a great way for them to try and see what they think. Not all contests will be for goats milk products though, we will also have fiber related contest too. So keep an eye out.

Over this past weekend I pulled out the dye pot and started my annual creations in color. Apparently, the new colors I’ve come up with are very desirable because one of my friends was here and she bought everything I had done. Guess what? I forgot to take pictures and she’s on her way back to Japan. As soon as she gets home, I will get her to photograph the yarns so I can post them for everyone to see. At least I wrote down the dyes I used so I can duplicate. See, when I say I’ve been crazy busy, I mean it.

Today, it’s soap making day. My girls (goats) are still giving me lots of milk so I’m not only making for sale now but stock piling for the Holiday season. Last year we rocked over the holiday buying season. If current sales are any indication, we will be rocking in double time this year. Bring it on!

Have a great day!