I have enjoyed writing about the simple things that happen around here with my critters.
Now It seems I am updating my blog less and less.
When I think about not doing my blog any more I feel a little sad. Can't even explain why it should effect me like that, unless it is because I feel like I am leaving friends behind.
For now at least this will be it for a while.

A few years ago a friend came to stay for a week. She loves computer games and showed me one called Zuma.
I got hooked on playing it for a while and then, like a lot of games I got fed up with it and lost interest.
My daughter recently was telling me about a friend of hers who has just bought a new computer game, Yes, its Zuma.
She told me her friend was getting frustrated because she couldn't get past level 4.
I couldn't resist, I downloaded the game to see how far I could get on it. Now I am just as hooked as I was before!
My daughter's friend and I are both having problems getting through level 8.
It is raining and cold today, so, guess what I am about to do!
Critter are fed and watered, so, Zuma here I come!

A couple of years ago we heard about a goat that was being neglected and all but abandoned by his owner.
Sight unseen we said we would take him.
The only goats we had at the time were pygmy goats which are small. I went in my truck to pick up the goat and must say I was rather intimidated by his size, and by the size of his horns!
He was very thin and had been left in a barn that had no food, muddy water and muck up to his knees.
With the help the neighbor, who was the person responsible for getting the word out about 'Arnie' we got him in the truck.
For the safety of our selves and the other goats we had Arnie's horns surgically removed. He was nervous and slightly aggressive for a while but now he is the most loving of all our goats.
He has put on the weight that he needed and he is happy.

This picture shows his size. He towers above Princess, one of our grey hounds

My little Japaneses hen had 7 chicks. Unfortunately one of them drowned in the water pail but the other 6 are all doing well.
I have put rocks in the bottom of the water dish so that the others will not come to the same fate as the little one that fell in the water dish.
I have also got 4 little Guinea fowl chicks. They are so tiny. It is the first time I have had Guinea fowl so it will be interesting to watch them grow.
Also I managed to get 3 Welsh Harlequin ducks and the promise of 2 more after they finish sitting eggs. Welsh Harlequin are a heritage breed of duck and not easily found here.
The fellow who had them lives in the city and has a rather zealous neighbor when it comes to the city by-laws. He reported the fact to the City who sent a notice saying the ducks had to go. I got a cll from a friend telling me about them and I called the guy right away. luckily for me I was the first to call him and my call was before the 'Ducks for sell' add went in the paper.
He told me he had so many calls from people who wanted to buy them.
He also had a pair of White Silkie bantam chickens. I have them as well, The hen is on eggs so I should be able to sell the chicks and recoup some of the money that I spent on them all.
I also have more baby rabbits! They are so cute. It is the first time we have has black and white rabbits. I am hoping that one of the black and white is a female. I will be able to keep her in the pen with the other girls.

My little Japaneses Hen hatched her eggs yesterday. I am not sure how many chicks she has yet but I know they will be just the cutest things. They are so tiny.







The warmer weather is lowering the creek and our grandsons are waiting for it to get low enough for them to be able to safely go swimming.








Princess has been up to her usual mischief. I left her unmuzzled while I went into town and this is part of what I came home to.
This is fiber that I spent hours working on. It was ready for spinning. It had been sorted, bagged and tagged. Some of it was kid mohair some was a bend some was straight mohair.
Now all I have is a mess.

This post is in answer to Sara from Farming Friends question: Why did you decide on this particular breed.

In 2005 I went to visit my family in Bristol England. I met my cousin-in-law Sue for the first time and we hit it off right away.
Sue and her husband Brian, invited me to their home for a visit one evening and Sue showed me her spinning wheel.
I found out that she is a master spinner. She showed me how to spin and let me try it for myself.
I was hooked almost immediately. Which was a total shock to me as crafts of any kind have never interested me.

When I returned home to Canada, I found a spinning group that met weekly, I rented a wheel and joined the group. I was fortunate enough to be given some Alpaca fiber and some sheep wool to practice with.

After a while I decided to buy my own wheel.
I used up the fiber that had been given to me and was trying to decide what would be the best fiber to buy so that I could continue spinning.

Sue had told me about the Angora goat and how wonderful they are and how nice their fiber is. I thought rather than always having to but fiber from someone else it would be fun to have my own fiber goat.
I already had a couple of pygmy goats as pets and adding a couple more goats just seemed a natural progression.

I had no clue when I decided to get angora goats that they would not be that easy to find.

I still have so much to learn about goat keeping. I joined the Vancouver Goat Association and have found the members to be a wonderful group. They are helpful and willing to show me things like hoof trimming, de-horning and castration. As well as answering the many question that I still ask about goat keeping.
So far hoof trimming is the only thing I have done myself. As my confidence grows I hope be able to do the other things as well.

I have ordered 6 new goats. Only two are for me.
A couple of people have called me looking to buy Angora goats. I only have two adult Angoras and one doe kid so am not in a position to sell goats.
Angoras are not a common breed of goat here. In fact, there are only two of us who belong to the Vancouver Island Goats Association that have Angoras. The other members all have milking goats.

I was pleased to get the calls from people looking for the Angora goat and decided to do what I could to help them find goats for sell. I would like to see more people with the Angora and will do what I can to help promote them.

When I was looking to buy Angora goats for myself, I researched them for a while on the internet and made phone calls and sent emails to the breeders that were shown online. Most of the ones that I contacted didn't get back to me and the ones who did, didn't have goats for sell.
I knew I would have to look farther afield for them so contacted a breeder in Alberta. She not only had Angoras for sell, she was also willing to drive and meet us half way with them. (She is a 15 hour drive from us)

This time I have found a breeder on the mainland who has 3 kids that will be ready mid July.
I will go over and pick them up when they are ready as well as the breeding pair that I want for myself. The other kid will be ready a little later in the year.