Sophie

Attention all! I am announcing the arrival of the long awaited puppy.......Sophie! We purchased her on Sunday and so far, she has shown that she is a pretty quick learner. She will be a wonderful pet as well as future breeding stock. We are excitedly looking forward to crossing her with Buster and seeing the results. The puppies should be really nice! Enjoy the pictures, sorry they aren't the best. She just would NOT stand still. I personally think she may have ADD. :) By the way, she loves to lay like that, so when she does sit still, she is always in the position. I will try to get better pictures up when she is behaving better.

Just Another Normal Saturday

Just another normal Saturday, I suppose that is what I could title my post today. I guess it will let you all know what we consider "normal". :)

Yesterday was Saturday, the day of the Ingham County show. I had been working all last week trying to get our goats all ready for this show. We took 13 in all but I shaved up a few more. Friday night I shaved all the udders so that Saturday morning all I would have to do is shave them with a razor. Sierra broke my shaver, so I had to use the one Dad uses for his hair.

Saturday morning something happened with my alarm clock and I woke up 15 minutes late. I managed to get the goats that I wasn't taking milked and finished up on shaving, Abigail(bless her heart)did the rest of my chores for me! Mom and Myah decided to come at the last minute, but we all managed to leave around 6:15. On the way, I mentioned to Dad that as long as we get to the show with nothing breaking down it can break as much as it wants to on the way home! We got to the show with plenty of time to spare and Abigail and I finished touching up the goats and later walked around the fairgrounds(walking off the jitters).

The show started at 9:00 with Missy showing in the second class. She got second place! Woopie doop! Gatlin went in right after her and got the same place! Nibbles(yeah, we actually got her out in the show ring once this year)was in the aged doe class and placed 3rd. :( I had hoped for better but there were two really nice does in front of her. They went into AOP, then Nigerian Dwarfs(we don't have any of them.......hallelujah!)and then Lamanchas. Mandie was in the 2 year old class and placed 3rd. Boooohoooo. I was really hoping for better than THAT! Oh well, again some really nice does in front of her. Last of all......Recorded Grades. And everyone, I would like to introduce the new goat to the show ring.........Miss Hannah. Yes ladies and gents, Hannah was shown for the first time at an ADGA sanctioned show and it turned into the laughing stock of the whole day. She runs, stops, jumps and hops just like a little kid and she is in the AGED DOE class! It was really funny, now when I think about it. :) Anyway, she placed 2nd. I think she might have placed 1st if she had freshened more than 3 times.

The junior doe show followed a 5 minute break after the senior doe show. Alpine kids up first, Jessie and Gala in the intermediate class. Jessie placed 1st and Gala, 4th. Alithia and Maggie were right after them in the senior class. Alithia placed 3rd, Maggie 4th. In the line up for Best of Breed, our hearts beating 20 times faster than they are supposed to be, Jessie got Reserve Champion.....AGAIN! We settled down after the excitement and waited out the AOP and Nigerian Dwarf kids. "Mini Mindie" as we call her placed 6th(last) in her class. That goat needs size so badly. Then came the Recorded Grades. Milky Whey was a Intermediate and a single entry. Obviously got a blue ribbon. *role eyes* We had a entry mix-up, but Camilla was in the senior class. She placed 3rd. Then Candy(dry yearling)........drum role......came in first! In the Recorded Grade line up for Grand we had Milky Whey and Candy. The judge really liked Milky Whey, but she really needs length badly. She is short bodied, but is very dairy. He went on to talk about the other goats and settled down on Candy as GRAND CHAMPION! Oh was I ever so excited! She is my first doe to get a Grand. She was out in the line up for Best Junior Doe in Show, but the Alpine doe kid won it. She(the alpine) is a very pretty doe in my opinion.

So we all loaded up to head on home. Within about 15 minutes everyone(except Dad, thank goodness) had fallen asleep. I woke up to us pulling over on the side of the highway with the van overheating. We managed to get a underpass where we parked in the shade and Dad went to a nearby farmhouse and got some water. He was told that there was an exit 3 miles away and when we got there it was closed for roadwork. We got a little further(mostly into the town of Jackson)and it started overheating again, Dad turned off the van and pulled into the parking lot of a store nearby. Right across the street was a mechanic shop, so Dad went over there to ask if they would take the van in. They took us, so we got to spend the afternoon walking around the neighborhood leading goats, keeping them comfy, going to the Golden Arches, looking at lab puppies,.....whatever we could do to keep everyone occupied. We had broken down around 12:30, left the shop around 4:00 and all ready to call it a day.

We got home, unloaded the animals, I changed out of my show clothes and everyone starts yelling that Gypsy had kidded! I suppose I had mixed feeling about that one. This means we have to start the heat treating, milk feeding, raising stuff all over again. Thankfully, it was a doe, but only one kid! That really surprised us since she has had quads and then triplets, but I guess one doe is better than three bucks, so whatever!

Before I could do much with the kid I needed to do our chores and our neighbor's since they are gone for the weekend. It had been a long night before I was in bed. Needless to say, I slept very well last night!

And for now, the baby(name changed to Serendipity though we call her Sara, means unexpected joy)is growing well, chores are going great and we continue to have interesting days. Do you all see now why I need to keep a blog! How else would I remember all these awesome days?!

Till Later,
~Bethany~

Market Projects

This is my market wether from last year. His name was Roosevelt. :)


Hi, my name is Bethany Schreur and I thought I would just give you a little information about myself and my involvement in 4H. I have been involved in 4H for 4 years now in the goat club and for 3 years I was a member of the Tigers Craft Club. This year I was Vice President in Calhoun County Caprine Kids Goat club and joined the Calhoun County Swine club and Homesteaders Craft Club.

My first year in 4H was very limited in what I did. Abigail, Rachel and I all had market wethers which we sold at the fair. We did not do much at the fair but it was nice to not have much there our first year and we learned a lot.

My second year we were a bit more involved, taking a few milkers and other breeding stock. This time only Abigail and I showed market wethers.

My 3rd year(last year) was our most involved year. We took a total of 15 animals and camped the whole week. We tried to do as much as we could with the group and such. All of the 4 oldest showed and sold market wethers. I had a special craft exhibit and sold a market project which was a knitted hat. It was a very exciting(though tiring) week.

This is my 4th year. I have accomplished much since my first year. I have overcome fears from last year and have become more confident. This year I was elected Vice President in the Goat Club. I have tried to do my best in helping the Goat Club improve. I also joined the Swine Club and and homeschooler Craft Club. Both have helped me step out of my comfort zone to talk to others I do not know. With our fair coming up I hope to help everything go as smoothly as possible and make new friends. We will be showing a total of 25-26 goats this year and all of us will be showing market wethers. I will be selling a market project and a market hog as well.

What is a market animal?
A market animal is a animal that an exhibitor raises and sells at the fair. They are responsible for paying to raise their animal and finding buyers for their animals. It helps them to learn how to best raise an animal for market. I have been selling a market animal every year I have been in 4H.

What is a market craft project?
A market craft project is the same as a market animal except that it is a craft. You can sell anything from hats/scarves to jewelry and photography.

Now I would like to ask you to please consider supporting me in the aspect of market projects. I will have a market craft project, a market wether and a market hog. The market wether sells on Wednesday(buyers are served supper), my market hog sells on Friday( the buyers will be served lunch) and my market craft will be sold on Saturday(buyers will be served root beer floats). If you would like to consider supporting me by either buying any of my projects or at least pitching in a little, you can contact me either by email or by leaving a comment.

Thank you
~Bethany~

The week of 7/13/08 in review

This is where we swim in the summer.....at the Harvey's pond! Abigail is in the pink and blue swimsuit and she and I are throwing Rachel off the floating dock!
On the dock from L-R, Rachel, Abigail. In the water from L-R, Ben, Rebekah, Elizabeth. I am way out on the floating dock.
From L-R, Bethany, Abigail, Rachel, Rebekah. Sorry the picture is a little blurry but it is a cool summer photo.

It seems like I just updated yesterday but it has been nearly a week! The past week has passed quickly. I will try to run through it quickly and give you an update.

Sunday- I was up at 3:00 a.m. doing chores so we could leave at 4 for the ADGA National Dairy Goat Show. We actually made it out of the house on time with Dad, Abigail, Rachel, Rebekah and I. By the time we got on the highway all the girls were asleep and I made it to Coldwater(about 20 minutes) and then fell asleep. Dad counted 20 cars and 10 semis from our house to the Indiana border! We got to the show around 9:00 a.m. The intermediate and senior showmanship was just about ready to start so we got to watch that. We knew 3 people in the intermediate class of 32 people! One placed 4th, another placed 6th and another placed 14th. I would have to say that is pretty good, I know I would be thrilled to get 14th! :) We stayed at a hotel nearby that night.

Monday- We went back to the show and stayed while they showed Recorded Grades(till around noon). Then we all loaded up in the car and headed the almost 5 hours home. Nobody slept much on the way home so it was a crazy ride. Stuffed in the back seat of a little escort for 5 hours with legs as long as mine is NOT comfy. :( I was glad to be home. I slept well that night in my own bed!!!!!

Tuesday- We went to work early in the morning and picked as many blueberries as we could. Then I had to help up at the stand till about 1 or so because it was so busy. I usually never have to do that but the whole time there was no stop to the flow of people at the stand and often more than 1 person waiting. Then I had to bail a load of straw. It was starting to warm up but I don't think it reached 90 that day. The humidity wasn't so bad either.

Wednesday- We picked a few blueberries(bad picking)and then Dad came and picked us up to bail our own straw. We got 3 wagon loads and then brought them all home. It was HOT,, 90 degrees. We had some friends over to go over a little goat showing with(they are going to help us at the fair)and then Dad and I put up 2 of the wagon loads into the barns. The other we had to put a tarp on that night because a storm came through.

Thursday- The straw had gotten rained on the night before and we had to pick quite a few blueberries before we could bail. This time I bailed two loads for the Harvey's. It was HOT again and oh so humid. I was miserable on that wagon but managed to not faint from the heat. Dad and Abigail came later and bailed a load of 150 bales for ourselves. It got up to 90 degrees which was only 2 degrees away from the record that was set in 1986!

Friday- Went to work early all by myself becuase everyone else was busy. We usually go with our neighbors but they were cherry picking and Abigail was baking for the farmer's market. I got there around 6:30 and we started out by unloading two wagon loads of straw(the two I had done the day before). As soon as everything was dried out we bailed again! I did two loads again and then dad came and I drove while he stacked another load of 150! It got up to 88 degrees! Then I had to hurry home and babysit for a neighbor. I slept hard and deep that night!

Saturday- I did most of my saturday cleaning and took the rest of the day off! I took a total of 4 naps during the day and just took it easy. We all did chores early and went to Rural King(right in Indiana)and stopped at their fair that was currently up and running. It is so tiny, no carnival rides, very peacefull and to top it all of, it it right on a lake!

Sunday- That is today! Well, I need to start shaving goats for the 1 day show this weekend and work on getting all that together.

Till next time!
~Bethany~

Home and busy

That about sums it up, home and busy. I will try to update more about that and all but thought I would let you all know that we actually made it home and didn't stay all week(I could have!!!). The show was pretty cool, pretty much like a big goat show but with the "big guys", people that we have only heard of. There were some beautiful Alpines there and I would really like to take some time and look up websites of these breeders, but for now I need to focus on straw.
Yep, that is what we are doing now. We are going to get at least 200 bales and maybe more. Worst news, it is supposed to be about 90 degrees with HIGH humidity.
Well, I gotta go hold the baby. :)
~Bethany~

Just some pics

Abigail being oh so patriotic!
Here is one of our kids from early this year that was born extremely tiny. She stayed in the house for about a week and was soon the family pet.
This is our wood stacked for the year(or two) and a whole pile more!
This is the doe that Dad shot last fall. We are eagerly waiting for deer season to come again this year!

These are some pictures I dug up from the depths of the computer for you all to enjoy. Some of them are from quite a while ago, but fun nonetheless.
Enjoy!
~Bethany~

Nationals!

Not a whole lot going on here. We are trying to get all work done before noon so we can stay OUT OF THE HEAT! It is getting warm here and the humidity is nearly unbearable. But the best news of all.....

WE ARE GOING TO THE NATIONAL GOAT SHOW IN KENTUCKY!!!

In my opinion, this is amazing. This is a dream come true and we are leaving THIS SUNDAY! I can hardly believe it is actually happening. You can pray that we have a safe trip to Louisville Kentucky Sunday morning. We should be home(Lord willing)by chore time on Monday night. It should be a great learning experience and hopefully we will get lots of good showing tips.

Other than that, we are slowly thinking about fair projects(reminds me, I need to look for a cute bird feeder pattern)and getting ready for that long week.

Hope everyone else is having a great summer and staying healthy!
~Bethany~

Our 4th of July party

The 4th of July weekend is over and we now need to get back to normal(whatever that means). We had a total of 29 people at our house from Thursday night to late Saturday morning. 21 children(5 were 14 and 1 was 13, the rest were all younger) and 8 adults. The weather was perfect, warm days and cool nights. We didn't go to any parades or watch any fireworks, just enjoyed one anothers company. It was a pleasant weekend of fellowship and fun. I think the highlight for the children was the float down the river. I am not sure all the parents were real hot on it because the river was so high and the current so strong, but it was a hoot! There were several logs to cross and the currents was trying to drag you under. It was so much fun and very trying at times.
Well, I know that isn't very in depth, but it pretty much concludes our 4th of July "party". Hopefully we can do something like it again soon.
I hope your 4th of July was just as fun and exciting as ours!
~Bethany~

Puppy price REDUCED!

Our last puppy is still here on the farm and needs to go this week, much to the disappointment of our whole family. He is a very sweet tempered puppy and is very calm for a lab. He is so sweet with our foster baby and loves to lay on your lap, ride in the car with and just get lots of attention. And best of all, his price is reduced! He is now only $250! Please contact me if you are interested in this sweet little guy.
~Bethany~

Fox in the Henhouse

We have been have fox problems for the last several weeks and have been losing chickens faster than you can believe. I think we lost about 10-15 chickens just to one fox! Anyway, we had seen him only two times, heard commotion by the chickens several times, set out traps and......yet we never were able to get him. But a few mornings ago we were eating breakfast at about 6:30 and I saw him trying to get into the chickens. We had just moved them to a different, more secure pen so he was having a little trouble getting into them. I called Dad and told him to grab a gun. He ran and grabbed my 20 gauge and ran towards the pasture that the fox was in. The fox had run off a little and didn't see Dad running towards him. Actually Dad didn't even know where the fox was and didn't see him until about 3 seconds before he fired! He got him with the first shot which was good, because my gun is only a single shot! So, here is the picture of the fox after we had shot it and brought it up to the house. We were able to get several of the little girls up by running through the house saying that we had gotten the fox. (Actually it was the talk of the neighborhood for a day or so, you know, not many people are firing guns at 6:30 in the morning! :))

I have not updated in about a week because of computer problems. Our computer just shut down for a while and nobody was able to access anything. Now it is all fixed and we are able to get back on track with updates.

I probably won't be updating for the next few days since we are going to have company over till Saturday. After that I will let you all know what our 4th of July was like. Meanwhile, I am hoping that I will get good feedback on yours! Just remember what Independence Day is all about. It is not about parades, candy, hot dogs and fireworks. It is about celebrating our freedom as a country. Be proud of it!

~Bethany~