My good friends, Bonnie and Kim, made this little video to commemorate their visit to the goat ranch last weekend. I especially like how the soundtrack makes Bodega look so exotic!

Enjoy!

PS – Where did the weekend go?!!

We’ve gotten so much rain over the past week…and there’s probably much more to come. It certainly adds to the challenge of living here.

The storm last Wednesday morning was probably the most exciting. I woke up a little before 5am…Scout had stomped his way up the bed to my pillow, purring demanding his morning cuddles. When I pulled him under the covers, I felt that his back was wet, and was instantly fully awake. I sat up and turned on the light, scanning the ceiling for what I guessed was a terrible leak. Then I noticed with relief that the front door had blown open in the wind. No leak…Scout had either ventured outside or stood in the doorway. It was an easy problem to fix.

The storm was gathering intensity, and I got up and started my usual morning routine. A short time later, the power went out.

I grew up being afraid of thunderstorms, or more specifically tornados. Tornados are very rare here, but living in a yurt puts you more in the storm, and I’ll admit that I was anxious.

I decided to work on a painting as a way to pass the time, and was enjoying it quite a bit. It got my mind off the storm until the wall next to me suddenly flexed. I stopped what I was doing and packed a bug-out bag…change of clothing, dog food, computer. The yurt felt stable, but I didn’t know what to expect. The tarps were still lose enough to make quite a racket, all adding to the ferocity of the storm. After packing the emergency bags, I just sat on the couch for a while with Laika and Scout, soaking in the experience of the storm, and the experience of taking responsibility for handling any problems that might arise.

I made the most of my morning…it was like a “snow day” from school…a rain day from the internet. I painted, read, cooked breakfast and made a second pot of coffee. Eventually, though, I realized that I needed to at least check in at work, so I took the computer and headed for town. On the way out, J. warned me that, depending on the tides, the creek level might crest 6-8 hours after the rain stopped. When I got to the bridge, the water was still a few feet below it, so I continued on. Had to go almost all the way to Sebastopol before finding power (and internet), but I was able to answer the most pressing work emails before racing back to be sure I was on the same side of the bridge as my dog and cat. I opted not to make the trip to the hardware store that I’d planned, for more rope and tarp clamps. We’d just have to get through things for a while longer as-is.

The power came back on in the early afternoon, and things got back to normal…or as normal as they get here. I was grateful for my new Muck Boots…a big expense, but really necessary here. J. urged me to get the chore boots, and he is right…the big lug soles are really great to have when sliding around on the mud out here. With all the flooding in Sonoma County, I’m probably not the only person doning muck boots to do her dishes. But I’m probably the most cheerful!

It’s hard to remember where one storm started and another left off. The time was filled with tarp adjustments, bringing wood in, working, and catching up on sleep lost during thunderstorms.

Saturday was beautiful; friends came to visit and once again I was filled with gratitude for the support and friendship people have shown me. I really enjoyed having the windows of the yurt open for fresh air, and then having it filled with warmth and laughter of visitors. And I’m the benefactor of Kim upgrading her iPod Touch, and so am the delighted recipient of her old one. As much as I try to keep my gadget lust in check, there’s been no denying my desire for this one. They almost could not contain themselves as I unwrapped the package with smaller packages inside…first a giant dog biscuit for Laika, next a cute tiny mouse toy for Scout, and then…a sleek shiny toy for me. Unbelievable.

A few minutes after they left, opened my door to find my friend TJ, out for a drive and stopping for a visit. I had a great time showing off how different things looked from the first time she’d visited.

Later, I made a quick dash for Santa Rosa and visited Harbor Freight for the first time. How have I not been at this store before?! There I found the kind of tarp clamps you need for a big tarping job: EZ Grabbit Tarp Holders. In between storms, I’d found a few of these in a package under the yurt and tried them out. They’re fantastic! By putting tension directly on the tarp (rather than trying to hold it down with the ropes over it), the flapping is much reduced.

Yesterday I spent some more time tying down my tarp. And my knots are much better, yes, because there’s an app for that…Knot Time Lite, in fact. I’ve been really happy through the storm of today — less rain, but I can tell that things are snugged down much better now.

Today was my first day of feeding the goats on my own. The rain was pouring constantly (I think we’ve gotten about three inches in the last 24 hours), but I felt like I had a better time of it than the goats. They have some shelter, but are more exposed than I’d like. I’m probably a big softie when it comes to farm animals. I counted them today…we have 53 altogether: 23 pregnant mamas, 13 pregnant yearlings, 14 pregnant “babies”, and 3 billies. The yearlings were born in 2008, and so are really almost two years old. The babies were born last year, almost a year old. Usually, as commercial dairy goats, they wouldn’t be pregnant until they are yearlings and allowed to grow into bigger goats. But one of the billies, LeRoy Brown, has become quite adept at climbing out of fences where there are girls in heat around. So there will be 14 pregnant milk goats up for sale soon, suitable for backyard milkers. Want one?

Tomorrow the vet comes, so we’ll be rounding up all the goats so the vet can draw blood for annual tests, give them their shots, and we’ll do any hoof trimming that’s necessary. I’m looking forward to an interesting (and muddy) day.

One of the things I’ve enjoyed here is the wood stove. I’ve been learning a lot about heating with wood, and still have a lot to learn.

When I was growing up, our family had a wood stove that we used for heating the kitchen. It was quite different…covered in white enameled sheet metal, it stood a little over waist high and loaded from the top. Ashes fell into a drawer in underneath the fire area. In many ways, its design seems superior to the design of the wood stove I have now, but this one is much more beautiful. This stove sits low, and opens in the front, with a glass door so you can see the flame. There’s no separate ash tray. When I moved in, I didn’t realize that there were already about three inches of packed ashes in the bottom…I couldn’t believe it when I finally cleaned it out and found a random grate embedded in the bottom! (I found a manual for the stove online, and the grate shouldn’t have been there at all.) Still, I loved having this little fire in my home right away.

I also started going through my wood really fast. I was a little horrified. What was worse, my wood use wasn’t necessarily resulting in a cozy lifestyle. At night it was cold, and in the afternoon it was hot. I tried to keep the fire going to avoid having to make another fire. When I did have to make a fire, I had to use fire starter blocks…yet more stuff to buy, stuff to consume. The helpful bag of kindling I bought at the general store was much the same…worked great, cost too much. Really, I have been consuming a lot of resources!

I was spending so much time on my knees in front of the stove getting covered with ashes, I felt like the only thing I needed as a couple of wicked stepsisters and a fairy godmother. Alas, my footwear needs are more for muck boots with traction and not a pair of glass slippers.

Thank goodness for the internet. It didn’t take me long to find this page of tips from WoodHeat.org. That helped a lot. And some experimentation and common sense helped, too.

I bought a splitting axe and started making my own kindling. It’s taking time for me to learn how to split wood (videos on youtube help) and I can’t do too much at a time without developing a ferocious back ache. But it’s very satisfying.

I’ve learned some discipline from fire. On Saturday, I made kindling because it was obvious that the weather wasn’t going to cooperate for making it later. Want fire on Wednesday? Make kindling on Saturday. Same thing with bringing wood into the house before the rain.

You don’t manage a fire for the moment…you must plan ahead. I’m learning to back off on morning fires, because they’ll likely turn the yurt into a sauna by mid-afternoon on a sunny day. Evenings are similar…if I wait until it feels cold, it will be cold for an hour until the fire gets going enough to put out heat. So I have to think ahead.

And I have to pay attention. Fire can be dangerous. Ashes often contain hot coals, and it can be tempting to poke around too much in an effort to play “wood tetris” while feeding the fire, and those hot coals will roll out of the front of the stove if you do. Fire requires mindfulness; it will correct you swiftly and unmistakably.

A fire is like a living thing; you can ask yourself what it needs to grow, whether it might need to be reigned in, what it needs to be fed. You can do pretty well by learning the general rules and then tending it, but there’s always an element of uncertainty that makes a fire lively. Like most living things you might take care of, it can teach you a lot…a lot about fire, and a lot about yourself.

I’m still learning. I don’t always get a fire started as quickly as I’d like, and on a bad day, I’ll use the help of fire starters. But tonight, I got my fire going with paper and kindling on my first try. It feels just right in here…a welcome comfort in the calm between the storms.

Before moving here, the big question was whether Laika would be ok living here. The owner has a dog, Jasper, who’s very adamant about his position as top dog on the ranch. There are also three other dogs owned by the tenant in the lower part of the property. And don’t forget the livestock — many interesting kinds of poultry to chase, and of course, the goats. But I really couldn’t be happier about how it’s going. And Laika seems to love the place. It’s so great to see her running and playing with other dogs.

And why wouldn’t she love it? I think she’s finding treats all over the place, especially in my landlord’s kitchen, the place she runs to first when she gets to go outside in the morning. I hear her being exclaimed over in the other house like an honored guest, and if I wait to watch her emerge, I see her running up to her sentry position on the edge of the pond to sit and enjoy some delectable treat she’s been given. She’s quit begging for her dinner, and I’m probably going to be saving on dog food seeing as she’s getting fed so much at other houses.

It hasn’t been stress-free, that’s for sure. Laika is protective of our living area, and tends to bark too much at visitors. We’re working on it. I’m often on-edge about her unsupervised time outside. I don’t think she’s particularly car savvy, though most cars slow down properly while coming up the drive. And it will take a long time…maybe never…for me to feel that she’s bomb-proof around the livestock. I think we were lucky that I took her bed shopping with me last week. While we were gone, Jasper chased and killed a chicken…had Laika been here, I’m sure she would have been all too eager to show off for her new buddy by doing the same.

I have to give this dog credit — she really does try to please. During the first few days, she barked at any small noise. Now she’s developed a sense of what’s important and what’s not. I don’t tell her “quiet” every time she barks…sometimes a dog’s got to be a dog, and barking is appropriate. But, more and more, she listens when I do tell her “quiet”. Amusingly to me, she sometimes demonstrates her understanding by woofing very quietly. I think the most difficult part of dog training is to teach a negative. But woofing very quietly works pretty well for me. She’s also getting better at coming when I call her, especially if someone strange to her has arrived on the property. We still have work to do here, but I’m encouraged by her progress.

And delighted at her joy when she comes running up to me during her play time, ears flying and rear wiggling, a bundle of sweet doggie energy.

No wonder she’s getting all those treats.

I’ve always been a little envious of people who would stick with an exercise routine. They seem very in control of themselves; very orderly and organized.

I’ve never been like that myself. And because I’m not, I’ve tended to not get enough exercise. I’m hoping that will change with life on the goat ranch.

For example, meet my wood pile:

Today I stacked most of a cord of wood…enough to take me through a year, I’m told (though I bet I’ll go through mine faster). I’m grateful for the wood, a gift from my brother and sis-in-law. But I”m also grateful for the chore of stacking it. It felt good to have that physical activity, a way to enjoy this morning’s sunshine.

Speaking of sunshine, did you see the sunrise this morning? Gorgeous. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s is like.