Farm-sitting

by: Beth

  

  This past week we had some exciting adventures in farm-sitting.  Some friends of ours were going out of town and asked us to watch their farm.  Chores had to be done twice a day and included making sure that the...

chickens, 

geese, 

cats, 

dog, 

calves,

 and the goats had food and water,

 collecting eggs, 

keeping an eye on the incubator,

 and milking the goats (That's our mom in the picture).

Goat milking was a new thing for us to learn, but we caught on pretty quickly.  At least, we thought so… The goats had other ideas… The goats didn't like it if we took too long, and either tried to leave, or lay down. They really couldn't leave because their heads were locked in the milking stand (most of the time)  but they did try to lay down a few times, much to our annoyance.  :)

The cats loved milking time, and would eagerly await the milk we would squirt in their direction. Of course, no one's aim is perfect…

Tubby (kitty in the picture) didn't seem to mind.

Look at that precious face.  You would never think trying to hold her would be like wrestling a mountain lion, but Becca has the battle scars to prove it.

We told our friends that we would have the kittens tamed by the time they returned home, but…things are easier said then done :)

We tried sneaking up on them, which works if you have really great reflexes and can grab them before they shoot off to their secret lair (a stack of boards in the barn).  Once you get a hold of them, you have to endure scratching, biting, and yowling until they surrender, or reluctantly accept that you are going to hold on to them and pet them whether they like it or not  :)

There were also some instances involving escaped goats, dead racoons, and a distressed goose family, but other then that, farm-sitting went well and we had a fun time. Thanks, Scott & Becky, for trusting us with your farm!