Gabby Goats

Sunday Mornings

2011-09-04T04:59:00.000-07:00

I've put going to Sunday markets on hold for a while in order to catch up with farm type items. This time of year it seems like an explosion around me -an explosion of fertility so I really mustn't complain.. In the herb garden the mints are taking over, the calendula is blooming faster than I can harvest, straw-flowers are getting past their prime, and the cilantro has become coriander....so I must hurry, and I really need to divide and move some of the comfrey. The kitchen garden is just coming on a few tomatoes here and there but the quantity of fruit promises to keep my sauce pots busy in the coming weeks. What a difference keeping bees makes in the fruit set.
Speaking of bees, I went out this morning to check on them. I can smell the honey before I got to the hive, it's loaded! I will have to put another honey super on top. Even though it looks like rain today the bees were very calm and content with me poking about. My bee mentor Norm says the calmness of the bees is an indication of how content they are with the queen. So all appears well : )
Well I must move on to the herb garden before it rains....

Keeping up with the Goats

2011-07-25T17:44:00.000-07:00

Well we've been naughty about posting to the blog- the last post coincides with our taking on the Seaport Market in Halifax. So I guess we've been busy.

This year's market going has included The Halifax Seaport on Saturdays and also the Wolfville Market on Saturdays! Right now there is a great lady named Jasmine who is doing the Wolfville Market for us, in the new DeWolf building. Wolfville is also open Wednesday evenings 4-7 for a supper market- supper and soap oh yeah!
Aside from these Windsor Market is Friday evenings 4-8 on the waterfront and we are occasional vendors at the QEII market in Halifax, Friday mornings and Thursdays at the Lunenburg Market.

So what's new here...we are now Slice Soapworks, Farm & Herbarie. Our new name encompasses where we are and some new directions we'll be taking in the next few years, lots more herbs, more bees...

Kidding season is over and now is the time when warm days make the grasses grow and the goats eat and loaf about, just enjoying life. The kids irritate the adults with their playfulness, and since they are still drinking milk are not as intent on the grass/shrub eating yet. Uncle Jordie has found some large cable spools and Pappa Jim delivered them to the farm yesterday. We are in the process of re-purposing them as play equipment for the little ones. Playing King of the Castle is a favourite game as is knocking the King off! I'm sure it will be entertaining - for me as well as them.

Caught?

2010-09-20T17:11:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what this little fella was up to but it appears that I caught him red hoofed

To Market We Go...

2010-06-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

Well, not us goats but our soap is there. This year our natural goat's milk soaps are at the Kentville Farmers Market on Wednesdays, Friday mornings at the VG Hospital in Halifax and Friday evenings at the Windsor Farmers Market, Saturday mornings finds us at the Wolfville Farmer's market. So...There's no excuse for dry skin!

May 30

2010-05-30T05:34:00.000-07:00

Pippi thought the apple tree needed to be trimmed a little higher up this morning. What makes her morning calisthenics impressive is she is due to kid next week. I sure wasn't stretching like this at 8 months preggo.

The juniors like to play. Alice was enjoying the slide this morning while Chester practiced his beam work.

New boy coming in

2010-05-15T16:01:00.000-07:00

Our new herdsire is coming in from the Quappelle herd. He is the result of Keno x Copygirl and we are very excited to welcome him to Marshview Acres. Although he is only 1 month old he will be making the big trip later this week from British Columbia! We can't wait to meet him.

2010-03-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

Nova Scotia in Spring is winter one day, spring the next then back to winter. Brrr today. We goats are snug though and still have most of our winter coats still on. Good thing we didn't get the haircuts the feed lady was talking about. Maybe we should save the trims till at least mid April, it is Nova Scotia after all.
So what's new with the Bohemian Bubbles Goat's Milk Soaps? Well Peppermint Cooler is new. Essential oil of peppermint gives a cooling sensation and fresh minty smell to this bar, it has the added benefit of ground luffa for exfoliation and of course our lovely and moisturizing GOAT'S MILK! Yeah for goat's milk.
Silky Seaweed has become the top seller for 2010 so far. I guess you can't beat Nova Scotia Seaweed added to an already nourishing goat's milk bar, especially with a lovely herbally aroma of lavender and rosemary. We goats like our seaweed sprinkled on our morning grain...yum and so many vitamins and minerals in it!

Jasper

2010-03-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

Just Kidding Around!

2010-03-13T16:23:00.000-08:00

Well we have been busy kidding around this week. Hannah has had 2 a boy and a girl- Bella and Edward; Oh LaLa had 2 as well, Rosalie and Jasper; Junie B had a single- Alice. Yes there is a bit of a Twilight theme to this years names...on to the important things -Pictures! Here's a few snapshots of the wee cuties.
First is Rosalie, she was born a little small and weak so is spending time recuperating next to the wood stove. Alice is the middle picture and Bella & Edward are the last. Edward is the darker guy. We are missing Jasper...guess he's a little shy.

Vacation

2010-01-27T06:59:00.000-08:00

It's vacation time here in the barn. Yes everyone needs a vacation and January-February is the perfect time for us goats. We are finished with the holiday rush, and very much appreciated the leftovers...balsam fir that is. The first of the new kids will be born the beginning of March and we will all get back to the daily routines of milking then.
In the meantime soap is still being made with frozen milk that has been put aside just for this. This morning the feed lady smelled distinctly of patchouli. Junie B liked it but Eloise said to earthy for her, she prefers the lavender. Hannah is a big fan of the tea tree soap. It is used as a wash bar in the goat barn and it smelled so good she ate a full bar last spring. Good thing for natural ingredients - no harm done. The barn soap is kept out of reach now though.

We like kelp too!

2009-11-30T02:59:00.000-08:00

We love kelp fed over our morning grain. It tastes great and is like a vitamin it has so many minerals in it. I certainly hope my supply isn't in jeopardy since I've heard the soap lady had the brilliant idea of using it in soap. Who ever heard of such a thing? Goat's milk and seaweed soap- it's called Silky Seaweed. Kelp infused into olive oil and of course combined with my fresh goat's milk, scented with lavender and rosemary. I guess it's been a very popular soap so I need to make sure there's a few bags of that green goodness set aside just for me : )
What is "kelp" anyway? Kelp is seaweed, there are many varieties. We use a mineral rich seaweed that is harvested right here off the coast of Nova Scotia! Combined with nourishing goat's milk, it's sure to be a winner with just about everyone.
check it out at www.bohemianbubbles.com

Goats at the Fair

2009-09-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

Two doelings were exhibited at the fair this week-end and each one ribbons! Marshview Acres Junie B won a second and Marshview Acres Pippi took third, both in the doeling class.

They will be coming home this evening to tell tales in the goat house of all the sights and sounds they seen at the fair.

They were very nervous the first night after being placed on the opposite side of a wall from oxen. Pippi obviously knew something very large was on the other side! LOL By the next day both girls were lapping up all the attention and petting received from fair visitors.

New Toys!

2009-06-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

Did you know capricious comes from "caprine" which is Latin for goat? Kid goats certainly are capricious and they do love to play! A few toys have shown up in the kid pen to help excercise and use up a little energy.

Fudge is going to demonstrate for Junie B how to use the new slide!

Junie B was a little concerned but Fudge is A OK!

Junie B now knows what to do!

2009-05-11T07:14:00.000-07:00

Hannah always has to be the first at everything, first to the feed, first to the gate to go in for the night and first to the milk stand. Well I was first to kid this year...and I had 2, so there Hannah. The twins are beautiful, Eloise and Junie B. We picked the names from some of our favourite story characters. Oh pardon me, I got all in a dither about Hannah being first and forgot to tell you who I was...my name is Rachel. I'm also a milker for Bohemian Bubbles' Soaps. I've been told that there's some super good cheese going on in the farmhouse and many varieties of soap are heading to the market now that there's lots of milk. But who cares? Wanna see my babies?

These pictures were taken at 3:30 in the morning about 1/2 hour after they were born. Just freshly dried, fluffy and warm. They both wore cute little sweaters for the first week.

2009-04-28T06:15:00.000-07:00

Hello there folks. My name is Hannah and I'm a milk producer on Marshview Acres for a soap company called Bohemian Bubbles. You might recognise me since my image gets used a lot around the markets, I think it's my smile. The girls and I were talking this winter about all this blog stuff going on. We wanted one of our own, after all we are pretty interesting and have some definate opinions on things. I wanted to call it Hannah's Place but Rachel was having none of it and OoLaLa was a smidge put out so we got together and thought about it. Eventually we came up with Gabby Goats with the help of the feed lady. I will give credit when it's due, it's just the way I am. So here we are with a blog of our own.

Well it's spring here on the farm and I've just had a new baby, her name is Marshview Acres Pippi but we're all just calling her Pippi for short. She's very beautiful but absolutely full of beans and I'm having a hard time keeping up with her. I call her and sometimes she just doesn't answer or won't come! Kids these days. I can't complain though, my herdmate Rachel had twins and let me tell you, she just can't control those two at all. They run all over the place and I must say there are some pretty high leaps but they'll have to learn a little more decorum at some point.

It rained quite a bit last week and I absolutely hate it when I get wet but at least the leaves and grasses are coming on. I'm getting an urge for some fresh stuff. Hay gets tiring day in and day out, even with my mid-day meal of soaked alfalfa cubes. The dandylions are looking really good right now and I bet in a few more days there will be a nice big crop of them going. If I could get at that rose bush on the other side of the fence it would be even better. The roses are always better on the other side of the fence.

I'm about played out for now so I'll say see ya and let Rachel have a turn at this a little later. Nice meeting you!