The Beginning

This is taken from the east side of our property

This is taken from the west side of the property. The little utility post is the approximate property line. My garden is going to go in between it and the driveway which is in front of the house.

I put this one in so you can see the length of the property along the roadside. We are standing at the farthest eastern point, the driveway is in the center and the farthest western point is 100 feet beyond it (to the west).

This is the east side yard.

A little flower garden (with echinacea) just waiting to be expanded and filled with medicinal and culinary herbs.

Again, the east side of the house...Sophie is trying to decide if she is disappointed...she expected a larger home...I keep telling her that with all the outdoor space we won't want to be inside! :-) I do wish there were more windows, though.

This is the west side of the house and our dilapidated shed. It's not so bad...just needs siding and a new door. It's fairly big, like 10x12 I think.

My garden area, looking at it from the corner of the northwestern side of the house.

Another view of my garden area (from the roadside).

This is an area behind the house, on the west side of the property, that has been cleared and will be perfect for either goats or chickens.

This is another cleared area on the east side, directly across from the one above. Again...goats or chickens :-)

AWESOME find!

The pen that is up...barely. Nice wood, good wire...it can be upcycled into a nice chicken run!

BRICKS! I think I will use these to pave walkways to the house from the drive. I have a collection of marbles and if I fill the holes with a little cement and drop a marble in each one, I think that will look wonderfully whimsical.

And this is what lies beyond...behind the house, behind the chicken and goat areas.

It's about 1 3/4 acres of pine. We have lots of clearing to do and plan to use the wood to build a chicken coop and a goat shed. Only about 1/2 an acre of the property is cleared...it's enough for now but we would sure like more pasture land for the animals and a bigger place to grow food that isn't out in front of the house.

We have a lot of work to do and a little over 2 days before we can start doing anything. Money is tight, emotions are high, and we are all walking about without a real sense of purpose right now. It's a difficult time. I am clinging to the name and meaning of this little homestead...Providence.

Goals and Goats

Nigerian Dwarf Goats

Right now we are trying to decide which kind of goat breed we should raise. I like everything I read about the Nigerian Dwarf. There are many pros to this breed, a few of them being that they breed year round, are known for having multiples at birth, they are gentle, well-mannered, small, have a high butterfat content, and eat less than a full size breed. However, there are cons as well. They are difficult to milk, produce only a quart and a half a day, on average, and there's not much meat to them if we wanted to butcher them.


LaMancha

Our other choice is the LaMancha breed. These goats produce quite a bit of milk with high butterfat content, which is what we want.


Saanen

I've also looked at the Saanen breed, which is extremely docile, they have great milk production, and they are just so darn cute with their whole billy goat gruff thing going on. But, Saanen's butterfat content is pretty low. We want to make butter, cheese, and soap, so we need a higher fat content in our milk.



Nubians

Then I come back to the Nubian. I was hesitant about this goat only because I've heard they are a nuisance to raise. However, they are amazing milk producers with a high butterfat content. They are bigger than most dairy breeds and therefore are a great dual purpose breed for both dairy and meat production. And they are super cute...They also have a longer breeding season, which means that we could increase our herd in a very short time.

My husband doesn't really care. He wants lots of milk and meat so he's not too keen on the Nigerian Dwarf, but the fact that they can breed all year long is a major plus.

So, now we set off to pray and wait. After getting my thoughts out on "paper" I am leaning more towards the Nubian. It just makes more sense for a family that not only wants to produce their own milk, but also their own meat...and those EARS!!! So cute. :-)

Along with goats here is a list of other goals we have for our new adventure:

*Chickens- for eggs and meat...trying to find a good meat breed
*Bees- for honey and wax
*medicinal and culinary herb gardens
*veg and berry gardens
*fruit trees
*digging a root cellar
*building a cordwood chicken coop and goat barn
*building a green house for cold weather gardening
*some sort of fiber animal...angora rabbits perhaps (although Sophie wants a llama...)
*vermiculture

SO much more, but those are the goals we have set for the first year.

Can you feel my excitement?

Ok...prep day and I still have mass packing to do!