*Our Country Home...

A visit to Calovine Farm

2012-02-28T12:04:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday we had the opportunity to visit Calovine Farm just down the road (about 40minutes) from us in Williston...Lady Farmer Ruth was wonderful and gave us a tour of her farm and all her lovely animals...We came away with a better understanding of how much more we need to get done before we bring sheep onto our property....But this was not the only reason for our visit...Ruth has generously agreed to allow me to use one of her lambs in an upcoming photo event I am hosting at my place.

She breeds St Croix...A meat breed that has hair not wool and more suited to the Florida climate...They not require shearing because they shed their winter coat in the spring.

She also breeds St Augustine hybrid sheep, but alas I did not get any photos of those lovely ewes because, wally that I am, I left my camera backup battery in the car.

This is one of her very Handsome Rams.

And her new Great Pyrenees puppy...yes puppy, he is but 12months old and just as sweet as can be...that is unless you are an intruder or predator then look out....I dream of the day we have enough sheep to warrant owning such a wonderful animal to protect them.

Anyone that knows me knows I am a sucker for a Jack Russel...

This little guy a wire hair was just too cute for words..

We had picked up Sara straight from Head Start and headed over to the farm...I did pack her a change of cloths but she would only agree to switch to her boots...She was so funny, climbing up on the hay bales and yelling..."Take a photo of me"....makes me wonder if I spend to much time pointing cameras at this kid hehe...Notice the disheaveled hair and dirty knees...She had a blast running (crawling) around with all the dogs...Picking flowers for Miss Ruth and just loving being on a true working farm.

Can't wait to visit again....So inspired and encouraged that my dream of raising sheep in FL WILL indeed come true..

Blessings Kelsie

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First pear blossoms for 2012

2012-02-23T11:30:00.002-05:00

Wow can you believe it is that time of year here again already....I *heart* pear blossoms...Shame they smell so bad or I could have branches of them in vases all over my house.

Blessings Kelsie

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Around the Farm update....

2012-02-21T12:03:00.001-05:00

I know I have kinda been neglecting my farm related updates...Not because I am neglecting the "farm" but because I am trying to juggle all my regular chores, the extra attention needed for Rocky and trying to get my ducks in a row for the photography...so anyway here is a quicky off the top of my head update.

Thursday afternoon we are head over to visit Callview Sheep Farm to get a tour and meet some lambs...This is a double duty trip because we are going to be looking at their set up and what it takes to raise hair sheep...possibly adopt a bottle baby 4month old lamb who is to small for breeding and needs to be culled from the herd...Plus looking at the new born lambs for me to borrow for my Easter Photo Booth next month...so it is both farm and photography related...excited much?? you better believe I am...Will be sure and take a camera :)

Oh our boy Rocky...Snapped this photo of him last night with my phone...he has 2 favorite toys...the chicken "dolly" shown and a pink Disney Princess ball he has laid claim too...such a manly dog lol....He has also been a little naughty about chasing cats and chickens still...and yesterday to be honest I was ready to find him a new home...Instead...He (we...the entire family) will begin Dog Obedience classes next Thursday....Then if (when) those have been completed and we are all bonded and well trained we can think about going to a sheep herding clinic later in the year...Here's hopin'

Chickens are still laying well and roaming our 5acres and the neighboring 55 acres of hay field...truly free range chickens at our house...Bless her little heart, yesterday Sara was so excited to find 8 eggs in the nest she came running back to the house to show me...stumbled up the steps, scrapped her knee and egged my front porch...OH how she cried over those broken eggs...she did not even care about her bloody knee...that girl is a true farmer.

Hubby has already put 150 corn seeds in the starter trays...we have about 20 pks of organic tomato seed that was given to us to also get started....also cucumber, squash (zuc) and peppers...think I am going to plan to just keep to these basics this yr with a few herbs thrown in for good measure....oh and lots of onions...I think hubby plans to put them in the ground tomorrow.

Poor hubby has mountains of trees to put thru the wood chipper (Nancy) and still plenty more clearing to do.

Not sure where our fencing budget lies right now...or if hubby is going to talk with the neighbor about this project or not...Sometimes you just got to stop asking because the non-commital answers of the other party is likely to drive you nuts.

I would be so happy if we could get the feed shed and new chicken coop built...Maybe the photography $$$ will help get this project under way...it really just requires the wood to build the frame because I would like to recycle the materials we are pulling off of the old barn...slowly slowly.

ummm I think that is about it...the front gardens are a mess, my herb garden is stripped bare....why??...one words...CHICKENS....Oh how I dream about fences lol.

Blessings Kelsie

Up and running...Ready or not...

2012-02-18T19:21:00.000-05:00

I have spent the last week trying to get things in order for this new venture I am undertaking...I have had long talks with hubby and lots AND LOTS of second thoughts about whether I am up for this...Do I really have the talent to be a portrait photographer??

It is one thing to take photos of my own kid/s...but to get paid to take photos of other ppls kids??

Regardless I took the plunge...I ordered new software to help streamline and improve my photo editing...yup, after all these years I am finally caving in and getting an Adobe product again...Photoshop Elements 10....Actually pretty excited to get my hands on it...From what I have read in my research it should give me those functions that I have coveted about the new Photoshop that I do not have in my current Fireworks MX software..

My first Family Shoot on Sunday went great...They were so much fun to work with and today I handed over her final Photo Disk...So feel really good about that...and have a few more ppl wanting shoots just have to lock in some dates...

I am going to host a Easter Photo Booth in March and do some mini photoshoots with kids and baby animals....Lil Sara helped out as a model in the booth mock-up today...

I started a separate blog/site for the photography

http://photographyourcountryhome.blogspot.com/

Please stop by and show me some love :)

and of course Facebook.

Business cards and model release forms are next on the todo list.

So Ready or Not...HERE I COME.

Blessings Kelsie

PS: to all the dear friends that responded to my now deleted vent, thank you from the bottom of my heart...Sometimes we just need to get it out to a girlfriend or two

My Happy Mess

2012-02-10T13:31:00.001-05:00

Is this mess not a lovely sight to see??

Called a GF this morning to see how she was going with the final touches for her Daddy's wedding tomorrow and found out she was in need of some clips for the bridesmaids hair....Being so last minute the last thing she has time for is shopping for such things....So I did what any friend would do...

I asked her what colors and is there a theme?...She told me the girls are in yellow sundresses, denim jackets and boots...Yup, country cute for sure ♥...And this is what I came up with.

So with that out of the way I better git back to my house work and prepping for the Photoshoot I have booked this weekend...Excited much?? You betcha

Blessings Kelsie

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Old Water Pump

2012-02-08T11:40:00.001-05:00

Hubby and I went location scouting this morning while taking Rocky for his morning run....Can't share those photos with you, because shhhh they are for a secret photoshoot...But on the way home I did snapped a couple of farm photos to share.

Love this pallet with John Deere stamped on it...and it is mine...YAY @ neighbors that let me have their trash.

Believe it or not this old water pump works...It was the one used to irrigate the watermelon fields last year.

I have a feeling they have had this baby for just a few years.

What is not to love about a rusty old gauge panel...for some reason it makes me think of the Tom Baker Tardis.

Blessings Kelsie

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Rocky, COME!

2012-02-06T13:15:00.001-05:00

Snapped this while working with Rocky this morning in the back field...We practiced him returning on command...As you can see by the photo he would return as fast as he could...He is not loosing his head as much during these outings and today we got back to the house without him taking off in pursuit of a cat or to round up the chickens...

You might also notice the new watermark on the photos, this is because I have been branching out and doing some portrait photography using our small little farm as the backdrop...I even have a shoot booked for this weekend and many other exciting things planned.

If you would like to see the photoshoots I have already done and/or follow on Facebook I would love you to come "LIKE" my page.

https://www.facebook.com/OurCountryHome

Also thank you to everyone that has sent comments these past few weeks...I have been sadly neglectful in responding or leaving comments during my return visits...I want you to know I do appreciate all the love and support from blog land...You ladies often help to keep me sane.

Blessings Kelsie

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Homestead Barn Hop @ http://www.theprairiehomestead.com

Wasted time?

2012-02-04T16:36:00.001-05:00

So I spent most of yesterday creating a lovely wedding gift...At least I think it is lovely...I would show it to you but then it would spoil it for the bride...Who is now a married woman.

I picked out my outfit and shaved my legs.

I stayed up after the wee one finally dozed off last night to give myself a Mani-Pedi so I could wear my cute little sparkly pink flip flops with my cute little pink and white dress....All the time hoping that I was going to wake up today feeling refreshed and renewed, no longer suffering laryngitis.

Instead I awoke coughing and hacking even worse, I am tired and fell ick and just want to sit on my butt and do nothing...We skipped the wedding because I was just not up to the drive (I get car sick on drives over 30minutes) on top of the sore throat, pounding head and now exhaustion...Sadly 3yr olds are not very sympathetic when mummy is sick...

Oh and if that is not enough, we discovered someone (prob the stray cat as it was left right outside the hole to under the trailer where he lives) dragged home a road kill possum (or big dead mouse as lil Sara refers to it) that just smelled lovely...yup even all stuffed up with allergies I could still smell it.

So blah and bar-humbug today officially stinks....Well almost completely, at least I got to spend an extra day this week with my sweet hubby who had got the day off for the wedding...and my tootsies look cute :)

Blessings Kelsie

Walking the dog...

2012-02-03T18:23:00.000-05:00

Took the new dog Rocky, out to run on the 12acres behind us...The original plan had been to work on voice commands with him today, but I am suffering my 6monthly bout of seasonal laryngitis, so that was off the table. But I figured he could at least get a good run...Sadly once we got out there I could not take him off of the lead because the stupid cat followed and he is not a cat friendly dog....Yet.

He is now running freely in a 25x50 pen and not on a chain all the time, so I am happy about that....The goats like to wander up to the shared fence and visit with him....Still not ready to mix them together without a dividing fence. So far he has not shown any aggression towards the goats and seems to enjoy the company...He did give chase to the chickens the other day when I was not home...Hubby said he did not try and actually catch them, just ran at them...My guess is he was probably trying to herd them them.

So as you can see he is getting lots of interaction throughout the day...I just wish there was someone I knew of close by that actually trains working dogs so they could teach me how to teach him.

Blessings Kelsie

These are a few of my favorite things...

2012-02-02T13:32:00.002-05:00

Yesterday after school Lil Sara put on her favorite dress and favorite cowgirl boots before we headed out to help with the new goat fences....

How could I resist but to grab my favorite camera and capture a few fun snaps before we got to work?

These images show so many of my favorite things that I just had to share....

Warm afternoons even in Feb.

Wide open spaces for us to play in.

Hay bales to sit upon.

Girly pink, mixed with country chic.

My little girl...

All pitching in to get the work done..

Silly moments that make me laugh...

Blessings Kelsie

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Pondering the master...

2012-01-30T12:13:00.001-05:00

Because I do so very little during the day, and have no incomplete projects to tend to *cough cough*, I thought it was time to ponder the master... We moved into the house 20months ago and nothing has been done in the master bedroom...Well, besides sleep and making a big mess of boxes of books, cds and dvds....I know, why are these things in the master bedroom??...Well simply because the book shelf they once lived on is currently occupied with childrens books, puzzles, games, lego, and other 3yr old appropriate stuff.

So last weekend I finally hung an empty frame and the candle sconces on the wall over the bed...

yay @ progress

We have had the same headboard for over a decade and to be honest I am a little more than over it...I am thinking of making it look like an upholstered headboard using the toile print that is currently hanging there while I "ponder" this idea....

I would love to add some yellow plaid in here too...why?...umm cause I like yellow plaid and think it would make a great contrast to the yellow/burgundy toile...The room is also void of curtains, with just cheap $5 blinds from Walmart and a blue airline courtesy blanket (thank you USAir) hanging on just one of them because I took down the other one to use at a window in another room...Yup I have classy window coverings for sure lol..

If you took the time to click and enlarge you would notice our uper cute sheets...My MIL gave them to us because she said they gave her nightmares with the bold print...They have grown on me and I have come to really love them....The current comforter is the "back-up" while our other one is waiting to go to the cleaners....

I will probably make a cover for it one day...we have had it for 12yrs and it is starting to show the wear, but each time I buy a new one we hate it and miss the old ones comfortable familiarity.

What needs to be done to make over this room??

Find a better place for the books, CDs and DVDs than stacked in various corners of the room.
Decide on fabrics and their uses. (curtains, bed cover etc)
Teach hubby to put his clothes into the dresser and not pile them on the floor in front of the dresser. (this is going to be a hard one because he does not like me to put his clothes away *shrugs*)
Work on getting toddler sleeping in her room so we can remove the toddler bed from our room...(we are still working on some bad habits from prior to her surgery, but are getting closer each day)
Sort out closet so it is more efficient to put the clothing away.
Win the lottery :)

Blessings Kelsie

Rocky and the goats.

2012-01-28T08:17:00.002-05:00

A little Rocky update for you...

For those who missed the earlier posts about Rocky.

He is a 2ish yr old Blue Heeler...(Australian Cattle Dog)...His mom and dad got divorced and he is(was) looking for a new family/home...

So far he has proved good with the chickens and allows them to eat his food, share his water and even wander in and out of his kennel.

Nardia hates him...Every time he sniffs at her or comes near her, she yelps and falls to the ground kicking her legs...Rather odd behavior I must say since usually she loves the opportunity to play with another dog...She is not speaking to any of us adult humans either and has taken to sleeping in the teenagers room lol...I guess at 13yrs old she is allowed to behave strangely and jealous.

Boots was uninterested in Rocky, like always he just wanted to know where the food was.

So the big test was how he is with the goats...Though he was raised with goats, he has not been around any for 6 to 8 months, plus these are not the same goats he was bonded to as a puppy...He was not bad with ours and I am sure it was his herding instinct making him want to nip at their ankles...When there is a fence between them he will take his ball to the fence trying to get them to come out and play...but truly showed no aggression towards them.

Deenie was not happy with the intruder and actually worked very hard to keep him away from Boots as much as possible...She is going to be a good mummy one day.

But I would still not feel comfortable just yet leaving him alone with the goats, and really would prefer there is 2 of us in the pen when he is in there with them...He is young and new to us (and again not worked with goats for a good while), so will need a little work to get him where we need him and to respond immediately to our voice commands...

We are going to build a secondary pen next to the goat yard for him, and then we can rotate him and the goats so they can graze both pens...Right now we are forced to keep him on a runner which is not ideal, but better than where he was before...It also means more work for me since I have to take him and let him run in the goat yard each morning before I let the goats out of their smaller pen. Walk him on a lead because we do not have boundary fences up yet and he loses his head when he sees a cat...Another example of the work we need to do with him to turn him into a good working dog as he grows up...but all in all he is a good dog so far.

Blessings Kelsie

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Washing an apron the easy way..

2012-01-27T09:26:00.000-05:00

It is so frustrating when you wash your apron and all the ties get wrapped around the rest of the laundry creating one big giant wad of tangled clothing...

Pop your apron into a "Lingerie Bag" before putting it into the washing machine.

Blessings Kelsie

Taco Salad with Homemade Tortilla Bowl

2012-01-25T13:30:00.001-05:00

I have shared this recipe before but it was part of a rather long post last year, so I thought I would share it again just as a stand alone recipe.

TACO SALAD BOWL

Ingredients:

Extra Large Flour Tortillas

Pam none stick spray (I use canola)
1 pk Yellow Rice (I use Dixie Land because it has only 40mg Sodium content and I omit the additional salt the instructions tell you to add to boiling water)

1 pk Low Sodium Taco Mix (water and oil as per directions on pk)

1lb of ground beef (or you can sub ground turkey or even shredded chicken)

1/2 head of Diced Lettuce (I used romaine for the one pictured because it is my fave)

1 or 2 fresh diced tomatoes

1/4 cup fresh cut green onion

shredded cheese (we like sharp cheddar)

Sour cream

Salsa of your choice

Pre-heat oven to 400F ... Invert small cereal bowls onto a cookie sheet (however many you want Tortilla bowls) Spray Tortillas with "Pam" front and back, drape one Tortilla per bowl...Place in oven and allow to cook for 15 minutes, or until golden around the edges...should give a nice hollow sound when tapped on.

Cook Yellow Rice as per packaging (again, I omit adding the salt)

Make the taco meat with the ground beef (or sub meat) according to packaging.

Assemble in this order:

Bowl, Rice, Lettuce, Meat, Cheese, Tomato and/or Salsa, Sour Cream, Green Onions.

You can add re-fried beans before the rice.... Avocado slices between the cheese and tomato or on the side.

Blessings Kelsie

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Chickens without boundaries....

2012-01-23T21:05:00.001-05:00

For those that missed this mornings post...

http://kelsie74.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-is-rocky.html

Can anyone tell me the problem here??

A little closer look...In the middle of all those chickens is Rocky's food dish...

Then moments later one of those naughty hens decided to investigate Rocky's kennel too...

Think it is safe to say, Rocky has passed the chicken test...

Blessings Kelsie

Taking him for a test drive....

2012-01-23T10:24:00.003-05:00

This is Rocky...He is a 2ish yr old Blue Heeler...(Australian Cattle Dog)...His mom and dad got divorced and he is looking for a new family...

If he is a good boy and gets alone with the rest of the animals then he very well may become our new Goat Guardian Dog.

Rocky was raises with goats, chickens and children (and other dogs)...So we hope he will be a good fit

Here he is bonding with Farmer Brown this morning.

He really...I mean REALLY likes Lil Sara's Disney Princess ball.

Blessings Kelsie

Afternoon sun spot...

2012-01-22T23:35:00.001-05:00

Seems our old boy Cosmo found a new afternoon napping place...

Such a sweet big boy to those that love him...

Even at 10yrs old, he is still spry enough to bring home a squirrel or rabbit for dinner now and again..

Blessings Kelsie

Random Goat Cuteness

2012-01-21T12:41:00.000-05:00

Blessings Kelsie

Home Land Security....

2012-01-20T08:03:00.000-05:00

It was all hands on deck yesterday as we rallied together as a family to defend what is ours...

Or at least what is left....Do you see those 12 lovely green, romaine lettuce plants??

No, me either...What I do see is scratch holes where they used to be and my compost and mulch flung around the garden.

Desperate times call for desparate measures...

Even the youngest dug in and helped...

Then supervised some more....

Our front line of de-Fence started to take shape by early afternoon....

Do not worry my lovelies...We will protect you from those ravenous meandering chickens.

Obviously we still needed to attach the chicken wire at this point...but how cute and rustic is it looking??

And finally a use for all cherry Laurel TREES we have all over the property.

We ran out of time, wire (15 ft short, wouldn't you know it) and light yesterday, but hope to finish up today...

Blessings Kelsie

Farm Girl Friday @
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Nature Coast State Trail...

2012-01-17T19:37:00.001-05:00

After spending the weekend house bound because lil Sara was sick with a yucky coughing bug...And the latest cold snap lasting almost 5 day (OMGosh!!!..I know 5 whole days of cold weather in Florida feels like a life time)...We were delighted on Monday to be back in the 70s and the wee one feeling well enough for us to escape our 4 walls.

So what to do??

Well she asked if she could take her bike out on the "road"...As we have no paved driveway or outside area, she has always just ridden her trike inside the house...But yesterday, I loaded it, her and a helmet into my car and took them to the Nature Coast State Trail...Well the Fort Fanning portion of it anyway...

The beauty of this part of the Trail is that it does not intersect with any roads for about 6 to 8 miles, so it is the perfect place for her to learn how to ride "on the road" without actually being on the road...She worked very very hard on her listening skills too.

She was exhausted after pedaling her wittle wegs off for a mile or so hehe.

Afterwards we headed over to the playground to make sure every last drop of her energy was spent...got home just before sunset to feed the animals.

I am going to try and get hubby to come with us later this week and head to the Old Town Trail Head which is supposed to be about a mile from the parking lot to the old train trestle bridge over the Suwannee River...Will take the camera for sure.

A little bit about the Trail:

In the early 1900’s the railroad was replacing the steamship as the freight and passenger carrier of the Nature Coast. Trains hauled crops and timber throughout the Suwannee Valley, making passenger stops in small towns such as Chiefland, Cross City and Trenton. Today you can travel in the shadow of these early trains by retracing their historic route in the Nature Coast State Trail. The 31.7 miles of the Nature Coast Trail connects three counties and five communities.

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/state/nat/default.htm

Blessings Kelsie

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Outdoor Wednesday @

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Blessings Book - Page 5...Eph 4:29

2012-01-16T12:26:00.000-05:00

I am seeing real improvement in my art skills doing these pages, as well getting much quicker.

Blessings Kelsie

My Book of Blessings

2012-01-14T22:39:00.001-05:00

I started a new project this week...It is a journal...BUT only for Happy Thoughts and bible verses...a place to count the days blessings no matter how small...

IT IS

Cover

I am not a writter...actually anyone that has followed my blog for any length of time will notice I tend to share more images than words...and this will be the case for this journal too I am sure.

Page 1

The first page of course is about My FAMILY...and though many times they are driving me insane, they are also a joyful blessing and bring me many opportunities for growth.

I just have to take the time to remember it.

The lyrics playing the moment our baby girl was brought into the world by emergency C-Section, 7 weeks preemie...3 little birds told us "Every little thing is going to be alright".

Start of Page 2

.Most of the time prayer will help me thru the bad spots, but sometimes I find it hard to know how to pray or where to start reading in my bible when I am really low....My hope is that having this book will help me focus...

Blessings Kelsie

Revisiting an old love...

2012-01-13T09:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I got a few quiet moments just for me, so I snatched up the kiddies crayola water color set and headed out to sit in the sun on the front porch.

A little disclaimer, back in my pre-marriage days I was an oil painter, water-colors are something quite different...I am also year out of practice with a brush, but boy did it feel good to have one in my hand again.

Painting a moving chicken was a challenge since the girls were in full "find the bug mode" all over the front yard...Maybe I should try working from my chicken photographs to begin with.

My Jar lid might be a little lope sided but I was happy with how the glass jar turned out...

I think next time I have some quiet moments for myself, I will dust of my old text books and do some of the basic exercises in the Elements of Design....after all 12yrs is a very long time when you are not using a skill set.

Blessings Kelsie

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Random Chicken Post

2012-01-12T09:41:00.001-05:00

I love taking photos of the chickens...Don't ask me why, I just do.

We walked around the side of the house the other day and was spotted by the chickens, one second they where at the goat pen, the next second making a bee-line (or should I say a chicken-line) for us.

They love Lil Sara, she usually brings them food...Sometimes they will even eat directly from her hand.

I really do love seeing such happy chickens, making happy chicken noises around my house.

Providers of hours of endless entertainment and yummy eggs.

And oh so pretty

Blessings Kelsie

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Lavender for Goat Lice?

2012-01-09T19:21:00.001-05:00

As tends to happen when you have indoor/outdoor animals, we got invaded by fleas...They were pretty persistent on the dog, and it took a double dose of Advantage (2 weeks apart) and then finally the flea pill from the vet...

But in the meantime, the couch being the only soft furnishing in the living room, got infected (what does this have to do with the goat lice?...I am getting to that)...Well since we have a 3 yr old, I did not want to use harsh chemicals on the piece of furniture she loves to sleep on, so I started researching how to use Lavender on household furnishings to get rid of fleas...Well in my search I also discovered a method used to remove them from your dog...

Simply mix a few drops of lavender oil in a bottle or bowl of water...dip or spray the brush and deep groom you pet...It also mentioned it gets rid of ticks and lice...*light bulb moment*

Due to the winter break from Headstart, I was not able to use the store brought chemicals on the goats because I had a constant companion of our 3yr old, and hubby kept "forgetting" (don't even get me started)

So today I brushed the goats with a brush wet down with Lavender Oil and water....Boots tolerated the brushing and his coat looks gorgeous this afternoon, Deenie was not quiet as co-operative, but I think I managed to brush most of her....I will brush them again tomorrow...and see how the lice look over the next few days...I really hope this is successful and I can take the nasty chemical treatment back to the store for a refund since it is still unopened.

Blessings Kelsie