Thermals and sunshine

Well I have to say that's it's been a bit of a funny week .. Seem to have been very busy but don't seem to have much to show for it!  Sound familiar???!!

Most of my 'spare' time has been tied up with trying to get the VAT return done ... worth the time spent though as it looks like the Revenue owe us a bit again this time.  Always nice to get something back ..

The weather is still gorgeous, although the temperature has dropped considerably since last week.  It's officially autumn/winter in the goat shed now as both David and myself have donned our thermal t-shirts and hats for the early morning milking.  It's chilly getting out of bed that early in the morning ...  And dark ...

As the weather has been so nice, we have been trying to encourage the goats to go outside into the field to graze rather than stay indoors and eat our hay.  Like most other farmers in the South East, we did not have a good hay crop this year and will be struggling to make it last through to next summer.  So, before the winter sets in, we are trying to conserve as much as we can by only feeding a little hay.  It always makes me happy to see the girls outside in the field - that's how goats should be, not stuck indoors in a barn all the time.

Some of them stayed indoors and just enjoyed the warm sunshine:

Or hung about in the yard between the barn and the field - nice and sheltered, out of the wind:

However, David relented after milking this evening and decided to give them all a treat by putting one of the large round bales into their new cradle.  This was the sea of expectant little goatie faces all waiting for the tractor to finish so that the gate could be opened.

Once the gate is opened, you have to stand well out of the way to avoid getting trampled in the rush!  It sounds like thunder as they all gallop across the barn.  I expect to find a herd of very fat contented lazy goats in the morning!

No markets this weekend but I am trying to get things together ready for my first London market at Balham next Saturday.  I also have my official visit from the market organisers this coming Tuesday to see if they approve of us and what we do.  The rules for London markets are quite strict and they come to verify that you do actually produce what you say you do.  Seems fair enough to me!  So, looking forward to meeting Cheryl on Tuesday.

By the way - this blog has been live for 6 weeks now and we have had 1,244 pages viewed.  Not bad eh?!  Only 4 followers but there must be plenty of you out there dropping in just to read the latest news.  I am thrilled that we are so popular.  Hope I am managing to keep you all entertained!

Time for another cute goatie pic ..  any excuse ;-)

So, how many kids can you fit in a bucket?!  Three, it would seem ...