dreaming

February is always the month where I want more animals.  This year it's goats.  We've had goats before, but they were older and the one we bred to milk had this terribly hard udder after kidding.  The vet said it was a caprine arthritis and incurable.  On Valentine's Day when I bought that goat book I found the exact kind of arthritis and turns out he was right.  Although he said it may have something to do with our soil and this book said it was genetic and so any offspring would likely also get it.  So we gave up on goats as we couldn't very well change our soil but now I'm thinking if we get young new stock from a breeder who can be trusted we will likely be okay. Anyway, I think that goats would be great on our land which is 70% bush and scrubby bush at that now that it's been burnt and flooded and tornadoed (those are other stories).  Of course, like any idea I have this one would just spiral out of control.  To take advantage of our land we need to fence it and of course fencing goats in is a pretty serious undertaking.  And it's not like I have any illusions about making money on anything like that anymore.  It would just be a great source of meat and milk and entertainment.  A few chickens which will happen this spring and we will have a lot less to spend at Superstore, which I detest.

I'm also eagerly awaiting spring and riding season this year.  Last year I did the bare minimum of riding as moving ended up being so all-consuming.  This year I can't wait to take Jetta out.  She's turning 4 and is a Thoroughbred/Percheron and now I believe some Morgan.  Very social and feisty but visibly growing up.  I think that she will be okay on the trails if Dan goes along with good old Chess who I believe will be turning 20 or 21.  I can never exactly remember her age and always have to work it out by when I graduated from high school and where I was when she was given to me.  Also another story.  However she's a great horse that has done a bit of everything and is starting to get stiff but still loves a good trail ride.  I am really hoping not to be so busy with whatever combination of work I am doing by spring that I can't enjoy the Attic because the last 11 years have been very consumed with all-out parenting.  Now that our kids have entered that glorious mid-childhood phase I want to enjoy all the stuff I have been putting off for so long, as well as doing things with them too of course.  So I'm going to garden, write, design a website, continue to develop Attic Therapy in new and interesting directions, ride horses, train horses, and also be the perfect attentive mom and home maker.  Ha ha.