A Goat Herder?

When things settled with Mummy and Baby (the names had stuck by then!!) I decided maybe it was time to get a billy.A friend said he had one that was surplus to requirements.
So Big Bill came to live with us...

And he was BIG!! He was friendly and we hit it off straight away.
I loved it because he loved fussing and scratches.
He would lean on me and rest his head on me,he was a character !!
He was in with Mummy and Baby and I let nature take its course.

About 5 months later Mummy gave birth to Sherbert  (Sherbert because she was sweet with a little kick to her)
It was amazing.I watched this awesome little scrap of life come into the world.
I watched Mummy clean her up and a little fluffy doe emerged.
So cute and tiny and she instinctively started nursing.

Within a couple of days she was skipping and jumping all over me!! So friendly and sweet.
Up till this point they had been in the pens all the time as I was terrified they would run away.
I was unhappy about it so I thought Id just let the 4 of them out.It was so calm and satisfying watching the older ones graze and Sherbert skipped about and played so happily.Luckily they were as unsure as I was and just stayed around the pen.
Over the next few days we all got a bit braver and moved further from the pen,because Mummy was unsure of me it was easy to steer her back in and the others just followed!

As we have 7 hectares of land it seemed a good idea to start grazing them everyday.
And so slowly but surely a Goat Herder was born!!!

A Goat Life.

So how did the whole farming thing come about?
We have a local shepherd graze his herd on our land and the payment for this is a goat or a sheep once a year.
I had visions of him rocking up with a whole  dead  animal.Which really held no appeal.
So i panicked and said "A live one,definitely a live one"

He turned up with Mummy hog tied in the footwell of his moped and just flipped her off...

And her daughter swinging from the handlebars in a sack...
I said thank you politely and watched him drive away.I needed to check them I was so curious I'd never dealt with a goat before apart from petting zoos.
On the mummys back was an open wound bigger than the palm of my hand.It wasnt pretty and was weeping badly.She was terrified.It was heartbreaking.We managed to get her in the pen but she was freaking out.The baby was so scared too.theyd obviously never been handled,just part of a big herd.
They were both pretty scrawny too.

We managed to sort antibiotics for Mummy.We wormed them both.

I would sit in the pen for hours fascinated and letting these beautiful creatures creep into my heart.

They loved the bedding.They loved the food.They started to relax and started to put on weight.
Mummys back healed up.They still didnt trust me but that was fine Id already fallen hook, line and sinker.
I didnt have a plan at this point.Just couldnt believe I had goats!!
 So thats how it all began.At this point in time i have 20,but there have been about 40 pass through here.They've become a passion (or obsession) and I love everyone.
I havent forgotten any of them..
I dream of having a rescue for goats one day.For unwanted and special need goats.
In a way they saved me,so I owe them :)

Citrus Marmalade "Sunshine in a jar"

Ingredients :

• Citrus fruit
• Sugar
• Water

Lemon Marmalade

Preparation:

1. Weigh out equal parts citrus fruit and sugar
2. Grate citrus fruit and remove pips
3. Place sugar and fruit in a saucepan with enough water to cover it by 2 inches
4. Stir continuously and bring to the boil until it becomes like jelly
5. Put a plate in the freezer,when you think the marmalade has set test it by putting a few spoonfuls on the cold plate.Tip it to see if it runs.If it holds its done
6. You can then can it in a water bath for 30 minutes.
7. Enjoy :)

Its only temporary...

It was always Ians plan to move abroad to sunnier climes.and no way was he leaving me behind!!

We bought 2 caravans to live in while the house was rebuilt and renovated.

It would only be 3/6 months and we'd be in.....

Our 2 teenage sons lived in the 2 bedroom one on the left.
My husband,me and our 11 year old daughter lived in the 3 bedroom caravan on the right.With the dogs.
We had plenty of  room and we made them homely.It was only temporary...
In the beginning we made a lot of expensive mistakes like buying 500 euro mobile air con units when a 20 euro fan worked far better!
Work on the house was well underway.
Friends visited and we got to know the area and our neighbours were really friendly and helpful.
Our daughter was  enrollled in the local school.
Ian made a temporary (!) scaffold tower with a water tank on top and our water was gravity/pump fed.

We ran a generator for 5/6 hours a night for lights, music,showers and eventually tv as there was a lot of sport being missed!!

Just over 2 months into the build we had an official visit..2 police cars arrived and social services.
Armed police!! Yes we panicked a bit !!
We were told in no uncertain terms to stop all building works.We needed permissions for everything.
We had been very naive and trusted our estate agent and the local architects.They had told us as long as we stayed within the footprint of the house we could rebuild and renovate what we liked.Apparently this wasnt true.They took photos and measurements of all the work we had done.It was very intimidating having about 6 armed police making their presence felt.
The social services wanted to know about our 2 sons and our daughter.We had to prove the boys were 16 and had left school.We had to prove our daughter was enrolled in school.
So the paperwork trail began...
What with one thing and another mainly bureaucracy (which is the same in any country.But made harder here because our daughter wasnt learning the language fast enough..just kidding!!) work on the house ground to a halt.Things were obviously becoming not so temporary any more..

Henry

Id like to introduce you to Henry.
He is our 9 year old Rottweiller.
He weighs in at 50 kilos.Hes a big lad!!

Here he is pictured with my husband Ian.
Whenever we go into town for the vet he has to wear a muzzle and be kept on a lead.
He is classed as a dangerous breed.
Henry not my my husband.....

Recently Henry had an altercation with a lizard.Lizards are very common here in Spain but I have never seen these ones on our land before.

The lizard didnt fare to well but before he departed he bit Henrys ear.Although the lizard was non venomous it had enough bacteria in its mouth to cause an infection to set in within a few days.I treated it with thyme and betadine but he kept scratching it causing the infection to spread and go deeper.

After two weeks of antibiotics it was no better and smelt chuffin awful!!
So after a talk with our wonderful vet it was decided that the infected part  needed to be removed.

Yesterday he underwent surgery and had it all cut out.He smells better already!!
Hes not very happy wearing a bucket on his head !! Ive told him the other dogs are jealous :)
 But he has to wear it for a week so he doesnt pull his stitches out.
Hes also going to be staying on super strength antibiotics for a couple of weeks.
Everyone says "Well hes learnt his lesson and wont mess with a lizard again".
Im not so sure haha.I think he now has revenge on his mind!!!

is this really me?

You never know what the future has in store for you.
9 years ago. I was a housewife living in a semi-detached house.
I was a mum bringing up 4 kids with a hard working husband.
Endless part-time jobs and lots of great friends.
It was a good life..no it was a really great life.
Then we decided to move.....

We chose Spain as our destination.
Sold the house packed all our worldly goods into a lorry and so our adventure began.
This is going to be a blog about our lives.
From renovating a derelict house, living off grid, growing our own food, learning to cook, creating a small farm and becoming a goat herder.
Yes i said goat herder!!

We are on a pretty amazing journey.
We have made many mistakes but we have also learnt a lot.
Its also been really hard but we have laughed so much too...
You will get to know all the animals and how we spend our days.
The good times and the bad times and some stuff in between.
well here we go......

Lottie & Pumba

Lottie and Pumba