Monday Motivation

Happy MONDAY!! Who needs some motivation to make it through Monday?

I know I do. Every Monday morning. Therefore, I'm making this the first official Monday Motivation, which will be happening weekly. That should give us all something to look forward to!

So, let's get to it. I was reading my latest issue of Runner's World magazine while eating a hearty breakfast one morning and as I turned the page, this picture stole my attention my attention:

This is Fauja Singh - He turned 100 years old last year before finishing his 8th marathon in October! As he crossed the finish line, he became the oldest man to ever finish a 26.2 mile marathon run, which also secured his spot in the Guinness Book of World Records!

Fauja wasn't always a runner. I guess you could say he was more of a jogger. He actually didn't start running long distances competitively until he turned 89 years old! Before he was a runner he was a farmer. While I couldn't find much information about his "farm in peasant country of India", he left that life 11 years ago after the death of his beloved wife. He needed something to do to keep living on and he chose to be active.

Due to his aged teeth becoming softer and his elderly age, he has became a vegetarian, but he actually consumes mostly tea with ginger, yoghurt, and water. He only speaks in his native language and can not read nor write.

I challenge you all to try something that will challenge you, whether it be body or mind. General George Patton once said: "If you are going to win any battle, you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do... the body is never tired if the mind is not tired."

Have a happy Monday!

The Calm Between Storms

My day started this morning to the sound of thunder & rain against the windows. It was 4:30 a.m. Time to get up. The husband and pets snored on.

Sage the Sleepy Beagle

I could not wait to get outside and feel the rain on my face! The moisture was very much needed. I put layers of coveralls and hoodies over my pajamas and headed out the door with my flashlight. Before I headed out the door, my stats from the previous three of four days showed: Seven mamas & 12 kids. Nine more does to kid.

Excited for 4:30 a.m. Kid Check!

 As I walked outside and turned to my right towards the goat pen, the brightness of my flashlight shown on one white dot out in the middle of our 2 acre pen. I had left a new family of twins + mom out in that same area during night check and figured that was them. Since it was raining pretty hard, though, I decided to go check the other babies to make sure they were warm and dry. What I found when I got to the shed was utter chaos.

This is utter chaos.

 Babies everywhere, but not one mom knew where her babies were located. There was one twin from a family having a sleepover with the twins next door. The other twin was on the other side of the shed. There was even a baby stuck in a hollow stump right outside the shed! I will have to reenact the stump moment since it is too dark for picture taking at 4:30 a.m., but I was laughing pretty hard as I picked it up out of the stump and returned it to it's mama. Once I figured out who went with who and where that baby went, I started out to the white dot in the middle of the pen.

Originally, I'd thought the dot to be a doe that had kidded twins a couple of days before. As I journeyed out through the rain, I saw the doe (#24) with two babies. But they weren't her's. She, like me earlier, was confused. The babies belonged to another doe (#11) who was claiming them, but #24 was up for a fight. She thought they were her babies and was trying to take them back. The twins belonging to #24 were actually safe and sound in the corner of the shed. These babies in the middle of the pen were brand new.

#24's kids warm and dry in the shed.

 There were two other does missing so I ventured out into the connecting 2 acre pen. What I've found out about does is that they are like cows and like to get as far away from the group as possible when they are having their babies. The will stay away for a couple of days and not leave their young. But, as hard as it was raining, these babies should be inside and the uphill shed was running out of room. Especially, since another doe (Twister) was kidding twins this morning, too - in the shed!

Jackie preferred to kid far away from other does.

While Twister decided to stay put in the shed.

 The shed was getting full and we didn't want any babies to get stepped on, so the hubby helped me move all the does that kidded yesterday and last night down the hill with their babies to our kidding pens. We have 11 pens set up so we are prepared for bad weather and one family in each pen. Our pens are 8 ft long and about 5 feet wide so the does and their babies have plenty of room. They are furnished with straw and all the hay they want. We have to bucket them water and we have little individual pans to feed them grain at night. It's a pretty nice set up and they were all content in no time.

Three families with new babies in our kidding pens. See the triplets?

 The last doe to kid this morning was Jackie. Usually, Jackie gives birth to twins and they are always doelings (female goats less than 1 year of age). This morning, the rain stopped for a little bit and she headed out to the connecting pen to have her single doeling. Sage the Beagle came along with me to find her. Most mama does are very protective of their new ones and even get nervous around the farm dog. Jackie was not going to let Sage anywhere near her little girl, but she approved me to help welcome it into the world.

Jackie is cleaning off her baby. Her tongue is like a towel and baby will be dry in no time.

Jackie is protecting her new baby from Sage the Ferocious Beagle!

 After a lovely morning of running around the goat pens in the rain, I was soaked to the bone but very thankful. I recorded my stats as of 9:20 a.m. - 10 does kidded - 17 kids total! Hope everyone else has a wonderful Friday!

Until Next time,

Mindy

New Beginnings

 It's the beginning of a new day! A beautiful February on the farm. What will I see when I go check for babies?

These are the thoughts that go through my head each morning when i wake up. I'm a morning person. My husband is NOT. It's a good compliment though. He doesn't get mad if I choose to go to the gym in the mornings. But this morning will be different. Look what I found in the goat shed:

Miss Way and her first kid!

We have 17 veteran does and one first timer ready to kid. Guess which doe decided to kid first. But she is doing an outstanding job. "Miss Way", the new mama, gave birth to one healthy paint doe kid that is full of life. This is my natural high! This is what fuels me!

Miss Way's Baby Paint

Agriculture fuels me everyday - It is my passion and it provides me with nourishment to help me get through my active day. I love being able to walk outside to check my animals or head to the fields to help plant soybeans. In order to live life to the fullest, we NEED Agriculture!

Checking for the bean seed after the first run through.

My other passion is Fitness. I love to work out, which may include carrying buckets of water during winter (Not this winter!) to save our hoses or helping the husband build fence. I love to run and I love my group fitness classes at the local gym. I love to give others encouragement and help them feel like they have achieved their goals. I feel that more than ever, my fitness friends are getting the wrong impression about what is healthy and not healthy (ahem - beef and pork and cheese - ahem) and also where it comes from. It is always my pleasure to let them know otherwise.

Finishing the OKC Memorial Half Marathon!

This is why I've chosen to start blogging. I feel since I live everyday in agriculture that I should help tell agriculture's story. And if you are reading this and agree, then you should do it, too! Gotta love new beginnings!

My Professional Mugshot

Thanks for Reading,

Mindy