Picked up 75 new chicks at Abendroth Hatchery this afternoon. Chick pick-up day always seems to be a crazy busy day ... no time for things like lunch. There's a Jimmy Johns right off the expressway in Lake Mills ... love their veggie sandwich. As I'm returning to my car, juggling my change, purse, sandwich and Diet Coke, I think it might seem somewhat ironic to someone else to be eating a veggie sandwich on my way to pick up chicks I'll raise for meat. But the way my animals are raised is very different than the meat at Jimmy Johns.

Got the chicks settled in about 5:00 pm, went out and planted 6 rows of Mizuna in the hoop house, went into the barn to find all kinds of chaos ...goats in the wrong enclosures, buck in the barn ... WHAT? 
Cam can jump the fence when he wants to ... looks like Jenna, who I was giving a year off from mothering and milking, could very well be having kids at the end of August. On to plan B.

After settling everything in the barn, came in, poured a glass of wine and took the youngest cat, Robbie Orian, to go look at the the new chicks in their box in the bathroom. Robbie just loves it when we have chickies in the house .. he asks to go see them and we watch them together. Wow, they look like they've grown since I put them in the box .. about 2 1/2 hours ago. Mesmerizing to watch .. the first few days, then happy to get them out of the house and situated in the barn. Yup, it's Spring.

Little kid boot prints frozen in the mud when I went out to close up the barn. Made me smile.
It was warm enough during the day for the ground to soften to mud.
Had visitors checking out Gizelle, the goat who hates being with goats.
Eight year old Finn walked Gizelle down, then back up the driveway on a leash ... probably didn't need the leash.
Four-year old Leaf scampered everywhere, leaving tiny footprints, which froze in time as the temps dropped.
Looks like my problem goat Gizelle will have a new home, as a brush-eating pet, hanging out with human kids rather than goats, as soon as the ground thaws enough for the family to set up fencing.

Doing things my way is usually frustrating, worrisome and painfully slow, but gratifying when it finally works out.