Where I've been doing
I'm pretty much behind on most everything here, but most especially posts. Since I'm snowed in and the car is parked not here because still no plow guy, now seems like a good time to catch up. In my own defense, I haven't posted in the last 8 days because I was at grinning_fox 's house for 5 of them, then working my ass off the other 3,
Drove out to the Kat house Thursday night. This is where we realized that if there isn't enough road traction, Vincent isn't going to make it. I got a bit stuck, got out, parked in the neighbors and pretty much hiked in and out for the rest of the weekend. I did get a ride to the house the night I arrived and a ride out as I was leaving. I'm not complaining though, the exercise was nice and the company great. Seems fallenlibrarian and I scheduled our visits for the same days. Squee!
We spent most of the long weekend hanging out, playing with suede, planning shows, etc. Most of the excitement came from FL's first experiences with farm animals. It's like they know when it's your first time. First day we gave her the easy job of feeding the alpacas. On scoop feed into each feed bin. Sure enough, they had her stuffed into a corner of the barn by the time she finished dolling out feed. They did the exact same thing to me the first time I was there and helping. Kat and I tried not to point and laugh. I think we fared pretty well by keeping it down to gesturing and giggling.
Day 2, FL gets to feed the alpacas again, help round up goats and one by one, untangle them and hand them out for milking. Now, the goats always macramé their leads, but this is the first time I've ever seen them incorporate a human into the design. "wait. Wait. WAIT. OH MY GOD JUST STOP!! Do not goat-rope me!" And slam!! They throw her against the chicken coop and tie her to it. There was no stopping the pointing and laughing that time. Kat had to pause the milking.
Day 3, the alpacas are letting FL move freely about the barn. The goats are still trying to include her in the macramé but she's getting better at dodging. Lacey consents to taking a biscuit from her so long as she doesn't try anything fishy, like petting. I, on the other hand, am out in the boys pen helping to feed them. Max wants to alternately get petted, jump in the hay box, and try to eat my coat. There was a lot of "Don't eat my coat" getting repeated.
Day 4, goats are still trying to tie up FL, but the effort is not as organized. Instead, Imp and Peggy decide to try out escape plans. The succeed in getting from the barn to Nikkon's pen where the milking pen is, but they were recaptured shortly thereafter. I was back in the boys pen again with the feeding when Max decided he was impatient. Not only did he try eating my coat, but when that didn't work "Stop it. Stop it. Stop it! Stop it, do not eat my coat!!" he decided to eat my shoes. Not the laces on the shoes, no, he tried to take a whole honkin' mouthful from the side of my shoe! Again, Kat had to pause the milking to laugh.
Sadly, day4 was also go home day. I took FL to the train station in Brattleboro where we found out how ironic it is that Amtrak's train called The Vermonter, is not equipped to handle snow and that Amtrak has no contingency plan in place. Dumb transportation company is dumb. They said there would be buses to pick up the passengers and take them to Springfield MA where the train would take them to Penn station. I can make Springfield on the way home, so we asked. Can we just drive to Springfield to get the train or does she have to wait for the bus? The answer was astounding - there's only one train. so if she goes to Springfield to wait, she's just trading waiting places because the train will not leave until the buses arrive. Since we were already running over an hour late, we decided to go for Springfield anyway. A quick call had her a ride from Springfield to home, actually getting back far earlier than even the non-delayed train would have.
The rest of this week has been a challenge. I decided the best way for new girl to learn the ropes was to throw her in (with a life vest) and let her figure it out. Frustrating, but she's getting there. I'm still waiting for the plow guy, who I hear should be here about 9pm. Should make for some fun plowing as I think trying to get at 2 feet of snow in a big driveway is a bit of a challenge.
Drove out to the Kat house Thursday night. This is where we realized that if there isn't enough road traction, Vincent isn't going to make it. I got a bit stuck, got out, parked in the neighbors and pretty much hiked in and out for the rest of the weekend. I did get a ride to the house the night I arrived and a ride out as I was leaving. I'm not complaining though, the exercise was nice and the company great. Seems fallenlibrarian and I scheduled our visits for the same days. Squee!
We spent most of the long weekend hanging out, playing with suede, planning shows, etc. Most of the excitement came from FL's first experiences with farm animals. It's like they know when it's your first time. First day we gave her the easy job of feeding the alpacas. On scoop feed into each feed bin. Sure enough, they had her stuffed into a corner of the barn by the time she finished dolling out feed. They did the exact same thing to me the first time I was there and helping. Kat and I tried not to point and laugh. I think we fared pretty well by keeping it down to gesturing and giggling.
Day 2, FL gets to feed the alpacas again, help round up goats and one by one, untangle them and hand them out for milking. Now, the goats always macramé their leads, but this is the first time I've ever seen them incorporate a human into the design. "wait. Wait. WAIT. OH MY GOD JUST STOP!! Do not goat-rope me!" And slam!! They throw her against the chicken coop and tie her to it. There was no stopping the pointing and laughing that time. Kat had to pause the milking.
Day 3, the alpacas are letting FL move freely about the barn. The goats are still trying to include her in the macramé but she's getting better at dodging. Lacey consents to taking a biscuit from her so long as she doesn't try anything fishy, like petting. I, on the other hand, am out in the boys pen helping to feed them. Max wants to alternately get petted, jump in the hay box, and try to eat my coat. There was a lot of "Don't eat my coat" getting repeated.
Day 4, goats are still trying to tie up FL, but the effort is not as organized. Instead, Imp and Peggy decide to try out escape plans. The succeed in getting from the barn to Nikkon's pen where the milking pen is, but they were recaptured shortly thereafter. I was back in the boys pen again with the feeding when Max decided he was impatient. Not only did he try eating my coat, but when that didn't work "Stop it. Stop it. Stop it! Stop it, do not eat my coat!!" he decided to eat my shoes. Not the laces on the shoes, no, he tried to take a whole honkin' mouthful from the side of my shoe! Again, Kat had to pause the milking to laugh.
Sadly, day4 was also go home day. I took FL to the train station in Brattleboro where we found out how ironic it is that Amtrak's train called The Vermonter, is not equipped to handle snow and that Amtrak has no contingency plan in place. Dumb transportation company is dumb. They said there would be buses to pick up the passengers and take them to Springfield MA where the train would take them to Penn station. I can make Springfield on the way home, so we asked. Can we just drive to Springfield to get the train or does she have to wait for the bus? The answer was astounding - there's only one train. so if she goes to Springfield to wait, she's just trading waiting places because the train will not leave until the buses arrive. Since we were already running over an hour late, we decided to go for Springfield anyway. A quick call had her a ride from Springfield to home, actually getting back far earlier than even the non-delayed train would have.
The rest of this week has been a challenge. I decided the best way for new girl to learn the ropes was to throw her in (with a life vest) and let her figure it out. Frustrating, but she's getting there. I'm still waiting for the plow guy, who I hear should be here about 9pm. Should make for some fun plowing as I think trying to get at 2 feet of snow in a big driveway is a bit of a challenge.