On the sills of the screened in porch
The weatherman said it wasn't to amount to much or stick
Thankfully all began their journeys home after Thanksgiving weekend before the snow started.
At only a few hours old Buffy came to live in the house due to being disowned by her mother and the inclimate weather of winter. She spent her first 3 months in the house, bottle fed, diapered, brushed, and pampered, constantly at my side. She wasn't the first and she won't be the last goat to have the housegoat title, but she is the most unique.
The story of the Cornucopia or horn of plenty comes from Greek mythology.
These goat figures represent a traditional gift giver of Scandinavian countries. 
His name Julbuck, literally translated means Yule Buck or Christmas Goat. Julbuck folklore can be traced back to the Viking days and the goat at the side of Thor (the ancient god of thunder).A bit of folklore about the Christmas Goat goes something like this…during the Christian Era, Julbuck was thought to appear as an evil horned animal demanding gifts at times of wild merry making. In the 18th century a rural tradition was that young men would wear sheep skin and animal horns roaming thru villages during Christmas holidays scaring children, telling rude jokes while begging for ale. (Sounds like Halloween to me). As time passed and during the 19th century Julbuck became the loving Christmas goat accompanying Jul-Tomte(Christmas Elf).
Julbuck laden with baskets full of gifts for all. 
Translation of Jul - a celebration of the harvest for the year and the end of the working year.
Translation of Bukken (shorten to buck) -goat to be slaughtered to celebrate Jul.
Looks like an inside day today. Raining and 53 degrees. Our daytime high looks to be the same as our morning low.
All but the wooly boys (the rain doesn't seem to bother the sheep) are huddled in their shelters waiting for the rain to pass. According to the forecast they will be waiting most of the day.
I dug out the recipe box and family cook book last night, started my holiday grocery list. Thought I would share a few of the recipes. 
This recipe I stumbled upon way back when I was searching for recipes using goat cheese. You can find it on the Betty Crocker site with a variety of ways to shape it. For some reason I just liked the pears best.
Cheese Balls
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 package (3 1/2 to 4 ounces) soft Chèvre (goat) cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1. Beat all ingredients in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium-low speed until smooth.
2. Shape mixture as directed in recipes below. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
Christmas Pears: Double the above recipe for 2 pears. Shape each cheese ball mixture into pear shape on waxed paper or plastic wrap. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate. Place pears in large shallow serving bowl or on platter. Spoon 1/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce over one pear; spoon 1/4 cup chutney over other pear. (If desired, process chutney in blender or food processor until smooth.) Break 1 cinnamon stick crosswise in half; insert in each pear for stem.
These are a few of the holiday side dishes the family enjoys.
Spinach Casserole
1 large carton of large curd cottage cheese
1 lb. shredded Monterey Jack
2 eggs
2 tbsp. flour
2 packages chopped frozen spinach (thawed)
Mix cottage cheese & Monterey Jack with eggs & flour.
Add well-drained spinach.
Mix all ingredients together.
Pour into greased casserole dish.
Bake 30- 45 minutes @ 350 degrees
Let stand for 5 - 10 minutes.
Spinach Casserole - Reduced Fat Version
1 large carton fat free cottage cheese
*1 lb. Reduced fat shredded Monterey Jack
Egg Substitute to equal 2 Eggs
2 tbsp. flour
2 packages chopped frozen spinach(thawed)
Mix cottage cheese & Monterey Jack with eggs & flour.
Add well-drained spinach.
Mix all ingredients together.
Pour into greased casserole dish.
Bake 30- 45 minutes @ 350 degrees
Let stand for 5 - 10 minutes.
*If you can't find Reduced Fat Shredded Monterey Jack you can buy the block and shred it yourself.
Broccoli Casserole
3 stalks celery chopped fine
1 small onion chopped fine
1 stick margarine
16 oz of frozen broccoli
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of cream of celery soup
2 cups cooked rice
*1 large jar of Cheez Whiz
In a large skillet sauté celery & onion in melted margarine.
Add frozen broccoli, soups and Cheez Whiz.
Stir well to blend & simmer on low heat until heated through.
Stir in cooked rice & pour all into 9 x 13 baking dish.
Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
* 1/2 block of Velveeta Cheese cubed can be substituted for Cheez Whiz. 
I'm not listing the green bean casserole recipe, most probably have the recipe since it's been around forever and ever. I will add I substitute french cut green beans for the regular cut.
Now I am making myself hungry...going to head to the kitchen to make a batch of Feta Spread and maybe some crackers.
Feta Spread
Mix well, serve with crackers or bread.
I was not too keen on the idea or timing, though since the better half scheduled and organized this plus will be home to handle all I gave in. We are only breeding 2 does this year and the better half felt Axle would enjoy the extra circular activity. It may prove to be quite interesting if not amusing for our family members who are city dwellers to observe.
This past week has been quite busy. During the few pleasant days of our Indian Summer I finished painting the new milk room and began preparing for winter.
The temps have dropped dramatically. The past two days have been cold and crisp, highs in the 40's. So much to do, so few warm days left. 
I was actually very happy to see the guys show up. Have been waiting for about 3 months to have a problem taken care of. We had a large branch growing on/over the power line. The branch was putting pressure on the power line and connectors at the pole to the house. There were also a few other smaller branches in Axle's pen that were pressing on the power line.
The guys used the bucket truck to reach the branches that were close to the house.
The same young man that tied off the line above, also trimmed the branches on a tree in the middle of Axle's pen. No bucket truck this time. He gafted the tree, with chain saw hanging from his waist. I was impressed, I have not seen anyone gaft a tree or pole since I worked for the cable company years ago. Can't see him very well, though if you look over the black rack on the truck (in between the two red lines) you can see him cutting a branch. They gave me permission to take photos, though asked me not to step off the front porch while they were working or I'd gotten a better shot.
Bella arriving at our farm.
She bred Bella to her best black Angora buck before bringing her to our farm. I also have 2 bucks from her stock, in hopes of carrying on her farm lines. 
Our first flock of sheep, it was small, 7 total. 6 ewes, 1 ram. The ewes were mainly Polypay, with a couple of mix breeds. I loved the look of our registered Suffolk ram Sampson, black face and legs, white fleece. Hated his personality and disposition.