Another Monday Morning

I got up a bit earlier than usual today. My plan was to go to the gym and take a spinning class. Never made it. My one large cup of coffee finished I headed to the barn. What greeted me bordered on chaos. The livestock guardian pup, now about 7 months old, was loose. He had scattered bags and trash throughout the back yard. When I opened the gate to the milking parlor, he made a mad dash in and started giving merry chase to every barn cat he could find. Buckets went sailing and hay was scattered. Obviously at that age they are deaf because he never heard me yelling to stop. Finally he was back in his appointed pasture and I was able to start milking. The naughty Nigerian dwarf kids that somehow skinny under the gate every morning appeared. They drive the milk does crazy causing grunts and growls and feet stomping if they near the stand. Today the entertained themselves on the already destroyed hay bales and the feed barrels. Jumping from one to the next, over and over again. Suddenly, I heard frantic screams and jumped up to see the problem. Little goat had flipped itself IN the feed barrel and was stuck. Kid rescued, back to milking. Foot in bucket. Back to house to get clean and sterilized pails. Next goat up was one of my heaviest producers. Her production had skyrocketed the last day or so and as I was stripping her out, pink milk. UGH. Sometimes when production increases so much capillaries break and cause blood in the milk. Chicken food. Finally all the milking was finished and I headed to the house only to be greeted by piles of dirty milking pails, buckets and such. I loaded the dishwasher with the first of three loads to be washed and sterilized. It was 9:30. Class missed. The phone rang. It was my mom. Did I want her to bring the 50 meat chicks home from the feed store. That would be peachy had the second brooder been set up and it was not. Back at the barn I finished filling water buckets and feeding hay. Mom arrived with chicks and I shoved them in with the turkeys until I get the other brooder together. THEN I went for a run!