We had rain finally this weekend --- About .02 inches but that little bit put almost an inch in the tank. Other new developments - bought an automatic feeder for Anna. She will not go near it and certainly will not eat out of it. I forgot to mention that with the advent of the electricity and getting the Airstream back to the electricity, there is beer in the refrigerator - just in time for winter.
We spent this weekend with lots of good friends. They make our lives special.
Tom
Monday, December 11, 2006
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Boer Goats, Rain Harvesting, and Anatolians
Last February, my wife and I purchased 69.8 acres of heavily wooded land in Bastrop County, Texas. Big decision, bought it for investment but fell in love with the giant oaks, elms, and pine trees. The land sits next to a local state park on one side and state of Texas owned land on the other. So I will try to make this somewhat interesting and provide an ongoing story. It does have sex, violence, trying to live the green life.
So, we determined pretty quick we needed to get an agricultural exemption so we could lower the taxes. This takes several years in Texas, but we decided we actually might like to keep this place and give it to our kids (2 grown daughters and one grandson) someday. We did not want to cut down the trees to make pasture for hay or cows, so we decided meat goats or Boer Goats would be our livestock of choice. About the same time we decided that the place needed a name. There were cow patties around but no animal, so we thought about about Los Perdidos Toro, but instead decided on something more simple, The Other Side. After all, the property was on the other side of the highway, it is like going to a different world when you go out there, so now when my wife does not know where I am, she assumes I am on "The Other Side".
Getting Started
So somewhere in late spring, we started hemorraging - money. First there was no fence, so Luis and Grezelda offered to clear cedar and build a fence. Over the summer the thick woods became beautiful meadows with stately elms and oaks. Much of the cedar was made into fence posts, a lot was burned, and a lot was pushed into gullies for erosion control. So we fenced the front 21 or so acres - $6,000. The process of clearing and burning was fun and Luis and his crew did a great job. In late September I planted rye grass over much of the cleared land for erosion control and it looks great, but I spread it with a yard spreader. These do not really work well for several acres of seeding. Read blisters, sore shoulders, etc. The hills are covered with a lush soft grass though where there was ugly cedar choking out the elms and oaks.
Oh, I forgot about the tractor, only another $4000, but you can't have a place in the country with out a tractor with a blade ($250), shredder ($350), and a trailer ($400). The tractor is a fully restored 1952 Ford 8N. I first drove one of these on my uncles dairy farm in Durango Colorado in 1956.
The place really began to take shape over the summer. Going to The Other Side and listening to the wind in the trees, walking in the woods, it was all priceless. I truly loved what we were doing to the land and the only thing missing was a place to stay out there (not to mention electricity, water, decent driveway, etc.)
The Airsteam
Of course, my wife was able to fix that for us, she found a 1984 airstream travel trailer in great shape for us. It is really neat and I like it a lot other than my 6'4" frame does not really fit well in it. It is a shame we do not have electricity or water to hook to it. I did replace the batteries and bought a solar charger so that seems to work well and we have stayed at The Other Side in it several nights. With this part I am going to quit detailing all the money part other than to say, hemorraging is a good description. I want to encourage you to go green and move to the country, not scare you away.
The Goats
So, let me back up and tell you about the goats. About the beginning of September, the fence and gates were up, so we began looking for goats. We first found a guy that had a couple in a small area. He had an all red 100% Boer young buck and claimed he was 100%. He said for an extra few dollars he would get the papers, we paid took the buck and have yet to see the papers. That being said, the buck went to some friends house to stay with their young does for a few weeks before we brought him home and he is evidently batting 100% as all of their does are pregnant.
I was very uncomfortable with places we visited that had many goats in small confined areas. They feel like feed lots and we wanted animals that were used to roaming free. The young buck in fact had trouble keeping up with the does he was initially placed with because of the confinement he had been in. He was slow and clumsy compared to the others but quickly adjusted once he was put out on larger acreage. We finally found a wonderful operation in Wimberley (TX) where the goats were well cared for, tested, and had several acres to roam on. L&N Ranch is quality operation I highly recommend. We bought ten 6 month old does of 75% or more Boer mix. They are very pretty, nice sized, and show great qualities.
The Dog
Now, if you have goats in Texas you have to have a guard animal. We decided we wanted a dog versus any animal that would require pasture. We had little grass to support a grazing animal. So we found a lady with a six month old Anatolian puppy. The puppy was still with its parents who were living with goats, so she was never a pet and was part of a "working family". So, in our infinite wisdom, we took off with a borrowed stock trailer one Sunday afternoon about the third week of September, headed to Wimberley, bought our 10 goats, then headed down to Schulenberg and picked up our new 4 month old puppy/guard dog. Because we had done the research, we knew we could just drop them all off and they would all stay in the fences, live together in harmony, and we could be gentleman goat ranchers. Right........
We got to The Other Side, let the animals out, gave them some feed and they were excited with browse (foliage) that had not been touched in years. They went to work on that right away. Now the Anatolian shepherd, she wanted to stay right with us even though we kept telling her she was a goat dog. I decided to stay in the Airstream that night to make sure we had no problems.
All of us were welcomed on our first night together at the new site with the years biggest thunderstorm. Lightning and thunder rolled through for about 6 hours and dropped about 5.5 inches of rain that night. I felt so guilty about having them in a new place with that much excitement. At least it wasn't cold. The dog stayed under the trailer, to heck with the goats she was supposed to be guarding.
The dog would have nothing to do with the goats for the next few days, but befriended a dog down the street and they both kept getting out. Unfortunately, we think the other dog wandered a bit too far and fell victim to the highway. Anna, the Anatolian (aren't we creative), fell victim to a new electric wire across the bottom of the fence and has been great about staying in ever since. She hangs back about 30 feet from the gate when you drive in and then comes running up after you close the gate. She wants nothing to do with the wire across the bottom of the gate.
Anna still never seemed to stay with the goats and always was waiting for us at the gate when we got there. Neighbors said she never left. So worry, worry, ask advice, worry. Never solved the problem directly but we finally went and got the buck and put him with the does. Ever since then, the dog and the buck are best friends and play together. the dog guards the goats and rarely leaves them. She comes to visit us for a while but will soon return to the goats. The team is truly amazing to watch now. We put the buck in with the does about mid November and so we are expecting a lot of kids in mid April. Those 10 does about wore him out that first week or two.
Water and Electricity
The electricity came fairly easily. Years ago the property behind us had bought an easement down the east side of the land and there was an electric line running there. We trenched an underground line over to the nearest pole behind the fenced front acreage and had a meter set. So the electricity was resolved fairly inexpensively (less than $2,000).
Now the water was a different matter all together. A well would cost about $16,000 and there were no guarantees about the future. There was a water utility service to our neighbors through the same easement our neighbors were using for electricity. So, I went down to the local water company and for a mere $4,000 I could get a tap and meter onto the line. Paid the money and then they said, "Oh, you need to sign this easement." I determined that no I didn't need to give them rights to put lines anywhere on my property and cut trees on a whim, so then they wanted an exclusive easement across the front of the property. I said if you give me the meter for free, that will be OK. They said I should do it for the good of my neighbors. Bottomline, I am too stubborn and so I have my $4K back and they don't have an easement.
Did you know that you can capture rain water and use it. I put the pencil to the paper and determned if I build a 20 foot by 40 foot pole barn and captured the rain off of the roof, I didn't need any thing else. So I now have a neat pole barn, a 3000 gallon water tank, a filtration system and ultra-violet light for purity, and pump to run all of this. All we need now is rain!!! We are having one of the worst drought's in years but that is part of my plan. By building this during a drought, I should be on the rainy side of the averages for the next few years.
So now, there a couple of vendor endorsements here. One of the coolest pieces of this rain harvesting system is the capture filter. The water runs down the side of your downspout off of your gutters. It hits a stainless steel screen and the water is drawn into a sleeve that flows into the water tank. About 10% of the water along with all of the trash and large particles falls right on through the downspout. Here is the brochure . The water tank was shipped efficiently and cost effectively from Plastic Mart. Rainfilters of Texas was very helpful in helping me get all of this set up and sold me the pump, filters, UV light, etc.
More to come over the next few days.
So, we determined pretty quick we needed to get an agricultural exemption so we could lower the taxes. This takes several years in Texas, but we decided we actually might like to keep this place and give it to our kids (2 grown daughters and one grandson) someday. We did not want to cut down the trees to make pasture for hay or cows, so we decided meat goats or Boer Goats would be our livestock of choice. About the same time we decided that the place needed a name. There were cow patties around but no animal, so we thought about about Los Perdidos Toro, but instead decided on something more simple, The Other Side. After all, the property was on the other side of the highway, it is like going to a different world when you go out there, so now when my wife does not know where I am, she assumes I am on "The Other Side".
Getting Started
So somewhere in late spring, we started hemorraging - money. First there was no fence, so Luis and Grezelda offered to clear cedar and build a fence. Over the summer the thick woods became beautiful meadows with stately elms and oaks. Much of the cedar was made into fence posts, a lot was burned, and a lot was pushed into gullies for erosion control. So we fenced the front 21 or so acres - $6,000. The process of clearing and burning was fun and Luis and his crew did a great job. In late September I planted rye grass over much of the cleared land for erosion control and it looks great, but I spread it with a yard spreader. These do not really work well for several acres of seeding. Read blisters, sore shoulders, etc. The hills are covered with a lush soft grass though where there was ugly cedar choking out the elms and oaks.
Oh, I forgot about the tractor, only another $4000, but you can't have a place in the country with out a tractor with a blade ($250), shredder ($350), and a trailer ($400). The tractor is a fully restored 1952 Ford 8N. I first drove one of these on my uncles dairy farm in Durango Colorado in 1956.
The place really began to take shape over the summer. Going to The Other Side and listening to the wind in the trees, walking in the woods, it was all priceless. I truly loved what we were doing to the land and the only thing missing was a place to stay out there (not to mention electricity, water, decent driveway, etc.)
The Airsteam
Of course, my wife was able to fix that for us, she found a 1984 airstream travel trailer in great shape for us. It is really neat and I like it a lot other than my 6'4" frame does not really fit well in it. It is a shame we do not have electricity or water to hook to it. I did replace the batteries and bought a solar charger so that seems to work well and we have stayed at The Other Side in it several nights. With this part I am going to quit detailing all the money part other than to say, hemorraging is a good description. I want to encourage you to go green and move to the country, not scare you away.
The Goats
So, let me back up and tell you about the goats. About the beginning of September, the fence and gates were up, so we began looking for goats. We first found a guy that had a couple in a small area. He had an all red 100% Boer young buck and claimed he was 100%. He said for an extra few dollars he would get the papers, we paid took the buck and have yet to see the papers. That being said, the buck went to some friends house to stay with their young does for a few weeks before we brought him home and he is evidently batting 100% as all of their does are pregnant.
I was very uncomfortable with places we visited that had many goats in small confined areas. They feel like feed lots and we wanted animals that were used to roaming free. The young buck in fact had trouble keeping up with the does he was initially placed with because of the confinement he had been in. He was slow and clumsy compared to the others but quickly adjusted once he was put out on larger acreage. We finally found a wonderful operation in Wimberley (TX) where the goats were well cared for, tested, and had several acres to roam on. L&N Ranch is quality operation I highly recommend. We bought ten 6 month old does of 75% or more Boer mix. They are very pretty, nice sized, and show great qualities.
The Dog
Now, if you have goats in Texas you have to have a guard animal. We decided we wanted a dog versus any animal that would require pasture. We had little grass to support a grazing animal. So we found a lady with a six month old Anatolian puppy. The puppy was still with its parents who were living with goats, so she was never a pet and was part of a "working family". So, in our infinite wisdom, we took off with a borrowed stock trailer one Sunday afternoon about the third week of September, headed to Wimberley, bought our 10 goats, then headed down to Schulenberg and picked up our new 4 month old puppy/guard dog. Because we had done the research, we knew we could just drop them all off and they would all stay in the fences, live together in harmony, and we could be gentleman goat ranchers. Right........
We got to The Other Side, let the animals out, gave them some feed and they were excited with browse (foliage) that had not been touched in years. They went to work on that right away. Now the Anatolian shepherd, she wanted to stay right with us even though we kept telling her she was a goat dog. I decided to stay in the Airstream that night to make sure we had no problems.
All of us were welcomed on our first night together at the new site with the years biggest thunderstorm. Lightning and thunder rolled through for about 6 hours and dropped about 5.5 inches of rain that night. I felt so guilty about having them in a new place with that much excitement. At least it wasn't cold. The dog stayed under the trailer, to heck with the goats she was supposed to be guarding.
The dog would have nothing to do with the goats for the next few days, but befriended a dog down the street and they both kept getting out. Unfortunately, we think the other dog wandered a bit too far and fell victim to the highway. Anna, the Anatolian (aren't we creative), fell victim to a new electric wire across the bottom of the fence and has been great about staying in ever since. She hangs back about 30 feet from the gate when you drive in and then comes running up after you close the gate. She wants nothing to do with the wire across the bottom of the gate.
Anna still never seemed to stay with the goats and always was waiting for us at the gate when we got there. Neighbors said she never left. So worry, worry, ask advice, worry. Never solved the problem directly but we finally went and got the buck and put him with the does. Ever since then, the dog and the buck are best friends and play together. the dog guards the goats and rarely leaves them. She comes to visit us for a while but will soon return to the goats. The team is truly amazing to watch now. We put the buck in with the does about mid November and so we are expecting a lot of kids in mid April. Those 10 does about wore him out that first week or two.Water and Electricity
The electricity came fairly easily. Years ago the property behind us had bought an easement down the east side of the land and there was an electric line running there. We trenched an underground line over to the nearest pole behind the fenced front acreage and had a meter set. So the electricity was resolved fairly inexpensively (less than $2,000).
Now the water was a different matter all together. A well would cost about $16,000 and there were no guarantees about the future. There was a water utility service to our neighbors through the same easement our neighbors were using for electricity. So, I went down to the local water company and for a mere $4,000 I could get a tap and meter onto the line. Paid the money and then they said, "Oh, you need to sign this easement." I determined that no I didn't need to give them rights to put lines anywhere on my property and cut trees on a whim, so then they wanted an exclusive easement across the front of the property. I said if you give me the meter for free, that will be OK. They said I should do it for the good of my neighbors. Bottomline, I am too stubborn and so I have my $4K back and they don't have an easement.
Did you know that you can capture rain water and use it. I put the pencil to the paper and determned if I build a 20 foot by 40 foot pole barn and captured the rain off of the roof, I didn't need any thing else. So I now have a neat pole barn, a 3000 gallon water tank, a filtration system and ultra-violet light for purity, and pump to run all of this. All we need now is rain!!! We are having one of the worst drought's in years but that is part of my plan. By building this during a drought, I should be on the rainy side of the averages for the next few years.
So now, there a couple of vendor endorsements here. One of the coolest pieces of this rain harvesting system is the capture filter. The water runs down the side of your downspout off of your gutters. It hits a stainless steel screen and the water is drawn into a sleeve that flows into the water tank. About 10% of the water along with all of the trash and large particles falls right on through the downspout. Here is the brochure . The water tank was shipped efficiently and cost effectively from Plastic Mart. Rainfilters of Texas was very helpful in helping me get all of this set up and sold me the pump, filters, UV light, etc.
More to come over the next few days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)