OK, yes, we have lost our minds.   We have fallen in love with Alpine dairy goats, and on October 16th, 2011 we decided to create SKY N SUN Ranch.
 
We already had a flock of Barred Rock hens, a pair of pygmy goats, and our first Alpine doe, so we were set to go, right?   NOT HARDLY!
 
During the first month we only had to:

• Collect eggs each day
• Re-home the pygmies
• Convert a small storage building into a barn
• Buy fencing materials
• Buy an Alpine buck.   Load buck in back seat with boy.   Half way home hear screams of "hot pee! Hot Pee! HOT PEEEEE!!!" from the boy.
• Use LOTS of vinegar to break the smell in the car.
• Buy feed and medicine
• Find a Vet
• Get ADGA membership
• Buy another Alpine doe in milk.   Can we say "road trip"?
• Get a stanchion
• Learn to milk a goat
• Register the herd name
• Buy another Alpine doe.   Just how many detours can we find on this road trip?
• Study about goats and their care
• Give up sleeping
• Build another small building for a milk/vet barn
• Order a goat block. They need copper. Who knew?
• Buy fencing materials and feed
• Fix fence on an existing acre lot
• Add five wire electric fencing to that lot
• Rescue goat from dogs after she got out.
• Re-home dogs away from chickens and goats :(
• Wire the milk/vet barn.   Milking in the dark just is not practical!
• Add new goat fencing to the main perimeter
• Consider getting another bred doe.   Can I get paid by the mile?
• Run a mile and a half (or was it two?) of electric fence wire
• Did I mention give up sleep?
• Order big barn for the main pasture
• Hang Drive and walk gates
• Buy guard dog (to be delivered after weaning)
• Dream of someday having the ranch set up and being able to grab a bit of sleep here and there.
• Order custom collars in SKY N SUN colors for the goats.   (Note: We prefer the term "eccentric" to "crazy".)
• Order kidding supplies.
• Buy a milk separator and have the boy lose the adjusting screw.   Order a replacement screw from the Ukraine.
• Is this a good time to find out if we even like goat milk?
• Look at the "to do" list for the second month, and pray for strength!

 
Now the Mrs. looked over my list and realized I missed a few things from our first month as goat ranchers, as follows:

• Had a disaster from the fence company we hired.   Imagine expecting full payment when you announce, as your "finishing up" there is a TWO FOOT gap between the main driveway gate and the gatepost (IE rendering all the perimeter fencing useless);   that they have run the fence between the cabin and the cabin ladder, so the ladder coming off the kids play fort is on the outside of the fencing???
• Did anyone mention goats are smart?   Miss Clover learned her first night, that by flipping on the barn light after dark, someone would come out from the house and check on things.
• We had temporary possession of two goats from "Swap Days", did we mention these goats, before being re-homed, managed to infect our new dairy goats with pink eye?
• Vet Trip
• Order additional eye med's to treat everyone twice a day.
• Apply eye ointment to four goats twice a day to insure no one was carrying the pink eye.
• Coming home from the feed store with all our feed "sweet feed" and having to return it for "meat goat" crumbles
• Managing a bale of hay in the trunk of a Chevy Cavalier and then trying to clean it up
• Have Miss Clover (who has become a Daddy's girl) learn to throw tantrums during milking until her "Daddy" comes and sweet talks her
• Did he mention "No Sleep?"
• Processing gallons of fresh milk and mastering basic goat cheese
• Who knew goats would think a corn broom was good eating?

 
She went on to say:
So last night, at 3 am, with a major storm coming through; after the goats had been to the back door to let me know they were NOT happy; after I got dressed, went outside into the storm to clean up the barn a bit, fluff up their straw and sit with them awhile   (We did mention No Sleep?)..   Having Gracie lean down, wrap her long, graceful neck around my own (what we have come to refer to as goat hugs around here)..   I slogged through the remaining rain and new mud back to the house...   stripped off the work clothes and thought ...