Everyday EB Ranch

A front was moving in and we got some rain later in the afternoon.

It looks like fall peak colors right now.

The herd is enjoying a new paddock to graze on.

EB Ranch Dorothy munches on crisp fall leaves.

This is another group of intact bucks. They all get along relatively well during rut. I currently have 5 separate pens set up with bucks with particular buddies.

Now the white lilacs are blooming out of season.

A beautiful sunrise.

Bucks in rut can be a lot to juggle. Specifically when you have important breeding goals and waiting to have semen collected. The intact bucks often need to be certain buddy groups to prevent physical damage. Thankfully these two bigger boys, a buck and wether get along great. I can’t wait to castrate this buck after semen collection though!

Let your life get invaded by the hand-sewn felt Yule Goats. This vibrant fellow is for sale through my online store.

Miller Park Zoo Julbukk and some of the other MPZ does are having the time of their life on pasture.

Yrsa is a good looking cream and black SCI goat doe.

EB Ranch Eartha is part of the Tepper Line Preservation Project. As she matures, the cowlicks on her body have become more defined. Other SCI goat breeders see these same kind of cowlicks. From a distance she looks disheveled, but her coat is smooth and shiny with a fun whirl of patterns.

Isbue is a higher Tepper line percentage buckling. He expresses frosting over the area of his capein addition to a blaze on his forehead and frosting on his nose. It will be interesting to watch him mature. And possibly figure out the reason why he expresses this much frosting.

Max and Coltrane were my first two SCI goat bucks. They don’t express the typical black and tan color that a large portion of this breed does. These two colors are recognized as cream and black and self-black. These color variations are also found in Canadian herds.

Vonnegut and Jasper. These two young bucks express self-black and cream and black color variations of the San Clemente Island goat breed.

Brrr… From high 90’s to 27 degrees in under a week. We got our first hard frost today.

It is sometimes hard to get a good picture of a goat. I got her full body, but the shadows are overwhelming.

The special embroidered EB Ranch Farmstead tags are here!

The hand-sewn felt Yule Goats are back. Purchase one through the online store or at an in-person event.

Snuggle time with Garland.

This little sweetie was being very territorial toward me. I gave this little spider space after taking a few pictures.

The forecast seems unseasonably warm. But welcome October!

Julbukk aks for head scratches. It’s not always super safe to scratch a goat between the horns on the back of their head. Sometimes your wrist could get wedged between the horns, and the goat could startle. Resulting in a wrist injury. But some of my goats specifically ask for scratches on their head. And I carefully oblige.

A cute little Isbue picture.

In western WI, lilacs only bloom in the spring. Though I have seen out of season buds and blooming more often over the years. I suspect the warm fall temps and a mildew infestation created some out of wack blooming. But I’m no expert.

Kasimer on the left and Uff-da on the right. Kasimer is 1.5 years old and Uff-da is at least 6 or 7. SCI goats tend to be a slower growing breed. Full maturity for most goats is 3. Though bucks can breed at 6 months of age or younger. I can’t wait to see how Kasimer matures.

This is the face of a very horny doe. Tongue out, unfocused, and running around like a maniac. Welcome back home Julbocken.

Resident wether Luigi went for a walk with new wether Julebukk. They did really well for this first outing together. I hope to pair them for future Yule goat and educational events.

I ordered some fancy pants hot chocolate when we finally started having cooler fall weather. But oh gosh, look! We still have at least a 10 day forecast including 80 degree weather. My patience being a sweat ball on a daily basis is running thin.

Today Hilde moved on from this existence. She was 16, and her body had been breaking down for the past year or more. With a dramatic decline in the past 3 weeks. We made that visit to the vet, and brought her back to rest. She was a sweet, odd, scruffy, adorable fraggle rock dog. With intense yellow eyes and a timid but yet joyful personality.

Yes. This is the face that will win over a doe’s heart.

The second tall and beautiful wether from Miller Park Zoo. This sweetie has a curious personality but has enviable boundaries when it comes to too much attention. He likes a good scratch on his terms.

Names are important. But I forget if this new wether is Sean or Nathan. Both of these handsome fellas came from the Miller Park Zoo. I suspect I will have a “stage name” for this guy as he is likely candidate for in person goat events. Perhaps Iskomet that is ice comet in Norwegian.

Chimney on the left is Eisa’s daughter, and Julbocken comes back to her home farm after a few years living at Miller Park Zoo. These two could be daughter mother from their looks and bond.

Welcome back EB Ranch Eisa. After a few years at the Miller Park Zoo. And a two year old daughter in tow. Eisa is back at her home farm. Both her and her daughter carry Tepper lines.

Alphonse is in full rut mode. Pee beard and all.

Born in March, this lovely doeling carries a good Tepper line. She is growing into a beautiful goat.

Goats+Camper=The OG Glamper. This gutted out camper has been a champ. Providing good portable shelter when the goats are on pasture.

A wet face on a buck this time of year can either mean a dew or urine coverd head. Yes, these goat bucks LOVE to pee on themselves during rut. It’s the ultimate way to attract the ladies.

The does and kids are enjoying a beautiful day on pasture.

The owls are not what they seem.

I am a bit of a a Twin Peaks nerd. The fairy ring growing around the one eye owl decoy add to the strange mythology.

We don’t put bird food out. But we certainly a lot of year round bird food offerings. This crab apple tree is a huge bird magnet in the winter.

Decomposing changes.

Nature is magical and horrifying. These wasps built a nest that included some apples.

I have two original oil paintings from a family relation named Jake Varnes. He has long been deceased, and I think he was a prolific painter and many people have his works. But this is one of the few that showcases an animal and a person! They aren’t strong points, and probably show why he stuck to landscapes.

Welcome Isbue. This handsome buckling will be part of the Tepper LIne Preservation Project. His dam is originally from EB Ranch Farmstead. But he was born at Iron Kettle farm in North Carolina. He made the trip in just under 24 hours with a reliabel transport service.

More Norma and Dorothy. One of the few cream colored SCI goats left in the world!

This is from late August. But I enjoyed a sweet treat with friends at one my my jobs. Chocolate chip zucchini bread with ice cream and elderberry syrup. This was an tangy and sweet combination.

Garland loves going for morning hay sled rides.

Slowing down for morning coffee.

Hygge, why such a long face?

Some of the boys showing off their stuff.

This beautiful, bright red fella certainly has attitude.

Some of the EB Ranch Farmstead. No complaints here.

Elias with his mom Marvel.

Little Garland says HI!

Norma is Dorthy’s sister and exhibits a lighter cape than Dorothy.

Dorothy is one of doeling twins from EB Ranch Yrsa. Her sister is Norma.

The geriatric windowsill kitty.

Hildago, and Tepper doeling Guadalupe went to fellow Tepper breeder Jim.

Uff-da looks over his kingdom with wise eyes.

I left this cheap lawn chair in the goat hoop house for myself. But it was quickly taken over by Nadine.

Yrsa’s two doelings now have free range during the day. They are energetic and enjoy the freedom to run, jump, play, and interact with the rest of the herd.

It’s another hot streak at the farmstead. Everyone is doing well, but finding as much shade as possible.

Happy July 1st! Yrsa kidded two lovely does early this morning. This is her second kidding, and she had these two doelings born an cleaned off by the time I did chores. Conrats Yrsa!

July got too busy to keep on on regular pictures. That’s how life goes!

The new goat moms don’t wander far from the hoop house with their kids. But they creep closer out onto pasture each day.

Just because it’s Saturday doesn’t mean I don’t work. I had a demo earlier today for my job. Then wrapped up the day continuing to hand shovel dirty goat buildings. A few minutes holding this guy was a prefect day to wrap up a busy day.

I still don’t have a name for Marvel’s sweet buckling. But he has such a sweet face.

Goats tend to prefer browsing over grazing. But the goat crew at the EB Ranch Farmstead are pros at grazing. They won’t often graze low to the ground like sheep can, but like to graze around their knee height.

The title says it all.

I shudder to share the temps we endured recently. Everyone pulled through just fine. Though having air conditioning would have made this hot spell a bit more bearable.

With fairly regular rain, I was navigating when to put the bucks out onto fresh pasture. They are enjoying the head high grass.

I think because there was kidding hormones in the air. The bucks were acting “bucky” for a few days. Thsi included a lot of play fighting, urinating on themselves, and general obnoxious behavior.

Many animals will take “death naps”. Where it looks like they died, sometimes in very unnatural positions. New kids do this a lot, and it’s hard to not get panicky when you see this.

Storm seems a bit tired taking care of two kids. But she is very protective of them.

Sometimes the goats like to snuffle my face. Luigi isn’t shy about this.

Follow the link below to learn more about the importance these berries held for Ojibwe people.

Welcome to the world and congratulations to Marvel. This little buckling inherited his dam’s frosted nose and ears.

A group of SCI goat bucks expressing solid black, frosting, typical SCI color and pattern, and white and black. These boys are of varying ages but roughly the same size, with Alphonse being the smallest and oldest in the group.

Welcome these two new SCI goat bucklings. Storm is a champion mamma. While this was a very complicated kidding that needed assistance, everyone came through healthy and happy in the end.

I can’t count how many times I make barnyard visits in my “good clothes”. But this was another one of those instances and Kasimer had a blast playing under my skirt.

Getting some grounds-keeping done at one of my jobs. It was a whopping 96 degrees that day. And I stay as covered as possible when working in the sun. Plus sun screen.

This isn’t my farm. But I think it represents a very pastoral Wisconsin looking farm.

Getting some snuggles from the one and only Kasimer.

Nadine is enjoying the green pastures.

Yrsa’s belly is getting bigger. She is due after 6/12/25.

Storm finds the best blades of grass.

Robins can hatch around 3 different broods of babies through the warm month in WI.

The SCI Goat herd is doing what they do best.

Thulsa Doom seems quite protective of the sparkling water.

There is an array of EB Ranch Farmstead items for consideration.

Kasimer is packed full of sass!

The dogs, the goats, and a lot of spring greenery.

Some of the boys keep the grass trimmed around our solar panels.

The SCI goat herd is unleashed into the planted pines. They aren’t horribly destructive, but they do delight in nibbling on dried pine pitch and rubbing their horns on the trunks.

The geriatric feral house cat.

Last year around this time I was hired by Farmer To Farmer. A solidarity nonprofit currently focused on solidarity with coffee farmers in Honduras and Guatemala. I also juggle other part time jobs on top of a scaled back farm operation.

The young goat kids are wild about teh goat minerals and salt.

Yrsa poses along the fence.

More storm clouds.

The sunset after a storm went past us.

This picture is from a few days ago. I started the big spring cleaning in the goat shelters. I have ¼ of the hoop house structure done. Everything is shoveled by hand and towed away with the ATV. It was hot work that day!

Storm needs a “wide load” sign strapped to her. She naturally has a wide belly, but I’m still not sure if she is carrying kids. I’m close to drawing blood to confirm a pregnancy. I could have goats due anytime through the summer, though warmer-temperature kiddings aren’t preferable.

The morning light was eerie and intense for a few minutes before a small storm rolled in.

The last round of health checks and cashmere collection. Jasper has some nice looking fluff!

More out of health and safety than luxury. I have accumulated a decent amount of footwear over the years. While I have my “nice” shoes. Work shoes are important, I’m on my feet a lot. The shoes pictured are what I wore during health checks. They are steel-toe with easy-peasy velcro straps. Perfect for when a goat inevitably steps on my foot, and easy to take off and put on.

While collecting cashmere I also started health checks on my SCI goat herd. This includes being weighed on a scale, trimming hooves, and checking for healthy eyelid color. The kids were weighed and they have all put on a healthy amount of weight.

Today I collected cashmere from some of my SCI goats. Some completely blew their coat already while others will need to be brushed out a few more times. Now I get to learn how to clean this stuff!

I finally got a picture of Maldita just staring into a random corner. She does this often, but I can never catch a picture until now! If you watched the movie Blair Witch, you know what I’m referring to.

EB Ranch Nadine is having a blast being a goat kid.

Kasimer is my water baby. He gets so excited to drink water when I clean out the tubs and refresh them. Or even if I just happen to pick out some hay or leaves. He just HAS to have a drink of the water I was close to.

Maldita is looking all cute in the morning.

Anders is zoning out on the couch staring at me like I’m an evil entity.

The kids explore the world by nibbling at items. This willow branch is thankfully a tasty experiment.

EB Ranch Nadine is certianlly looking pert.

Marvel marvels in the wonderful spring sun.

The kids are starting to take an interest in grain. Every morning they find a space to take nibbles as the adults are fed. Soon, I’ll set up a creep feeder. This is an area that will only allow goat kids to enter to eat grain when they want.

Goats learn behavior and eating preferences from each other. Goat kids mimic the adults, and try all sorts of foods as they grow. These kids will eventually be weaned, but in the mean time their rumens will develop. And they will turn into lean mean eating machines!

For whatever reason, this big guy loves his cabin fort. Goats and other livestock are well aware of the width of their horns and can navigate narrow spaces fairly well.

San Clemente Island goats can vary in size as they mature. Ranging from 40 pounds to 140 pounds or more. Keeping track of growth and weight gain are important when raising any livestock.

Did you know that goats don’t have front teeth on the top of their mouth? They just have a hard pallet they use to help them strip browse.

Big Ed certainly has “Big Ed” attitude.

One of Yrsa’s horns is growing a bit wonky. I feel this often makes her look a little confused. Though, she looks like her pregnancy is starting to show. So maybe she is actually perplexed by how her body is changing.

Eartha, Argenta, and their new SCI goat kids enjoy the beautiful blue sky and sunshine.

One of my favorite extra-special treats is to put a blob of butter and maple syrup in my morning coffee. This just happens to be goat butter! The butter adds a little bit of saltiness with the maple syrup's sweetness. I just found out that adding butter to coffee is a diet fad. And I’ll tell you, diet fads and suck it. I’m here to enjoy all the flavor sensations in this mug.

We have snow, rain and HAIL! I happened to make a choice to do goat chores and got caught in a hail storm that lasted around 10 minutes.

I made the decision to cut down my living willow fence around our garden. I will replant willow in other areas, mostly as a fodder source for the goats. But I might work on some purposefully planted willows to grow for future weaving projects.

The kids got to experience their first snow. In true spring fashion, we had snow, rain, thunderstorms, and hail.

Beautiful!

What a beautiful but fleeting sunrise.

Yrsa soaks up the sun. Yrsa is an extremely uncommon cream or white and black variation of the SCI goat breed. With just a handful of this color variant existing in the united states.

Goat snuggles are pretty rad.

Goats use their mouths to explore the world. The reputation that goats anything likely stems from them picking up objects with their mouth. In my real life experience, goats actually tend to be picky eaters.

All goats produce cashmere. Some are bred to produce better quality. SCI goats have the possibility to produce decent cashmere. I plan on collecting from my herd again this year. Last year I sent in over 30 tests to a cashmere testing lab to get a better understanding of where the herd sits with cashmere production.

I haven’t let the kids outside of the hoop house yet. I’m waiting for a bunch of warmer days in the forecast. But the kids are bouncing off the walls and their moms!

One of the new kids peeks at the camera.

Big Ed, Nadine, and Perdita Durango. New additions to the Tepper Line Preservation Project.

The last of the sass series. Jasper and Alphonse have about a two year age difference. Though Alphonse was the last of quads and will likely remain very small. Jasper is the spool king, egging Alphonse on to engage in play.

Kasimer and Vonnegut are two “self-black” San Clemente Island goats. An uncommon color variation that is starting to express itself more in other herds. It’s fun to see these boys play fight.

The goats have been responding to the warmer weather with joyful antics. I didn’t catch Uff-da at peak leap, but even this big lug was jumping with excitment.

The boys are in a cuddle mountain. You can’t see him, but little Alphonse is mushed in the middle somewhere.

Argenta kidded a healthy doeling named Perdita Durango. Weighing in at 5 pounds.

Nadine and her brother Big Ed are full of life. They were both standing and ready to nurse roughly five minutes after being born.

Nadine gets weighed. She is an average 4 ½ pounds and her brother is around 5 ½ pounds. After the kids get weighed, I measure their height at the shoulder. Then their umbilical cord and navel area gets dipped in iodine.

The first kids were born today. The same day as Bob’s birthday. Welcome EB Ranch Nadine and Big Ed. These are a couple of higher Tepper line kids. Dam is EB Ranch Eartha and sire is Lindsey Farm Alphonse.

Jasper is the only goat that hangs out on top of the wire spool on a regular basis. It’s odd, as I see all sorts of videos showing me how goats like to climb.

From over 70 degrees to rain and rapidly cooling temperatures. We got almost an inch of rain, which is needed. But the temp swing from 70 to 15 in just 24 hours was shocking!

It was over 70 degrees on Friday. I spent the afternoon moving rocks and bricks to a new area to create an outdoor fire pit area. And Kasimer was “helping” Bob collect kindling.

Marvel is a higher Tepper line San Clemente Island goat doe. She is another doe that I’m uncertain if she was bred last fall. She isn’t showing, but she may have been bred late last year or even early this year. I put a new buck in with the does, which would mean August kids. Gestation for goats is 5 months.

I still don’t know if Yrsa is pregnant. I should just draw blood and do a test. Though I have urine strips that aren’t as accurate. And really, trying to catch a goat peeing and sticking a slip of paper under the stream isn’t the easiest task.

This handsome San Clemente Island goat came all the way from CA. Zucherro carries a higher Tepper line. He will be one of the bucks I collect semen from this fall.

These guys. Rough Collies being Rough Collies.

Luigi has the brightest goat eyes.

Kasimer truly likes to get snuggled. But he also likes to nibble at my face and sunglasses. Little cutie pie.

We got about a foot of snow yesterday. Enjoy the group of snow pictures. It’s already melting fast, but it was stunning to behold.

We got about a foot of snow yesterday. Enjoy the group of snow pictures. It’s already melting fast, but it was stunning to behold.

We got about a foot of snow yesterday. Enjoy the group of snow pictures. It’s already melting fast, but it was stunning to behold.

We got about a foot of snow yesterday. Enjoy the group of snow pictures. It’s already melting fast, but it was stunning to behold.

Kasimer took delight in walking between my legs and gobbling snow in a joyful fashion.

Woodland Star knows how to soak up the sun.

Eartha and Argenta bond over being very pregnant.

Starting the month off right! Making coffee using a chemex has been one of the best decisions I made this year. YUM!

Rough collie snuggles. Anders, our older rough collie is about 6 years old. And his attitude has changed from being a dog that likes to have space to a couch snuggle bug. A reminder that our domestic buddies are living, changing creatures. And we need to accommodate for their complex lives.

Hay, grass, forage, all the greens. It’s what makes a goat happy.

Storm always looks wide. It’s hard to guess if she is actually carrying kids or is just her normal wide self.

Almost a year ago life shifted quite a bit. And I started working for the nonprofit, Farmer To Farmer. An aspect of my new work is helping Amber haul green coffee beans to different accounts. This is a fairly large load we are taking into the metro area.

It is late February and we are getting a “heat wave”. The snowmobile trail is melting and the air is warm. I’m glad to take up jogging again.

Goats are perpetually smiling.

Luigi shows off his impressively long tail hairs. It leaves some of the other goats envious.

There is one more negative degree night tonight. But the warm weather is flowing in. With highs in the 40’s! The goats are EXCITED!

In the stockpiled hay there are two different cuttings of hay. The second cutting is farm more appealing to the goats and they eat it up more quickly than the first cutting.

The temperature dropped one more degree to -29 this morning. Yikes! Now that is COLD!

Maldita often looks perptually grumpers. She showed up on the old farm as an abandoned kitten. Very feral, but had a big chunk of flesh tore out the back of her neck. She mended nicely. Though she still hides when we have visitors, she has mellowed in her old age.

It may be cold but the sun felt very nice.

The first load of hay is dwindling. Thankfully I have another 200 bales in another space!

We are in for another cold spell. Bob and I heat the house with only our wood stove. Ashes are a regular by product of our love to heat with a wood stove.

Good morning from the EB Ranch Farmstead.

For what it’s worth, happy Valentine’s Day. I’m lucky enough to help out friends with animal chores while they were gone for a few hours. Those sheep sure know how to smile.

Out of all 6 cats we had at the farmstead, the original two are all that remain. Thulsa Doom and Maldita are roughly 14-15 years old.

We are having a NORMAL-ISH winter! A scene out our back door. Bob has enjoyed going cross country skiing again!

Having multiple hay feeders is key to making sure all goats get to eat safely. Goats have a hierarchy, and can bully other goats away from food sources.

During the especially cold winter days the San Clemente Island goat herd has unlimited hay. This helps to keep their rumens happy and bodies warm. Plus many of the does are pregnant, and they have less room in their rumens to ruminate. And need to keep more often in smaller quantities.

The goats don’t mind being out in snow like this. It’s warm, and they have a cozy shelter to dry off in. Though they have hay offered inside the goat building as well.

We are getting an actual snow day, hooray! I love Wisconsin as it offers ALL the weather. Not having much snow the last few years has made me feel off. But with 6+ inches coming in, with high teen temps. It’s a real winter wonderland.

Kasimer was having a blast following me around in the snow. Darting between my legs and being a goof.

Some of the boys line up to get kissed by the sun. I love the size difference in all these handsome bucks.

Living in a small valley means it takes a bit longer for the sun to pop up over the hills. This time of year, the sun starts hitting the winter paddocks around 9:30 AM. And the goats line up to catch that warmth.

We have a number of broken water tubs we turned into goat cubbies. Yrsa pokes her head out as I bring hay inside. Each tub has holes drilled along the upper side to allow for ventilation. The downfall of huts like this is that hair can condense on the top making for unhealthy moisture collection.

At the EB Ranch Farmstead, we heat our house exclusively with a wood stove. Gathering kindling is a job Bob loves to do. Small pine branches are perfect for getting a roaring fire started in the morning.

I have found that personalities change in goats over time, or because of hormones. Yrsa is an example of a doe that will become affectionate in later term pregnancy. Otherwise she would never approach me unless I had grain.

Jasper certainly shows off his buck stuff with that wide stance at the hay feeder.

This fall and winter I made a choice to start giving grain to my goats on a daily basis. In the past I have only offered protein tubs to supplement nutritional needs. With a smaller herd of goats, feeding grain is easy. Look forward to a blog discussing management choices and tip toeing into food labeling. Hint, labels and certifications can hold a lot or little meaning.

Hello February 1st! The sunrise was vivid this morning.

Storm is enjoying the last crumbs of her breakfast grain. Though I caught her blowing a raspberry at the camera.

Uff-Da says GOOD MORNING!! Hey may be a big boy, but his temperment is very sweet.

Hygge has been my jogging buddy since November. My goal is to jog for three miles. I’m building back up to jogging 1 ½ miles after being dormant through the -33 degree temps.

There is a weather warm up creeping in. And by warm up I mean 30-40 degree temps. Which is a bit abnormal for this time of year, but I'll take it. That means water won't freeze into solid blocks of ice. As you can see there is a nice sized pile of water tub ice chunks piling up.

-18 degrees this morning. Frosty, but we are heading into a warm up.

Yrsa poses nicely with a stunning sunset behind her.

Kasimer is also grateful that we are out of polar vortex like temperatures. It’s always nice to have him snuggle on my lap.

Beautiful blues of the early winter morning. It’s an extra special morning as it is now longer -33 but a balm 12 degrees. Woohoo!

From -33 to 12 degrees. What a change in 24 hours.

Another YIKES! Finally reset the time on here so it's up to date. I can't wait for this cold spell to break.

New buck Jasper hangs out with Storm in the corrugated metal building. Even though the main herd has access to the hoop house building. They enjoy this shed quite a bit.

Yikes!

-20 is bad enough. These temperatures can be dangerous. I have yet to do chores, and it's 8 AM. But I will be going out shortly.

Welcome Brierwood Jasper to the EB Ranch Farmstead. He is a rare cream and black variation of the usual black and tan SCI goat color.

Even though we are going through a cold spell. The SCI goat herd are hardy enough to get through it. These goats have a dense cashmere undercoat that keeps them insulated. Plus lots of hay and cozy places to stay warm.

-20 is nothing new, but it certainly takes your breath away. Living in western WI means you get ALL the weather. From extreme heat to crispy cold.

Elvis AKA Coltrane was my first San Clemente Island Goat. I didn't know that this solid black or "self-black" was uncommon at the time. But I do now! While I no longer have any offspring from Elvis, I now own two of these beautiful self-black SCI goats.