Piggie Bellyrub

The barking in the background is Tessie wondering when she is going to get her bellyrub.

Betty Is On The Mend

It’s been almost 3 weeks since two dogs got through our perimeter fencing and into the goat pen and attacked Betty, our only goat without horns. Unlike most US goat-keepers, we don’t believe in dehorning goats. Betty was born “polled,” a genetic trait passed down by the buck.

The attack occurred around 5 in the morning. Our dogs woke us up, but John, who lives in the casita near the goat pen, heard Betty bleating and got outside first. He said the two attackers scrambled over the 52-inch cattle panels and then over the 6-foot cedar fence that encloses the back of our property.

Betty had been knocked down and was in shock and unable to move so John and I carried her to our porch to assess the damage. She had puncture wounds in her udder and deep ones in her right front leg which seemed to cause her the most pain. Her skin was torn in several places on her right flank. I cleaned off the wounds I could see with a warm yarrow infusion (it was dark and we were working with a flashlight) and then milked her out since her udder was leaking where the dogs had bitten her. The bleeding had stopped, which was a good sign, and I was able to walk her over to the carport where we keep the hay. She started to eat the hay – another good sign – so I covered her with a blanket (treat for shock) and stayed close. After a bit she settled down next to me and put her head in my lap. It was about 18 degrees and another 2 hours until the vet’s office opened so I wrapped another blanket around the both of us.

The vet used clippers to remove Betty’s hair and expose all of the wounds. She cleaned them well and then gave Betty a tetanus shot, Banamine for the pain and an antibiotic. She showed us how to give the injections intramuscularly and sent us home with 3 more doses of the painkiller and a week’s supply of antibiotics. She told us to keep the wounds clean with a warm Betadine solution – which we did, but also used a yarrow infusion to promote healing – and to keep the bottom wound on her flank open so that the others could drain.

We kept Betty separated from Desi and Tosca for a week much to her dismay. She’s now back in the pen with her goatie girls and is doing well. -Tree

Betty 2 days after dog attack

Puncture wounds in leg looking better

Puncture wounds in udder on the mend

We’ve Got Pigs!

Maggie and Tessie meet the new pigs

Wilbur

Wilma and Wilbur

Urban Homesteading Teleseminar

Join Jen for an Urban Homesteading teleseminar hosted by JPT Wellness Circle on Wednesday, January 28, 6pm PST. Longtime organic gardener Nicole Paull will interview Jen on a range of topics with plenty of time for Q&A including:

• Besides greater affordability, are there any advantages to urban homesteading versus just purchasing organic produce?
• What are some pitfalls to avoid if you’re just getting started with urban homesteading? If you have a traditionally maintained yard, what’s the smoothest way to make the transition?
• What’s the best way to get started if you want to keep chickens or a goat?
• What is permaculture and how can you apply its principles to create a homestead that is both bio-dynamic and high-yielding?

To sign up or find out more click here.

Workshop: Creating an Urban Food Forest

Interested in urban homesteading? Permaculture garden design? Growing your own food?

Join Jen in March for a free hands-on workshop on creating a food forest at the Garden’s Edge plot at La Placita Gardens. Learn Permaculture garden design techniques while we create an abundant garden that you can replicate at home. This workshop will cover an overview of Permaculture, garden preparation and plant selection for creating a food forest and much more!

By learning from successful patterns found in nature, we can co-create healthy communities grounded in a sustainable land ethic. Don’t forget your hat, garden gloves if you have them and water.

• What: Creating an Urban Food Forest: Permaculture Techniques for the Home Garden
• Where: La Placita Gardens at the Historic Sanchez Farm, Albuquerque’s South Valley
• When: Sunday, March 22, 12pm-4pm
• Why: As part of the Aldo Leopold Centennial Celebration honoring Leopold’s legacy in New Mexico
• Who: Jen Prosser, Herbalist, urban farmer and owner of Sunstone Herbs
• Cost: Free

Garden’s Edge is a 501 (c)3 non-profit corporation that works in New Mexico and Guatemala to revitalize local culture and economy through projects in sustainable agriculture and environmental education.

La Placita Gardens is a community farm project of La Plazita Institute.

Directions: From I-25 South, exit at Cesar Chavez/Bridge Blvd and head west. Left on Isleta Blvd. Left on Lopez Drive. Right on Arenal. Enter the farm through the western gates.

RSVP & Contact Info: While reservations aren’t required, please RSVP so that we can be sure to have enough handouts for everyone.

Friends in Dry Places

Since moving to New Mexico, I’ve encountered so many friendly, welcoming people that my faith in humanity, if it was every in peril, is consistently restored. I received many a warm welcome from other New Mexico herbalists, one of whom is Monica Rude of Desert Woman Botanicals who interestingly enough also landed in New Mexico from upstate New York.

She runs an herb farm and herbal product business along the Gila River in southern New Mexico. She teaches a range of classes and offers many wonderful herbal products. Check out her website www.desertwoman.net If you’re in the Albuquerque area and want to try out her products and meet her in person, come to La Montanita Coop’s Earth Day festival on April 27th. – Jen

Monica Rude

Roadrunner Alert!

I was so excited to see roadrunners in our yard this summer. Our land is completely fenced, and I wasn’t sure if it would keep them out. Nope. They easily hop to the top of the field fencing. They are fun to watch catching bugs, but they won’t let me get close for a photo. I had to take this one from a window. -Jen

Meep meep!

Since this photo was taken, we dug up the grass, covered the lot in horse manure, planted lots of garlic and covered with straw and spent hay. We’ll harvest the garlic in July.

Tree mulching new garlic beds

All planted! Our plan is to replace all of the kentucky blue grass (which is a water hog and inappropriate for our climate) with edible and medicinal gardens.