Plans for 2009

We have just a few goals for the ranch in the new year - and they are some pretty major ones!

First, we are working to setup our dairy barn to be fully compliant with Texas requirements for a "Grade A Raw for Retail" dairy license. When we succeed in this venture, we will be able to legally sell our goat milk for human consumption! We are currently working on determining final layout for the dairy barn and milk processing area, and getting the necessary funding for this lofty venture! This also means getting new milking stands and an automatic milking machine. We are very excited about this project! :)

Next, we are planning on creating a new line of handmade products to be offered from the ranch. Our products will include various goat milk soaps and bath items. We also hope to offer handmade goat coats, llama fiber filled pet beds, and other related items. For our own use, we are looking forward to learning to make various cheeses, kefir, and maybe even butter from our goat milk.

We are also preparing to plant a garden for the Spring and hope to have an abundance of garden produce this coming Summer. The ideas of what to plant are already spinning around in our heads and we are scoping out various types of seeds we are interested in trying out. We added some new fruit trees to the ranch this past Winter, so we have that produce to look forward to as well (eventually). We have planted peaches, plums, pears, and blackberries so far, and are planning to plant some orange trees in the next month or so. We are still looking for pecan trees.... maybe those will get added next Fall.

Finally, we are planning to work with a new trainer to get our horses trained to ride (finally!). Two of our herd should be going to start their training this month, with two others going later in the Spring. We will also be rehoming two of our six horses; it looks like Sonny and Rita will have good homes with two different trainers. With our horses getting trained, this means that we will need to brush up on our riding skills too! We are sure looking forward to being able to spend some time together quietly riding along on horseback ... talk about a dream fulfilled. :)

In addition to these new ventures, we will continue all the work with our livestock, offer llama shearing services in the Spring, and Teresa is continuing to grow her website development work with our other business, Images with Flair. If you need a website created, or want someone to help with your site's management, please drop Teresa an email.

Please wish us luck in these new ventures and in the year ahead!