Farmin' Funnies

The farm is a funny place - never a dull moment.  The animals each have their own quirky personalities and I've enjoyed getting to know them better.  Sometimes I feel like Fern in Charlotte's Web except the animals don't talk (unfortunately) and I haven't yet seen any words in a spider's web. :)  I thought I'd share a few moments from the farm that just made me chuckle.

     In teaching you are never supposed to show favoritism.  I try to apply this same equal love for all when I'm on the farm.  But it is so tough because of Brandy.  Brandy is AWESOME.  At 11, she is the oldest goat at Legacy Farms.  She is losing her teeth and she's a little chubby, but I think she is just beautiful. 

Beautiful Brandy

Brandy has an obsession with bleach.  When I am cleaning the goat barn all of the other goats go out into the pasture to frolic around and dine on delicious leaves and grass.  Brandy stays as close to me as possible because she knows that I clean with bleach and she LOVES bleach.  If I look away for a moment, Brandy makes a waddling dash for my bucket of bleach water.  Susan says that it's probably not good for her, but she is the only goat on the farm who has never had worms - so maybe Brandy knows something we don't.

Bleach Bucket Brandy

If I guard the bleach bucket well, Brandy still finds a way to get a little taste.  She licks the things I've cleaned with bleach water.

Brandy licking the bleach bench

     Brandy's daughter is Pepper.  Pepper has a lot in common with her mom.  She waddles when she walks.  She makes a goat purring noise when she is super comfy.  She loves having her neck rubbed.  Thankfully she does not share Brandy's love for bleach.  Pepper is pregnant and she's due the 3rd week in November.  Susan says that the babies will do 70% of their growing in the last month of gestation.  So, Pepper's belly is starting to get very large.  Most goats have good control over their bodies when pregnant.  Pepper - not so much.  You can often catch Pepper stuck on her back like a turtle. (You would LOVE it Tabitha!!)  She tries to roll over and cannot quite make it.  She gets stuck halfway with her legs straight up in the air.  Pepper loves to lay just outside the goat barn at the top of the hill.  A few days ago she made the mistake of pointing her back downhill instead of up.  Gravity took over and she went rolling down the hill.  She was able to stop herself and quickly bounced to her feet to look around and see if anyone saw her. :)

Pepper after her hill roll

     Mocha is a sweet goat.  Unfortunately she had a skin infection and had to be in the sick pen for a couple of weeks.  It was my job to give her daily shots of antibiotics and treat her with topical creams to get her back to 100%.  I really enjoyed taking care of her.  She was on the mend and I was doing one of my last check-ups.  I was using a flashlight to really check out her udders, under her legs, and her belly.  As I felt around her belly I felt a scab I had not felt previously.  I called Susan to come check it out.  Susan got the flashlight, lifted Mocha's leg, felt the spot I was concerned about, and then started cracking up laughing.  Then she said, "Elizabeth, that would be Mocha's belly button!"  HAHA - oops!  Who knew?!?!  Goats have belly buttons!!!  So, Mocha is doing great! :)

Sweet Mocha

     The baby goats are a constant source of entertainment.  It is so much fun to watch them figure out life on the farm.  One of my favorite things about Brandy is that she is like the granny goat.  She loves to spend time with all of the babies (even though none of them belong to her) and she teaches them a lot of valuable lessons.  Orchid is the smallest of all of the babies.  For a while we had difficulty getting her to put on weight, but she is growing well now.  I was lucky enough to observe Brandy teaching Orchid.  Brandy is about triple the size of Orchid, but she allowed Orchid to "win" the head-butting battle.  She actually let Orchid push her backwards and Orchid was beyond proud of herself!

Brandy teaching Orchid to head butt

     I think one of the reasons I love goats so much is that they truly enjoy eating.  I have that in common with them.  While they all love to eat, Gracie Jade has a special spot in her heart for food.  She just cannot get enough of it and she loves to get to the crumbs at the bottom.  When she eats hay with the other babies she always knocks the hay bin over and dives right in.

Can you tell which one is Gracie? :)

I hope at least one of these farm funnies put a smile on your face.  Life is good here in North Carolina.  We are happy and healthy and we hope you are as well!


We'll keep you posted as we keep pharmin' and farmin'!
Love,
Elizabeth, Jake, and Tillie

Do What You Love and Love What You Do

We love what we're doing!!  Jake and I are both so thankful that we get to go to work each day and do something we enjoy!  We thought we'd share a little bit about the farm and pharmacy.

View of Baker Mountain from Legacy Farms

Elizabeth:  I am lucky enough to work at Legacy Farms in Vale, NC.  Legacy Farms is a beautiful, 55 acre, family owned farm with a mountain view and a mile of riverfront property.  Jim and Susan started the farm when they retired and moved to Vale from Daytona Beach, Florida.  Before they owned the farm, Jim was a stock broker and Susan was a high school music and marine biology teacher.  They are two of the hardest workers I have ever met - working alongside their employees to make their farm the best place it can be.  They absolutely love their animals and they give them a fantastic home.  The animals are so lucky.  The farm is home to 2 horses - Tex and Chika, 16 female goats - Brandi, Pepper, Sugar, Ginger, Dobie, DeeDee, Cookie Dough, Whisper, Snowball, Mocha, Lacey, Pearl, Gracie Jade, Flurry, Truffles, and Orchid, 4 male goats - Checkers, Maverick, Blizzard, and Cappi (short for Cappuccino), 12 hens - Rhode Island Reds, Golden Comets, and Araucanas, and 1 Great Pyrenees goat guard dog - Bailey. (Plus Jim and Susan's personal dogs, Midnight and Dusty.)  The farm also has an orchard with pears, apples, plums, and peaches as well as a garden with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, grapes, tomatoes, beans, peppers, corn, sunflowers, cantaloupe, and watermelon.  I have really enjoyed all of the fresh fruits and veggies - YUM!  I look forward to seeing the animals every day.  They are so happy and they each have their own unique personalities.  I also really enjoy the people I work with on the farm.  I am really loving my new life as a farmer!

Susan with lapdog Bailey :)

Jake:  I am fortunate to have accepted a job as a pharmacist at TAS Drug - an independent, family owned pharmacy in Maiden, NC. 

Jake's pharmacy - TAS Drug

It is one of three stores the family owns in Western North Carolina.  Tony, along with his dad, Tom, and his mom, Sherry, have built a very successful business that I am glad to be a part of.  My partner at the store, Bob, has lived in Maiden for most of his life and he's been great at introducing me to the town and the wonderful people who call Maiden home.  TAS Drug is home to 4 pharmacists - Tony, Tom, Bob, and me, 4 technicians - Lindsey, Crystal, Addie, and Carson, 4 cashiers - Gayle, Amber, Kim, and Kelsey, and 1 store manager, Anita.  It is also home to a really cool pill counting machine called a Parata.  It was the 2nd machine off the production line and it is a mean pill-counting machine.  It houses the top-selling 100 medications and counts, bottles, and labels them.


The best place in Maiden to get your drugs :)

In addition to my daily pharmacist duties, I have also been given the opportunity to teach informational diabetes classes at the Maiden Recreation Center.  I just did my first one in July and had a great response from the attendees.  I even gained a few new patients! 

I am really loving my new life as a pharmer!

While we've been busy at work, Tillie has been holding down the fort and perfecting her squirrel and bird watching skills. :)

Bird and squirrel watching

We'll keep you posted as we keep pharmin' and farmin'!
Love,
Elizabeth, Jake, and Tillie

You Learn Something New Every Day!

The last couple of weeks have been filled with lots of learning for Jake and me.

Jake's pharmin' outfit

     Jake started his new job at an independent pharmacy in Maiden, NC.  In addition to learning the ins and outs of his new job, he also had to prepare for 3 big exams - the NAPLAX (pharmacy boards), SC Pharmacy law, and NC Pharmacy law.  After hours of studying, 4 trips to the testing center in Charlotte, and days of waiting for scores to be reported, we are happy to say that he passed all 3 exams!  He is now a licensed pharmacist in SC and NC!  Yes, you read that correctly - he is a pharmer!  In his first month as a pharmacist Jake has been learning something new every day.  Here's Jake to tell you about a few new things he's learned:
- Even though I had 4 years of excellent schooling, I still have a lot to learn.
- Working in a small town definitely has its advantages - everyone feels like family.
- I need to work on my Western NC accent - people know I'm not from here.
- I am thankful for some awesome teachers at my pharmacy who are putting up with me through this learning process.
- Honesty, friendliness, and a smile go a long way with patients.
  

Elizabeth's farmin' outfit

     As most of you know, I decided to take a year off of teaching to try new things.  After contacting many farms in the area, I have been hired as a goat/chicken farmer in Vale, NC.  Yes, you read that correctly - I am a farmer!!!!  I have really enjoyed my first week of work and I just love my new animal buddies!  I did not have to study for any exams, but I did have to study 19 goat pictures so I could learn their names quickly.  I have also been learning something new every day:
- Goats know their names! (And after lots of studying, I know their names too!)
- Finding an egg in the hen house is exciting every single time!
- Milking a goat is amazing and should be tried by everyone.
- Animals like it when you talk to them.  I don't know this for a fact, but I do know that they seem happy when I include them in the conversation.
- I do not smell good when I get home from the farm. (This depends on whether you ask Jake or Tillie.  Tillie loves my farm smell but Jake doesn't).
  

The hen house where the eggs are found

 


Tex loves it when I chat with him

Our new home in Conover, NC

  In addition to having new jobs, we also have a new house.  We are renting a home about 6 blocks from downtown Conover, NC, a small town just outside of Hickory.  The home was built in the early 1960s and it has so much personality!  It has the original Frigidaire oven, yellow sculpted carpet, and a pull-down chrome Nutone range hood.  The house also has a little over an acre of yard.  Tillie loves it!  So with our new home we have learned something new every day:
- You need a lot of tools to take care of a big yard.
- It takes 4 1/2 hours to mow our lawn with a push mower.  Thankfully our nice neighbor sold us his John Deere riding mower so now it only takes an hour to mow the lawn.
-  Neighbors are the best at making new people feel welcome, complete with chicken pot pies and volunteer lawn services.
- The basement is home to cobwebs, cave crickets, dust, and Jake's new man cave.
- You cannot move a huge fallen tree limb with 2 people (although we gave it our best effort).
- Meals taste better when eaten out on the front porch (or back).
    Learning something new every day is a blast!  We'll keep you posted as we keep pharmin' and farmin'!
Love,
Elizabeth, Jake, and Tillie