Goats as Psychopomps!

Animals act as psychopomps between the worlds in dreams and everyday life. How many of us have a beloved cat or dog whose warm, soft body reminds us that we too are animals? My husband and I have two cheerful yellow labs, siblings, who have been with us for almost 12 years. Tending to their… Read more »

Biodynamic Association Listing

Animals are an important part of Biodynamic practices. Not only do they help with weeding, but their manures provide fertility, all part of an important feedback cycle.                 Biodynamic Association Listing The Biodynamic Association website has a new feature in which we farmers, growers, processors and producers are… Read more »

Compost Cycle of Our Ranch

Dasher and Valley clean last leaves from chardonnay vines. White strips are pheromone strips to control European grapevine moth. Compost Cycle of Our Ranch I think of our goats as kinds of blenders: they mix up the food stuffs of the ranch, then release what isn’t digested to be composted and put back into building… Read more »

Holistic Management: New Steps

Good news!  The USDA sees value in this course, partially funding the manual.         We received our manual yesterday: Whole Farm Planning and Management: Introduction to Holistic Management®. One of our New Year Resolutions on our ranch is to begin a process of study through Holistic Management, a system with the motto:… Read more »

Caution

We walk the hills this morning without the dogs, who abandon us almost at the beginning. The vultures are circling and swooping low, a sure sign of a recent kill, something that Moka and Leo cannot resist searching out. No amount of calling dissuades them. The goats walk solemnly in a straight line behind me…. Read more »