Category: Farm Life

A Goat in a Coat

On By charminfothIn encouragement, Farm Life, Love, Personality3 Comments

a goat in a coat

A true tale of life on the Farm

By Charmin Foth

On a blustery winter morn
a wee baby goat was born

The new mama stepped away
leaving baby in the hay
but so cold was the storm
it wouldn’t keep wee baby goat warm

In the early morning light
Farmer Foth saw the wee goat’s plight
He rushed to her side
and prayed he could turn the tide
to warm the wee goat’s little hide.

Afraid and so cold
she didn’t need to be told
the farmer was there to soothe
even though she could barely move

Carefully now

Farmer Foth bowed
and placed the wee goat
into his warm red coat

All through the day
as the farmer made hay
the wee little goat
stayed in the warm red coat.

Next to Farmer Foth’s chest
did wee goat rest
starting to warm
but still not to the norm
Farmer Foth kept the wee goat close
she needed to get as warm as toast

So on errands Farmer Foth ran
to places where even goats were banned
To the butcher, the baker
and the candlestick maker

Lastly to the pharmacy he went
keeping the wee goat in his arm bent
hidden in warm red coat
no one knew about the goat

As workers looked on
they thought something was wrong
it caused some alarm,
was Farmer Foth there to do harm?

The farmer only grinned
knowing he had not sinned
he said, “do not fear
I only have a wee baby goat in here”

The workers couldn’t see
the wee goat’s glee
at being so warm
away from the farm

But as Farmer Foth unzipped
and the wee goat tipped
her little head
out of her warm makeshift warm bed

“Neeehhhhh,” she said,
“put me back to bed!”
And the workers all sighed
as Farmer Foth tried
to explain how a wee baby goat
ended up in his coat.

Among the ooohs
and the ahhhs
the wee baby goat
snuggled back in the warm red coat.

The moral of the story:
Be careful where you tote a goat.

tote a goat
This is the true story of my husband Andy and a goat he saved by keeping it warm all day in his coat. Excuse my attempt at poetry, but this story just begged to be written in a “Seussical” fashion.
Photos rendered in Photoshop by Charmin Foth
Reposted from 2013.

Kids do the darndest things.

On By charminfothIn Farm LifeLeave a comment

This is a repost, and it is almost time for a new host of “kids.” I will post a new video when they arrive. This little dose of cuteness will have to do until that time comes.

I live on a farm in Tennessee and this little snippet is about our newest family members this year, three new kids. Goat kids, not children. I love to watch the little ones bounce and play.  I hope you enjoy this video, it’s short and sweet.

Quality products are hard to find

On By charminfothIn Farm Life, Home Improvement, Little Money PitLeave a comment

It seems quality products get harder and harder to find. This is the age of “As Seen on TV” ads that tout wonderful products with amazing features only to find cheap products that never live up to their hype. So, when I find something of true quality I like to let others know about it.

As many of you know, we live in an 80 year old country house on a farm near Knoxville. “The Little Money Pit” as I like to call it is always involved in some type of home improvement project. We have been in the house 11 years now, and when we moved in the fireplace was red brick and made the room look dingy and dark.

My goal was to find a paint that would cover the brick and look good. What I found was Zinsser Perma-White. In 2003 when I first painted the fireplace. It went on smooth and covered the brick with only 2 coats. The difference it made in the room was astounding, bright and open instead of dark and dreary.

Late in December, my husband and I decided it was time to give the room an update. We took down old ceiling tiles, trim, painted walls, trim, and the fireplace. The living room was painted with a beautiful shade of very light sea foam green, and the trim was painted kelly green, the wall next to the fireplace will be a plum color. (I will post the completed revamp once the room is complete.)

Fireplace now and before painting

The original look was very dark, on both the brick and walls, no longer! 

My family will tell you I am very frugal. I save things and recycle when I can. I have been known to repurpose a thing or two. So it wasn’t a surprise to me to find that I still had the original can of Zinsser Perma-White that I painted the fireplace with 11 years ago.

What was a surprise was that the paint was still good! After 11 years! I repainted the fireplace tonight, and it looks amazing. I can’t believe it. The paint held up wonderfully over the last 11 years; there were a few places where dark purple candles had melted on the mantle. The Zinsser Perma-White covered it in one coat!

If you have ever tried to paint over where a waxy mess has been you know that is a BIG DEAL because even when you think all the wax is gone, the residue it leaves behind will keep the paint from sticking to that spot.

So this blog is dedicated to an amazing quality product, and no Zinsser doesn’t even know I bought their product 11 years ago. So there is no kickback involved, just an honest review of a product that really works, even 11 years later.

So if you are getting ready to paint and you need a paint that will last and cover, spend the extra and get the Zinsser.