You Can Never Take Us Seriously

Cause we're always kidding!

Haha! Get it?  Get it? Baby goats are kids and they are born this time of year, and we call it kidding, so us goat people are always kidding around!

We are delightful, aren't we? Ah, dairy people- we'll milk a joke for all it's worth!

Anyway, the little fuzzballs are arriving left and right, with 40 on the ground since our first kids arrived January 31st.  

'Sup?

To amuse ourselves between disbuddings and picture takings and bottle feedings, we let the kids check out Stella.  Her facial expressions are priceless.

If I ignore it, it will go away

Since it hasn't gone away, I'll use my powers of side-eye, to slyly check it out.

Quick ear sniff while she's distracted!

Fine, you may sniff, but no looking for an udder.

We've always been able to trust Stella with the kids- she seems to easily understand that they are different from the adult goats, and can invade her space (to a point).

Cocktail Hour

The other day, in ye olde barn yard, I noticed that someone looked a bit disgruntled.

Insert dramatic sigh here

What could be troubling you Flash?

The cabana boy has yet to show up with my margarita.

Oh really?

I didn't even know we had a cabana boy. I guess I really should start to pay closer attention if I'm missing those sorts of details.

Yeah! What does it take to get a drink refill around here?

Cassandra appears to think that Boo has had enough already and does not approve of these demands for more.

What a lush! You're going to make yourself sick, you know.

I got called away to deal with something else, but returned a little while later to see if things had gotten straightened out for the ladies.

Flash seemed much happier,

Yes, yes we are so much better, thanks.

and Dipity appeared to be in a pleasant food coma.

Boo, on the other hand did not look nearly as happy.

Urp! Oh no! I think I overdid it...

Huh.  Looks like maybe next time, you should listen to Cassandra.  She is known for predicting the future, after all.

Project Management

I never knew, when I first got my goats, that I was in fact starting my very own herd of project managers. No matter what we are doing on the farm, there's always someone watching what we do, or getting in the way enough that there's no way to rush getting something done.


I've been feeding a "three way" (wheat, oat, barley) hay this winter, and a good deal of the wheat steams have ended up on the ground of the barnyard. I cannot believe that goats have a reputation for eating any/every thing they can get their mouths on, as they waste literally tons of hay a year on our farm.  They do chew on things, yes, but actually consume them? Hardly!

Anyway, being the type to not want to waste anything, I decided to gather up what looked like mostly straw to toss into the chicken palace as something to catch the next couple nights of chicken manure.  I loaded up a wheel barrow, took it to the chicken house, got one scoop of straw under the chicken perches, turn around and see:

Howdy ma'm, just checking to make sure you're using approved materials for this job

Looks like Project Manager Sarandipity (her friends call her Dipity) was on duty that afternoon. The girls all take turns keeping an eye on us farmers, making sure we don't try anything funny around here.

Your project site looks like it is up to code

They are meticulous, and pay attention to detail

Pitchfork complies with barnyard cleanliness-keeping standards

Only after a thorough inspection do they give their feedback

I approve- you may continue with the next stage of your project.

I let Dipity know that it would be much easier to finish my project if she were to kindly move out of my way. And off of my pitch fork.

You there! Hook yourself up to this contraption so I can drive away in a flourish of glory!

I had to remind her that I actually needed both the wheelbarrow and what was in it to complete my project.

 

Parting Shots

With all of the computer trouble I've been having, I hadn't gotten a chance to look at some of the pictures Andy took last fall until somewhat recently.  When I couldn't pull up the pictures of Mini I had taken during the late summer, he went out and grabbed some more pictures so I could post them to the farm web site.  Here are a few of my favorites...

This first one captures the Border Collie personality so well:

Notice how Stella is mostly a blur and everything else isn't? 

That's pretty much what living with a herding dog with too much time on her paws is like. 

Can you guess what happens in the next frame?

Smoosh!

Yes children, this is what the Large Hadron Collider is doing, but with particles instead of dogs.

Wanting to get a few face shots, Andy called Mini over to where he was, and she decided to take the shortest route to get to him, never mind what/who may be in that path:

Stella was caught a little off guard

Mini looks so dutiful and Stella looks so surprised/offended/taken aback.

Here I am!  I came as soon as I possibly could.

Of course, any time we are in a pasture, it doesn't take long before the does figure out we're there and come on over to demand their share of the attention.

Alright kids, you can go visit, just please be safe...

Mini looks like one of those "helicopter parents" who is so certain that her children are going to hurt themselves, while the kids look so confident about what they are doing.   

So there they are.  It was a little bittersweet to find them after we had lost her.  I sometimes think of what could have been, what was supposed to be, and all of a sudden, there's something in my eye.  Wait, both eyes...probably just pollen, or dust, or something.  But, I also think of what was, and the good of having her here, and I know that eventually, that will be mostly all of what I think of when I remember her.