Finally!!!

I had my babies on Thursday! I had two bucks. Both are very handsome Toggenburg-looking kids. One is very big (which I wasn't so happy about at the time.... ). The other is big but not as big as his brother.

I was a good girl and waited for the farmer to get home from yoga class before I started labor. I had to cross my legs all day and wait for her! She got home and I let her know that I was ready by giving her a big greeting. I yelled and yelled. She got the clue.

We went in the barn and I ate some hay and my grain. Then the contractions started for real. I had to lay down a lot and get ready. They hurt so I layed quietly. I started pushing a little. Nothing happened. I started pushing more. Nothing happened still! The farmer came in and gave me a hand. The first baby started to come out but he was big and his leg was bent and the knee. There was no way that his head and his bent leg were coming out at the same time. The farmer reached in and grabbed his leg and pulled it forward. She then pulled on the kid while I pushed. I screamed a little because it was a lot of pushing and pulling!

The next kid came out quickly. The farmer grabbed them both and cleaned them off with towels. I helped by licking them. I was super tired and ready to sleep so the farmer took the boys into the house to feed them and take care of them. She can do all the hard work from now on.

Now I am making milk and having a good time. I get extra grain and cookies on the milk stand. Everyone is very jealous!

Soon!

Okay, I am ready to not be pregnant any more!!! Oy!

Baby Goat Watch 2010!!

Spring has decided to come early to the frosty North Country! The weather here has been quite fantastic lately with clear, blue skies and temperatures in the 40s. The snow has started to melt and us goats get to go outside to play almost every single day. What more could a goat ask for?

The farmer was nice enough to clean and sanitize the goat barn last weekend in anticipation of my kids arriving. I am due next week and can't wait! I am as big as a house and ready to get these kids out of me. I have been moved to my kidding pen during the nights. I don't have to share my pen or my food dish with Martha anymore. WhoohoO! Now Martha is sharing the big pen with Gloria. They haven't quite figured out the feeding arrangements yet. The morning and evening feedings are now accomplished with lots of jumping and dodging as Martha crashes nervously around the pen to get away from the possible onslaught of Gloria. The farmer was smart to notice that this racket was disturbing my peaceful meals and she now puts Gloria on the milk stand and leaves Martha in her pen to eat. This way no goats have to share any space with other goats during breakfast and dinner. All is better.

I am preparing for kidding by making an udder. No milk yet but my udder is swollen and ready to kick into production once the kids arrive. I also have started to get a little loose in my backend. It shouldn't be long now until I go into labor. The farmer is on stand-by to be available whenever I decide it's time to let the kids out. I will try to keep her guessing, as is the faithful duty of any respectable goat. ;-)

Well, time to get back to napping in the sun. I will let everyone know when the kids arrive!!

Martha's Debut!!

Last weekend, Martha the Toggenburg made her full debut as official "Float Goat" in the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Gala Parade. She was a member of the Trudeau Institute's parade float. The theme of the parade this year was "Adirondack Cowboys". What is more cowboy than a goat?? Martha put on her finest attire, complete with backpack and bandana, and marched with her head high all the way down Main Street. She was so good that she didn't even raise a fuss when someone in the crowd yelled, "Hey! Look at the LLAMA!!". Martha had plenty to say about that when she got back to the barn, but during the parade she decided to be a model of fine goat-ness and she held her tongue.

Here are some pictures of Martha in the parade:

Here's Martha all ready to start marching in the parade.

She enjoyed the fringe on the side of the float (a little too much!)

The float was a bucking bull moose ridden by the director of the Institute. The moose was on springs so it moved!


No bull-riding themed float is complete without its rodeo clown!

Pictures!

Here's a bunch of pictures:

These are all of last year's babies. This year I will have some babies. I hope they are as cute as these!

This is Madge. She is Gloria's daughter. She went to live with a new family.

Here's Hefty. He is my son from last year. Isn't he handsome?

This is my mom, Gloria, getting milked. Doesn't she look happy?

Here's me! EXTREME CLOSE-UP!!

New Year's Resolutions

This year I promise to remember my resolutions and stick to them to get results. Here are my resolutions for 2010:

1. Butt only those who butt me first - no more fighting unless provoked

2. Take time to contemplate the beauty - sunbathe at least once a day

3. Grasp life by the horns - unless those horns are connected to a much bigger goat

4. A thing not tasted could be a treat wasted - don't be afraid to try new things

5. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence - my mission is to prove that theory

Well, that should be enough for me to handle for an entire year.

My Heart is Breaking!

Hi hi. This is Pepper Ann. My lovely boyfriend has been stolen! He was here one minute and then all of the sudden he was gone! A man from Vermont came and took him away. The farmer says that he is going to a new farm. I am heart broken! It may not have looked like I loved him but I did. Even though I hit him and pushed him away from the food and jumped on him and tried to throw him over the top of the gate, I loved him! Even though I beat him up every time I saw him and he ran the other direction from me all the time, he was my true soul-mate. He was the only want that understood me.

Now I sit at the gate crying and crying for my love to come back. I will continue to cry until my heart has healed. Maybe I need special treats to ease my pain. Maybe I need to stay in the barn and get extra hay just so my depression doesn't worsen. It could be bad. I could fall off the edge of despair at any minute. An apple would help to brighten my day. A delicious balsam branch would bring my spirit some salvation. Perhaps the farmer will hear my heart-wrenching cries and take some pitty on the poor heart broken. Maybe..