Goats in the Morning

As the dew burns off the pasture in the morning sunshine, we, goats, are out and contemplating the plans for the day in a goat round table (or round paddock) discussion about where the best grasses are today.


Rosco P. Coltrane (the buck for the year) is contemplating the shiny thing in the farmer's hand that shines a bright light in his eyes and makes a "click" sound.


I spend my morning minutes meditating over my dish of grain. Perhaps I will eat all the sunflower seeds first, then the oats, then the alfalfa pellets. Or maybe the other way around. Ohm...



Figaro is looking very ethereal this morning in the fog. Perhaps he is but a mirage of a mythical being transported here to spend his eternity on Earth. Perhaps he is the ghost-of-all-goats-past and here to remind us of our momentary lifespans. Or perhaps I have been meditating too long and he's just an Angora goat with curly hair. Ohm.

I'm still here!

Hello!
I am still here, believe it or not! The farmer is a little busy right now with summer coming on and I have been a little busy with all the fresh grass coming on, so we apologize for not writing sooner. I am doing well. My milk is coming steadily and I am shedding for the summer. Perhaps the farmer will help me out and trim my coat. She usually gives me a pretty bad haircut but it makes me feel lighter and cooler, so I don't mind. A bath might even be nice if it would stop raining and warm up long enough to get a bath and then dry off. I have had plenty of "showers" this spring with the constant yet unpredictable rain. For a while I was afraid I needed a snorkel to get out to the pasture! Argh...

The kids are getting big. I think the farmer is getting ready to let them go to their new homes, according to all the grunts and grumbling I hear coming from the kid pen when the farmer is in there trying to feed them. She always seems to come out of the pen with hoof marks on her butt. I have to smile a little at that. Thank goodness it's her and not me that has to deal with those little troublemakers! I have the good sense to enjoy being milked by a nice steady milk machine and not a pushy-shovey kid. Thank you very much!

Well, time to get back to that fresh grass.

PS: If you see the farmer, tell her it's time to move the fence to a new patch of grass. We goats don't appreciate picking over the same piece for a week. Thanks!

Goodbye and Hello!

Pepper Ann left the farm this weekend. The farmer tells me that she went to a very nice group of ladies in Vermont to live on their sheep farm. Although Pepper was a Nubian (patooey!), she was a wonderful friend and a nice pasture mate. Pepper didn't go alone to her new home. The ladies also took Pepper Ann's daughter, Silver Dollar.

Pepper Ann and Silver Dollar got to ride in the farmer's Jeep to Vermont. They got to take a ferry ride in the Jeep across Lake Champlain (can Nubians float?). And they got to get in the new ladies' truck to go the final 1/2 hour to the sheep farm. Goodbye Pepper Ann and Silver Dollar! Have fun with the sheepies!!!

Then the farmer and her assistant (baby Emily) went further down the highway in Vermont to another sheep farm where the farmer picked up a new pet. No one in the barn is quite sure what this new pet is exactly. It's not a sheep... it's not a dog.... I don't think it is a goat... The farmer says it is a goat, but I have never seen such a goat with long hair like that. While I can get a little fuzzy in the winter, I have nothing on this little thing!

Here is a picture of the new barn thing. What do you think it is???

Pictures! Finally!

The farmer finally brought her camera out to the barn. She took pictures of all us goats to share. Here's me. I am pretty!

Here are all the kids from this year. It's a goat color wheel! Black, brown, white, spots, silver! Every color!

The one in the middle is my son. He looks like a Toggenburg with all the gray and white. I am not sure where that came from. Neither me nor his dad were Toggs.

The one in the middle is my other son. He is a very handsome Alpine looking kid.

More Baby Goat Pictures!

Go to the farmer's blog to see pictures of some of the baby goats -- www.rosesgoats.blogspot.com. I do have to warn you, there are only pictures of the Nubian (patooey!) kids on the blog so far. For some unknown reason, the farmer has not put pictures of my kids up yet. I think this is an injustice! The farmer should take time out of feeding the kids and cleaning the barn and moving the pasture fence and taking care of her baby and husband to take pictures of my kids and publicize them! Of course, she must not take any time out of what is involved in feeding and milking myself and the other production does. After all, we are the only reason she makes us have these kids in the first place, right?!

UPDATE: The farmer says she will get pictures of ALL of the kids up soon.

Cookie Crumbled!

Cookie finally gave up her kids on Sunday. She had two nice does. Even though they are 3/4 Nubian (patooey!), the 1/4 that is Alpine is pretty darn cute. Here's pictures!

This is Oreo. We also call her "Double-Stuffed" because she is a lot bigger than her sister.



This is Snickerdoodle. She has lots of white flecks mixed in her black coat.

Let's Get This Over With!!

Ugh, I am huge and getting huge-r... I can barely see my hooves (except when I look down). I am not due until April 12th the farmer says. I hope these babies come sooner!