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Archive for July 10th, 2008

Jul
10

Our First Goats

I love all the goats. They’re so beautiful! Their coats come in so many different colors and patterns. How do I choose? Which will be ours?

They are such friendly things, too. And they love treats!





I think this one’s coloring is really interesting.





She has babies, as do they all.





It’s been over two months since our first visit to the goat farm. We went back last month after the first round of babies was born. We decided we would take three babies, two doelings (girls) and a wether (neutered boy). I’m looking forward to someday milking my goats, learning to make cheese and soap. Doesn’t that sound like so much fun? We’ve been preparing, constructing the enclosure and reading up about caring for goats, and we got a giant puppy, a livestock guardian dog, to protect our goats. We went back again, this third time, to bring Coco to meet the goats.

And it was time to choose our goats.

Then the goat lady brought these two babies, the newest born, out from the barn. Their mother’s name is Clover.





I took this picture of the lovely, caramel-colored Clover on our first visit to the farm. I love all the colors and patterns of the goats, but I have to say, this coloring was my favorite.





And the goat lady surprised me by offering instead of taking two baby girls and a baby boy, would I like to take Clover and her two babies (a boy and a girl)?





Well, I almost knocked her out, tied her up, and locked her in the barn for fear she’d change her mind and not be able to part with the gorgeous creature that Clover is before we are ready to take her. I said, yes, of course! I love Clover! She’s beautiful, and not only that, since she will come with her babies, we won’t have to wait for them to be weaned. We can take Clover and her babies as soon as we have the enclosure finished. But wait, there’s more! Clover has MILK! Now! I won’t have to wait till next year for a baby to grow up and have a baby of its own to have my own fresh goat milk–I’ll have it as soon as Clover comes!

And so…. These are our new goats. Clover and her doeling and buckling. Hopefully, we’ll be ready soon to take them home. (Maybe in about a week?) I must speedily (and with panic!) study up on milking goats.





And Coco– Well, she’d just better hurry up and get ready, too!

We brought her to meet Admiral.





Seeing Coco with Admiral, I remembered that even if she is a giant puppy, she is still small. I think Admiral gave her some tips and whispered in her ear that everything would be okay, she could handle it.





And then we went home, to work on the fence and study up on milking.





See you soon, Clover!!!!!!!

Posted by Suzanne McMinn | Permalink  

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Jul
10

Busy Canning!


My feet hurt.

Posted by Suzanne McMinn | Permalink  

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The Slanted Little House

"It was a cold wintry day when I brought my children to live in rural West Virginia. The farmhouse was one hundred years old, there was already snow on the ground, and the heat was sparse-—as was the insulation. The floors weren’t even, either. My then-twelve-year-old son walked in the door and said, “You’ve brought us to this slanted little house to die." Keep reading our story....



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November 2009
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