Tools

The human has a lot of different tools that she uses out here. Some are used to help build fence and keep us in.

Some are for fixing fence and helping to keep us from escaping, especially making sure kids don't get out. (Pistol and Vinnie I hope you are listening.)

One of the tools she uses the most is fascinating.

It helps clean our water buckets when the geese make them nasty. It used to be used to clean the cattle tank when we actually had one out here.

One of my favorite uses for this tool...

Just Another Day

Hmmm... looks like she could use some more rubbing and scratching.

Strange roomies. They are both fierce when they have babies!
Dolly has resorted to the feed tub to control her girls again.
He hasn't been mean to anyone lately. Does that mean he'll get to stay?
He used to stay with us, but he doesn't like our kids bouncing all over him.
Just another day around the farm.

Shedding Part 2

There are some things that work better for getting the fur out than others. Minnie enjoys a good rump scratch by the human.

The human pulls out handfuls of loose fur from Minnie's neck.

Helen and Mason play in front of one of our favorite ways to remove loose fur. Can you guess how it works?

Maggie and Scarlet demonstrate this technique in another favorite area to remove fur.

The little places where the wires cross really pull the fur out. We need this cleaned out, or we'll have to find new places.

Marley uses the gate.

There is a whole line up for this one. It started with Kizzy, then Sally and finally Litha leans into it.

Betty really leans and pushes into the fence to get the best hair removal possible.

Muffin found a good way to get rid of the excess fur on the backside. We can't get the human to spend the whole day taking turns with rump scratches.

Soon we'll all be sleek again.

Shedding

Even though it's kind of cool and rainy today, it is definitely time to shed the coat! If only I could get rid of the clumps around my collar.

Scarlet looks flocked. When she is done shedding, she'll go back to her deep red.

Litha is losing fur everywhere! She's also starting to look a little bit pregnant.

Jilly has to be hot with all that fur when she is playing so hard. You can see the clump coming out from her shoulder. She's also getting a baby belly.

It will feel good to get all this extra hair out.

The Middle Kid

We all know that the middle kid is the one that has the worst deal. Sadie is the middle kid. For Lily's first year of having babies, the human put her with my kid Bam Bam. Even though she sold him, she realized what a quality buck he was. He gave her two beautiful girls, Rickie and Dolly.

She decided to keep Dolly, and even though she has a big mouth, she is sweet. However, she is not one to share her mother. She is a mama's girl, and she plans to stay a mama's girl her entire life.

When Lily had Sadie the next year, poor quiet sweet Sadie had to contend with a not very happy about it big sister. It wasn't so bad when she was really little because she would curl up with Dolly's boys while Dolly was with Lily. After Dolly's boys left the farm, however, she wanted to curl up with Mom and Sis. Dolly would have none of that. Sadie had to get creative to be able to cuddle with her own mom. If Lily and Dolly were sleeping together, she'd stand and sort of snuggle her face down between the two and doze standing up.

This year, Sadie has two little brothers. Remembering how horrible it was not be able to sleep next to her own mom, Sadie has been a really good big sister. She likes to play with Big Red and Rover.

She never butts them, and even though they try to gang up on her, she doesn't pick on them.

Sadie seems destined to be the forgotten middle kid. Lily still has Dolly tagging along and wanting mom to hold her hoof while she has her babies. She has her new kids this year, and even though both boys will go off to find their own forever farm, there will be new babies next year putting Sadie back in the middle. Such is the life of the second daughter.

No Yard Goats!

That's what the human has said since I was a little kid. For the most part everyone follows that rule, mostly because there is a dog or two sitting on the other side. That big black-with-speckled-feet dog seems to just delight in running at us.

We are minding our own business, chewing our cud, and over he runs barking and growling. Oh, he is scary! Anyhow, most all of us are very good about that no yard goats rule. What could possibly have all those girls' attention?

Pistol and Vinnie. Dolly's girls have been trouble makers from the start. Look at that! They don't know there are big dogs. They don't care. Dolly tries to keep them under control. The whole time they were in there, she was yelling her blood-curdling-someone-is killing-me scream to try and get them back where they belong, but do they listen? No!

Oh that human better get the fence kid-proofed before my baby(ies) get here. Of course, mine will be much better behaved.

Happy Earth Day!

Hug a tree.

Kiss a goat.

Drink in the sunshine.

Dance in the rain.

Smell a flower.

Plant a shrub. Pick up litter.

Appreciate our mother Earth. Bless her by doing something to make her cleaner and healthier.

Happy Earth Day!

Temptation

Oh, I don't know why that silly human plants all those delicious flowers. She doesn't eat them. She won't let us eat them. And look, they are so yummy looking.

The tulip would make one little snack bite.

The whole magnolia tree would make a snack for all of us. The whole air is filled with the scent of magnolia, and it makes me want to munch.

The flowering almond is our favorite. It's the best goat candy you could have. What did she do? She moved the bush so we couldn't even get a tiny little bite.

She even added pink flowering almond bushes, but we cant reach them either.

I'm not sure. The bleeding hearts look like they might tickle going down, but I would definitely give it a try.

If only we could reach all the flowers instead of just smelling and dreaming.

The Grass is Always Greener

Growing

The kids are really growing. It's hard to believe they are already a month old. Pistol and Vinnie were born one month ago today, and the youngest ones will be a month old on the 25th.

Just try getting a still photo of Pistol. She never stops moving. Vinnie is a bit calmer.

Mason is the only one without a twin so far. He throws himself whole heartedly into anything he does, including sharing mom's hay.

Mason also has play companions Angel and Vixen, Cutie's girls. They are growing as fast as any other, so being bottle kids hasn't hurt them. They've also become easy to feed; both come racing any time the human comes out.

Big Red and Rover are fearless and full of inquiry. They like to check out everything. The oak limb in the ground seems to taste good, but I will stick to the green stuff.

My grandkids, Spice and Sugar, are so photogenic. They like to pose and the camera just loves them. Maybe they have future careers as spokesgoats.

Fancy is small, but she has lots of energy and bounce. I think she holds her ears up just to show off those fancy ear wattles.

Velvet makes a friend of Bob. Neither one looks too sure about it.