4.09.2017

Picking Up

What a glorious spring day! In the middle of a pasture reseeding project, I took a long break with the goats. We watched Farmer Fin tinker with some fencing while we lounged around in the sun. Jolene and I spent some quality time. She is one of the two-year-olds, born in the Sundgau year (Sundgau is the name for her color way, the mostly black goats in our Alpine herd), when nearly all of the kids looked just like her. They were indistinguishable. We kept Jolene and Angie.


Normally, we'd be caring for a bunch of babies by mid-April, but we bred the goats really late in the fall and winter. It was pretty much absent-mindedness, and it means we are cutting it really close for our first market, in a month. C'est la vie; what's done is done. The opportunity in this screw-up is that since we don't have to deliver babies and feed them and milk goats and all that - basically, run our business - for a few extra weeks this year, we have time to enjoy these first days of spring sunshine and hang with the herd.


"We" includes Tali, our 18-month-old Anatolian Shepherd. We found a new home for her brother last week. Now we are focusing on training her, patiently, strictly, and mindfully, to be a good working dog. Tali had an excellent day today. She came when I called, sat on command, and kept her movements slow and steady around the goats. She's a teenager, and I know she will challenge us, but she is capable of being this good. We miss her brother a lot. 


The goats probably don't miss him though. They were fat and happy today. Coffee did some intense stretching this afternoon. Also she is very round.



I'm disappointed at our lousily timed kidding season this year - one week earlier and we could have started during my school break - but we definitely have enough projects to keep us busy through April. Spring days just beg to be filled. For today, though, I'm satisfied and sleepy.