... and then there were 13

Didn't take long.  Northern Star gave birth to three does.  Triplets, just like last year.

This one I find particularly striking:

But the pregnancies are done and in two weeks and two days we have gone from 9 goats to 22 goats.  We are on track to have 13 milking does next year.  Maybe not lots of milk for 13 animals, but lots of milk for us.

Anyone want some goats?

New Goats - very small goats.

First there were six:

These are two 2-week old goats and four 1-week old goats.

But we still had two pregnancies unresolved.  First to resolve was the doe we affectionally call "Thunder Hips".  Last year, she gave birth to five!  Only one lived, though.  This time, she gave birth to four.  And they have all lived through the first few hours.

Two males and two females.  The one with brown pants is a boy.

And with so many lining up for their turn, the mom needs to do double-duty.

One pregnancy left.  I begin milking next Monday - on the mothers of the six older kids.  Can't wait.

Spring and the promise of getting back up.

This is not a brilliant picture:

 

 It is a bucket of left-over bare-root crabapples from last year.  I accidentally purchased two bunches of 25 crabapples instead of only one, and I wound up with extras.  So these extras were in this bucket of water.  And during the winter they were in this bucket of solid ice.  But Spring has brought back the liquid form, and has wakened the "left for dead" crabapples.  I never would have thought ...

So, taking inspiration from these immature, fruitless and dirt-less beaver-meals ... I can begin again and start growing and living as the sun warms the ice and gives strength and light.

The Blog is back with Goat Pictures

Please meet Sunshine.  Last year she gave birth to two wonderful goats.

This year promises the same.  One girl and one boy - both look healthy ...

except for the ear thing.

Yes, his sister has it too.

Meet Mary.

This is her first birth - and she's only one year old!

Sorry, that got kinda messy.  Gotta clean things up.

Mary mated with Wesley, our secondary stud at R Farm.  He is black and white, so this boy being licked is black and white and brown in a curious way.  A better picture is forthcoming when things get cleaned up.

There are two pregnancies yet to resolve themselves here at R Farm.  We will keep you posted here.  God is good.

Competence and confidence

Tim emails me "...does this apply to what we've been talking about lately?"

Hmmm....
Yep.

Here's more.

These days, we're short on confidence and long on experience. 

"Good judgement comes from experience.  

Experience comes from bad judgement."

--Mark Twain

Let's hope we make it to some good judgement and confidence eventually.

Here's Dart

We've decided on a name for our new buckling- 

d'Artagnan, the young man who wanted to join 

the Three Musketeers.

Dart for short.

 

Here's Dart's first 'trip' outside.

Check him out!

The long awaited first goat kid

R Farm is proud to present

 

our first goat kid!

He was born on Thursday, April 9, while we were all gone.

He was chilled and spent an afternoon warming under close supervision while it hailed loudly on the greenhouse.

He started limp but once he warmed up, he got some good milk into him and has been thriving every since.

 

We're working on a name.  

It's taking a little longer than hoped.

It's important to get right.

 His mom Black Beauty aka 'Thunder Hips' before delivery

 nearly as wide as she was long and tall.

 

Here she is keeping him close while warming.

She's a good mom.

 

Way to go, Beauty!

Welcome, little guy!