Miss Neenia Arrives

Neenia, named after a character from J. R.R. Tolkein's "Silmarillion" came to us from Zederkamm Farm. For some reason I don't have many photos of Neenia that first year. She arrived at 5 months of age and became Nemo's companion while he weaned himself of mom's milk. It was quite upsetting for her (and me vicariously) because she was met with goat intimidation tactics immediately as Vanda and Pepper tried to tell her in no uncertain terms that she was NOT WANTED. This consisted of staring her down with scary and angry looks, butting at her gate again and again so much that Vanda's head was bleeding from this tactic. This is the side of goats I'm not yet comfortable with, but I'm sure it's a survival tactic for goat herds in the wild. As a result she cried a lot and was generally miserable, in my attempt to comfort her we became bonded. Eventually they got used to her presence, she and Nemo became buddies and she settled in.

Nemo's First Summer

Nemo was such a delight. Discovering the thrills of being a kid vicariously reminded us of being kids ourselves and since Nemo was an only 'kid' he was very secure, well fed and even tempered. He had everything he needed. He scampered and leaped, twisted and ran. Pepper became his best buddy to butt with and life was good...until he had to be weaned! My goodness he really did not want to give up milk or his momma. And so we brought home Neenia.

Our First Kid: Nemo Arrives

In great anticipation I nervously prepared every last recommended item for goat kid delivery, and came home one afternoon just about 15 minutes after it was all done. I fussed and cooed and did all sorts of silly mothering type things, but it was a done deal and I was just catching up. Nemo was the sweetest momma's boy and lucky little guy, he got all that milk to himself. We were in awe at the wonders of birth and nature and since we don't have children of our own...our first kid.

The Day After the Really Big Snew:

We counted over 25 trees down on our property with countless branches and debris all flotsam and jetsom everywhere. We are so thankful that not one of those trees created any harm and today we are making good use of the wood in our fireplace, in our garden and elsewhere. And the goats were just fine! But let's get back to the goats! Luckly before the big storm we had taken Vanda to do a tango with Romeo. Romeo is a lovely buck who lives at Pat Showalter's Zederkamm farm. The very place where Kinder goats began. http://www.kinderzed.com/goats1.htm and so she was expecting!

Old Man Winter Works His Magic:

There's not much browse for goats in winter, but we had an overgrown patch of blackberries and the leaves lasted for a long time. The goats loved to go out with us and it was a chance to take a deep breath of fresh air and just be. Soon we were in for a winter's treat, although some might say...trouble! The big wind storm of 2006 came in about 1:00 a.m. Huddled under the strongest part of our house until four in the morning, Gordon and I said many a prayer for our house, our barn and outbuildings as chaos and falling trees, branches and more were crashing outside. We took a small step back into the time of our ancestors when the power was out for nine days. Even with a small generator we ran for about 2 hours a day to keep our water pumped and freezers cool. it was amazing how busy we were just taking care of daily necessities like hauling wood for the woodstove, cooking on the woodstove and cleaning up after ourselves. The day power returned was a great relief, but I sure do appreciate the lives and times of pioneers in a way I never have before.

Farmer's Hours:

That first fall with the goats was fun and challenging. We thought we were really being challenged by having to milk once a day. Now we know that was easy street. I made lots of kefir, Gordon had enough milk for coffee and cereal and we relished the new experience of taking the goats out for walks and enjoying fresh from the goat milk products.

Got Livestock?

Gordon mentioned more than a few times that he wanted to have goats. I grumbled and thought one more thing to take care of was too much, but one day working at a local CSA, I was asked by a co-worker whether I might want some goats. "Well....I know my husband wants goats" I say. So sure enough within days we were putting up fence around our barn with our new friend Lucy who was so interested in selling her goats she helped us put the fence up! Soon Vanda, a Kinder goat and her lady-in waiting, Pepper, a dignified pygmy goat arrived. We had one lesson on milking and then, gulp, it was up to us...or should I say me. Somehow I got the hang of it a bit sooner than Gordon and soon we were in milk.