Archives for goats

Departures and New Beginnings

July 14, 2011 | 38 Comments

The past month has been an unplanned hiatus and respite for us. We lost two beloved members of our family and farm, Daphne and Butch. Our 15.5 y.o. retriever, Daphne, was our first English Golden. While she maintained a strong spirit right up until the end, her health has been sliding for months. We think losing her pal and half sister Mishka at Christmas last year was really hard on her. Although we thought we were prepared for when this moment would come, we have been a mess, to be honest with you! Losing our three girls within a 1
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Simple Gifts: Goat Nonsense!

January 11, 2011 | 10 Comments

My simple gift this week came from Butch, my Angora goat.He likes to play "steal the hat" while I do morning chores. The game: For two players: one shepherd, one impish goat, is a hybrid cross between Keep Away and Capture the Flag. The play: Shepherd moves as quickly as possible down the line of feeders, depositing hay flakes. Then attempts to clean and fill water buckets without getting gloves wet or losing hat. The object: Shepherd's objective is the feed the sheep, goats and llama as efficiently as possible and to keep warm on a cold winter morning. For
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Holiday Weekend

December 26, 2010 | 7 Comments

A few scenes from Christmas day at the farm. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. We're getting hammered tonight with the first blizzard of the year. Tomorrow will be busy, plowing, shoveling, snow blowing. But for tonight, I'm just enjoying the storm as the holiday weekend winds down, crossing my fingers that we don't lose power.
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Peaceable Morning

February 17, 2010 | 7 Comments

It's been a week of cantankerous critters. On Monday Butch brandished his horns at me as I tugged the hay sled through the barn door. The Leicesters were sparring at dinner time. For the life of me I couldn't separate Deluth and Maia who were more intent on bashing the c*#! out of each other than eating. Several other ewes weighed in; others kept their distance. In the carriage barn, Cilantro took a cheap shot at Teaberry. Those two have been at each other off and on for days.Occasionally Parsley and Savory jump into the fray. It's hard to say
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“Nor’easter”

February 11, 2010 | 8 Comments

Yesterday's much hyped nor'easter didn't amount to much After a mere dusting of 3 inches, I had the barn lots plowed out by mid morning. Late afternoon's sun reduced the snow to scattered patches. You won't catch me complaining about the lack of snow this winter. A sifting once a week freshens up the yards and then I can feed the sheep outdoors. With so many sheep in full fleece, there's not much elbow room at the feeders these days. Lengthening days means plenty of light for end-of-day chores. Here are some happy campers at dinner. Speaking of
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Spread the Love

February 5, 2010 | 52 Comments

We're going to have a little fun with Valentine's Day this year. I can't play favorites, since I'm the shepherd. But you can send Valentine wishes to that special someone in the flock. Does your heart go pitter-patter for the debonaire Butch, or do you have a sweet spot for his gal-pal Gypsy? Are you sending love to Cocoa, our wiley-wooly flock matriarch, or do you adore her handsome grandson, Cinder (or perhaps Cinder's sister, Blaze?) Maybe your heart already belongs to our humble guard llama, Crackerjack (unless you're a secret admirer of his elegant but fickle counterpart, Caitlyn).
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Winter Thicket

January 6, 2010 | 7 Comments

It's cold, but pretty here today, I went hunting in the thicket behind the barn(need some wild grape vine for a craft project). Had a little company. I can tell from the lack of hoof prints, the sheep haven't explored much beyond their feeders in recent days. My walk with the camera and pruning shears sparked some interest and they investigated the thicket with me. Here's some shots for your sheep (and goat and llama) viewing pleasure. copyright 2010, Barbara Parry. All rights reserved. Feel free to share a link to this site. Please do
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Enough Snow!

December 13, 2009 | 5 Comments

Today got off to a bright start that made me think the forecast predicting yet more snow was false (ha, ha, ha!). Gypsy and Butch greeted me at the gate, looking for treats. I was packing apples today, their favorite. Sometimes it's oranges, sometimes carrots, occasionally bread. Whatever, they love it all. By mid-afternoon the sky was full of fat white flakes, coming down wet and heavy. Unbelievable. So I skipped the errands planned for the day and hunkered down. Finished decorating my tree. The sheep have been loathe to leave the barn and I can't say I blame
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