Baby Goats

It's been a whirlwind here lately. There's so much that has happened just since my last posting. The haying is done. No rain, a good crop, and it's all stacked in the lower barn. 

There were a few bales that were too green to stack with the rest, and for lack of a better place to put them, they're sitting on lawn chairs on the patio under the gazebo! Now they are off the wet ground, under a dry roof, and getting lots of ventilation for drying. They look like some sort of practical joke or country humor. I wonder how long I'll have to leave them there. 

I noticed some birds eating at a mulberry tree near the house late last week. I stopped at the window for a moment to observe them, and I chanced to catch a glimpse of a scarlet tanager in an adjacent tree. Of course I grabbed my camera and snapped a pic. for proof.

Our trip to Kentucky last weekend went off without a hitch. (One of my Goddaughters received her first Communion... Yay!) She was beautiful in a dress made from her mother's wedding gown. I was glad to get to spend a little time with her. 

I learned from a friend of mine on Monday that the latest testing that she had undergone to determine the cause of her ongoing abdominal pain and burning turned up a lesion on her pancreas. She was facing the diagnosis of cancer, and not just any cancer, pancreatic cancer. That's pretty much a death sentence! We all prayed for mercy. She had a CT scan Wednesday, and a doctor declared her pancreas normal on Thursday. Praise God! She is still suffering and tired of all the ongoing testing. I hope that her medical trouble can be diagnosed and successfully treated soon. But in the mean time I'm sure that her 6 kids and husband are greatly relieved. I sure am!

Monday night we picked up two doelings. One is 100% Alpine, the other is 75% Alpine and 20% Saanen. Yup, they're future milkers. Right now they are milk consumers though.  They have been transitioned to cow's milk, so they're getting whole milk in bottles via "lamb nipples." And boy are they greedy. They slurp, tug, froth at the mouth, and gulp just as fast as they are able! Their little tails wag, they crouch on their "knees," and they are always disappointed when the bottles are empty. 

The white one is the percentage Saanen.

If I don't come armed with a bottle, they nibble at the knees of my pants. They nuzzle the tops of my rubber boots. (They are black like the bottle nipples.) If my hands are within reach, they'll rear up and suck my fingers, hoping that milk will come out. And they cry a lot when they hear anyone coming. 

They like to play with a ball, putting their front hooves on it and walking it about. They also like to play "king of the bench." Maybe I'll put a kiddie slide in their stall soon. That would be entertaining. 

The bad news is that our geriatric goat has been a, "chickens are my herd" goat too long. She's not happy about two bitty, bleating baby goats getting extra attention and annoying her with their noises. She wants nothing to do with them, unless you count menacing them with her hackles up, her ears forward, and her head down until she has them between a fence, gate, corral, or stall wall... and then charging them. We have tried a friendly introduction multiple times, have given her loads of extra love, and have tried to distract her when they are about, all to no avail. So our new goaties have the stall next to hers and they do not intermingle.

Tuesday we went to an event in conjunction with Spaceport Indiana's homeschool space day next fall. All students educated at home were invited to attend a special event that was supposed to include a tour and simulated mission at the NASA Challenger Center. It was a flop. We wasted several hours in the car and a fair deal of gas money. Although the space day event was for 7 year olds and up, the tour was only for 13 year olds and up. And although I had been in contact with someone from Spaceport Indiana repeatedly, and had asked if my younger two could come along, I was never told about age requirements. I was told, "the more the merrier." And nothing on the printed material said so either. And in the end, they didn't do  simulations in the ground control or spacecraft rooms despite having advertised that they would that in multiple locations. It was a, "pay us $500 and we'll do simulations for your homeschool co-op" advertisement session. Well, I'm not even in a co-op these days. I was snookered.

We had the usual music lessons, garbage and recycling drop-off, grocery shopping, errands (like returning summer clothes that didn't work for my kiddos) loads of laundry, piles of dishes, and school work on Thursday. So that's the summary. Today we are helping our neighbors put up their hay. We are also getting ready for my in-laws who are coming "camping" on our property. As my father-in-law has stated, this is his favorite campground. It will probably be a weekend full of fishing and other Grandmom organized events.