It's getting real

          The end of an era.  I milked Dandelion and D’Arcy for the last time last night, and for the last time used the milking machine.  I have such sorrow about letting them go, but there’s a part of me that, regardless of sorrow, knows it must be done in order to move on.  I’m going to miss them, D’Arcy especially. I love them both, but D’Arcy’s always been my pocket goat.

 

Last time milking

          I've been dispersing my herd for a few months now, but today was different. D'Arcy, Dandy, and Leo went to their new home, and Fedra  will be joining them on Monday. When I walked out into the barn tonight to feed the remaining animals, it felt empty. No D'Arcy, no Dandy, no real milking, only Leah, who is almost dry. 

I feel like crying. I teeter between numbness and overwhelming sorrow. Goats have been so much a part of my life for the last 9 or 10 years that it's hard to imagine life without them. When Leah leaves...well, I'm not going to think about that until it happens.

          When I left the two does at Stephen Lee’s, Dandy was bleating loudly.  Yes, it was probably because the other goats had gone out to the pasture, but she and D’Arcy were turned toward me, watching me.  I felt like I had betrayed them.

          I know the cure for this.  Let myself feel the grief, then help someone else.  Get out of myself completely.  In the meantime, I'll go hug a goat.

Dandy settling in.  Her doeling, Hermione, is on the other side of the fence.  Instant recognition, and "Mama, can I nurse from you?"  "No!"

Dandy--with her daughter in the background, and her granddaughter next to her. 

Are you really leaving us here?

Hey!  Where are you going?

Leo doesn't have any qualms. He has a new buddy, and in a few days, a new purpose.

Apron off. Time to get down to some serious eating.

Goat tricks

I love goat tricks.  Not tricks that I teach them, but the little quirky things they do that make them so endearing.

Fedra decided early on that a large round feeder was perfect for sleeping in. She retires early so she gets first dibs; once she's bedded down, there's no argument about whose spot it is. 

I had thought to catch dropped hay under the hanging slowfeeders with another round feeder.  Silly me, I should have known that would not happen.  As soon as Fedra eyed it, that became her lounging area.

  

She wasn’t reckoning on Dandy, though, who watched for a day or two and then appropriated the “bed”. It doesn’t fit her nearly as well as it fits Fedra; she almost pours out of it.  Goats do like snug little spots and Dandy is no exception. so I shouldn’t have been surprised to come out one morning and find her all curled up.  

 

To her credit, Fedra took it in stride.

Dandelion is my most amusing goat, always up to something that makes me smile.  Take the milking stanchion, for example.  The barn is built on a hill, so in truth, the "ground" floor is two stories high on one side. The window in the milk room overlooks the downhill slope, and every day Dandy pauses to gaze out the window for several moments, observing the pasture and treeline, ascertaining dangers that might lurk for unsuspecting goats.  

Once she’s satisfied, she grabs another bite of Chaffhaye before heading out the door.  It's important not to leave any morsel untouched.