Nibbles the Goat!

 

 Hi my name is Nibbles.  I'm a Nubian doeling or a baby girl goat in human speak. 

 

This handsome fella is my brother from another mother, Pants (a.k.a. Britches or Trouser Lad).  He watches out for me and snuggles with me when it's cold.  

 

Here is a great picture of Pants and I eating some leftover hay together.  The girls who take care of us said it's a great picture of our good side.  

 

This is Rigatoni my sister from another mister (and another mother too but that doesn't sound as cool).  Rigatoni is a Nigerian Dwarf Goat and most days she has a real attitude problem.  She's kind of like the Chihuahua Taco, in that she doesn't know she's a squirt!

 

This is Auntie Lena, she's gonna be taking care of us for awhile.

 

You see, we are almost ready to make a big move to our forever home, just over the hill.  In fact just today our sisters, Hershey and Bubbles went to their forever home close to where I'm going to live.  

 

This is a picture of one of my new moms showing me how to correctly wear a visor when it's winter in the mountains.  I'm not sure if I will ever need to wear a visor but she also has a pocketful of raisins and she's great about sharing them.  

 

So here's a kiss for you, hope your day is as wonderful as mine is!  

Friends are awesome!

 Life on the ole rancho is much the same but always different.  Understand?  The kids are still kids but growing up so fast.  This past Friday, Pearl's babies went off to a new home at a horse boarding facility where they will be companions to a few horses.  Horses are always mentally unstable, in my opinion so I was happy that they will be able to provide such an honorable service.  It's always sad to see them go but I'm so happy that I could add a a little goatie joy to the world.

 Haf Dog was working sheep when I tried to sneak up on her for a few pictures.  I got this annoyed look before she got back to business.

 Life is good for Border Collies when there are sheep around.

 Jema Goat kidded a beautiful little doeling last Saturday.  Jema was quite upset with the whole process and gave me the stink eye more than once throughout labor. 

 The little girl wasn't even dried off before she started charming visitors.  She's got a home to go to and a fancy name, Ginger.  She gets lots of loving and has quickly blended in with the older kids. 

 Gretchen and Avril have decided to shoot for their milkmaid patch.  Gotta fill that ranch girl sash!  It's been great fun to watch.  Sometimes it's a group effort.  Friends are awesome. 

 They also make sure to cuddle all the other creatures in the barn too.  In fact Gretchen got to help a brand new Suffolk lamb get it's first meal last night.

 Bubbles and Hershey have been on several day trips to their new home.  They even camped out with their new human.

 Rigatoni continues to jump and climb on everything available including humans.  Everything is an adventure to a little goat.

 Her new mom tried to talk some sense into her but I don't think it did any good.  I guess Nigerian Dwarf Goats are immune to school principals.  The threat of banging erasers was lost on the rotten kid. 

 Tails have started dropping, blacks and whites, all over the barn.  Some have been gathered for various projects and opportunistic dogs have made use of the rest. 

 Jumping bean or not, how could you not love that face!

After lots of muddy, poopy hooves in the milk buckets I ordered a Dansha style milker off of Ebay.  It should arrive at the end of the week. 

So there you have it, same old stuff happening around here. 

I'm a WINNER! As if you didn't already know!

Last night Guffey Community Charter School held their Annual Pie Palooza!  It's fundraiser in which locals donate their best pies for a contest and auction.  Since Jolene started attending school in Guffey last year just after the Pie Palooza, I had no idea what a magnificent  event it was.  Guffey School has between 25-30 students enrolled in K-8th grades.  It's a wonderful school in an extraordinary community.  Our little school was packed with people and A LOT of pies!  Last year's winner, Norma Farmer entered a delectable Chocolate Pecan Pie which fetched a tidy sum of $210 in the auction!  Aside from the great melodrama, All is Fair in Love and Pie, put on by the students my favorite part of the evening was WINNING!  I won first place in my category (categories are Fruit, Cream and Other) and best pie overall!  Can you believe it?  I'm still in shock!  I have been so disorganized with bottle feeding babies, lecturing the child, petting the dogs, collecting eggs, milking things and annoying Shelly that I was really on the fence about making a pie.  On Wednesday evening since I was still awake I decided that I would give it a shot and so I made a quick trip the grocery (45 miles away) and opted to put something together.  I settled on a Double Decker Pumpkin Caramel pie.  I stole the recipe from Recipe Girl at    http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/10/03/double-decker-pumpkin-caramel-pie/.  I know it was out of form for me, and I did add some secret touches but for the most part, it's the same pie!  I didn't get to taste any but I got lots of good feedback.

I rushed home last night to tell the family and as you can see by the picture, Isadora was unmoved by the whole experience.  She loves pumpkin and when I didn't have any to spare she pouted on the couch.

Now I've got to start experimenting so that I can win again next year!  I'm not a competitive person but truly, I have to WIN!  

 

Sitting with the kids, makes everything better.

The Kids are crazy!

Crazy but wonderful! 

Crazy Kids!

I tried to get some decent pictures of the kids.  It was futile to even try.  The kids are separated from their mamas each morning so that we may milk in the evenings.  It's nice arrangement, full of positive energy and sharing!  Okay, no so much.  At first the kids are all for it.  They escape their stalls and run crazy around the aisleway.  They are good at vacuuming up any scattered hay here and there.  

They not only vacuum up the little piles of scattered hay but they quickly tear up the bale meant for the sheep.  Copenhagen the Alpaca has no problem helping. 

There is no moving aside when Shelly scoops the hay either.  After destroying the hay, as if planned they run back and forth up and down the aisle, bouncing off walls and butting at each other. 

 There are no limits.  Everything requires a look into or a jump on.

 Even the empty feed dish, gets the once over.

 Eventually each kid is caught and stalled with Copenhagen, but never fear, there is plenty of hay and fun things to jump and play on still. By the time the afternoon rolls around the kids are screaming across the aisle to their mamas and the mamas scream back.  It makes afternoon chores very loud.  It's like auditory warfare!  It drives me nuts.

 The Suffolk are starting to lamb as well.  I love their wrinkly skin, they remind me a bit of elephants.  Weird I know. 

This little guy was born while I was taking snapshots of the goat kids.  Mama already had him cleaned off and nursing by the time I made it to his run.

 

 They are all legs and ears.  The are so gangly and uncoordinated.  So different from my goats who seem to possess agility and the ability to climb anything the minute they hit the ground.  

 Jersey Cow is still cranky.  She's not getting special treatment and she feels as if she deserves it.  I've also pastured a couple of Highland steers with her and she's not use to sharing.  Very stingy girl. 

 

What blog would be complete without a picture of Miss America herself, Rigatoni!  She's growing up fast.  She's sprouted little nubins on her She Devil head.  Since Poky (mom) is polled and I couldn't feel anything earlier I thought she might be polled too.  Good thing for her she's not.  She'll be going to a home with other goats and she's gonna need those horns to match her attitude.  

 

 I tried to get a few pictures of Jezebel, but this one was the best I could do.  Jezebel has got to be in your lap and chewing on your clothing or the universe will not continue to survive.

 Jazz wanted to know why the little twerp, Rigatoni has been getting all the attention.  Didn't she just have babies last year?  Weren't they just as cute?  I gave her a handful of Fritos and a half of a banana and she seemed to be placated. 

 Aurora and Flower took advantage of the sunshine and soaked up a few rays.

 Cindy allowed me to get this close to her.  She did come closer when I offered her Fritos, but only for an instant and then she was off again surveying her realm.

Before I left the goat yard, Rigatoni used the draw string from my jacket to demonstrate the proper way to slurp pasta.  Only fitting a goat named Rigatoni would know how to slurp pasta.