Farm Economy
When one mighty Maddie does the work of ten wet-hay-waste bin tampers.
The Naming Convention
Every year we name our baby goats with the same first letter of their mother's first name. So all of Jewel's babies have names that start with the letter "J," all of Banana Jam's babies start with the letter "B," etc. Vermeer's is one of our favorite lines, and every year we keep one we have to come up with a good "V" name - that also matches the goat. As you can see, Cocoa Puff was a necessary compromise.
Mother Goose, Diversity Advocate
Chook, chook, chook, chook,
“Good morning Mrs Hen,
How many chickens have you got?”
“Madam I’ve got ten,
Four of them are yellow
And four of them are brown
And two of them are speckled red,
The finest in the town.”
Help Us Help You
The New York Times, "Why Doing Good Is Good for the Do-Gooder," October 2017. Emphasis ours. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/well/mind/why-doing-good-is-good-for-the-do-gooder.html
"Volunteering is linked to health benefits like lower blood pressure and decreased mortality rates."
Read moreBefore and After: Molting, With Mr. Bling
At lest now we can see his pretty eyes.
What Mammals Need
A Milking Poem
In spondees, equal weight to each (udder).
SILENT POEM
backroad leafmold stonewall chipmunk
underbrush grapevine woodchuck shadblow
woodsmoke cowbarn honeysuckle woodpile
sawhorse bucksaw outhouse wellsweep
backdoor flagstone bulkhead buttermilk
candlestick ragrug firedog brownbread
hilltop outcrop cowbell buttercup
whetstone thunderstorm pitchfork steeplebush
gristmill millstone cornmeal waterwheel
watercress buckwheat firefly jewelweed
gravestone groundpine windbreak bedrock
weathercock snowfall starlight cockcrow
Milking Postures
A Further Sequence of Events
Here we are, pregnant and cuddly.
Soon we'll be here, milky and chaotic.
No, wait! Here! Full of sighs and squees.
And you could be here! (as bottle-feeder, not goat)
Use the Milk Share/Farm Volunteer form on the home page if you'd like to help with the baby goats for the March 2017 kidding season.
It's /bin/ a great spring,
but I think we're ready for a mud break so everything (including sopping wet muddy manure bins), can dry out.
Ah, the quiet time...
They're sooooo helpful.
We're entering the quietest time of year on the farm, winter! The goats will be dried off shortly, everyone who should be is pregnant, and it's time to clean out the nursery in anticipation of super helpful new farm assistants, like these little guys.
If you're interested in volunteering with the baby goats please send us an email. There are morning, noon, and evening bottle feedings, pen and nursery cleaning, and, of course, intensive cuddle training.
Farm Glossary: Dried off, to dry off
To stop milking the does and let their bodies store resources for the remainder of their pregnancies.
You're Gonna Need a Bigger Gate
Rut is a powerful force of nature, and so is kind Cervantes.
The World's Tastiest, Most Impractical Latte
You know latte, in Italian, just means milk. This might qualify as a cappuccino in Italy, but here on the farm we call this a gatte, a goat's milk latte.
This beautiful cup, if you're curious, was made by our Italian speaking friends Thea Tenenbaum and Lele Malferrari of Thea Lele Pottery.
And now for your language lesson-
Goat: la capra/il capro (as in capricorn, and capering!)
Goat Kid: il capretto/la capretta (but in our case it's always tanti capretti)
Goat's Milk: latte di capra
Goat Cheese: formaggio di capra (in general, but we've made a caprino romano, specifically)