Mothers and Daughters

Yesterday a lady came to the farm to take video. She noticed Abby and her mother Moldy strolling around inseparably like two mallwalkers.

"Who are these two?" she asked. They caught her eye; there was something about them.

"That's Abby and Moldy," said the farmer. "they are mother and daughter."

"Oh," said the lady. She watched them paddling about busily for a minute. "Is there something" -- she fished for a polite word -- "eccentric about them?"

"They are from Oregon," the farmer explained, and that seemed to clarify it, even though Abby was born here and has never set foot in Oregon. Because after all Oregon is really a state of mind.

Anyway today Hannah Belle had two daughters. In all her life she has only ever had three previous daughters, so that was quite a coup, two in one day.

Her mother Baby Belle had four daughters.

One of course was Hannah Belle, the smartest goat of all time and a holy terror. The farmer always pretends to be angry with Hannah Belle, recounting her misdeeds. She jumped over the stall, she jumped over the fence, she jumped over the gate, she broke out of the horse trailer, she unlocked the tack room, she showed the others how to get under the fence. So on, ad infinitum. But then when you look over the farmer is patting Hannah Belle and giving her special treats.

"Oh, she is a very bad goat," the farmer intones woefully. In go the ginger snaps as punishment.

"Really incorrigible." In go the pretzels and swedish fish.

Tinker Belle was the second Baby Belle daughter. She is lost, we don't know where she is. If you know where Tinker Belle is, email us. She looks just like Hannah Belle but she isn't a holy terror.

One is Blue Umbrella. Blue of course is extremely good looking but she is not a holy terror at all, she is sweet and retiring and a little bit shy.

Then there is my mother, Belle Pepper. In some ways my mother is very unlike the rest of the Belle family. She shuns the limelight. She doesn't have wattles or flashy blue eyes. She doesn't escape from everywhere even if she probably could.

Next to Penrose she is probably the kindliest goat here. This year she did not get bred, so when the other does went up to the big barn to kid, she stayed in the pasture with the yearlings. Betty went up to the big barn, leaving her yearling daughter Iota behind.

When we next looked out, Iota was snuggling with my mother, Belle Pepper.

Hannah Belle went up, leaving Terra behind. When next we looked out, Terra was snuggling with my mother Belle Pepper, and Iota.

I went up, leaving Izzy behind. Izzy I must say while she is quite tiny is a tough cookie and I never expected to see her snuggling with anyone. But when next I looked out, she was snuggling with my mother Belle Pepper.

She had booted Terra and Iota out.

Isn't that adorable, I thought.