Saturday, December 31, 2005

Hard Cheese

It is the last day of the year and we are down to our very last milk of the season here at the farm. There is only one little yearling Nubian, Boo, still milking. And according to the farmer, Boo's style of milking is "a long walk on a short pier," whatever that means. I did see Boo kick the milk bucket over a few times but I'm sure it must have been an accident. It is a well-known fact all over the farm that Boo is not a rocket scientist.

For example, one morning the farmer came in to feed us and Boo jumped up yelling in alarm and asked me, "who on Earth is that?" I told her, "doh, Boo, that is the farmer who comes in here ten times a day and gives us all our nice grain and hay and straw and water and sometimes even peanuts or licorice." And Boo said, "oh." I realized later it was because the farmer had a new hat and so Boo thought it was a different person. Nubians.

Anyway, this upcoming milk shortage makes the farmer very grumpy because it means no more jack, no more goat milk fudge, no more honey-rosemary chevre, no more panir, no more goat milk lattes (try one and you won't go back), no more goat milk ice cream, no more nothing. How would you like it if you had fresh goat milk every day and then one day you had to go to the grocery store and buy a cardboard box full of that watery overcooked stuff they call milk? "Yuccch" would be the word that springs to mind, or maybe "barfola". If you would like to read about real milk, you can go to the real milk site.

Today the farmer said, "I will be glad when Winnie comes back in milk."

That's all we hear about, Winnie Winnie Winnie the LaMancha. Just because precious Winnie milked for two years as a first freshener, big deal. "Winnie comes from a lot of milk," the farmer says. "Winnie is so pretty, she is going to the state fair when she comes back in milk." SO WHAT. Who cares about going to the state fair and lying around in a tiny pen all day so a bunch of city people can goggle at you and ask questions like "how old is this cute little lamb?"

When the farmer isn't here we call Winnie "farmer's pet" and "brown nose" - it's true, she does have a brown nose. And then we RUN.

Monday, December 26, 2005

Boxing Day

Some people love Christmas, but we goats love the days after Christmas, because that's when the farmer takes off the tinsel and the ornaments and brings out the Christmas tree for us to eat. Yum! This year we are getting a noble.

The only problem is that it is kind of like the day-after-Christmas sale at the mall. Everyone jockeys for position at the fence when they see the tree coming down, and if you don't have a good spot you don't always get to munch the best needles near the top. Oh well, even so, there is plenty of tree left to go around. Even the bark is good.

Once when I was in the house when I was a baby, I was watching tv with the farmer and I saw a Christmas tree at "The White House." (I don't get it, because our house is white too, and sometimes people say, "they live at "The White House" about a mile down from the post office." But this was a completely different house. Oh well.) This tree was huge, taller than a barn.

Now that was a good tree. That would have lasted us a week, even with the Nubians hogging to the front of the line. They said it was a spruce, though, and we don't have that kind of tree here, so I'm not sure it would have tasted as good as ours.

Saturday, December 24, 2005

My Christmas List

All I want for Christmas is:

1. A big bag of Swedish Fish (just the red ones)
2. Some leftover Christmas trees to eat (I prefer the nobles and the doug firs, but I will eat a grand if that's all there is)
3. A chance to visit my boyfriend (His name is Marquee and he is super-handsome)
4. More alfalfa (I know they say I am fat, but this local grass hay is really no picnic)
5. One sunny day so I can go outside without getting my hooves muddy
6. Some backscratching
7. A new cable spool to jump on

There are more things, but I don't want to be greedy, so I will close here.

Merry Christmas everyone! Don't forget your barnyard friends when you are out shopping the holiday sales! Ho ho ho!

Tuesday, December 20, 2005


Boo "helps" the farmer.... Posted by Picasa

Boo the Nubian minds the ladder. Read more about Boo at my web site, Herron Hill (that's the name of the dairy farm where I live.)

Our new web site

We have a new web site and you can see it at http://www.tripletmedia.com/herronhill/index.php.

We are only two months away from the 2006 baby goats - it is hard to believe the time has flown so quickly. The last week has been very cold and clear here, but yesterday our real Northwest weather returned: gray skies, clouds from here to eternity, and rain, rain, rain.

I have moved down to the lower pasture with the big girls because everyone is drying off for the season. Only nutty little Boo the yearling Nubian is still in milk. And of course Brandy, but then Brandy is pretty much a freak of nature: she milks and milks and milks, almost like a cow, even though she isn't very big.

The farmer made a silly mistake once, going up a ladder and leaving Boo to guard the bottom. See if you can guess what happened.

The moral of the story: never have a Nubian hold the ladder for you. Never.

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Brrrr...........

We are weather wimps here in the Pacific Northwest, we have to admit that, but still we think it is pretty chilly (30 degrees). We have our first snow of the season on the ground, and we don't usually get snow until January or February. If ever. So maybe that's the reason all of us goaties started growing our thick woolly coats so early. My grandsons Charzan and Orzbit were very surprised when they first had to set foot in the puffy white stuff...

Monday, November 21, 2005

In the meadow we will build a snowgoat...

Thanksgiving is almost here! Can you believe it? We are hunkering down for the winter, and soon we will start the countdown again to the spring babies. That's how it goes on the farm!

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Wow! The rain is back!

We have had several mild winters recently, and we sort of forgot what it is like when it rains all day long, and then all night long, and then all day long the next day, and then - well, you get the picture. Everyone is huddled in the barn right now, dreaming of those long-ago days (a month ago? or was it two months?) when we complained about the hot dry summer.

It was 80 degrees here in the Pacific Northwest! The grass was turning brown! Perhaps we shouldn't have wished for "just a few sprinkles..."

Monday, October 03, 2005

Bad Pony!

Does anyone have advice for our pony friend? He is very cute and funny, but unfortunately rather a pig, and he has developed a very bad habit lately. He always wants the grass on the other side of the fence (isn't there some kind of saying about that?), so he sticks his little pony hooves into the fence to try to pull the grass over, and ends up popping his shoes off. It's bad! Bad for his feet, bad for the farmer's pocketbook (new shoes$$!!!), and just plain bad manners. Does anyone have advice for our pony?

We have an electric fence, but in the summer we have to turn off the bottom strand, because the dry grass starts to spark and it can cause a fire. Yipes!

Please write in with your suggestions.

Friday, September 09, 2005

End of Summer

We have had a beautiful summer but now we can begin to feel the autumn coming. I am growing a VERY woolly coat already, so I suspect the winter will be harder than usual. Soon we will be snuggling in the barn when the rain begins.

Saturday, August 13, 2005


our friend Marty. Posted by Picasa

Marty

One of our dearest kindest friends, Marty the Nubian, died on Wednesday. She was very very special and we won't forget her. If there is a sweeter goat anywhere in the world, we haven't met her.

Goodbye for now, Marty.

May 27, 2000 - August 10, 2005.

Monday, August 01, 2005

National Champions

Well, guess what, the farmer just got back from the National Goat Show in Spokane and BOY was it hot. One day it was 106 degrees. My ancestors are from Nigeria, but even so I don't think I would like it that hot. Anyway, there were some very beautiful goat girls there. You can see the winners here.

Friday, July 22, 2005

The Family Tree

Well, I thought I would just post something on my family tree to bring everyone up to speed. I am two years old now, and I have had three children. Hannah Belle was my first child and she was spoiled rotten. She remains to this day an awful pest and escape artist. This year I had two babies, Jingle and Tinker.

Jingle, my son, went to live with a lovely family. Tinker (who looks exactly like her sister) is not as spoiled as Hannah Belle, although I have to say she carries on the family tradition of exquisite good looks, conformation, dairy character, and of course extreme humility.

Now Hannah Belle has had two sons: Orzbit and Charzan, and something funny happened. While Hannah Belle, Jingle Belle, and Tinker Belle all look exactly alike, Charzan and Orzbit look nothing alike - except they both have blue eyes - and neither of them look anything like their mother. Or me, their grandmother. So all I can say is, go figure.

Friday, July 15, 2005

National Goat Show!

It is almost time for the National Goat Show. We are very excited about it, because it is in Spokane this year. It has never been in Washington state before, so this is very exciting. Thousands of goats from all over the United Sates will come to the Show! None of them will be quite as cute as me, though.

Friday, July 01, 2005

The End of the Season

Well, it's the end of the season. All the babies have been born. My two grandsons are named Orzbit and Charzan. The farmer's nephew Max thought up those names. Max is two. While he was here, he spent a lot of time sitting on a stool with Orzbit on his lap.

Charzan is recovering nicely from a bout of floppy kid syndrome. It is not a joke! You can read about it here. Charzan had to go and live in the house for several days until he got his muscle tone back.

All the milkers are milking, and some of them are REALLY milking. We have one goat named Brandy who is the queen of the herd. She is not very big, but she is the boss of everything, and she milks about two gallons a day. Brandy knows everything and the price, too. If you're going to try to eat any of Brandy's grain, you better be a fast runner.

Saturday, June 18, 2005


Orzbit, my other grandson! Posted by Hello

Charzan, one of my brand new twin grandsons. Looks, charm, personality plus - that's my boy! Hannah Belle was a champ! Posted by Hello

Sunday, June 12, 2005

Sunday, June 05, 2005

Grandbabies Coming

Well, it is pretty hard to believe since I am only two years old, but some day very soon I will be a grandma. My daughter Hannah Belle (also known as Hannah Belle Lecter) is going to have her first kid(s) in mid-June. She is bred to marvelous Marv, the blue-eyed buckling who is one of Breezy's sons from last year.

Thursday, May 19, 2005


My "Outdoorsy" Look Posted by Hello

The Real Twiggy Posted by Hello

Strike the Pose!

Guess what? My daughter Hannah Belle has been discovered! A photographer came to the farm and took pictures of her and now everyone agrees that she should become a goat supermodel. Please let me know which of the above photos you think she should put in her portfolio. (Or both?)

By the way, Hannah Belle will be the last of the Nigerians to kid this year. She is scheduled to have her babies in the middle of June.

Saturday, April 30, 2005


Boo and Agnes (just born). Such a good mama. Posted by Hello

Kitty gets a raisin to make her feel better Posted by Hello

Boo's Babies

Well, guess what. Boo had her babies and they were two doelings. Just about as cute as a button (considering they are not my kids.) Both of them have perfect little bullseye marks on their tummies. One is named Margaret and one is named Agnes. (Maggie and Aggie, of course!)

Also, my son Jingle and his buddy Tiger went to their new home. Tinker and I were sad for a while but now we have heard that they are doing really well with their new family and they have LOTS of blackberries to eat! Tiger's sister Kitty cried for two days when Tiger left! My goodness she was upset. She is okay now after she got some special treats and got to sit on the farmer's lap whenever she wanted.

Let's see what else is new. Well, Quattra and Smidgen and Barry all left too. They went to a beautiful home nearby. We have heard that Quattra has been crying a lot for attention because she is such a spoiled princess. Mars will be leaving in a couple of weeks - he is going to be a buddy for sad little angora wether whose brother died! Poor little guy. Mars will be very good at that, he's quite sociable.

I guess that's all for now.

Goodbye, Jingle! Goodbye, Tiger! Don't forget to write!

Saturday, April 16, 2005

WAY BEHIND! Kid update!

Well, everybody, as you can see by the dates, we are way way behind in baby goat news. Just to get everyone up to speed before we start posting pictures, here is the complete list of babies born so far:

Mel, Kitty, Tiger - Breezy's triplets
Jingle and Tinker - my (Baby Belle) gorgeous twins
Smidgen and Barry White - Quattra's twins
Mars and Marigold - Marty's mini-nubian twins
Miss Mabel and June Bug - April's minimancha daughters
Billie and Pinetop - Eo's mini-Togg twins
Teddy and Roosevelt - Scout's mini-Nubian twins

And that's not all. By the end of the weekend, we are expecting Boo to have her mini-Nubian kids.

AND - One of the babies is going to be in a little independent feature film, so everyone is very excited about that. We will tell you more about it later.

Ok bye for now!

Monday, February 28, 2005

Stump Jumpin' Hootenanny

Hi Everybody!

Today all the kids are playing together. I don't like to brag, but I think it is pretty easy to see who is the smartest and cutest. Also who is on top of the stump...

Left to right: Kitty, Mel, Tiger, Jingle and Tinker.


Kid Party Posted by Hello

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Sorry for the delay!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay in my blog. The farmer has had the flu and wouldn't type anything for me. That doesn't mean nothing has happened - no indeed. Jingle and Tinker are growing like weeds. They have learned how to do baby goat motocross and stump jumping. I hope to get some pictures up soon of that. Breezy's babies are doing well also, and we have a new Lamancha baby. He is very handsome.

Next on the kidding countdown is cranky old April - she will be having minimancha babies the second week of March. You cannot believe what a crabpot April is. She loves to bite our ears. She is BIG, too.

Ok, I will do my best to keep things going but the farmer is wheezing and sneezing a lot, so I don't know how much luck I will have. The weather is still unspeakably beautiful. All of our rain went to California. The farmer is gloomy and says we will pay for it later, but I for one love the sunshine, so I am happy as a clam.

Friday, February 18, 2005

Glorious Sunshine!

The spring has been unbelievably beautiful!

It makes us love life!

Today Jingle and Tinker and I are just basking in the sun! AH!


Sunbathing with my babies Posted by Hello

Jingle and Tinker, climbing Mt. Belle Posted by Hello

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Thanks Everyone

Thanks to everyone for all the nice comments and excellent name suggestions!

I really had a hard time choosing names. If I had had a girl who was all white like me, I was going to name her Snow Belle. If I had a girl who was dark, I was going to name her Blue Belle.

If I had a boy who looked French, I was going to call him Bel Ami and have the farmer buy him a jaunty beret.

I decided on Jingle and Tinker for my two baby Belles in the end.

On their birthday they were very cute but of course kind of smushed-looking. Today they are supremely adorable, like supermodel goat babies. (And much bigger than Breezy's kids, who just look like little shrimps by comparison. Heh heh.)

Anyway, today we are going outside for a frolic. All the kids will play together since it is a beautiful sunny day here in the Pacific Northwest. So soon we will be able to add pictures of the outdoor kid jamboree.

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Introducing Jingle and Tinker!

Here are the pictures of my kids. Jingle is the boy, and Tinker is the girl.


Whew, having babies is hard work! Posted by Hello

Young lady,

you are not going outside today,


so please stop pestering me! Posted by Hello

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

FINALLY!!!!!

Well, guess who just got born! My twins! They are very beautiful (AND BIG! I HAD TO PUSH HARD, AND THE FARMER HAD TO PULL!). One is a boy, and one is a girl. I will put the pictures up after I take a nice long nap. Then I can tell you the whole story.

Monday, February 14, 2005

Introducing Breezy's Triplets

While we wait (and wait) for MY kids to be born, let's meet Breezy's surprise birthday triplets, born on Saturday. They are already hopping around like jumping beans.
Just born: Kitty, still a little gooey... Posted by Hello

Mel... Posted by Hello

...and Kimmy, getting a rubdown Posted by Hello

Kidding Day Has Arrived

Today the countdown reaches zero...today is my Kidding Day.

But guess what? My kids have not come out yet.

While I wait for their arrival I am keeping my spirits up by eating lots of food. Here is a list of some of the things I have nibbled on today: alfalfa, grass hay, cob, salted peanuts, a Granny Smith apple, blackberry leaves, sunflower seeds, brewer's yeast, tums, barley straw, regular old grass, part of an oatmeal cookie.

YUM! When you are in the maternity wing the service is VERY good.

Sunday, February 13, 2005


One of the surprise triplets, just born Posted by Hello

Breaking News!

Holy Goat, see if you can guess what happened here last night!

Breezy stole my thunder!

Thank Goodness Atty was paying attention. When the farmer came out to give him his dinner in the pasture just after dark, he was barking and making a ruckus and running in and out of the shed.

First the farmer was grumpy and said, "Atty! Eat your dinner! Stop making so much noise!"

Then the farmer heard a big scream and ran to look in the shed. Yep, you guessed it, Breezy had just popped out a baby. The farmer grabbed the baby and ran up to the barn.

Atty stayed on watch. Before the farmer got back, Breezy popped out two more babies. The farmer grabbed the two new wet babies and went up to the barn, and Breezy ran along behind, following the babies' little cries. Soon they were all dried off and full of milk and tucked into a cozy warm stall with lots of fresh straw.

Breezy was not supposed to kid until the end of March, but the dates must have been mixed up. She fooled everybody! When Atty came off his watch duty this morning he ran right to the barn to sniff the new babies and make sure they were okay.

Good job, Atty! It was freezing cold out there, that would NOT have been good for those little kids!

Pictures coming soon: two girls and a boy. VERY cute. (But probably not as cute as my babies will be, if I ever do have them....)

And yesterday was Breezy's birthday, too, isn't that funny?

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Surf's Up!


Stevie Hangs Ten Posted by Hello

Juniper Breeze, the birthday girl

Here is a picture of Breezy, the other birthday celebrant. Isn't she pretty?

Breezy's quadruplets enjoyed "Mama surfing," which is something that Nigerian babies do a lot. They jump up on their mothers' backs and ride around until the mother gets too annoyed to allow it any more. Breezy was very patient and let her quads surf for a long time.

Breezy's daughter Stevie was the best of the surfers.


Happy Birthday, Breezy! Posted by Hello

Happy Birthday!

Ha! I fooled you. No, my babies did not get born yet, but they have stopped squirming around so much and I think that means they are getting ready to come out. But today is a big Birthday date here on the farm.

Breezy is three years old today, and Willen is four.

Breezy is a Nigerian doe. Last year she had quadruplets, three girls and a boy! One of the girls is named Quattra (she was born fourth) and she is partner in crime to my daughter Hannah Belle. They used to go around together making trouble before Quattra got too fat to squeeze through the fence.

Willen is not a goat, he is a Haflinger horse. Haflingers are very smart (almost as smart as goats), and Willen is a very smart Haflinger. He knows how to fetch, and he knows how to say yes and no, and he will be very happy to do any of those things for a treat. Today he is four years old.


Happy Birthday, Willen Posted by Hello

Friday, February 11, 2005

Three Days to Go!

K-Day Minus Three! That's right, there are only three days left in the kidding countdown. I am so ready for these baby goats to come out. It feels like they are player soccer in there!

I got some more name suggestions: Liberty Bell (woops! I had this listed as Liberty Belle at first!) and Southern Belle.

The list is getting long - I am glad there will be several to pick from.

Did you know that up until this year there were only six breeds of goats, all full-size, allowed in the ADGA? (That's the American Dairy Goat Association.) Those breeds were:

a. Alpine
b. Lamancha
c. Nubian
d. Oberhasli
e. Saanen
f. Toggenburg

Guess what? Now there is a new breed in town! The Nigerian Dwarf! The mighty mite milkers with everything - smart, funny, cute, colorful, yummy milk!

Go little girls! Dwarf Doe Power!

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Our friend Atty

This is a picture of our guardian dog Atticus. He is a Great Pyrenees; he weighs 165 pounds. He was born in a goat barn in Eastern Washington and grew up with goats all around him.

He sleeps with us in the pasture at night to make sure no coyotes or other creatures can hurt us. Before Atty came some raccoons and hawks used to take the farmer's chickens all the time. Now nobody bothers them or us. Atty also hates crows, and won't let them land on the ground.

Atty is a good guard dog. He is very gentle with babies. Last year Winnie had her babies in the pasture; only Atty was here to take care of them. He did a good job, in fact he didn't really like it when the farmer came home and took the babies to the barn to warm up.

At night he has a special bark that means "go inside right now!" We all go in the shed right away if he gives the special bark. No one would ever disobey Atty.

When Snow Pea was crying because she couldn't go out, he went and laid outside her stall almost all day so she would have company. I'm glad Atty will be here when my babies come.


Our guardian dog Atticus Posted by Hello

Only Four Days to Go!

Good Golly, there are only four days to go in the KIDDING COUNTDOWN! Luckily I have had some excellent name suggestions. Thanks everyone who wrote in! I could always use more ideas, though, so if you think of a good "Belle" name, you can still send it.

Today I will get my birthing haircut. I don't like it much but I don't pitch a fit like some girls. (I don't like to name names but April the Lamancha acts like she is being tortured with red hot needles when she gets her hair cut. You'd think she would be embarrassed acting like such a baby - she is the biggest goat here.)

Here is the list of possible names so far:

Jingle Belle
Tinker Belle
Bluebelle
Snow Belle
Belle o' the Ball
Belle Ami (for a boy)
Belle Amie (for a girl)
Belle Ringer

My milk is coming in, and as you probably know, Nigerian milk is the yummiest of all the goat milks. And of course goat milk is a thousand times yummier than cow milk. (Once when I was just a little kid I got cow milk in my bottle and I thought I was going to gag. Yucch!) So that tells you just how yummy Nigerian milk is.

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

DANGER!

Good Heavens, we almost had a terrible accident here at the farm yesterday! My daughter Hannah Belle, who is quite an escape artist, decided that she would just jump over the fence to go visit her friend Clipper.

Now Hannah Belle is 8 months old, and she used to be quite a skinny little doeling, but as she has become a teenager her figure is not quite as willowy as it used to be, if you know what I mean. Anyway, Hannah Belle did not quite clear the top of the fence, and on the way down she got her leg caught in the wire, and she was stuck in the fence swinging upside down!

Luckily the farmer happened to be right there or I shudder to think what might have happened. We thought her leg was broken but after she hobbled around for a while she was fine. I hope she has learned a lesson, for once! Anyway, you kids out there, do NOT try to jump wire fences!

If you are keeping track, today is DAY 5 in the KIDDING COUNTDOWN!


Hannah Belle gets a vet check after fence mishap Posted by Hello

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Dot and Snowy

Here is a picture of my niece and nephew, Dot and Snowy. Dot and Snowy were the first kids born on the farm last year. This year my kids will be the first born, so everyone is very excited.


Dot and Snowy Posted by Hello

Day 6

Hi Everyone -

I am feeling pretty chipper this morning. Yesterday everybody went out except me, since I was on maternity watch. Well, I didn't like that, so I just jumped over the top of my stall. They thought I couldn't do that any more but they were wrong!

Heck, I may be a pregnant lady but I still have plenty of hang time!

Anyway, the farmers got the point and they brought my fat little sister Snow Pea back up to the barn so I wouldn't be alone. I guess I will stay in my stall as long as I have company.

Right now, though, since it is so sunny and bright (cold, though) I am strolling around the pasture with my buddies Breezy, Eo, Marty, Scout, and Boo. It is important to keep getting exercise when you are pregnant, you can't just sit around eating alfalfa all day.

Below you can see a picture of Eo back when she was just a kid. She was a housegoat like me, and she loved to stand in front of the stove soaking up heat. Once her diaper even started to melt, but she didn't care. Anyway, that's my friend Eo in the picture.

Six Days to Go in the Kidding Countdown! Don't forget to send those names in! Also, if you would like to see another cool goat blog, you can go to this link. It even has pictures of our guardian dog, Atticus, who keeps the coyotes away and makes sure nothing bad happens to us.

Eo the housegoat, soaking up heat Posted by Hello