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.

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.

our friend Marty. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Orzbit, my other grandson!

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

Two minimancha babies: Mabel and her twin, June Bug. 

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.

My "Outdoorsy" Look 

The Real Twiggy 

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.

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

Kitty gets a raisin to make her feel better 

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!

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!

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