Cuzco is most definitely looking forward to the North American Packgoat Association Rendezvous this year! I was preparing to load the trailer with gear, and the moment I opened the door Cuzco jumped in and stood there with an eager look on his face that said plain as day, “I see I have a private apartment this time. Close up! I’m ready to leave immediately!”  

Seeing the picture of Ruthanne milking Petunia reminded me to post something that has been forefront in my mind for some time, and that is God’s abundance. Not just His grace or mercy or provision, but His overwhelming abundance.

Petunia will have been in milk for 52 weeks next Tuesday. We had six people in the house enjoying her milk every day for a week while Phil’s family was here. Yet this single goat who gets milked only once a day provided plenty for all with enough left over for me even to collect cream from some of the milk. In the weeks before the family arrived, Phil and I had been enjoying all the milk we could drink, plus providing milk to a local man with health problems that prevent him from tolerating most food or drink and no dairy aside from goat milk. Even with all that I had enough milk to save several tubs of cream in the freezer so that we made three batches of ice cream, a batch of whipped cream, and two batches of cream biscuits while the family was here! The skim milk from my cream collection has been going to feed my neighbor’s pigs and now an orphaned calf (supplemented with calf formula to add fat, of course).

But this is all from ONE goat! ONE goat who gets milked ONCE a day and whose udder I thought I might lose to mastitis last year. The udder healed and is completely normal and milks evenly on both sides. God does not just provide for us–He blesses us with greater abundance than we could ever have imagined or hoped for.

I finally have a moment to post photos from when Phil’s family visited us at the end of May. We had a great time and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the goats. The babies were an especially big hit, and it was obvious that our visitors were a major source of entertainment for Sledge and Hammer too.

The boys developed a particular taste for hats during this visit.

Tigerlily wasn’t so sure about all these strangers, but she was forced to put up with a lot of fussing and petting because of course everyone wanted to hold her.

Uncle Steve was especially fond of the two rascals. He spent much time sitting on a rock or laying in the meadow and letting them climb all over him like a jungle gym and nibble his hat, his shirt, his arm hair… Uncle Steve is always a big hit with kids!

Ruthanne concentrated very hard and got some milk out.

…we paid $25 cash and came home with a new best friend.

I still say it’s the best $25 we’ve ever spent.