We laid our precious boy Finn to rest this afternoon. We don’t know what caused his decline, but he was losing weight throughout the spring and looked unthrifty. He went almost totally off feed about three weeks ago and just faded away. Three vets couldn’t find anything wrong with him and unfortunately we weren’t able to do a full necropsy. It’s possible he developed abomasal ulcers but we’ll never know. He lost his position in the herd last fall and it never set well with him. He became rather depressed and distant from the other goats and he became slowly less active and eventually less interested in food as time went on. Blood and urine analysis showed nothing remarkable, chest x-rays revealed no tumors, and there were no problems in the lower digestive tract. Unfortunately we were not able to get a necropsy of the stomachs, so if it was ulcers we’ll never know. We’re just devastated that he died this way. At 10 years old, he was simply too young. He was so strong just last fall, and he carried the lion’s share of our gear in Utah. He was such a splendidly beautiful goat, and so sweet and gentle with everybody. There are no words to describe how much we’re going to miss him. He spent a lot of the last few days with his head in me or Phil’s lap. He loved snuggling and I’m going to miss his bright, eager expression. He was always the first to come up for treats or loves, and he firmly believed that every visitor to our property came here just to see him personally. I never worried that he was going to smack a kid or poke somebody with his magnificent, branching horns. Finn was always a gentleman. I don’t believe there will ever be another to equal him. He was one-of-a-kind. A true G.O.A.T.   

It was a 4th of July for the record books. The day was clear and cool and Phil and I took Finn and Pongo to Cuchara for their lovely parade and small-town celebration. Finn has been doing very poorly these last couple of months. Vets can’t find anything wrong with him, but he’s gone off feed and has been dropping weight to the point where he looks like a shadow of his former self. We’re concerned that we may be losing him, but he still wants to go out and do things. We thought perhaps a ride in the truck and change of scenery would lift his spirits. And it certainly did!

We fitted Finn and Pongo out in empty pack saddles for the parade and sat on the sidelines so we could watch most it go by before we stepped in near the end. This way we got to see all the entries and collect a lot of candy, flags, beads, and other decorations for our goats before joining the parade ourselves. WIN! 
The goats were a huge hit, and people especially loved seeing us feed them the candy they tossed at us. Both goats love Tootsie Rolls. Finn also liked the Sour Patch Kids. 
The problem, of course, is that Phil also likes Sour Patch Kids. You know you love your goat when you agree to share your favorite candy with him! 
Look closely. I think Finn and Phil are making the exact same face in this photo!

Finn was very tired and spent a lot of time leaning his head against Phil.

After the parade we found a shady spot to park the goats while we ate some lunch. Loads of people stopped by to meet the boys. We enjoyed telling them that Pongo is Finn’s great-grandson.
Our friend Jordan joined us for lunch. Finn says, “Can I please have some potato chips?”
“Of course you can!” (It’s hard to refuse a polite request from such a beautiful goat)

“Can I have some Coke too, please?”

“Well, just a sip.” (I’m not sure he liked it very much, but for that matter, neither do I. I’m more of a Dr. Pepper gal.)

After lunch, Phil and I tethered the goats in a shady spot with lots of grass while we played mini golf. After that it was time for slushies. Goats LOVE slushies!

Pongo agrees: It was a banner day! One of the best 4th of July celebrations ever!

My mom was determined to see Ziggy’s babies as soon as possible after they were born, and to bring her grandkids (my nephews and niece) with her as well. Robert, Sam and Lily all fell in love with Ziggy when she was a youngster and they’re always very excited when Ziggy has babies of her own.

Sam couldn’t be happier than when he’s snuggling with McGonagall.

My mom cradles little Tonks in her arms.

Lily takes a turn with McGonagall.

And finally Robert cuddles Tonks, who appears very content in his arms.

Moony is always extremely curious about everyone and everything that goes on at Goat-O-Rama, and he’s determined to be involved. Ziggy was NOT pleased with this intruder coming over to meet her new babies, but eventually she went out to graze and Moony moved in to investigate.
I was impressed by how gentle he was when checking out the new arrivals. Many kids his age would be rough and try to knock the babies down, but Moony only wanted to sniff them curiously.

I love the bewildered look on his face after he checked out the new kids. “Why won’t they play with me, and why are they so tiny?”

Ziggy was the last doe to kid in 2024, and she produced two gorgeous little doelings. She kept us guessing as to who would be here to deliver them. Phil was on a business trip in California until a couple of days after Ziggy’s due date so we thought he would miss the blessed event. But she held out until he returned and instead decided to deliver when I was gone on an all-day trip to the Sand Dunes. It was Phil’s first time delivering kids without me around, and he did a great job! He was happy that it all went smoothly and Ziggy didn’t need any help except for a dose of calcium to encourage stronger contractions. When I got home these two were clean and dry and cozily bedded down for the night. 
The first to be born was “McGonagall”, named for the professor in the Harry Potter books. I’ve never seen a kid this color before. She’s a dusky rose hue which I suppose we’d call red roan with blue roan accents. She’s stunning!

The second one took a little longer to name, but we eventually settled on “Tonks”, also from the Harry Potter books. She’s a classic chamoisee color with no white markings, which is unusual in our herd, but this year we have two of them! Tonks could be Esmeralda’s identical twin!

McGonagall has my favorite type of ears: One up, one down. I suspect the “down” one will perk up and become erect like the other in a few days, but I always love the lopsided look for as long as it lasts. I’d be thrilled if we ever got one whose ears stayed like this.

“Congratulations, Phil, on delivering some very beautiful, healthy babies all by yourself!”

The kids this year are all healthy, beautiful and sweet. Every last one is a winning packgoat or dairy prospect and I suspect they’ll all make their future owners very, very happy. But for now I’ll just highlight a few of them.
Esmeralda is the oldest and she’s our “wild child.” She’s a complete party animals who hurls herself enthusiastically into every situation and into every person. She loves to jump into buckets, feeders, wheelbarrows, and onto anyone’s back if they sit down. She’s the first kid we’ve ever had that wants to ride in the wheelbarrow once I start moving it. Or she’ll ride in the feed tub after I pick it up. She loves movement and excitement and things happening. And if things aren’t happening, she’s the one who gets them going!
Moony is the sweetheart of our herd. He’s everyone’s favorite baby from the moment they meet him. To Moony, an open lap is an open invitation. He’s a sweet and undemanding little goat, but he’s always there like a shadow, and if anyone sits down he immediately climbs into their lap, curls up and falls asleep. I’ve never seen a baby so comfortable and happy around people. He’s gotten left behind by the herd on several occasions because he was too busy hanging out with people. He has his daddy’s wide, intelligent face and curious eyes, as well as his daddy’s love for all things human. 

Not only is Moony incredibly sweet, he’s also stunningly beautiful. He’s got lovely conformation with a strong, leggy build and a coat pattern to die for. He’s a full brother to Clyde, who is probably the nicest packgoat we’ve ever produced at Goat-O-Rama. 

Interestingly, Moony’s twin brother Padfoot is almost the total opposite of Moony. Padfoot is shy around people and would rather run to his mama than hang out in somebody’s lap. Padfoot is brawnier than Moony and is going to be a big bruiser of a goat, though less athletically built. Just lately he started coming out of his shell and hopefully by the time he’s weaned he’ll have figured out that people aren’t scary. Little Merlin in the background is a beautiful and sweet goat with an adventurous spirit and happy-go-lucky attitude. He won’t be as big or strong as Moony and Padfoot, but I think he’ll shape up nicely into a good and sensible packgoat when he’s grown. 

Things are beginning to turn green around here! Despite the lack of April snows, we’ve had a rather chilly spring with only one or two days warm enough to wear shorts and t-shirts. Thes are cool, delicious days with mountains shrouded in wispy clouds and goats frolicking and grazing in the meadows.   
With his colorful coat and his train of mesmerized babies, Finn looks like the Pied Piper!

Gandalf takes a flying leap off an overturned stump.

Skeeter takes on babysitting duties. I love watching kids play on our rock piles.

Dolly doesn’t get enough attention. She is one of the sweetest, prettiest little goats I’ve ever met. She lives in the shadow of her sister Molly, who is the clown of the herd and is bold, outgoing and adventuresome. Dolly is gentle and demure. Unlike Molly and the others who jostle forward to demand attention, Dolly stands patiently near the back of the crowd and waits for attention to come to her. It’s impossible not to give it. Dolly exudes “love me” vibes so powerful she doesn’t need to elbow for attention!

Well, we went and did it! We bought a new horse/goat trailer with a gooseneck hitch! The entire new rig is the exact same overall length as our old bumper-pull rig but it has a TON more space due to the gooseneck design. I can’t wait to use it for our next goat vacation!
This one has windows that close so the goats don’t have to get wet in a rainstorm. The bars pull down as well so we can reach in and pet them or feed them without opening the back doors.

Now we have two smaller doors instead of one huge one, so it will be much easier to load goats. These doors also fasten back so we don’t have to wrestle with them on a windy day.

The floor is rubberized, permeable, and permanent. Moisture wicks down through, goes through slits in the rhino-lined floorboards, and out onto the road instead of sitting underneath mats and rotting out the floor. I LOVE this feature! The center divider lifts off, and the walls are lined so the goats don’t end up with black aluminum stains on their coats like they did in my old trailer.

Here’s the gooseneck compartment. This will be very nice for the times when it’s raining or hailing or we pull into a camping area late at night. We can sleep up here instead of setting things up outside. There’s also a lot of storage in this area for sleeping bags, tents, and other camping equipment. It will be nice not to have to haul those things around in the back seat of the pickup!

And this is the best feature of all… the tack room! It is a HUGE, wide tack area with two rows of saddle racks, a center blanket bar, all the hooks I could want, a water tank in the left corner, and room to spare all over the place! I’ve already got twice as much stuff in here now as I had in my old trailer, and it’s still not full. The doors (not shown in the photo) have hooks and storage in them as well. It’s a fantastic tack room! And everything is only one layer deep so I don’t have to crawl past a bunch of stuff to go find something at the back. I can’t wait to try this out on a goat vacation!

Pongo is the best, but first Snowball is the best. Snowball is the supreme matriarch of our herd.  She keeps all her kids close about her even after they are grown. Here she is, laying down with babies past and present. I missed Molly and Dolly. There were with the group moments earlier. At night Snowball usually shares a shed with Molly and Dolly and her new babies, and during the day when she lays down she welcomes little Pongo to come sit with them as well. She weans her kids well, but she never pushes them out of the nest. I love this about her, and it makes her offspring some of the sweetest and most generous in my herd. They learn to share from their unselfish mama.
Pongo is as sweet and gentle in life as he looks in this photo.

Look at that face! I can’t wait until this little guy is all grown up and packing with the big boys. I think he’s going to be the best buddy ever. That little tilt to his head! Talk about cuteness overload!

Esmeralda was standing on the tire next to Finn. She kept glancing over at his back and then quickly glancing away again.
“Should I do it?” I could tell she wanted to jump up on his back. Perhaps Gandalf was daring her to do it! But Finn wasn’t looking away. Clearly he knew what Esmeralda was thinking and he had his eye on her!

“NOPE!” Finn gave a warning glance and that was the end of Esmeralda’s little scheme!

I love the terrified look in her eyes after her close brush with the big, scary old goat!

I’m not sure what Merlin thought he was doing.

This is the way you’re supposed to go through the tire, silly boy!

Clearly he didn’t figure it out because he had to turn around and try putting his head into the other side.

All the baby goats are playing and Finn is presiding from the teeter-totter. Finn loves that teeter-totter. He and Ziggy are the only two goats who aren’t a little bit afraid of it so they like to show off by standing on it for minutes on end. The babies don’t care. They have tires to play on and Finn is too big for the tires!

Finn feels like a king on his throne when he stand on his teeter-totter. Not even Pest will bother him up there!