Sadie’s babies took a little while to name, but Phil took some inspiration from the Harry Potter books and named these two Moony and Padfoot from two of the mischievous characters in the series. Moony is, you guessed it, the one covered in moonspots, and Padfoot is the dark one.   
Meet Moony! He’s his daddy’s boy all over. This guy has Pest’s broad forehead and gentle, wide-set eyes. He has his daddy’s moonspots, and best of all he has his daddy’s innate love of people. I’ve never seen a kid so naturally drawn to humans. When he sees somebody he runs straight up to greet them, just like Pest did when I first visited the farm where he was born. Pest stamps all of his babies with his outgoing personality, but Moony has it in spades!

Padfoot is the larger of the twins but is more reserved than Moony. He is definitely a mama’s boy and he cried a lot when he was first born, but he settled down and got more curious and outgoing after his first week in the world. I think part of his problem was that he ate too much and was giving himself an upset tummy which made him cry more than usual. However, he’s over it now and this boy is going to a big, lanky bruiser when he grows up!

Sadie is not “Mom of the Year” material. She’s good but she definitely needs her “mama time”! For the first couple of weeks we had to watch these two and make sure Sadie didn’t leave them somewhere and forget where she put them. They were adorable snuggled up inside this crevice under a huge boulder.

It’s hard to go anywhere without Moony following along!

Yep, Padfoot’s a mama’s boy alright!

So many spots!

Skeeter and Sadie didn’t allow their kids to play together during the first week. But Merlin was determined to find out who this other kid was who looked his own size! It didn’t take long for both mamas to give up. Now the four youngest kids are inseparable. All six kids play together, but when it’s time for a nap the four little ones form an adorable huddle in the grass. I love baby goat piles! I hope I can get a photo of one soon. Usually they wake up and come running as soon as I approach them with a camera.

It’s been a busy few weeks with all these kids running around! Gandalf and Esmeralda grew by leaps and bounds while Skeeter’s and Sadie’s kids were just starting to find their legs. Gandalf is quite the little chunklet! He’s going to be a big, strong boy when he grows up. He and his sister want to be involved in everything and they love nothing more than climbing on people.

Things started greening up a little toward the end of April. It seemed very green at the time, but now I’m looking at it from two weeks later and thinking, “Gee, it sure was brown back then!” We’ve had a lot of moisture and sunshine to turn the pastures emerald.

The boys are in fine fettle. Scout and Sonic are fat and happy and need to get out for some hikes so they can get in shape! The big boys have been a bit neglected lately with all the babies on the scene.

Baby goat season is Finn’s least favorite time of year. He’s been quite sulky lately and is acting like a crotchety old man. Not only do the baby goats get under his skin (mostly because they steal so much of me and Phil’s attention), but he’s also feeling old because he’s no longer King. Pest claimed the crown last fall and Finn hasn’t been happy about it. The funny thing is that Pest is not much of a fighter, so I think if Finn wanted to keep his position he could do it. But it turns out that Finn, for all his bluster, was just a big bully with no real fight in him. So now he’s relegated to second-tier boss and it’s not sitting well with him. “Too bad, Finn! If you hadn’t shown Pest all your dirty bossing tactics he would never have turned the tables on you!”

Merlin and Morgana are two of the flashiest babies we’ve had, with their striking black-and-white coats. Merlin reminds me of Finn when he was little. And Morgana is the spit-and-image of her grandma, Petunia. She has the biggest eyes I’ve ever seen, and she knows how to use them!
Skeeter always wins “Mom of the Year Award”. Ever since, as a first-timer, she almost lost little Butterfly to a horse in 2020, she has been extra diligent about her kids. Even if every other goat crosses through the horse pen, Skeeter takes her babies around the long way. She makes exactly the right amount of milk and keeps her kids fed but not overfed. She keeps them perfectly clean and she watches them carefully but she doesn’t smother them or spoil them. She’s a rare, special kind of mama goat!

Merlin wanted to meet Gandalf. Gandalf was excited to have someone smaller than himself to challenge. I’m not sure Merlin was interested.

“Hmm… who else can I fight?”

Maya is always up for a tussle! She was mean to Gandalf and Esmeralda for the first week or two, but then she realized that baby goats are a GOOD thing! She actually has little ones to play with now who can match her energy and athleticism. Pongo would sometimes play with Maya, but he is not as fast or agile or energetic as she is and is more interested in being a companion than a challenger. The older goats aren’t silly enough to play Maya’s games, so she lacked an outlet. Now that there are babies on the scene, Maya has lots of friend to be wild with! Gandalf especially loves to rise to the challenge!
“Push harder, Gandalf!”

Phil loves to sit and play with his baby goats. Esmeralda can’t resist an open lap! Merlin and Morgana are still only politely curious, but it won’t be long before they start fighting Esmeralda for that lap!

Well, Sadie finally got down to business yesterday afternoon and produced two of the brawniest babies we’ve had at Goat-O-Rama in years. We haven’t named these two big bruisers yet, but we’ll keep you posted! They weighed in at 10 and 11+ lbs. respectively, and they have legs a mile long so Sadie needed a little help bringing these two into the world! Both kids are the spit and image of their daddy, Pest. Tall, strong, big-boned, broad-shouldered and with massive foreheads.

When I pulled this guy out, I said, “Wow, what a massive kid!!” Sadie was having a hard time getting him out so I gave a few tugs on his front legs. I couldn’t find his head anywhere so at first I thought he had his head back, but no, his legs were just so long it took a while for his head to follow. He was also quite impatient. Sadie wasn’t pushing much, so this guy’s front legs were waving around like he was trying to claw his own way into the world whether Mama helped or not!

Look at these moonspots! This our first truly moon-spotted kid. Pest’s moonspots don’t present quite like this but he carries the genetics and now he’s finally passed this fun color pattern to one of his offspring!

This is baby #2. I thought the first one was big, but boy oh boy, this one was even bigger! He weighed in at over 11 lbs. he wasn’t so eager to come out. He only had one leg in the passage and he took a bit of pulling. Somewhere in the delivery process, Sadie sat down hard on my box of kidding supplies and smashed the lid. It was a soft landing for her. Among other things, the box was full of towels.

This guy is more of a dark blue roan. Pest doesn’t have a hint of blue roan in his coloring, but he’s now thrown several babies who have it so it must be somewhere in his ancestry. I can’t wait to see how big these guys get. I have a feeling they’re going to be huge, powerful goats by the time they’re grown!

Skeeter was due Saturday, April 20th, and as usual she delivered bang on the dot! She didn’t waste any time but started into labor at around 7:30 a.m. It wasn’t long before we welcomed two beautiful new kids to the herd: Meet Merlin and Morgana!

First off the assembly line was this big fella who we named Merlin. He weighed 8.5 lbs. and was a little bit stuck. He only had one front leg presenting, but his head was in the right  spot.  Goat kids can be born with only one front leg in place, but they’re wider that way so it’s not as easy for mom. I could have pushed him back in and gone fishing for the other leg but Skeeter is a big, roomy doe so I decided to just pull on the one while easing his head through. He made it without much trouble, although mama wanted a rest afterwards!

Before her brother was even quite delivered, this little gal rushed onto the scene! She couldn’t wait to see the big, new world out there! We named her Morgana (a variant of Morgan le Fey from the King Arthur legend). She was 7.5 lbs. and was struggling to her feet before she even hit the ground!

Skeeter never fails to produce some beautifully-marked babies! We can’t wait to see what these two look like as they grow up!

I was just about to get lunch when I heard a ruckus behind the house. It sounded like the goats were playing with the plastic mounting block and running into the gates around the back patio. It was loud! I ignored it for a while, but the banging went on and on. So eventually I went downstairs to see what the heck was going on. 

And Molly was STUCK! 

All I could think of was the line from the Wheel of Fish scene in Weird Al’s movie, UHF:

“Let’s see what’s in the box?” 
“NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! STUPID! YOU’RE SO STUPID!!”

Sunday was beautiful, so Phil and I took Snowball’s new babies out into the big, wide world to do a little exploring. Pluto made sure they stayed safe. Dixie kept her distance. She tried to sniff the new babies the morning after they were born. Snowball had a very strong opinion about that, however. She backed up for a good running start and charged Dixie at top speed. She hit the dog broadside with all her force and sent Dixie rolling end over end across the goat yard. The dog let out a terrified screech, scrambled to her feet, and raced out of the pen like her tail was on fire. She hasn’t touched another baby goat since. If one tries to walk up to her, she gives them a sidelong look and quietly slinks away. I’m glad she’s learned not to mess with babies. I’d been worried about her because she can be very rambunctious and she plays rough. Baby goats won’t survive a dog playing rough with them, so I was wondering how I might keep Dixie away from them. But it turns out that Snowball had the matter well in hand!
The rocks offer lots of fun play opportunities for baby goats!

Pongo and Maya were excited to meet the new kids. Maya was excited to have someone smaller than her to bully. Pongo is a gentle soul and just wanted to introduce himself. He’s been so gentle with the new kids, just as he was with Balto last year. I’ve never seen another goat quite like him. Most youngsters are rough and enjoy bullying anyone smaller than themselves, but Pongo has never shown that tendency. Maya, on the other hand, got a few disciplinary whacks from Snowball before she learned to mind her manners around the little ones!

Snowball wasn’t sure she liked having her kids play on the big rocks. She very purposefully rounded them up and marched them over to the tires on the other side of the yard as if to say, “Babies your age should stay in the designated play area!”

Snowball was tired and hungry the day after kidding, so Phil and I thought we’d give her a break and do a little babysitting. Gandalf and Esmeralda were happy to come into the house and hang out for a while!

They even helped us play a board game!

Until the board game made them bored! Ba-dum-TISH!

There’s nothing more relaxing than sitting on the couch with a couple of fuzzy, warm, and brand new baby goats snuggled in your arms!

Introducing the first two models off the 2024 Goat-O-Rama assembly line! They’re so new they haven’t got names yet, but I’m sure we’ll be thinking of some shortly! Snowball showed us first thing this morning that she was ready to have kids any time and she didn’t want me to leave the pen. This is a first for her, as she usually likes to kid sometime around 2:00 in the morning, but I was pleased we could be there to assist. It turns out maybe she knew we needed to be there as she seemed to have a bit of trouble pushing these kids out even though they were presented correctly. I’m sure she’d have got them out eventually without help, but it was nice to be able to move things along a bit when progress stalled.

First to hit the ground at around 11:00 a.m. was a beautiful 8 lb. two-tone chamoisee baby girl. She looks a lot like her older sister, Molly! The next was a lovely 9 lb. white buckling with gray/blue roan spots. He’s practically Pongo’s double! We helped Snowball dry them off and get them into the shed and out of the wind, which was beginning to howl. The kids were up and nursing in almost no time at all.

Phil thinks this little guy looks like a “Gandalf.” I’m inclined to agree. Let’s see how we feel about it over the next couple days!

We have no idea what this little girl’s name will be, but I’m sure she’ll discover her name before long.

Listen to their little cute baby squeaks!

Yesterday I went for a walk around Lake Beckwith in Colorado City with a friend of mine. I took Finn and Pongo with me and we had a great time. But then on the way home the water pump in my truck seized and broke the serpentine belt! I lost my power steering and the engine quickly began to heat up so I pulled onto the shoulder and raised the hood. Here I am sitting by the side of the road with two goats in the back of my truck and no way to get home. Phil was inaccessible. It was just after 5:00 on a Sunday and he was busy with his livestream. He wouldn’t have heard the phone even if it rang 50 times.

But as luck would have it, a lady who lives just a short distance past my house happened to be driving by and she stopped to see what was going on. It’s impossible not to recognize the crazy lady who drives around the valley with goats in her truck! I asked my neighbor if she could stop by my house on her way home and bang on the window of the room where Phil does his livestream. She said she could do that, but in the meantime it was getting dark and quickly getting cold! I knew it would be a little while before Phil could get his boots on and come to our rescue, so I unloaded Finn and Pongo and began marching up the highway. I’m happy that the road has a nice wide shoulder because the traffic was relatively heavy as commuters came home from work, and nearly everyone drives too fast. But the boys were good and Finn was downright stately. He marched up the highway with his head held high and a dignified air about him. Pongo bounced along beside us, trying hard to imitate Finn but jumping behind my leg in fright every time a vehicle flew past us. We walked about a mile and it was almost dark when Phil pulled up.

Just as Phil arrived another neighbor drove up with his truck and said he’d seen me and the goats hiking up the highway and had turned around and come back to see if we needed a lift. It feels great to know there are so many helpful and caring people in this valley who will stop and offer their assistance when I break down, even when I have goats in tow!

Well, 2023 is almost over and I’ve barely said anything on this blog during the past year. It was a hard year in many ways but it had some really good bits too. I will say that this Christmas season has been one of the best ever. Certainly the best in many years! We had a grand time at the Beulah Parade and Yule Log Festival in early December. Sonic and Scout, who had only pulled the carriage about three times before (and only once without Finn hitched in front), leaned boldly into their harnesses and made us proud in the Beulah Parade of Lights. They looked magnificent and I only had to get out and lead them for a short way during the scariest part of the parade. I’m very proud of them and amazed that they did so well with almost no preparation.

Next morning Phil and I headed out to the Beulah Yule Log Festival with a couple of goats and our friends Zen and Vanessa. There was a delicious chili lunch beforehand this year so for the first time ever we didn’t hunt for the Yule Log hungry!

Finn is now a well-known fixture at the Yule Log celebration. He’s been attending since 2015 and several young kids asked Phil if Finn had been coming to the Yule Log “forever.” Phil looked down at these 8-year-old children and said, “Yep!” Because as far as these kids were concerned, Finn HAD been coming forever!

And look who made his debut at the Yule Log this year! Pongo accompanied Finn and learned the ropes. When it came time to haul the Yule Log back from its hiding place, Finn leaned into the harness and really helped things along. Pongo’s effort, on the other hand, was mostly symbolic and sometimes counter-productive, but I think he had a good time and he was so cute no one could get mad at him even when he pulled the wrong way. 

The boys waited patiently for cookies after the log was successfully hauled back to the lodge. Finn acted like he was eager for a treat but ended up not wanting anything we offered him. Pongo, on the other hand, takes after old Sputnik. He never met a cookie he didn’t like! Pongo wolfed down everything we put in front of his face and begged for more. I think this little guy is going to have very happy memories the Yule Log Festival!

This was a particularly fun year because I signed up to be a bellringer for the Salvation Army! I asked if I could ring in front of our local Ace Hardware and Valley Market grocery store and they said I could! So I picked up the kettle and the bell, a “Volunteer” apron and a pin and we rang the bell in 2-hour shifts six different days during the two weeks leading up to Christmas. Pongo came along as my sidekick and ended up stealing the entire show. I’m not nearly cute enough to get anyone to come over and donate money, but Pongo sure is! By the end of the first two-hour shift he had learned how to ring the bell. Notice the red wooden handle on this bell.

Next time around I had to wrap the wooden handle in white duct tape because Pongo had almost chewed through the wood. Notice I also added a “Volunteer” pin to his hat!
By the end of the third day the bell handle was toast, so I made a new one from a piece of dowel rod, and I wrapped this handle in a thick piece of leather so Pongo couldn’t destroy it so easily. This bell handle held up better to the abuse. Here’s Pongo with his hat, his badge, his bell, and his kettle. It was hard for anyone to walk by and NOT donate! After all, it’s worth at least a dollar to see a goat ring a bell!   
As a side project, Pongo wandered around the store and pulled up a few weeds that were growing between the cracks in the pavement. The store employees were thrilled and asked if Pongo could come back regularly to do this job during the summer months.
I loved this lady’s festive Christmas outfit so much I had to get a photo of her. Notice the shirt: “Brew-dolf”! Also, the sweater featured Snoopy and Woodstock. My mother-in-law would have been very pleased.
We rang the bell for an extra hour the last day and Pongo was exhausted. Here he is conked out in the front seat of my truck with his head on my lap. What a sweet buddy!   

I’ll leave you with this cute video of Pongo proudly ringing his bell!