Last night Phil got to hold TWO baby goats during the movie! I was holding the popcorn bowl in my lap and didn’t want to risk dropping it, so Phil got double the fun!  

The little guys are doing awesome, and Auntie Petunia is a great babysitter for them when Nubbin gets out for some “me time”.

Phil likes to take a baby goat to work with him these days. I’m not sure productivity is increased, but job satisfaction goes through the roof!

It’s funny how the herd dynamics change when new babies arrive. Nubbin and Petunia usually fight like cats and dogs, and Nubbin has always been bossy toward Jezebel and Delilah (everyone is–they’re bottom of the totem pole). But now that Nubbin is feeling the exhaustion that comes with motherhood, her whole demeanor has transformed. She and Petunia are all chummy now, and Nubbin left the babies in her care while she went and exchanged pleasantries with Jezebel and Delilah over in their shed. I think Nubbin is trying to get on everyone’s good side so she can beg babysitting favors. I only hope when Jezebel’s babies arrive that Nubbin is as sweet to them as Jezebel has been to Nubbin’s kids.

Everyone has been sweet to these babies. Petunia was never an outstanding mother to her own kids, but I think she’s really enjoying Nubbin’s. She was snuggled up with them in their shed this morning while Nubbin went out to visit neighbors. Petunia must be like me–I love other people’s kids and am happy to play with them any time, but I have no desire for kids of my own. For one thing, they’re far too much work!

Nubbin left her babies in the shed and went to graze in the paddock last night, and since I couldn’t bear the thought of these sweet babies alone in a cold, dark world (or even a warm, dark shed), I put them in a box and brought them in the house to watch a movie with Phil and I. It’s soooo nice not to have to fight over who gets to hold the baby goat! I held Sledge and he held Hammer and we were all very cozy and content. It was a good movie too–Night Train to Munich. Gotta start these kids off right!

So you may be thinking, why “Sledge” and “Hammer”? Well, have any of you ever watched this show?

We’ve been watching it lately and, yeah, it’s awesome.

Personally, I’m not too attached to the names “Sledge” and “Hammer,” but since Phil has been threatening since last year to name Nubbin’s babies “Tubbin” and “Blubbin,” I’m actually thrilled that he picked these other names instead. Phil says it’s because they’re two boys, and he’d only name them Tubbin and Blubbin if it was a girl and a boy. I have a silly husband. 

Adorable, aren’t they?

Everyone did well through the night and our little guys are now tottering curiously around the yard on unsteady legs. The other goats were intrigued but left them to their own devices after a brief sniff.

These are definitely Finn’s babies! They look just like him, and not only in color. The have their daddy’s strong football player shoulders, long straight legs, and straight backs. Phew! I was hoping Finn’s genetics would come out over Nubbin’s in the conformation department, and so far so good.

Nubbin is very proud of her beautiful boys and is taking good care of them. I did not see her pass the placenta, so I’m hoping she cleansed last night and ate the evidence. I never saw even one contraction after she kidded and none this morning which seems rather odd, but she’s not acting “off” so hopefully she’s fine. Nubbin suddenly went very lame on her left hind leg yesterday and it’s still quite sore today. I’m guessing she just pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve while she was in pre-labor because I can’t find anything wrong with it.

We weighed our little guys this morning, and Sledge was 9 lbs. You can’t quite see it from this angle, but Sledge also has “Lilly spots” on both sides. That was something Lilly got from her father. Apparently he stamped every one of his offspring with a domino dot on at least one side (Lilly had them on both). She never passed them to her offspring, but it’s good to see one of her grandsons has them.

Hammer weighed in at 9.5 lbs. He’s definitely the more robust of the two. Both are as sweet and friendly as they can be, but Hammer seems to particularly love being picked up and held just like his daddy did.

Do you think Nubbin has enough milk? 

At least, that’s the aura Nubbin gave off this evening when she popped these two little boys out with no help and minimal effort. Meet “Sledge” and “Hammer”!

I was kind of rooting for the one with the doughnut on his forehead to be called “Dunkin,” but Phil overruled me.

Nubbin did great! She spent a great deal of time this afternoon pawing and nesting behind the house, and she would baa-aa softly every time I poked my head out the door. But after watching Petunia do this exact same routine for three days last year, I didn’t take Nubbin too seriously and went for a horse ride.

I got back just in time! Around 6:00 this evening, Nubbin got down to business, and she delivered these two beautiful boys with no help and minimal effort. Well, I’m sure it was quite a bit of effort (they’re big boys!), but Nubbin was very no-nonsense about it. Phil and I stood by and gave moral support, but no one had to pull. Nubbin couldn’t be happier and neither could I. After the tragedy of losing her babies last year, I was so hoping for Nubbin to be blessed this year. “Thank You, Lord!”

Sputnik was on fire that day! He was a lean, mean jumping bean!

Higher Sputnik! Get those legs up!

I love this progression. It was all one jump–approach, arc, and landing–captured on a camera that could take three photos in quick succession with one press of the button. I want a camera this fancy!

Magic levitating goat:

The hoop:

And finally, the patriotic pose:

We also set up our agility obstacles on Saturday afternoon. Only one person besides us came out to try (everyone was so darned busy!), but we had a great time out there with Finn and Sputnik. A big thanks to Bob Stack who took the photos!

First we have Finn, showing off his skills in the hoop jump. I love the bascule here.

I love this pose!

Finn being friendly. Now we just need to teach him not to “shake hands” ALL the time!

Circus goat!

Finn practices the weave polls in the background while Sputnik poses on the washtub.

“How faaaaarrrr can I reach without overturning the pedestal?” 

Phil and I spent the weekend in Greeley at the Weld County Goat Extravaganza where we set up a packgoat information display and did an hour-long presentation. We took Cuzco, Pac-Man, Finn, and Sputnik and we had a great time! Phil says my presentation went well. I did the talk while he managed the four goats we had in the ring. It was fun having several goats so I could show examples of what to look for (and not look for) in conformation and attitude. I also had three different types of saddles set up for people to look at and there was plenty of time for questions.

Unfortunately, we did not get as much traffic as we usually do and thus I was not able to hand out as many cards and flyers. The Extravaganza was so large and crowded this year that we ended up getting put in a back corner of the barn where there would be room to set up our display. Last year we had a main corridor. We also ran another “Goat of Many Colors” contest, but that had a smaller turnout than the last two, probably because of our inconspicuous location. Oh well. We did get about a dozen entries (including my four), so we had enough to make a fun little “parade of color” on Sunday. The winner was a little Nubian doeling named “Cookies ‘n’ Cream” owned by Sara Warren.

Cuzco was a big hit as usual. Everyone was very impressed when I told them he is 13 years old. He looks amazing for his age. Cuzco loves these events where he gets to be the center of attention. He was genial all weekend, and never even growled at the folks who disregarded his “Admire me from a distance” sign. Every time I took him out of his stall, he strutted along proud and lordly, stepping out with his long, bold strides and his head held high. It’s a privilege to have a goat like him who makes it easy to point out good packgoat conformation, and who follows commands perfectly when he’s in the spotlight.

Pac-Man took over the cart pulling this year and did an excellent job. He was much better behaved this weekend than he was at the Easter festival a few weeks ago. This goat is already learning what it means to have a job. I was hoping to do more cart rides than we did, but it rained on Sunday and there wasn’t enough room in the barn to do the rides indoors like we did last year. So we did the rides outside on Saturday only, which meant we didn’t get many customers, but the ones who did ride were enamored. I love the smile on this kid’s face. 

That same kid wanted to ride again with his friend, and he would not stop honking the horn! I had to tell him to lay off before he drove me and Pac-Man both crazy. I told him to wait until there was a car or some pedestrians to honk at. 

All in all it was a fun weekend. Cuzco wishes we could do this every weekend, and Sputnik might be happy with that too as long as he gets his own stall next to Cuzco again (yes, I had to separate him from the others after I found Finn and Pac-Man using him for a ping-pong ball). Finn and Pac-Man were getting stir crazy in that little stall and Finn kept jumping out by the last day. I had to tie him to the back wall where he looked very forlorn. Pac-Man even started trying to heave his fat belly over the gate toward the end of the last day. But while they didn’t like being penned up, they loved the hustle and bustle and all the attention. It was a good experience for everyone.

How could we not fall in love with this downy little black and white creature?

When Lilly first came to live with us, these were the only goats around who would accept her.

This was why we called her “Silly Lilly”.

Lilly soon got too big to sit in my lap, but she never stopped trying, and she was always ready to cuddle even if she wasn’t allowed to sit on me.

“Happiness is a warm lap”.

We also called her “Flavor Saver”.

Lilly didn’t like baths, but she loved toweling off.

And she loved getting to lay on the basement couch and watch “The A-Team” with Phil while she dried off.

Lilly was our “owl goat” who could turn her head completely around to demonstrate her pleasure at being brushed.

“Smile, Lilly!” I was thinking about how to teach her to do this on command.

Lilly was good at a lot of things, but she was best at being a mother. She was attentive but did not hover. She was frantic whenever she lost her baby, but if she knew her kid was with me or Phil she went out to graze contentedly, knowing her baby was safe with us. She loved it when we would pick up and admire her kids. You could see the pride shining in her eyes and she would chuckle low in her chest.

We love you, sweet Lilly-Goat, and we will not forget you.