The Goat House Thieves

Hello there. It's me, Cookie, once again! I'M BAAAACK! Well you'll just never believe me when I tell you this. Those little yellow and brown feather balls...oh excuse me, ducklings, have kicked us out of our goat house! Yes, I know, can you just believe it?! It's what I always say, at least now anyway, "We're being kicked out by those birds!" What a horrible thing to think of! Birds of all things! Well I just never thought I'd see the day. This is how it happened....oh and of course it's not because all nineteen of us have gotten into some trouble. News flash: WE'RE ALWAYS GETTING INTO TROUBLE. But not this time....yet.
Well those birds were growing bigger every day...I guess I never knew those things grew at all, they always looked so tiny compared to me. But apparently to the humans they were, because I thought I heard them saying one time..."those birds can barely fit in that cage at night anymore, they are just too big."  Once again, I have no idea WHERE they are getting that big part of the sentence because like I said...they are small to me. I'M JUST SAYIN'. Any who, the humans decided it was time for them to have a larger place to reside. And just where do you think they chose those birds to be...THAT'S RIGHT! The goat house. Or should I say...our goat house. Our house to sleep in at night. Our house!! Forgive me, if I had feathers like them, they would most certainly be VERY ruffled at this moment. But I don't. I wonder why? How do they get those feathers of their's? I'll have to ask them sometime. I might look good in feathers. A new look, a new me, a totally new goat! Although since I had feathers I might not be considered a goat any more. Maybe they would have to give me a new name like, goat bird or bird goat...OR MAYBE...OH! There I go again with the detailed brain of mine! Back to my story.
So the next thing I knew, I was staring at the faces of those ducklings IN the goat house pen (which is, if you are not smart enough to realize, where the goat house is). They waddled around like nothing was different. I heard one say to his clumsy friend...even though to me, they're ALL clumsy..."Wow! What a great place for us to stay, huh, Derald? I feel like I'm living in a castle! ...what...what is a castle, Derald?..." I won't get into the rest of his conversation...it's quite boring. Just something ducks like to talk about I suppose. But the castle part just really got my attention! Yes, you probably do feel like you're living in a castle Donald, Crackers, or whoever you are...it looks like a castle to you because you are small. That's why you shouldn't be there in the first place. But of course I know it's not the duckling's fault...I'm not that mean. It's the humans that had the veracity to do something so horrid to their sweet, innocent...well sometimes we're guilty, but we are goats...what more can you expect? Making trouble seems to be my strength. Don't tell anyone that of course.
Well this incident doesn't make any sense to the little brain of mine. Maybe I'll learn the reason someday....I won't blame anyone - yet. I still would like our goat house back though. NOW I'm huddled with eighteen other goats in the little loafing shed. One thing for certain...WE SURE KEEP NICE AND WARM! Someday I'll understand this.

Cookie's First Debut

Hello everyone! Uh...my name is Cookie. I'm a goat. This is me.

Okay, now that you know what I look like. Let's get a little more detailed. Yes, yes, I'm ashamed of it, but yes...most of my life is spent on this mettle like thing - the humans call it a chain, but I prefer calling it my "life purpose"..."chain" sounds too dreadful! There's just something I have never understood about humans, and I'm sure you'd agree with me eventually. Humans don't understand that goats DO like the grass better on the other side of the fence. It's a NO BRAINER! I mean, don't they have eyes? Can't they see that it IS greener than what I'm looking at below my beard...well that's just always puzzled me. The purpose of me bringing up this fact, is that earlier today I decided I wanted to get into the fence area where those clumsy little feathery, yellow and brown - well the humans call them "ducklings", but I would rather call them....what would I call them?.............well, that's beside the point. As I was saying, I wanted to get into the "ducklings" fenced area of grass...oh of course not to hurt them! I wouldn't want to go near those odd itty bitty feather balls....I wanted the grass.  Yes, it was greener. PLAIN AS DAY, GREENER. Anyone could see it if they really looked hard enough. But they don't...so why do I even try? I don't know. I just like to talk I suppose.....where was I? Oh yes, so one of my "goat mothers" is standing in there, she opens the gate...and I found my cue! I waltzed right in and started eating that grass. THAT GRASS WAS THE BEST GRASS I HAD EVER TASTED IN MY WHOLE LIFE! (which happens to be 1...2, 3, ...4,5,...oh bummer, I lost count. Well probably 4 or 5 years, or is it 6 or 7, maybe I'm only 1! Oh goodness I don't even know my own age! I guess I'll just have to check the goat book of records, surely it'll be in there...)

Anyhow, I was chewing and savoring and chewing and savoring AND chewing and SAVORING that grass until I felt those dreaded hands on my horns...MY HORNS! Yes, my goat mother was pulling me out of that fenced area...I always hate it when I get caught. It's not like I was hurting those little "ducklings". Although, when I looked up at them, they were all huddled in one big bundle hiding in the corner. I don't know what they were afraid of. It's not like I'm much bigger then them (at least when I measured my self a few years ago I wasn't. Hmmm. Could I have grown that much bigger? NO......well, then again...). Oh I'm getting lost in my train of thought again. Please excuse my long pauses, I like to think about EVERYTHING in great detail. I'm a detailed kind of goat. You know one time.....Oh! There I go again! Okay. Back to my horrid story. I fought those hands like they were a couple of sticks...but she won in the end. I was taken out, never to return again - at least when they're watching! When they are not...THEN I will reunite with that delectable, precious, green grass I ever so loved with all my heart as I ate and ate for those too few seconds! I WILL RETURN MY BELOVED GRASS THAT IS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE NO MATTER WHAT THE HUMANS CAN DO TO ME!

...Oh this was beautiful! Excuse me for a moment......I must shed a few tears...

In Remembrance Of Stardust, Kara, And Starlight

Today is the two year anniversary since the horrendous goat masacre on our farm. April 19 ever since has been a date I dread. Around 2-3 am in the morning a dog came and attacked our goats...killing three. One immediately was killed, another was being killed, and the other was immensely injured - dying later that day. Stardust, Kara, and Starlight were the poor victums of this dog. What makes it even worse, we were outside witnessing some of this.
Here's how it happened:
We were all asleep. I was about half awake, until I all of a sudden heard a lot of barking and and our goats screaming at the top of their lungs. My heart stopped and I froze for a few seconds in my bed just listening to those aweful sounds coming fom outside. When my senses came to me, I woke my sister up, and together we went and got our dad. Heading out there was the worst part. The dog was on top of Cookie, our buck..thankfully, however, my dad got down there in time to scare him off. And then the dog went and got a hold of Kara, my doe...I couldn't see it happen - but I could hear it. And in some cases...the sounds are worse then the images seen. She screamed in pain the whole time we were down there...there was nothing we could do. Then, my sister found Starlight lying on the ground, suffering. She was badly injured - probably broken her neck or lungs. Stardust was the goat I wanted to find though...she was the first baby goat we had ever raised since birth on our farm - I just couldn't loose her! Sadly, however, my flashlight led me to her still, motionless body on the ground. She was dead. That's pretty much when my emotions came to me, and I cried my heart out. I loved Stardust - AND Kara AND Starlight...and they were all three no longer in existence. That night I went to sleep still hearing the cries of our suffering, helpless Kara. In the morning, my dad found her in the creek area of our woods, dead.
I will never forget that night. It was the worst nightmare I have ever had in my life. What's worse...it really happened. Cookie only lost part of one of his ears and suffered with a hurt leg for a while, but soon was healed and back to his old self. Stardust left two orphaned twins to us after her death...Joey and Jeffrey got on fine afterwards and grew to be very fine fellows. All the other goats that were not injured, but had witnessed the event, were in a shock afterwards...but eventually recovered.
As I am sure you know, our goats since then have grown in abundance. But no goat could replace Stardust, Kara, and Starlight and the memories we made with those amazing creatures God gave to us!
Stardust, Kara, and Starlight:
You will forever be remembered, forever missed, and forever be cherished in our memories.

Lost And Found Bradley

Bradley is an adorable little chum! We have not EVER had a baby like Bradley, let me tell you - or a mother like Charlotte either. Let me explain. A couple days ago, Bradley was let out into the orchard with his mommy and the other goats. Our fingers were crossed that he would stay with his mother and not get lost. Well, he didn't. So that night, when we were closing our 19 goats, you can only imagine the horror that swept over our faces when we realized the little fellow was missing. We searched high and low - in the dark of all times! And we just could not find him...it was almost like I was reliving the goat masacre (when a dog came and killed our three does, only not quite as bad). My whole body was going limp and my heart was aching to find our Bradley. After a few minutes of searching my older sister cried out, "I found him!" - to my GREAT relief! And where do you suppose the little boy was of all places? Bradley was found laying in a dog house in our lagoon area! Why do you ask? Well this is the funny, innocent part. My younger brother earlier in the day had put him in the dog house thinking that that would be a nicer place for him to lay down and rest while his mommy and the others graze. Well poor Bradley really took it to heart...and STAYED THERE ALL DAY. I guess he thought, "Well, I've been put here for a reason..so I guess I'm not supposed to leave until my mommy comes to get me." with pure innocence. But see here's the catch...his "mommy" didn't know where he was. So Bradley is sitting here in the dog house thinking his mommy has put him here, while his mother is oblivious to where in the world her son could be! It was just a big mix up.
So we took Bradley in our arms coddling him all the way up to his mother who gave him her motherly attention the moment he was set on the ground. Whew! I was so glad he was alright!
And then another time, probably the next day, the same thing happened again! We found he was gone, went frantically searching, only this time he was behind the gas cabinet which sits behind the loafing shed...what in the world is that kind of a place to rest, Charlotte dear? She obviously brought her "little dear" to the cabinet and told him to stay put...but why behind the gas cabinet? Oh well, she's a new mother - what can I say?

Welcoming Bradley...

I was laying in my bed lazily...just resting on a nice Saturday morning...and then boom! My younger sister and little brother come running into our room declaring triumphantly, "Charlotte had her baby!!"! Then of course I get out of bed immediately, as does my older sister, put my work clothes on and my hair up...and out the door we go! I race down with excitement and find an adorable baby boy laying down in the goat house...he stole my heart right away. He is all white with the sides of his face a dark, rich chocolate brown. He is built really firm and strong - like his father Pete. I love him already!

For a while though, we thought Charlotte was rejecting him. Every time he'd try to nurse, she would buck him away as if she did not know it was HER little boy. She'd just walk right past him with no thought like, "Oh yeah, that's my baby!". I was beginning to think we might have to welcome him into the house too! But thankfully after she ate a little bit, Charlotte nursed him, talked to him, cleaned him...just like a new mother. It was such a relief to see that she was taking care of her son. :)

Well, this is number 11 for 2010...welcome home Bradley! :)

April Fools Day, Charlotte?

Charlotte is getting even closer! Her udder has filled up, her stomach has dropped, her vulva is becoming swollen, and she's getting much softer and loose back there...all the signs seem to be showing. Wouldn't it be hilarious if she kidded on April Fools Day? To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised! :)