2/29/16

Anticipation

 Another month, another flurry of awards for the MeadowWild goats.
 Cheeky & Eclipse have now earned their Milk Stars 
and Mojo is now a Star Buck - thanks to the production records of his dam (1*M SGCH Regel Katan Farm Ab Caana).  We trust that his progeny this year will become Star Milkers on their own. 
 But never ones to live in the past, the goats are eagerly awaiting the future
 especially the World’s Largest Rubber Duck (61 feet tall, 11 tons), which will sail into Duluth this summer as part of the Tall Ships Festival.
 
 But before that, it’s baby time!
Friend Brian got a head start, so the farmers visited to see his new arrivals.
 Back at MeadowWild, the kidding pens are ready and the collars all washed in anticipation of the expected flood of goatlings.
 Cheeky and her daughter Reenie are due on March 3
 and Eclipse on March 4
 
 with Korma and Xiu (Chewy) due later in the month.
 Chewy already looks like an over-stuffed sausage.  Fearing that she might have trouble delivering one huge baby, Barb had her vet perform a sonogram.  Fortunately, there are 2 little buns rising in the oven, so we’re hoping for a safe and easy delivery.
 The weather forecast looks ideal, with temperatures above freezing predicted for the delivery days -- 
 
 unlike the well below zero morning of March 8, 2008, when Alba arrived, the very first baby born at MeadowWild.
 This could be the end of what has turned out to be an unusually short and mild winter.  
MPRs Paul Huttner rates it the eighth “least miserable” winter on record, according to the “The Winter Misery Index (WMI) -- an attempt to weigh the relative severity of winter when compared with winters of the past.” 
 Momma Kitty emerges from her haystack home to bask in the sun and warmth.
 Occasionally she leaves a mouse, vole or shrew next to her feeding dish.
 At first we thought she might be proffering a gift in exchange for the Meow Mix and fresh water she gets every day, but the rodents disappear after a few hours;
 apparently she’s just saving them for dessert.
 Dustin likes to keep a close eye on her comings & goings.
 
 The goats enjoy getting out on the mostly ice-free driveway
   and even some grassy areas that have poked through the snow.
 
 
 A flock of wild turkeys has been visiting the same area.
 
 
 We've enjoyed some spectacular sunrises and sunsets
 and even an ice-bow anchored to the milking shed.  We checked for a pot of gold, but found only some stray goat poop.
 We traded the Ford F-150 in on a 2005 Chevy Uplander.  The goats will now travel in air-conditioned comfort.
 The van features a DVD player in the back, so they can watch some of their favorite videos: