4/11/16

Five more

 After that warm El Nino winter
 the front pond thawed quickly
 
and we anticipated a mild if not sultry early spring.
 
 Instead, we got temperatures well below average
and snow just about every other day
 
 some of it mounting up, though it didn't stay long.
 Amigo was tempted to book a flight to Cancun
 and Cheeky's Allemande and Bechamel were growing stir crazy indoors
 until they could join Sovereign and Xanto outside on the few sunny and warmer days.
 Their moms were happy to get the kids out of confined quarters, too,
 although Penumbra kept looking for new ways to injure himself.
MeadowWild Farm enjoyed a visit from Northern Harvest Farmers; Lila petted a baby goat with one hand and held onto her hedgehog with the other.
Rick generously made use of his expertise to prune the MeadowWild apple trees.
To celebrate Agriculture Appreciation Day, Sovereign and Penumbra hopped aboard the Goatmobile
for a trip to South Terrace Elementary School in Carlton
where they were the featured attraction in presentations about agriculture to several classes.
Barb talked a bit about raising goats
and then made the boys available for petting.  They were a big hit!
Carlton experienced a power failure soon after the festivities began, so they proceeded by emergency light and flashlight.
Back home the remaining pregnant girls took their constitutionals.
Barb checked Xiu's rear ligaments to anticipate the delivery time.
Momma Kitty once again witnessed unusual traffic through her bedroom during frequent trips to monitor the moms-to-be.
On March 24th Xiu produced two gorgeous bucklings
 Xerxes and Xanto.
Xiu was good about bathing their noggins, but she didn't want to feed them.  
Barb had to hold Xiu still while the boys nursed and she bottle fed extra milk to make sure they got sufficient nutrition until mom finally took over maintenance on her own.
The day after their birth the boys were fascinated by action in the adjacent pen
as Korma released a Sundgau doeling, Kalu Kudu (named for a Sri Lankan black curry)
and then a Cou Blanc buckling, Rogan Josh
and finally a cute red/black doeling, Channa Masala.
The kids were soon up on their feet feeding
hanging out together
and eventually joining the other newbies outdoors
where they caper about madly
and then collapse together in piles
except momma's boy Penumbra, who naps with Eclipse.
Deer are especially bold this spring
hanging out at the compost pile
and meandering close to the house at all hours.
Next up:  Keeper is due at any moment
and Ahni will close out the birthing season around April 21st.
In between those kiddings, Barb will travel to Regel Katan Farm in Hicksville, Ohio, to pick up two more babies, because

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Love all the pictures and the story they tell! Thanks for sharing !!