After his scheduled Feb 23rd departure was postponed by yet another snowstorm
Mojo finally hopped aboard the Goatmobile on March 2nd for the trip to his new home in Harvard, IL
transported by the very same flight crew
that first brought him to MeadowWild Farm from Regel Katan Farm (Hicksville, IN) in 2014.
(photos courtesy of friend Janet)
He arrived as such a little fella
it’s still hard to believe he grew into such a magnificent buck.
We’re grateful for his years as Head of the Herd, for the many cute babies he produced, and for the sheer joy he was to be around
(although hoof-trimming was a challenge, and it took a small army to get him to stand still for Linear Appraisal).
Harvard man Mojo is now enjoying his wonderful new home at Silver Prairie Farm Dairy Goats.
His new goat-mom reports that he has adjusted nicely
and is enjoying a whole new harem.
He is even sporting fashionable beard braids!
(photos courtesy of Alexandra)
We don’t know if Mojo now looks more like
David Allan Coe
or Captain Jack Sparrow.
The MeadowWild barn will never be the same without the Big Guy
(Bhindi especially misses the back rubs he provided).
But goodbyes are often accompanied by hellos.
On March 16th (one day ahead of schedule) first time mom Zippy
delivered a gorgeous cou blanc doeling
followed by another gorgeous cou blanc doeling
followed by another gorgeous cou blanc doeling.
Allegra, Presta and Szybki – all Mojo babies.
(Had they been born on St. Paddy’s Day as expected, they would have been named after Irish whiskeys: little Connemara Peated Single Malt, Tullamore D.E.W, and Midleton Very Rare.)
The girls were soon up on unsteady little legs
and getting some help with their first meal outside the womb.
The next morning they were much steadier
exploring the barn under Mom's watchful eye
and meeting the neighbors
before heading back to their pen for a nap all smooshed together.
Welcome to MeadowWild, class of 2019: Presta
Allegra
and Szybki
(whose initially droopy ears perk up more each day).
Not yet three days old, they were climbing hay bales
and chewing on Barb's jeans.
Due at any moment: Blintz
and Kuiper
with Bhindi finishing up the kid-fest the last week of March.
Goodbye to a particularly long and brutal winter.
With temps finally inching above freezing during the day,
those mountains of snow from the first half of the month are beginning to melt (and seep into the barn).
The goats' prayers have finally been answered:
They took Eeyorean comfort from the fact that we didn't suffer an earthquake all winter.
When the bank clears, we’ll be able to replace the mailbox that the snowplow whacked after one of our storms.
The County used to install new mailboxes under such circumstances, but it was growing broke from the proliferation of plow accidents, so we're on our own.
Lake Superior should be melted just in time
for a return August visit from Mama Duck (“the world’s largest rubber duck”).
On the first day of spring, Dustin looks out on the snow-covered back yard
and goes back to bed.
Finally, in the midst of all the busyness involved in kidding,
Barb has been working steadily on her soaps.
which are available through her new on-line store:
