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I’m in the middle of making chevre.  I’ve got half of it done.  The second pot is almost done cooling.  The kids are watching a few skits of vintage Sesame Street and I’ve just ordered a bunch of books for Bob for his birthday. Mags dances like a maniac to “Ladybugs Picnic”, Bob adores “Milking Time” and asks me to skip The Count.

We were at a park recently and Bob had multiple pony rides.  He asked me twice yesterday for a horse, “a REAL one mom, not the other kind.”  I think we should just get a small saddle for Bucky.  Since I can’t see us using a horse for farm work, all I see is a muscular poop machine, there’s really no appeal for me.  (I was never one of those horsey-girls).

After about six months of Miss Meeps impersonating a scarf every day, she’s come back out of her shell and is quite the little adventurer.  She scales climbing apparatuses (made for much larger kids) with ease, throws herself down slides with gusto and enjoys a rollicking high swing session.  (Much to the shock and horror of older bystanders who tend to make a lot of gasping noises and race to spot her, even though she’s clearly doing JUST FINE).  She’s not walking yet, but she’s close.

Had a great afternoon yesterday.  Scott worked on some drawings, I cuddled little Alva our doeling, Meeps scattered bird seed and tried pushing herself through the grass on Bob’s trike, Bob led Bucky around the yard… It was positively delightful, lounging in the lawn with my beautiful family.

We had our baby goats disbudded.  This means a hot iron was used to burn their horn buds, to prevent them from growing horns.  Even the most animal-rightsy goat people we know disbud, so we figured we would too.  Horns on goats roaming in nature are one thing, but horns in close quarters with people, other children and other goats can be a safety issue.  Accidental or purposeful butting or impaling, as well as the whole stuck-head-through-the-fence issue.  The next day their heads looked a bit like a horror show and I had pangs of regret.  Two days later though, the doeling and the buckling are back to their usual perky selves and I am feeling significantly less monsterous.

We do really like the aesthetic appeal of horned goats and as of right now the jury is still out on whether or not we’d do it again. We’ll see how quickly they heal.  I am sure it’s rough for them, but I have several friends who have willingly and repeatedly branded themselves for artistic purposes, so I figure it can’t be that bad.  Surely better than getting your head stuck in the fence and having a coyote eat it off or something!

Here are a couple of little videos from yesterday.  I still cannot get these things properly embedded into my blog, I have no idea what I am doing wrong.

Afternoon with our Goat
Bob Walks Bucky