Good Night and Good Goat

To say that we had a few visitors to the farm today to help us our with kid cuddling duty would be an understatement.   But before we get to that, did I mention that Martha finally had her kids?  And triplets, nonetheless! They are perfect.

 Introducing Duke, Bishop, and Autumn.  They are ridiculously adorable.

Autumn has a white tip on her tail and one white "sock".

Bishop has black knees.

Duke is tan all over with a black stripe down his back.

My day began with a 3 am barn check that yielded the revelation of new triplets.  By the time I checked in, Martha was done kidding and the triplets were clean, dried off and snuggled up next to her.  They were still cuddled up like this when we brought Grandma out to meet them later in the morning.  She was their first of many visitors today.

It turns out that whatever maternal instinct Mellie lacks (she is still getting distracted by green grass and forgetting about her twins), Martha more than makes up for.  Martha is an excellent and attentive mother, which is very lucky since she abhors the milking stand. 

Mellie is improving (somewhat).

Martha was a great mama from the beginning.

Mrs. Cheryl, Kristy and I learned this the hard way.  We loaded Martha up on the stand (it worked so well with Mellie) and tried to make sure each kid could latch.  Martha was having none of it.  She was stomping and trying to wrestle free.  It was awful.  When I tried again later I discovered that the milking stand is completely unnecessary.  Martha is willing to stand perfectly still for her kids while they get the knack of nursing.  She is incredibly patient with them and, as a result, all three were nursing on their own by late afternoon.

Jackson and Luna.

Noah had no problem getting right down to Luna's level.

Ellie and Luna.

Kristy and Luna.  Clearly Luna likes the snuggles.

Mrs. Cheryl and Percy.  Percy is in a snuggle coma.

After their cuddle session and a bit of weeding and transplanting, Mrs. Cheryl, Kristy and Erin headed out with Jackson, Noah, Ellie and Henry in tow.  We were met on the driveway by Ms. Kerry, Clara and Jack.  They were right on time for their baby goat therapy session.  They also took Nugget home from his spa/boot camp/farm vacation.  While we enjoyed his company, we are now T-minus one very messy hamster.  I bet he is happy to get home to a slightly less chaotic place where he is the sole focus of attention.

Beekeeper Jim, Chelsea and Alice stopped by for the next visit with the goaties.  After some good cuddles and some Mellie escape shenanigans, they headed back next door to continue their honey extraction.  Meanwhile, Ms. Sara, Addie and Etta had arrived.  More goat cuddles ensued.

Addie and Percy.

Sara and Autumn.

We capped off the evening with a visit from Colin and Riley, part of one of our CSA families.  They got in some goat cuddles while they came to pick up this week's basket.

Riley and Autumn.

In between all the goatie loving I managed to undertake an epic three hour harvest to create an amazing basket for Week #11 of Gael Glen Farm's CSA. It included: green and red leaf lettuce, arugula, chard, carrots, jalapeños, yellow wax peppers, sweet chocolate peppers, yellow zucchinis, strawberry spinach berries, a red cabbage, Roma tomatoes, cucamelons, snow and snap peas, yellow beans, daikon radishes, sweet basil, kale, red scallions, a sweet walla walla onion, chocolate mint, apple mint, oregano, sage, pineapple sage, summer savory, parsley, lavender, raspberries and a dozen farm fresh eggs.  This week’s bonus item was homemade honey taffy.

Cucamelons or mouse melons. 
They taste like lemon cucumber.

Unfortunately it was not until several hours after harvesting that I remembered that one of my CSA families is away on holidays this week.  A big "Thank You" to Ms. Kerry for stepping in to take the extra basket of veggies off my hands.  Phew!  One can only eat so many beans, kale, zucchini and basil!

Today felt like three days worth of socializing, farm chores, and goat cuddles.  I am tired, dirty and smell like a goat - this cannot continue or I might soon start bleating.  I am looking forward to a hot bath and a good, long night's sleep.  Wishing you many hearty bleats in your dreams - good night, and good goat.