Take Joy!: Babes in the Goat Shed

Words to Consider

I bind myself today to the Holy Powers: Their hands to guide me, Their wisdom to teach me, Their ears to hear me, Their words to give me speech, my heart always to love Them. —Galina Krasskova
"Not to hurt our humble brethren in fur, feather or fin, is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission: to be of service to them whenever they require it.” ~Francis of Assisi
Tikkun Olam (roughly translated, I understand, as Heal the World)
“It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you at liberty to desist from it.” –Rabbi Tarfon.
"And the Bastard grant us, in our direst need, the smallest gifts: the nail of the horseshoe, the pin of the axle, the feather at the pivot point, the pebble at the mountain's peak, the kiss in despair, the one right word. In darkness, understanding." -- Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
"There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious-makes you so sick at heart-that you can't take part. You can't even passively take part. And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!" - Mario Savio
"They tell us that we live in a great free republic; that our institutions are democratic; that we are a free and self-governing people. That is too much, even for a joke. ... Wars throughout history have been waged for conquest and plunder... And that is war in a nutshell. The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles." —Eugene Victor Debs
i do it for the joy it brings / because i am a joyful girl / because the world owes me nothing / and we owe each other the world / i do it because it's the least i can do / i do it because i learned it from you / i do it just because i want to / because I want to —"Joyful Girl", Ani DiFranco
"Nothing living should ever be treated with contempt. Whatever it is that lives, a man, a tree, or a bird, should be touched gently, because the time is short. Civilization is another word for respect for life." - Elizabeth Goudge, author of The Joy of the Snow

Sigrdrifa's Prayer

Hail to the Day / Hail to Day’s Sons / Hail to the Night and her Daughters / With loving eyes look upon us here / And bring victory to those who have gathered / Hail to the gods / Hail to the goddesses / Hail to the mighty, fecund Earth / Eloquence and native wit bestow on us / And healing hands while we live

Babes in the Goat Shed

Bella had her kids late this afternoon, after a great deal of bleating and groaning and fidgeting around all day long: one is brown and gray, like Momma, and the other is black with white ears and a white nose. Here they are, just minutes old.

The gray blob in the left hand corner is the goose, sitting on her nest. . . I've been hoping for the past couple of weeks that she'd decide to set, so when does she decide to, finally? Right. And in the corner of the goat shed, too. And she refused to move.

Until things got going well: when little goats trying to walk stepped on her tail, she left, huffing and twitching her tail, and went to take a bath in the pond. She came back later, with the gander, and moved the nest and eggs over three feet or so. The old nest was apparently defiled and no longer usable.

Here they are, two hours old (more or less). All nice and clean, and they've both found where the milk comes from . . . and both "talking" just like Bella does. She's the most vocal goat I've ever ~~seen~~ heard. And she looks as if she's smiling . . .

And here, the new ones meet Uncle William, who gave them each a lick (and a promise?) and then went off to eat some straw. I have no idea whether they're male or female, and I don't want to bother them tonight to find out. Stay tuned . . . we will attempt to find out tomorrow. (and please, please let them be girls . . . )

Posted at 09:29 PM in goats, joyous things | Permalink

Comments

Oh they are too cute!

Posted by: Judi | Thursday, 22 March 2007 at 11:31 PM

I LOOOOOOOVE baby goats! They are such cute lil' things, following everyone around with their small, new legs! In fact, next to a kitty-person, I think I like goats best! These are ESPECIALLY adorable! I'll keep my fingers crossed that they are nannies!

Posted by: Kai | Friday, 23 March 2007 at 05:16 AM