Not Just a Pretty Face

Spring is upon us! Or so the calendar says. As usual around this time of year, the need to get out of the house for a bit hit hard a couple of weeks ago. Since I work remotely and can use my cell phone as a hot-spot for WiFi, at the spur of the moment I decided to visit my Dad and work from his place in Pennsylvania (PA) for a few days. I was curious to see if anyone at work would notice a difference, so I didn’t say anything to my co-workers or bosses.

Hubby and I were in Baltimore on March 17 anyway — more than halfway to Dad’s — so it was only a slight diversion. We were in Baltimore helping my mother-in-law get settled in her new apartment. Mike had to be there way earlier than me, so he drove his car. I followed later with Belle in my car. Because Belle isn’t allowed to ride in his fancy-schmancy little roadster, I took his car to PA and he drove my car and Belle home to Virginia.

It took me less than 24 hours to realize I could NOT work from Dad’s. His home is small, which normally wouldn’t be a problem, but he’s losing his hearing. That means he talks really loudly and keeps the TV volume at movie-theater levels. I was going to drive home Sunday evening, then I sent my friend Tracey a text about visiting her on the way home. I knew she had some baby goats I wanted to see.  At that time she had nine baby goats with two more pregnant mamas due to give birth in the next few days. Once we got to talking about the state of affairs at her farm, I realized she was a little stressed, maybe feeling a tad overwhelmed, and could probably use some help. Knowing she has WiFi and a house that would be more-accommodating than Dad’s (high-speed WiFi and quiet space!) I volunteered to spend a few days, maybe even the week helping out at Turtle Tree Farm. Not only did she agree, she even said she could rearrange the feeding schedule around my working hours.

 

It did not interfere with my job at all. AND it was a fun, refreshing change of pace for me.

 

 

 

Tracey and her husband, John, raise and breed Nigerian Dwarf goats. It was awesome getting to see and help care for the goat babies. Two were only a few days old, four were about a week old, and three were about two and a half weeks old when I arrived. It was my job to feed the older ones.

I forgot to mention that all of the babies require bottle feeding. The Mamas are kept as dairy goats. Plus, when the babies are bottle-fed by humans, they become very accustomed to being touched and handled by people, which helps make them great pets.

Most of the babies will go live on other farms, so they don’t get real names. But this feisty girl reminded Tracey of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer’s girlfriend, Clarice. So that’s what we called her. We had to call them something. How else would we be able to keep them all straight?

Clarice was super-sweet, and VERY nosy.

 

Those photos are not staged. The goats really are very friendly, especially the kids. And nosy. Plus, they love to jump and climb. And there were nine of them in the stall with us! Plus Olive, who’d been due to deliver on Monday along with Willow. Olive had delivered early — on Friday morning, I think. Poor Willow was overdue and looking like she was about to explode.

That’s one of my favorite pics from the week. Tracey LOVES being a farmer. I must admit, it was fun being surrounded by animals, literally, all week.

I did not just take pictures all week. I had specific jobs I had to do. In addition to feeding the older babies, and helping with the smaller ones, I had to feed and water all of the adults, too. Morning feedings were the most-hectic. Once all the babies had been fed, Tracey milked the mamas while I stuffed all of the hay bags, distributed pellets to the girls, cleaned and filled water bins, etc. And remember, I was also doing my full-time job from the farm-house kitchen that week, too.

Yes, I was actually working.

Things really started to get interesting on Tuesday when it started to snow. We knew the storm was coming, and predictions of severity varied widely, so we shut the goats in the barn Monday night. The snow started around 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday and didn’t stop until late in the day on Wednesday, after about 18 inches (46 cm) had fallen.

The good news about the snow? We got to make and enjoy Snow Cream! (A lot of Snow Cream. That’s snow, sugar, vanilla, and milk. YUM!)

We hadn’t had much snow at all in Virginia this past winter, so I was actually excited to see the snow. Except I had Hubby’s little sports car, which just happens to have tires designed for warm-weather use. No way I’d be going anywhere in the snow in that thing.

 

 

Things got REALLY exciting Thursday morning. When we arrived at the barn, we realized Willow had given birth to three kids, probably only within the previous hour or so. Two were huge, and one was tiny, barely hanging on to life.

We had to scurry to get the kids fed and Willow transferred from the stall with the adults to the nursery stall. Then we had to rig-up a barrier to keep Willow separate from the other babies. It’s important for the kids to nurse immediately after birth as that’s when Mama’s nutrients are most-beneficial.

The big babies were the same size as week-old kids! Meanwhile, their little brother was itty-bitty. Crazy size difference, really.

Look at that face! He was no more than a couple hours old at that point, still wet from the womb.

 

The cats don’t just happen along and take up residence in the barn. There’s a very specific method you need to use when they’re kittens to imprint the barn as their home. They, too, have important jobs to do. Mainly, they keep the barn vermin-free. They’re fully vetted, well-fed, and treated like members of the team.

 

 

When we got back to the house, I had to dig the car out. John was using the snow-blower and tractor to clear the driveway. It’s a LONG driveway.

I forgot to mention the three resident dogs. Pictured below are, Beatrix Potter (Bea) on left and Piper, the two chocolate-colored girls. George Bailey is in front. He’s 11 months old and a handful! He has a job, too. Impregnating Bea, who is expecting puppies on April 19.

They have to sit in that room and dry off a bit before tracking snow and mud through the rest of the house.

About midday, we decided to bring Bitty Baby into the house. Willow wasn’t at all interested in feeding him, so Tracey had to take care of him, otherwise he would die. Actually, it was touch-and-go with him for days because he was so tiny. (Thanks to Farmer Tracey, he pulled through and has since gone to live with his forever family.)

Just look at that face!

On Friday morning, Tracey was still in her bedroom enjoying quiet time as I was drinking my coffee. So, when the little guy started hollering, I picked him up and snuggled him on my lap for a while. Meow-Meow, one of three indoor cats, joined us, too.

Not many people get to sit drinking their morning coffee with a beautiful, day-old goat on their lap!

Tracey had to force formula down his throat. Literally. He just did not want to eat. But he sure did like hollering.

Below is another of my favorite captures from the week.

One is rarely ever alone at Turtle Tree Farm, inside or out!

Tracey did manage to get out to feed the chickens on Wednesday as the storm was winding down. As she re-entered the barn, a large wad of snow fell right on her head. She was not hurt, but she also wasn’t happy. Just another day at the farm!

Could things get any more exciting?

Actually, yes. During dinner on Friday, we were discussing our plan to spend a quiet evening sitting by the fire with wine, sewing. But when we got to the barn for the 8:00 p.m. feeding, we discovered that Myrtle Brown was in active labor! Never a dull moment.

We had to get Myrtle sequestered in the nursery stall and get the babies fed. Then we waited. You could tell we were making her nervous — Tracey’s granddaughter (age 17) and a friend had stopped by to see the babies — so we all went back to the house for a bit to give Myrtle her privacy. We returned to the barn about an hour later, not long before Myrtle started birthing her kids.

Yep, I got to see the whole thing! It was super-cool. The first kid was huge. Tracey said it was the longest she’d ever seen. Two others followed pretty quickly. Myrtle wasn’t doing the clean-up thing that mama goats are supposed to do, so Tracey not only had to burst at least one of the sacs, she had to dry-off all three kids, too. Once she placed them by Myrtle’s head, Mama started loving on the babies just as she was supposed to. Meanwhile, I was watching Myrtle and told Tracey I thought there was another kid coming. She said it was the afterbirth, which also had to be delivered. Poor Myrtle was making the weirdest faces as contractions wracked her body. The stuff that was coming out the business end looked pretty solid to me.

“I think that’s another one,” I said. Sure enough, Tracey reached down there and felt kid number four! She burst that sac, too, dried the kid off, and gave it to Mama. Four babies for Myrtle Brown! That meant 16 total kids in the nursery stall, plus two Mamas, a Goat Farmer, and the temporary Farmhand. Hannah and her girlfriend watched from outside the stall. What a way for two teens to spend a Friday evening, but they acted like it was all normal stuff.

The older kids were romping and cavorting the whole time Myrtle was in labor. They were also interested in what was happening in the neighboring stall. The barn was too dark and busy for many pics, but I got a bunch the next morning.

 

One of her kids was all black.

She’s such a sweet goat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was not a relaxing week by any stretch of the imagination — farmhands work hard! — but it was a good week. Since I wasn’t able to participate in girls’ weekend back in February, I enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with Tracey.  It would have been nice had Carol been able to join us, but she has some health issues that currently prevent her from driving and minimize her level of physical activity.

It was fun spending time with Tracey’s hubby John, too. I chuckle to myself every time I think of him returning from work on Friday, saying “Honeys, I’m home!” as he came in the door. He contributed to our eating really well, too.

All in all, it was one of the coolest, most-tiring weeks I have ever enjoyed. I am so grateful to have such amazing friends. I am honored that Tracey trusted me enough to play such an active role taking care of her precious babies that whole week.

I am hoping I get to help next year, too!

More pics are online in a shared Google Photos folder for those who are interested: ToadMama the Farmhand.