There are a great many things that need doing at this point in time on the Homestead. Gardens need weeding, seedlings are climbing out of their pots, raised beds need some TLC, and the tarpaulin curtain on the feed shed has yet again broken lose from it’s moorings. Now that we’ve got that fancy-schmancy oven, we should be undertaking some freezer-filling, mega bake-offs for those days when it is discovered, whilst assembling the off-Homsteader’s afternoon sustenance, that “Mr/s Nobody” has struck yet again, leaving only a half a soggy chocolate chippie lurking in the depths of the biscuit tin. There’s also a teetering Everest of mending, the front door (it’s still sticking), and the store cupboard to reorganise now the kitchen cupboards are up and running…the list is endless. Unfortunately, we have a paddock full of goat babies.
The amount of time you can let slip away just sitting in the paddock under a pile of playful kids is embarrassing.
Every task in the vicinity of the paddock takes three times as long, as your attention is diverted by yet more cute goatie antics.
Off-Homestead workers, their arrival only obvious by the presence of the Homestead Mobile in the driveway, make the paddock their first port of call and we’ve now caught up on all the gossip as our neighbours pop past to lob a few vege off-cuts, a couple of handfuls of gleaned ivy, or (this is utterly true – would we lie to you?) a handful of peeled and julienned carrots over the fence in the hope of attracting their favourite kid’s attention.
NB: this is a futile exercise, as paddock matriarch Geraldine has first dibs on everything.
Homestead tabulations have Geraldine’s boy as current paddock favourite,
followed closely by Leia’s two;
not that Geraldine’s girl doesn’t have her fans.
But whatever the preference, you can be sure that any conversation will inevitably roll round to the question of what fate holds in store for the four of them. But that’s a question for another day.
“Let’s get Christmas out of the way first,” we say. By then, experience tells us, they’ll have worn out their welcome somewhat and the thought of their departure will not fill our hearts with dread and eyes with surreptitious moisture.
Babies are always distracting! I have an acquaintance who breeds goats and she says that often it gets so chaotic that it becomes easy to say goodbye to the young ones, especially the males!
I like the idea of baby goats being the oil in the wheels of social interaction. Very nice pictures of them and it would be invidious to pick a favourite.
I find it interesting that people are so quick to pick a favourite and feel that Geraldine’s boy has the advantage of being much easier to spot in the crowd.
They are absolutely gorgeous, and I can see why they’re getting a lot of attention. There is no way I could pick a favourite from the pictures, and I know from raising piglets that I tend to have a partiality to each of them for different reasons more related to personality- underdog, bossy, curious, etc. I’m reminded of Erma Bombeck who ended one of her books with three letters to her adult chidren (one for each). All three letters began: I loved you the best because…
Oh my goodness, I cannot choose a favorite, the are all so adorable and funny and they look as if they have always something naughty up their sleeves! Oh well, yes, lets wait till after Christmas…So that kitchen is fully up and running?? What a joy! xo Johanna
The kitchen is just about a far as we can go with it for now. This week (we hope) we’ll get running water (and a dishwasher! Bliss!) and then we’ll share photos of our progress.
Those little goats are indeed naughty (one of them managed to nibble a hole in The Bean Counters favourite T shirt yesterday) but so very endearing as well. x
Union Homestead 
A most amusing post, you made me laugh and that’s always a good start to any day.
I’m glad we played a part in getting your day off on the right foot 🙂
Babies are always distracting! I have an acquaintance who breeds goats and she says that often it gets so chaotic that it becomes easy to say goodbye to the young ones, especially the males!
That’s been our experience, too. The boys just get so unruly it’s a relief to see the back of them. But right now…just so cute 🙂
I like the idea of baby goats being the oil in the wheels of social interaction. Very nice pictures of them and it would be invidious to pick a favourite.
I find it interesting that people are so quick to pick a favourite and feel that Geraldine’s boy has the advantage of being much easier to spot in the crowd.
They are absolutely gorgeous, and I can see why they’re getting a lot of attention. There is no way I could pick a favourite from the pictures, and I know from raising piglets that I tend to have a partiality to each of them for different reasons more related to personality- underdog, bossy, curious, etc. I’m reminded of Erma Bombeck who ended one of her books with three letters to her adult chidren (one for each). All three letters began: I loved you the best because…
so true, both for the animals and humans on the Homestead. Personality is all, I say 🙂
Oh my goodness, I cannot choose a favorite, the are all so adorable and funny and they look as if they have always something naughty up their sleeves! Oh well, yes, lets wait till after Christmas…So that kitchen is fully up and running?? What a joy! xo Johanna
The kitchen is just about a far as we can go with it for now. This week (we hope) we’ll get running water (and a dishwasher! Bliss!) and then we’ll share photos of our progress.
Those little goats are indeed naughty (one of them managed to nibble a hole in The Bean Counters favourite T shirt yesterday) but so very endearing as well. x