Let's Go See Goats!

Well, hell. Now I want goats.

The Tot and I were graciously invited some time ago by Wendy at Beyond The Sidewalks to come visit her goats when they kidded in the spring. Spring has now sprung and I emailed Wendy, set up a time and off we went!

Wendy's property is located on the Olympic Pennisula - a fair jaunt away from our humble abode in South King county. Over the hills and a great big bridge (a TOLL bridge, as the Tot kept telling me), round twisty turny roads, over a causeway and up through the trees, we eventually came down a quiet, secluded lane and found her property, nestled in the dripping trees.

Dripping because the day that we went was the day the clouds gathered and started hurtling rain at us in a frenzy, as if trying to keep up with themselves and failing.

No bother. We brought rain coats. We travel well. And I'm a mossback* so I love the rain.

We pulled up and met Wendy at her new barn - a beautiful and sweet smelling brand new building that is in the process of becoming lived in. Paint has been slung. Game on.

After the exchange of goods (soap/market bag for goat cheese - yummmm) we headed off the see the goats. And chickens. And pigs. And llama.

Are those carrots I see in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

What super fun! The babies romped, climbed and nibbled at our jackets and fingertips. The older, regal ladies daintily swallowed as many carrots and apple slices as they could get down. The boys bawled from their enclosure. And Willow the Llama sat under the trees, silently mocking us for standing in the pouring rain.

I took about a million pictures of the babies but they move so fast that none of them turned out super well.

We went over to say hello to the boys, who are kept in their own enclosure, and then saw the other gals and met one of the sweetest goats I've ever come across - Buttons. I think her name was Buttons. I got caught up in the names, they were all so awesome! I remember Boots and Buttons and I think it was Buttons who was the calmest, quietest, most contented, sweetest little thing ever. I was just stroking her head and pretty soon her eyes started to clooooosse and her head started to drrooooooop. Sweet baby.

So honestly there is nothing more distracting in it's all encompassing cuteness than a baby goat. Just a ridiculous amount of cuteness. Cute overload. OD on the cute. So cute and sweet I went in a diabetic coma for a little bit.

Then we checked out the pot bellied pigs and I got no pictures because I was so distracted by The Tot's response to actual, live pigs (not the hard plastic ones that go to sleep in our hard plastic farm at night!) that I forgot I even had my phone in my back pocket. They snorted, squealed and snuffled around for a bit and then got out in the rain for some hydration. The Tot watched them from the safety of my hip, boring her fingers and knees into me in a rush of fear/excitement at seeing actual pigs UP CLOSE. Absolute wonder. This entire time, though, our talking and oohing and ahhing was punctuated by an eery, sonorous calling from the leaking trees - the neighbor's peacocks. I've never really heard a peacock yell like that before. It was startling. Especially since the land I was standing on was so quiet and calming.

We peeked at the chicken house (bigger/better than mine - made for many more hens than I have!) and went back to the barn. On the way I spied the most killer greenhouse made from mostly reclaimed object on the next door neighbor's property.

I loved it so much I had to snap a pic:

It was finally time to leave and I packed a hungry and tired Tot into the Ion and Wendy opened the gate for us. A more gracious host couldn't be imagined and her little farm was a sweet, soggy oasis hidden in the trees. The goats are a wonder and I'm super smitten with the Mini Nigerian Dwarf's height and general look. I love them! I wonder if goats are in my future!

As we twisted and turned our way over slick roads back to the highway, settled in with fish crackers and juice, I thought about what seeing those animals meant to The Tot. I grew up never seeing a cow, or horse, or pig or anything up close. I knew them from story books and pictures. Occasionally I would see one in a field, but we grew up in suburbia and the closest thing to nature was the giant tract of woods across the street (which we frequented often) and the only animals in there were birds and homeless people.  I can't imagine what seeing those pigs in all their chubby glory, up close, rooting and squealing obstreperously, did for her. I can't wait to get our land so she can decide what her farm animal will be (as long as it's not a horse. Mama ain't got the strumph for a horse) and can really get her hands dirty with farm work.

A wonderful day all in all. Visit Wendy's site HERE for more information on her Goat's and who's for sale. And her blog is on my blogroll to the right. 


*native Northwesterner