Some pictures of Goat Mountain View herd on a chilly day

5/25/2015

5-yr-old Sonnet (left) with 4-yr-old Mikado (center) and 3-yr-old Lyric (right).

3-yr-old Poem (center) with yearling daughter Virelai (left) and 6-yr-old mother Reverie (right).

No homeschool today in honor of our fallen veterans of war. So, I had a bit of time to play with my old Pentax this morning. I was using my kit lens, which is a very nice lens for being the freebie given away with the camera. It actually came with my very old Pentax istDL, but I am using it on my Pentax K10. It's a 18-55 mm SMC DA. I love the color that I get with Pentax, and this kit lens is auto-focus, which is always nice for a relaxing morning with the goats. In fact, I was so relaxed, I just left it on aperture preferred, set at F 6.7.

I'm going to separate out the pictures by goat, so folks can get a good idea of the conformation of each animal. Some of them are wearing coats, so there are not as many good pictures of them. I will get those another day when it is warm. Today, it is overcast with a cool, wet breeze coming in off Liberty Bay. I've been clipping goats to get ready for both ADGA Linear Appraisal and kidding. They are quite ready to be done with their scratchy winter coats anyhow.

Disclaimer: I was supposed to be forking out their yard this morning. Well, I've had a tremendous amount of pain in my foot, so walking back and forth with the wheelbarrow to the compost pile is out of the question for me today. I need to keep my wits about me so I can copyedit a 60-page chapter on Good Manufacturing Practice compliance in the manufacture of cell-based medicines this evening. Being in pain does not help me stay sharp for copyediting. So, please overlook the terribly untidy condition of the yard and focus instead on the lovely goats :)

Blythmoor PayDay

Ah, PayDay. This little boy is a dream come true for me. He is 3.5 months old and is out of SGCH Blythmoor HM Almond Joy 3*M, who has an LA score of 90. His dad is Diji Farm SD Gunslinger, who is polled. PayDay reminds me of a little Clydesdale horse. He's so strong, with a super soft, wooly coat, and a little heart-shaped nose that begs me to kiss it. Yes, I do kiss this buckling. I love him that much!

Gorgeous!

Little bucky stretch

Little bucky grin

Is it time for my profile shot?

Is this my best side? (Not sure why he's sticking his tongue out at Mac)

Look at that top line and back end, mercy!

Long and straight

Great width, like his momma.

Dancing baby goat!

Goat Mountain View Dust Storm

I could take pictures of this boy all day long. I absolutely love Dusty. He is a yearling out of Goat Mountain View Poem and Goat Mountain View Oasis Storm. He has Oasis Storm's wonderful back end: super wide and strong. He has his mom's depth and dairy character. His genetics are too tight to the does in my line to use him with those that I have linebred for this past decade. But, he would be very nice with my Tahoma does. Dusty is going to my friend Penny at Tuppence herd. Penny was planning to come out today to see him, but she is not feeling well--so here are some pictures for you to hopefully brighten your day!

Very powerful, yet still has smooth, dairy lines. I love his rear angulation too.

Looks like a tank even when relaxed...here eating alfalfa out of the back of one of the doe's mangers.

Wiiiiide! Reminds me of that children's song "Deep and Wide."

The reason I kept him as a baby was because he is so long and straight. And, look at those shoulders.

Goat Mountain View Thundrstorm

Here is the boy affectionately known as Mr. Personality. He's got such a lovely face, dreamy blue eyes, and when he is in full coat (recently clipped here), he looks magnificent with his enormous mane and dorsal (that he likes to wear mohawk-style). He also has a bit too much personality. Thundrstorm is not quite a brat, but certainly close considering he is very friendly = always climbing up on you for kisses. He is also the one usually in trouble if there is any amongst the bucks, though they rarely get in trouble. Thundrstorm is going to my friend Joan's at Tahoma herd, also not too far away in case I want to use him again. He is out of Wag's Ranch S'Mores Pi and Goat Mountain View Oasis Storm. It will be a bit tough at first to separate Dusty and Thundrstorm, as they are very close. But, it is needed as they play and play and play and play. Thundrstorm never stops to rest because he just loooooves the ladies. Yeah, he is obsessed, and he has been obsessed every since he was 2.5 months old and trying to breed his mom, which is the same age when his dad DID breed mom Lyric. Yep, family trait...grandfather Xlnt Storm was the same way. Speaking of the ladies, Thundrstorm bred Tahoma Sonnet and Goat Mountain View Poem, who are due in weeks.

Lovely rear angulation and chest

He's got great front legs, too.

He is also wide through the back end.

Thundrstorm is even longer than best-buddy, half-brother Dusty!

M.R. Blue MacLibbyHeart

Mac is a sweet, gentle soul who is more interested in being our family's lap-pet than chasing the ladies. But, he did breed Lyric, Hailey, and Mikado, who will be kidding in about two weeks! I guess he just saves his energy for when he actually gets to be together with the doe--maybe this boy is a bit smarter than Dusty and Thundrstorm, who run themselves ragged lolling and grunting at the fence of the doe's yard or headbutting until their heads bleed. Mac's mom has the nice medial ligament that I'm chasing after to improve the udders on my does, which are really nice, so I'm being quite picky at this point in the game. He has nice dairy character. Mac is available for stud.

Mac's favorite way to spend the day.

Someone tell me what to do about this monstrous scur.

PayDay often keeps Mac company during the day, and they snuggle together in their dog igloo at night.

Goat Mountain View Limerick

I dearly love this old gal. Limerick is 8 years old, has given me 19 beautiful kids, and 16 of those have been doelings! Once, she gave me quadruplet does. She is very consistent in the kids she produces, almost like a goatie assembly line. Every year, there is a solid gold doeling that knocks your socks off; there is often a chocolate buckskin doe, and usually a gold doe with a white belly band. Someone explain to me why I have always sold her knock-your-socks off gold doeling each year? Well, I intend to keep it this year! Reverie, Hailey, and Rondeau are some of her chocolate buckskin does. Lyric is a gold doeling that was actually the runt of triplets. I sold her sisters after weaning, but I wanted to retain Lyric longer so she could have more time on mom's milk to grow strong. Well, things got busy, and she never got sold. I'm so glad because I love Lyric.
But, the main reason why I love this old goat so much is because she is so very sweet. Limerick is a total lovebug; she is the favorite of everyone in my family. She's the doe that I can rest my head on at the end of a hard day, while she calmly chews her cud and watches over her herd. What a great doe for herd matron she is.
Limerick is also the doe that I usually milk each year. She is a wonderful producer with a lovely udder. And, she is cool as a cucumber on the milk stand. She produces enough milk to satisfy the needs for my family's table.

Feeling just a bit grumpy near the end of her pregnancy, here with daughter Reverie.

8-yr-old Limerick (center) with 2-yr-old daughter Hailey (left) and yearling daughter Rondeau.

Goat Mountain View Reverie

Six-year-old Reverie is our self-assigned watch goat. She always keeps an eye out for threats to the herd, though not just at this minute. She is puffy and pregnant, and the only coat that I could find to fit her has terriers all over it. Oh, the humiliation in the doe yard. But, this particular coat is very thick and well insulated = recently clipped mommy doe falls asleep while still standing. Reverie is my largest doe and is standoffish. Her kids are always very friendly though.

What a mug! Reverie has beautiful blue eyes when she's awake. She's had that lightning bolt poll mark since she was born.

She is not as wide as some of my other does, but has nice long teats and great depth of body.

Tahoma Sonnet

Sonnet joined our herd this past winter, and she has been a hit with everyone. Look at that sweet face! She is an absolute love. Sonnet adores being scratched by humans, and all the does seem to love giving her scratches with their heads too. She came from Puyallup, which is a bit more chilly in the winter than we are here on the coast of the Puget Sound. So, she was very grateful to get rid of her super thick coat, though also grateful for this extra-padded coat this morning. She always seems to be in a good mood--thus, her nickname is Sunny Sonnet.

Lyric and Mikado giving Sonnet loves.

Wonderfully wide.

Tahoma Mikado

Mikado is my shy girl. There are times when, if I sit still in the barn for a while, she will come alongside me to get her neck scratched. But, generally, she does not want to be approached. But, she is very good about coming to the milk stand when called and stands nicely without ever a kick, so I don't complain. I especially don't complain because Mikado is gorgeous. I love this doe's conformation and deep mahogany coloring, just lovely. Also, she is an easy keeper: calm, gentle, and never gets into mischief.

Mikado is a very refined, dairy doe, shown here at three weeks until kidding.

When fresh, her udder is very nice, with lovely texture.

Goat Mountain View Poem

Mikado snuggles with 3-yr-old Poem

Poem is a rock star. Reverie usually throws gorgeous bucklings, who I castrate and sell to pet homes. One year, she gave me a single doe, and it had been a tough year for me, and Poem was a really good snuggler...so she never was sold. I named her after one of my favorite Bible verses: Ephesians 2:10. The Greek word that is translated as "workmanship" is poema. Once Limerick retires, this pretty doe will easily step into Limerick's place. Poem is very long, refined, with lots of depth, and she has beautiful kids. She is also consistent in her babies, as Limerick is. (She is Limerick's granddaughter.) Poem usually throws light buckskin kids who are long with great dairy character. Last year, I gave Limerick the year off from milking and milked Poem instead. She milks just as nicely, with great capacity...though she did try to pull the drama queen play the first couple months on the stand. But, such is often the case with does that were very spoiled as babies.

Poem with daughter Virelai

Poem is my longest doe, but is still wonderfully wide.

Goat Mountain View Lyric

OK, OK, what is with the odd haircut? This is something I do with the Angora rabbits when the weather is cool (they are next for shearing!). Lyric is the first to kid: June 7th! So, I decided to clip her top half and give her some time to grow a bit of length on it before doing her bottom half, which I will clip close closer to kidding time (and if the weather doesn't warm, I will only clip her udder). Her coat looks odd, but look at that lovely topline! In fact, this one is nicknamed Lovely Lyric because she is lovely in many ways. She is a very sweet, gentle doe, similar in personality to Mikado. Lyric went through a phase as a yearling and two-year-old doe where she was very shy. Now, she has become quite the lover and has really won my heart. She was the mom of Oasis Storm and gave him his terrific rear view, which he threw to his kids. She is a great mom as well. She also does well under pressure, as she got bred back (accidentally!) by her precocious 2.5-month-old son, carried triplets without a fuss, and then gave me gorgeous twins (Gadget and Gidget) just 7 months later. So, as a 3-yr-old, she will be on her fourth freshening early next month. Through it all, even being junior in the pecking order, she never lost condition. Yep, she's a keeper!

Lyric has a lovely udder, held high, with nice shape. Two weeks from kidding here.

Just can't get enough of this lovely rear view.

Goat Mountain View Hailey

Two-year-old Hailey

Hailey is another amazing doe in her own way. She is abundantly calm and easygoing. A bomb could go off and Hailey would just stand there chewing her cud. She will even let other does babies stand on her back to reach the upper portions of the manger. She is so wide through her body that she is the perfect choice for goat surfing, like her mom Limerick. She loves to be brushed, so her coat always stays nice. Hailey gave me triplets as a first freshening yearling, with plenty of milk. Her udder is so tight to her body, it is surprising when you see how much milk goes into the bucket, as she doesn't appear as capacious as she is.

She is one of my shorter does, very wide through the body, and polled.

Hailey has a lovely udder, held tight to her body, here at two weeks until kidding.

Wag's Ranch S'Mores Pi

I traded Jane Wagman Goat Mountain View Alexandra (Hailey's sister) for S'Mores Pi. It turns out that Alexandra is a bit of a stinker (though a lovely doe) and doesn't like to be touched. I think I got the better end of the deal as far as temperament is concerned because S'Mores is the ultimate sweetie pie. She is the mom of Mr. Personality (Thundrstorm). S'Mores went to another breeder to be bred to an outside buck (Millers Buckaroo Freedom) so I could bring in some new genetics (as I kept S'Mores' son as a herd buck). S'Mores had a single doeling, Constellation, who is now in my herd. S'Mores did not fare well while away from our farm. She was at the other breeder's for nine months and was down to condition score 1 when I brought her back home two months ago. She integrated right back into the herd, as all the does love her. Who wouldn't? But, I believe she may never reach her potential as she did not have proper nutrition during her growth as a yearling doe. I may choose to place her with a loving home as a pet. She is a petite doe who is very friendly, gentle, and obedient--certainly a very easy keeper.

Goat Mountain View Rondeau

Rondeau is my yearling doe out of Limerick. I have her registered as a tricolor, but I need to learn that Limerick usually has one chocolate buckskin--and they always seem to morph color as they age! Such is the case with Rondeau, who is now a chocolate buckskin with a belly band and extensive roaning. She is going through her lanky yearling phase right now. But, this is one long doeling--long body and long legs. She reminds me of a deer. Rondeau was the champion goat surfing kid last year (not so hard when you mom is as wide as a tug boat) and would always find a way to ride on my shoulders as well. As a yearling, she is a bit more cautious. But, I know this line; she will be back to kisses galore once she turns 3 years old. I plan to breed her for the first time in the fall.

Goat Mountain View Chanson

Chanson is my yearling doe out of Mikado. I'll bet you could have guessed that, as they look so similar. Chanson is as wild as the hills and equates human touch to being burned with white-hot coals. But, that doesn't bother me because this little doe is gorgeous! She may be the prettiest doeling ever born on my farm. I had taken Oasis Storm over to my friend Joan's house. I asked her, "Pick out the doe that would be a match made in heaven with Oasis." She's been breeding Nigerians for a couple decades, so this was not hard for her (it would have been for me!). Mikado went home with me and gave me lovely twins. The boy was very nice, but there are enough bucks in the world, so he was sold as a pet. Chanson has her mom's dairy character and lovely coloring in addition to an improvement in the rump and very pretty head courtesy of Oasis. She also will be bred for the first time in the fall.

Goat Mountain View Virelai

Um, so this is awkward--I didn't get any decent shots of Virelai. Well, I wasn't really paying attention to how many pictures I took of each goat. And, she is swimming in this bulky coat. Virelai is a very pretty, petite, blue-eyed, polled doe out of Goat Mountain View Poem and Goat Mountain View Oasis Storm. She is Dusty's sister. There was also a tri-colored doeling in the litter named Dreamer. I was calling that doe Screamer because she was such a needy baby, but the buyer convinced me to change it to something nice. And what do you know? She no longer screams. Anyhow, Virelai stayed here on the farm because she was the runt of the three. This was not due to any lack of milk production on her mom's part. No, Virelai was an absolute space cadet as a baby. She was the ADD goat, constantly getting distracted by all the interesting things in the big world and forgetting to nurse. Her siblings never forgot though! Though she was slower to grow, she is turning out to be a very nice doe. She is long like her mom with Oasis' nice back end. And, she is the world's most mellow goat. Yeah, even more easygoing than Hailey. I know, you didn't believe that was possible. Virelai was a big hit at the nursing home last year because you can pretty much pick her up and move her anywhere you like, and she is absolutely relaxed, doesn't even miss a chew on her cud.

Blythmoor Coffee Bean

Coffee Bean was purchased to be a companion to PayDay, as I had no kids of my own yet in February. She is out of Blythmoor Jelly Bean and Gunslinger (same polled sire as PayDay). The jury is still out on whether or not she is polled. I asked Margie, "Is she long and straight?" When Margie answered in the affirmative, I said, "Sold!" She is a lovely doe with a great personality. I am very pleased with her indeed. She is very well blended, smooth, and well set. Speaking of "long and straight," I asked my friend Penny about that on the phone the other night. I have a bit of an obsession with that in goats. I told her that it could be that I've gone overboard and now have goats that are too long. She has been breeding Nigerians for 25 years and used to be a judge. Penny said, "It's not possible." I take that as a wonderful excuse to continue my obsession. There was a line from some movie, "I only have one weakness...." Yep.

Constellation

This two-month-old baby doeling is cute enough to slay even the most macho of men, my husband included. She follows him everywhere. Constellation is S'Mores' daughter. Her dad, Millers Buckaroo Freedom, must have had a great front end because she appears to be nice and wide through the brisket. Connie is very, very, very friendly. Did I mention, she's friendly? This is actually a problem. She always wants to be with my family. Well, she is a goat and really should live with the other goats. She does not agree and has continuously found ways to break out of the goat yard (when not even newborns could get out) so she can come be with her people. It was fun (for me) watching my husband trying to install our electric fencing with Connie on his lap. She refuses to take "no" for an answer--like the USPS, nothing will stop her from delivering her love. But, because I own bucks, I worry that she will get bred before she is old enough. So, I would consider selling her. She would be a good 4H goat (I offer a 30% discount to 4H youth). Lead? Who needs a lead. This baby goat will follow you to the ends of the earth!