Remember Bella?

Those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile know all about Bella, our little jumping goat.  If you scroll to the "cloud" of subject labels underneath my posts and click on Bella, you can read all about her.  In a nutshell, Bella was the sweetest and friendliest goat ever.  So friendly, she would jump out of the goat pen to be with people.  That would have been fine if she had stuck to visiting us but she started following people out on walks, going to the neighbors and looking in the windows - or walking in open doors, and visiting with workers on the road.  We were scared to death she would get hit by a car, or lost, or eaten.  The fence was high, she shouldn't have been able to jump it but she could and did.  Every day.  All day.  She was in, she was out, she was home, she was gone.  We were a worried wreck.

Fortunately, the breeder from who we bought her contacted me and offered to take her back.  We were sorry to see Bella go but happy that she would be safe.  She was far too special to meet a violent death.

Today, I received an email from the breeder.  Bella is living the good life in Northern California where she lives with a young girl who shows her in 4H.  She has done quite well.  The breeder sent me two pictures.  One is of Bella checking out the progress of the goat barn being built at her new home (with her owner in the background).  The picture is so Bella -- she routinely inspected our barn as well.

Watching Brett work in our barn.

Hanging out in her new barn.

 And, the big news is that Bella had triplets last night.  She had an easy delivery and is an excellent mama.  The babies are just too cute.  I commented that the one on the far right is very cute and was told he has the same spunky attitude as his mother.  ...so he probably jumps too.  :)

I'm so happy she found a good home.  She looks like she is thriving and I'm sure her new owner loves her to death.  How could she not?

Everyone is Looking Good

This morning I had an email in my inbox from the breeder.  Bella jumped out of the doe pen within minutes so has been moved to a pen with a buckling (lucky girl).  She tried unsuccessfully to jump out of there and then settled onto a table and rested.  She sent a picture -- Bella looks like a movie star all clipped and fancy -- of her munching on cottonwood leaves, her favorite.

I went down to the barn to do morning chores in a happy mood.  Jackson has been doing very well.  He trots out of his paddock and hops into his stall every morning.  He's lost weight, he's moving well, and he's happy. 

I made some more rustic bread for dinner and settled in to wait for Brett and the grandkids to arrive.  They pulled into the driveway around 2:00.  The rest of the afternoon was spent in the pool and visiting the animals. 

Life is good.  Very good.  A house full of kids, and a barn full of happy, healthy animals.  And Brett back home. 

Bye Bye Bella

Yesterday, Camille's boyfriend and his family came up for a BBQ.  Even though we were keeping things low key, we were busy in the morning getting ready.  Brett was busy outside, cleaning the pool and the BBQ area while I was in the kitchen making cole slaw and deviled eggs.   Everybody arrived at 11:30 and the kids, all five of them, immediately wanted to swim.  Plus Camille, of course.  Six kids and Kersey were all in the pool at the same time.  They swam for a good hour until they were too hungry to continue. 

After the last hot dog and hamburger had been consumed, the kids went off to meet all the animals.  One of the visiting boys, Grant (9 years old), was particularly fascinated with them.  He asked smart questions and couldn't get enough of the horses, in particular.  He picked up their personalities right away.  Jackson: "he's very sweet and kind"  Winston: "he gets jealous if you aren't paying attention to him and he is kind of silly."  Flash: "He's the grown up horse."  When it was time for them to leave, Grant walked down the barn aisle saying good bye to each horse.  When they stretched their necks over the stall door, he reached up and wrapped his arms around their neck, and hugged them to his chest.  All three of them.  --and he'd never been around horses before. 

An hour or so after they left, I headed down to the goat area to collect Bella.

We loaded her into the car and drove her to her new home -- back with the breeder.  It was a beautiful drive to the farm, through the vineyards of Temecula and then down dirt roads through citrus groves.

The breeder sent her husband out the gate to collect Bella and we said goodbye.  She will be treated with kindness here and she will live behind this tall fence.  Bella proof.

She was quiet in the car on the way there and she didn't call to us when we handed her over.  She seemed content and eager for her next adventure.

As we drove away, I felt a tremendous sense of relief.  I had thought I might be emotional, and I was a bit sad, but overwhelmingly I was just relieved.  No more worries about coyotes or loose dogs killing her while she was out roaming the community.  She'll be safe now.  She'll be with a big herd of goats.  She'll have Fern to fuss over her and keep her healthy.  She'll have goat toys and friends; she'll have love.  Be good Bella!  We'll miss you.

Guess Who's Still Here

The lab at Washington State University didn't get everything run by the end of the day Friday.  They said results will not be available until the tests are completed next Thursday.  Really??   I have no idea when we are going to get Bella to the breeder's place.  The next two weekends I will not have a Bella transport vehicle available.  Brett will be busy driving across the western US transporting grandchildren.  sigh.

So, Bella gets to spend the next however-long living on her high line.  Brett set it up so she can get to water, food, shade under the aspen tree, and the porch of the goat shed.  She still hates it though.

It was hot today, close to 90F.  It always feels about ten degrees hotter than it is up here.  I think it must have something to do with the altitude.  Nobody felt like doing much.

Jackson was hanging by the water trough.  He's happy in his paddock, moving pretty well, and starting to lose a bit of weight.

Flash and Winston were in the barn, enjoying the shade.  Flash was dozing while Winston was flinging his grain bin around.  He picks it up in his mouth and runs it up and down the wall like a washboard.  Sometimes he gets carried away and throws it into the barn aisle.  Then he's frustrated when he can't reach it. 

Brett was busy loading up the horse trailer with his mounted patrol tack.  He has a deployment this evening at a big park where there is an Independence Day celebration being held.  Brett hates the bridle they use for for the posse.  It's a pain in the neck to put on with extra leather everywhere you look.  He practiced putting it on before leaving.  Flash wasn't real thrilled with that but he does look handsome once its on. 

Winston doesn't like being left out. 

While Brett finished getting ready to go, I headed back to the house to put my foot up.  I checked on Speckles as I went by the hen house.  She's still broody.  How long do they stay like this??

Tomorrow we move Kalvin.  I'm looking forward to seeing the therapeutic riding center, where he will live, up close and personal.  I'll take lots of pictures.  Promise.

Bella Gives Blood

Fern, of Joyful Hearths Farm,  who bred Bella and Little Bear has been reading my blog.  She saw the posts about how Bella is jumping the fence.

And about how the little acrobat likes to explore the neighborhood, accompanying people on their walks, eating their roses and their sapling trees, and disappearing from the goat pen for hours on end.  And about how we now tie her up to keep her in the goat pen. 

When Bella wakes in the morning, she jumps out and nibbles on the cottonwood trees lining the driveway.  When she sees movement in our bedroom and knows we are on our way out to feed, she jumps back into the goat pen.  If she isn't fast enough, the dogs chase her back when they go out with us.  She eats her breakfast, takes her morning nap, and then hops out and heads down the road.  ...or she did until a few days ago.  Brett constructed a high line and we tie her to that in the mornings.  If she would stay on our property, we wouldn't tie her but, more and more, she likes to wander.  And she wanders further.  We worry about her safety and we receive phone calls form irate community members.

Fern contacted me and offered to take Bella back.  Glory Hallelujah!!  I love this breeder and I would buy a goat from her again in a heart beat.  She doesn't normally take goats back because that compromises the bio-integrity of her breeding farm.  But, she worries about Bella who is a beautiful little goat and is willing to make an exception.  First, I needed to get blood work done to ensure that Bella won't be dragging any diseases to her farm.

Tuesday morning, we loaded Bella in the back of the car and drove her down to meet our vet (saves on the farm call fee).  I know Brett doesn't hold the goats properly around the back haunches but you can't teach an old goat new tricks.  She doesn't seem to mind.

She was not pleased with being in a crate in the back of the car and let us know the entire way down the mountain and back.

She was very good while Dr. T took her blood.  We had her stand in the back of the car and I wrapped one arm around her chest, the other around her haunches and pulled her tight against me.  I scritched and rubbed her during the procedure, telling her she was a brave goat.  Brett held her head.  She didn't scream at all.  I gave her a horse cookie (she loves them) when we finished and then we brought her home.

I triple bagged the blood samples, wrapped them in bubble wrap, and put them with the lab form and an ice pack in an Express mail envelope.  The postal guy stamped "HAZMAT" all over the envelope.  He held my envelope with two fingers, like it was a bag of poop -- I didn't tell him it was blood; just that it was lab work. 

If we have clean lab results by the end of the week, Bella will be living behind a very high fence at the breeder's this weekend.

Catching My Breath

The past almost-week has been a whirlwind of activity.  Last Thursday, it started with this:

Fortunately, they let me sit on the field in the handicapped area so I didn't have to navigate the bleachers with my walking cast.

Saturday, we were up early to drive to Santa Barbara where we had Camille's graduation brunch.  Camille has three of her four grandparents still living and I picked a location close to them so they could all attend.  The food was superb, the guests well behaved, and the weather gorgeous.  We were gone all day -- just couldn't pry ourselves away from the beautiful Santa Barbara coast.

Camille is not comfortable being the center of attention.  This picture is SO Camille.

My family, the kids'  father's family, Kyle, and friends.  

 Around the table starting at the head and going right: my dad, my mom, Camille's Auntie Cheryl (Randy's sister),  Randy's mom, Randy (Camille & Kyle's dad), Kyle, Camille, two friends of Camille's you can't see, my good friend Heather (you can't see either), yours truly, and Brett.

Ahi Tuna tartar on Parmesan crisps

Cheesecake with raspberry sauce and tangerine sorbet

S'Mores:  Chocolate pot with a marshmallow and vanilla ice cream. 

We got back home later than planned -- after dark -- and Bella, who was tied up outside the shed where the goats sleep, was screaming her head off.  She continues to jump out every time we untie her.  She wanders further and further down the road.  She eats the plants and shrubs in the neighbors yards.  Sigh.  Anybody want a jumping goat?

Sunday morning my foot was killing me.  I stayed on the couch all day with it up.  I even took a nap in the afternoon which is something I never, ever do.

Goat Fix

I haven't been visiting the goats much since my toes broke.  Little Bear has an endearing habit of climbing into your lap and, if you aren't sitting, standing on your feet.  That's a bit painful for me at the moment, especially in sandals. 

This morning while Brett was riding Flash, I looked outside and there was Bella playing on the boulders near the arena.  I gingerly squeezed my toes into my paddock boots, zipped them up, and hobbled out to get her.  She saw me coming and scrambled down off the boulders before I could take a picture of her playing Queen of the Mountain.  She raced over to me, tail wagging.  Yes, goats do have little tails and they wiggle them when they are happy.

I snapped on the leash and led her back into the goat area where I clipped her to her rope.  This is the daily routine with Bella; she is allowed her freedom in the goat area until she jumps out.  Then it's rope time.  The first thing she did when she was back on the rope was get a drink of water.  She can reach the hay feeder and water with her rope.

Brett was busy riding Flash in the arena.  I'm sure Bella jumped out because he was in there.  You can see the arena from the goat pen and she loves to be out with us.

Brett and Flash looked awesome.  Flash was nicely forward and round.  It made me want to get on Winston and work in the worst way.

 My toes aren't ready for more than short ambles around the block at a walk so I turned my attention back to the goats.  The goats were all happy to see me and I felt like I was being mobbed by the paparazzi. 

Whiskey, Bella and Cowboy

Cowboy is a quiet, but persistent, love bug.

I tried sitting on a boulder but that didn't work out too well.  I was seriously over run with goats climbing all over me.  Little Bear took the leash out of my back pocket and they all examined it thoroughly.

Then Little Bear trotted across my toes with his cloven hooves and that sealed the deal.  Back to the house for me.  The goats screamed at me as I walked up the driveway to the house --

How DARE you leave us!! 

Bella and Cowboy: Is it something we said?