This is my first attempt at a blog or online writing venture. I tend to have a hard time getting what is in my head out on the paper or the screen, but goats are my passion, and gosh darn it, I am going to try!
Who else loved the book Must Love Dogs? I even liked the movie with John Cusack. I mean, come on, what Generation X girl didn't? Even though I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it, I knew I needed a website site to sell the goat milk products from the most spoiled and beloved goats in Arizona, probably America, possibly the world. As much as Sarah loved her dog, I love my goats more. Well, imagine my dismay when I discovered the site name was taken. Taken, but not used. Rude!
If you don't know, Must Love Dogs was a book that I read years ago while working at Barnes & Noble. That is my other love: books. My mom was a children's librarian, my dad a publisher, and my brother is a TV writer. I spent the last fifteen years working with my dad as an assistant publisher and while it afforded me the luxury of setting my own schedule and giving me means to travel, it just wasn't my passion.
I grew up wanting to be a veterinarian; I have always loved caring for animals. Nothing gives me more pride than having an animal that is well taken care of, happy, and loved. Even chickens! I have had to nurse some of my chickens back from the brink of death and even though I find them a little gross I try. I try the best that I can to take care of them. I am not a homesteader, I want to be so badly, but I am not sure it is in my DNA. So I am going to call myself a hobby farmer. That is a lot less pressure than a Homesteader. Homesteaders are fierce, they are strong and they make the hard decisions. I appreciate that about them. I am a hobby farmer who will google how to humanely euthanize a chicken for 8 hours and then continue to nurse it back to health the best I can. I try the best I can not to make the hard decisions.
Becoming a veterinarian was not in the cards for me. I am really good at goat math but not so good at regular math, or drug names. I am awful at remembering drug names! Life took me in another direction. However, I wouldn't change a thing because it got me where I am today. I know people tend to overuse that phrase, but I truly mean it. If I had changed one thing I would risk not being here which is absolutely where I am meant to be. I finally found my passion: goats. I say to myself multiple times during the day, "if I could have only realized this 10 years ago." Caring for goats is not for the faint of heart or weak of spirit. They will test you, frustrate you, and sometimes break your heart. Then, at the end of the day you sit down with them and they come over and want some pets or to nibble on your shirt and the day rights itself again. In my case you have a small chocolate doe that screams, one scream and the smile is back on my face.
My husband of ten years is patient, kind, and on some level (maybe all levels) thinks I am nuts. Two goats became four goats which became eight goats and (you might see where this is going) now we are up to nineteen! Granted, seven of them are kids from our first breeding season, but it is definitely more goats than he thought he was signing up for when he married me. Goat math is truly a thing.
I digress. I love these funny, sweet, silly creatures and I love the adventure we are on together. I am going to use this blog to offer some tips for aspiring goat herders, or just stories I have of learning the ropes along the way. I have learned so much from my mentor Darlene Lee of B&L Homestead, The Thrifty Homesteader and Larissa at Tiny Hill Farm. They are fantastic resources. However, one important thing I have learned through research, Facebook groups, goat friends and mentors, is that there is not one patent answer when it comes to caring for goats. Each one has their own unique personality and their own specific needs. Whether you live in Saskatchewan CA, Maine, Wyoming, or the desert that is AZ, you need to be prepared. I am not sure anyone will read this blog, but if it helps one person along their journey it is completely worth it!
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