Solana & the kids

Seriously, Mom, what am I supposed to do with these kids?!

Goat Invasion!

So, Solana was just trying to enjoy her supper when suddenly her pasture was invaded by goats!This is actually a common occurrence...the goats are let loose to forage for a few hours every day. They love going in and out of the pastures with the horses. Solana sometimes feigns annoyance (note the pinned ears) but she's actually quite good with them.
Tilly-who has *no* *fear* of anything-had to run right up to Solana and then check out the food bowl ;D
The kids are difficult to shoot in focus as they're moving so fast!
They're having a marvelous time playing with each other. Note the boys have the hair down their backs standing up! Tee hee. There was also much running about wide open, but I couldn't catch that at all.

More Trampoline Art & a Solana Scare

Another installment of baby goat playing on the human trampoline. I was going to give you this front shot, followed by the rear shot (as she launched back off of me)...but then I decided that it may, in fact, be a bit graphic for this site as it shows the little rear in all its glory ;DHere's a head shot of my sweet Solana that was taken fairly recently... She gave me a scare last night, as she decided to maybe colic. Fortunately, her symptoms were noticed early, she was given some medicine and TLC and seems to have bounced right back. On a related note, I'll tell you that she just glistens in the moonlight ;D I wished last night that I had the appropriate camera and lens to capture her that setting...maybe some day.

What Else? More Baby Goat Cuteness!

Momma Fauna checking on her boys:

Here's Little Chief checking in with Ms. Tilly (taking liberties with her name!)...She's already proven to be the boss of all!
This is one of her favorite spots to curl up in:

The Boys are Back in Town

Well, actually, they're here for the first time! Meet Fauna's twin boys, born Wednesday:

Sibling Play

Right after Shasta's baby was born she and baby were given their own digs for a little while. Phifel (Shasta's brother) needed a little reassurance that he and sis' could still play. Shasta was feeling calm enough about baby that she decided to humor him. This is a fraction of what ensued.

Goat Trampoline

This is one of the things you see when you lie on your back in the grass and let a little baby mini goat jump on you like a trampoline:
And you see this:

And this:

Here's one of the dismounts:

I have some other funny shots of just ears, or neck, or extreme close-ups of nose that I may post at a later time. The girl thinks this game is a hoot!

Does this even need a title? Or explanation?

She is getting more coordinated...Saturday she couldn't do this without falling over!
Action shot!
Ah, nothing like a mother's love.

More Cuteness

Just in case you didn't get enough cuteness yesterday...here's more baby pix! This is to show you size...Shasta (momma goat--who's a mini LaMancha) is probably just under two feet tall at her back. She does love her baby! I wasn't over there this morning when the little one was playing wildly, but apparently Shasta was being quite protective.
She sleeps well...

*Cuteness Warning*

WARNING! THE FOLLOWING POST VASTLY EXCEEDS THE CUTENESS QUOTIENT ALLOWED ON THIS SITE. CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!Meet the new kid on the block. She was born yesterday. I think her official name will be Chantilly Lace-a-Go-Go...but then again, that may not be definite yet.
I met her today. She is totally and unbelievably cute. Seriously.
That's Shasta, her mom, licking her and keeping an eye on me. Shasta's already a good mom. Fortunately, she's used to me, and didn't seem upset by my presence. The little one's already curious and very outgoing. She started over to see me, but hit a patch of sun and was hypnotized. She pretty much fell asleep on her feet ;D
I don't think I can stand it. I'm verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves...

Goat v. Poodle, part two

Oh yes, I told you there was more. Actually, there was quite a bit more...I just picked a few of the highlights to show you.

The game can go on for quite a while. Part of the poodle excitement is to race bravely past the goat with the goal being to stir her up without actually getting caught. Funny sidebar: Sabrina used to think she was the fastest dog in the world. That was until she met Phil, my greyhound. You should have seen the look on her face the first time that Phil blew past her when they were playing in my backyard. It was priceless!
As I said in the last post, there are actual head butts involved here. It appears I didn't actually catch contact being made in any of my photos, but it's not for lack of Shasta trying!
The stare-down has many variations and takes up a great deal of the time-clock. Meanwhile, Fifel is just trying to stay out of the line of fire. He's a funny little guy and I'll have to do a post soon of some of his antics.
And finally, we have a demonstration of goat ballet in its purest form:

Goat v. Poodle, part one

Well, once again I've been on a temporary hiatus. Mostly it's because I've been wildly busy. I created this blog mainly to share pictures with family and friends. While I've still been snapping away, I just have not found the time to sit down and share them with you. Of course, I periodically share some of my random, rambling thoughts with you...but I'm not really sure you want to hear all of those anyway. My mind can be a scary place!

Having said all that, I'm still a bit pushed for time, so here's a teaser of a series that definitely has more to come.

Shasta firmly believes that the highest form of sport is going after Sabrina, the standard poodle.

First, there's the stare-down (note Sabrina's instinctual response of the play bow):
Then there's the wind-up:
And....and....more staring....hmmmm....
That's not to say that there isn't some actual head-butts, but we'll save those for another day. ;D

New Kids on the Block

Let me introduce you to the new kids:
Seems that when push came to shove the barn owners couldn't part with Fawna (the surviving goat from the first group) and so scrambled looking everywhere and found more kids the same age to come keep her company. Shasta is the female; she's the creamy-colored one. Fifel (oh dear! I have no idea how he spells his name! Sorry little guy!!) is the boy (he's been tutored-if you know what I mean ;D He's a wether in goat terminology. There! You learned something today.). An-y-how...they're the same age as Fawna, although they are miniature LaManchas and aren't as big as her. She took to them right away and they're all quite happy together.

More Goat Pix

Blogger only lets me put but so many pictures in one post...I wanted to be sure you got a good look at Annie's markings. Doesn't that look just like a head with horns and one eye???

They've arrived!

They're finally at their new home! Yesterday the baby goats, now completely weaned, arrived at their new home. Just slightly nervous at first, they quickly settled in and were game to play and check out their new environment. Here's Michael investigating a Jolly Ball donated (reluctantly?) by one of the horses.
They were quick to help with chores...here are all three helping with the hose. What hard workers!
This just slayed me! How cute is this little guy on his knees? And that's Fawna moving in to headbutt him ;D Girl power!!
And just because I can, I throw in one of my "artsy" shots.