This week was a week of firsts for Lulou’s babies, and a week of waiting for us.
Lulou’s babies got names this week. The older one is named Lola (after our grandmother):
And the younger is named Lolly:
They now know where to look for milk:
They know all the best places to nap in the sun:
They help us when we collect milk from their mother:
And they’ve hosted Coco inside their pen. This is a photo from the day I dug out the baby gate for this year. I set up Coco’s X-pen inside the milkers’ pen and let her hang out while I worked. I love how Lola and Lolly looked down from the top of their climbing toy. They learned to climb when they were two days old.
But, for Jan and me, it was a week of waiting for the next does to deliver.
Maria was due on Wednesday, and Lezlie on Friday. I write these little newsletters on Thursday mornings. I’m sitting in the kidding parlor with Maria at this very moment.
All week long we've watched Maria and Lezlie for signs that they were getting ready to give birth. We’ve taken turns going out into the milkers' pen in the dead of night with flashlights to see if they’re ready. We’ve brought the goats into the kidding parlor for overnights. I like when we bring them in - they become accustomed to the kidding parlor, and they're easier to check on.
Last night we brought both Maria and Lezlie into the kidding parlor for the night, and they seemed to enjoy being in here together.
This morning things began to change. Oxytocin has begun flooding Maria’s brain. Maria is the most skittish of all our goats - the one who is the most afraid of human touch.
But, now she’s learning how much she loves having her face rubbed. In fact, if I stop petting her, she rests her head on my leg. Here she is helping me write my blog.
Jan has kept kidding journals for years. They describe the labor and delivery of all the goats who have delivered their babies in her care. This is how we knew that Lulou delivered on the 146th day of her pregnancy both this year and last year. Jan looked up Maria’s mother. She had a long, long labor with a sudden delivery at the end. It’s nice to know these things - even if they don't play out exactly the same for Maria.
Enough about our impending births. No doubt I’ll have more on that next week. What I’ve been wanting to talk about all this week is hoofbeats.
Most days, when we carry flakes of hay into the various pens, we hear hoofbeats behind us. Sometimes it sounds almost like a stampede. I come into a pen, and all the goats are standing around, watching me. I walk across the pen to their food tubs, leaving all the goats still standing, and soon I hear hoofbeats running after me. With the girls in the back pen - mainly yearlings and retirees - I smile, knowing that they’ll all skid to a halt before they mow me down.
But, in the milkers’ pen, things have gotten a little more frightening. We have five pregnant does who don’t know where their sides end. They are much wider than they realize. When you hear hoofbeats coming from behind, you never know whether they’re going to stop, run around you, or whether you’ll be knocked off your feet. Both Jan and I have been knocked down by a crowd of pregnant does who take up more space than they realize.
Even so, I love that sound - the earth sounds almost hollow when being pounded on by a bunch of caprine hooves. And, even though the song is about cattle, I find myself singing the theme to the old TV show Rawhide. Seriously. I loved that song. Of course, the treatment of the animals - the very attitude about the cattle in the lyrics of the song was horrifying. There was a bravado about making cattle do something they didn’t want to do that turns my stomach. I would always rather coax an animal into doing something that needs to be done, rather than force them. It’s why we make it so pleasant for our girls to be on the milking stand. They are eager to run in and hop up there - they push to be ahead of the other goats. Still, I love that Rawhide theme song. Here it is, in all its horror and melodiousness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_rHrLHIeyI I think there's a quick photo of Clint Eastwood in this clip - he played Rowdy Yates in that show.
In the world of soap, I’m looking for testers - people who want to receive free soap - this week. Here’s why: I had a client who was allergic to both coconut oil and palm oil. She asked for a soap that contained neither. In developing a soap for her, I created a recipe with a much silkier lather than other soaps. But, her soap has several very expensive ingredients. I need to discover which ingredients make the soap so nice.
In order to figure that out, I’ve made two batches of soap, which are identical except for one ingredient. (Oh, and the color - I made them two different colors. And two different scents. But other than that they're the same). I need volunteers to comparison test these bars.
Anyone who orders three items from my website, and writes “soap test” in the comment section of the order form, will also get two of the bars I’m comparison testing, at least one of which will make amazingly luxurious lather. I’ll enclose a questionnaire, and a self-stamped, self-addressed envelope so you can drop the feedback into the mail whenever you’re ready.
To participate, go to my website and order a minimum of three things: https://www.serenasoaps.com/