Goat On A Boat

Today I rode a rocky ferry off the island with Bessie Mae and her daughter.

Our regular ferry is being refitted and we have to ride on the dinky replacement boat. I put the goats in a large dog crate, but on this boat there is no covered area for freight and the poor goats arrived WET, having been splashed with seawater in the back of the boat!

Goodbye, dear Bessie Mae! Thanks for all the milk.

Thankfully today was not cold, and Bessie's new owner was happy to see her and her baby. They are going to a good home and soon the billy goats will go elsewhere also.

Snowdrop

This is the other one of Bessie's twins, I am keeping her. She is too beautiful and sweet! I am calling her Snowdrop because she was born on the snow.

The couple who adopted Bessie Mae also have horses and a couple of Nigerian Dwarf kids.They had decked out the back of their car for goat transport. Goats ride amazingly well in cars, a lot like dogs do - although you won't see a goat with it's head out the window! They feel safer in small spaces.

Yesterday was rainy and for fun I brought one of the other little doelings into the house for us to play with. We pet her and tried to feed her raisins. It is important to socialize the babies so they aren't afraid of us.

We returned this little girl to her mom after dressing her up in David's clothes and bouncing a balloon off of her head. Socializing, huh?

Remember that rooster that I said would make a tasty dinner? Apparently the ravens thought so, too.

We caught the raven in the act, but I had to put down the injured chicken. Luckily it was our biggest bird so at least there was some meat for a fried chicken dinner. I made mashed potatoes and steamed some leeks and greens, so everything on the plate was from the land. I love it when that happens.

Tonight was singing practice with my awesome group of ladies. We sit around and harmonize, drink steamy mugs of tea and eat popcorn. I sat with an amazing view of the ocean and watched the white caps crash as we sang. I love living on an island!

My beautiful friend Constanze was battling breast cancer over the last year. This is one of the love blankets we have made as a community for our sisters and friends who have had to deal with cancer or a serious illness. Many people contributed squares and all of the blankets are unique and stitched with intentions of healing and friendship. In addition to all of her many talents, it just so happens that Constanze has an AMAZING singing voice, the kind that stops you in your tracks and makes you shush people so you can listen.

The fruit trees are starting to blossom and sleepy bumblebees are appearing on primroses and red-flowering currants. I have been working on two quilts and I'm ready for BASTING!! Yeah baby!! I can't wait to show pictures of the finished product.

As always, thank you so much for reading.