"in labor" day weekend.

what a lovely weekend. started with some general home/farm improvement. cleaned up the laundry room and installed a new-to-us refrigerator which will be used solely for curing meat and aging cheese.

an amazing harvest from the garden...

then a visit from sam the drummer, his wife kate, and their gorgeous baby ophelia. this baby is crazy about animals and loves to give them hugs. a simultaneous visit from jason's daughter, amber. much fun was had playing with baby goats, chickens, the llama, the pigs and the zillion dogs. plus a bottle of italian prosecco didn't hurt, either.

ophelia leading the way for sam

ophelia waving in her very own chicken parade

then today, labor day, the goat stork visited. 842 finally had her baby. a beautiful blue-eyed blond buck, tito (named by our friend kendra's daughter). labor and birthing went brilliantly. unfortunately, that's where the brilliance ended. 842 wasn't too keen on being a mom. perhaps she imagined her role as mere surrogate? after much counseling upon our part, 842 still stuck to her guns and gave the baby up for adoption. she rejected the poor tike. luckily, we have colostrum replacer on hand. and he is currently being bottle fed indoors by his new mother, me. his big doggy sister (little bit) is doing a wonderful job at keeping him clean. and he seems to like the extra attention.

tito

although tito is currently doing well, baby goats that are rejected have a hard road to travel. right now he's still about 50/50 for survival. so all well-wishes and strong-goat-baby-vibes you want to throw our way will be ever so appreciated.